To the beach... and a fish story...

A couple of days ago we took a drive from Ragusa to the seaside beach town of Marina di Ragusa, which is about as far south as you can go in Italy.  The drive was spectacular, as are most of the drives in this part of the world.  This area of Sicily is known for its muri secco, or dry stacked stone walls.  They are very impressive, and go on for miles...

We reached Marina di Ragusa late morning and drove along the coast, through a couple other small beach towns.  We were quite surprised at how deserted it was.  New apartment buildings line the coast road, but there was almost no sign of activity.  Certainly different than in the US, where snowbirds flock south in the winter.  We parked a couple of times for photos of the harbor and lighthouse. 

The "Charlie Brown" bar was under renovation...

Most of the restaurants were closed, but we found a seaside trattoria that specialized in seafood.  As is often the case this time of year, we were the only customers.  We selected a shrimp and porcini gnocchi to share for our first course, and a whole spigola, (european sea bass), to share for the main course.  And some mixed grilled vegetables and of course a glass of white wine.  The fish was baked in the wood oven and presented whole, then filleted at the table.  Both courses were delicious. 

                                                    

When we finished and the conto (check) arrived, we noticed something fishy.  We had been charged double for the fish, not realizing that the listed price was per person.  Rather than arguing, we just paid the full amount, which was still very inexpensive compared to what we would have to pay for a similar meal in the States.  Still, it made us feel we had been taken advantage of. 

All in all however, it had been a lovely day and drive to the beach, and that's our fish story....

Touch any photo to enlarge...