Forte dei Marmi
Walking into the kitchen this morning the received greeting was not "good morning". Instead it was "our cover is blown - Forte dei Marmi". And there it was, on the front of the New York Times Sunday travel section, a major story on the less traveled Tuscan shore with a full page photograph inside of Forte dei Marmi's beautiful beach overlooked by the marble streaked Apuan Alps.
This is not a matter of not wanting to share. It's simply a desire to return to the site of one of our most amazing family vacations and not run into a rush of New Yorkers. Our first visit there in 2001 was one of almost feeling like an interloper into a neighborhood Italian beach scene for the overworked or rich of Milan. As described in the article, Forte dei Marmi is geared toward the affluent who have their red tile roofed walled in beach houses there, and its main village street could at times be mistaken for Madison Ave, that's the upper East Side shopping part of the street. What is not mentioned in the NYT is that there are plenty of family friendly reasonably priced open air restaurants with remarkable food and a pervasively friendly atmosphere. There's a town square with two adjacent cafes that could remind one of Deux Magots and Floré. The fine white sand beaches are backed by small thatch roofed lunch spots that serve impeccable pastas and sandwiches, reasonable and the ultimate in casual, no shirt or shoes required.
The article did mention that the Russians oligarchs and their underlings have discovered the area and that's a disappointment. Nothing against the Russians in general but these types can be garish in their behavior and extravagence. A wave of purse lipped New York investment bankers and their hyper-entitled spouses would not help. Fortunately the town overall is not that big, populated mostly by the mentioned urban Italians with their villas and hideaways, and run by efficient, observant, easy going locals, so visitors could never overcome or come close to outnumbering those who create the town's charismatic charm.
On top of that, no visitors that come from those upper strata would even think of staying in our pleasant perfectly located but not so aptly named Grand Hotel with its little rooms, tiny balconies, exploding light bulbs, and no flat screens. We can still hope to go back.
This is not a matter of not wanting to share. It's simply a desire to return to the site of one of our most amazing family vacations and not run into a rush of New Yorkers. Our first visit there in 2001 was one of almost feeling like an interloper into a neighborhood Italian beach scene for the overworked or rich of Milan. As described in the article, Forte dei Marmi is geared toward the affluent who have their red tile roofed walled in beach houses there, and its main village street could at times be mistaken for Madison Ave, that's the upper East Side shopping part of the street. What is not mentioned in the NYT is that there are plenty of family friendly reasonably priced open air restaurants with remarkable food and a pervasively friendly atmosphere. There's a town square with two adjacent cafes that could remind one of Deux Magots and Floré. The fine white sand beaches are backed by small thatch roofed lunch spots that serve impeccable pastas and sandwiches, reasonable and the ultimate in casual, no shirt or shoes required.
The article did mention that the Russians oligarchs and their underlings have discovered the area and that's a disappointment. Nothing against the Russians in general but these types can be garish in their behavior and extravagence. A wave of purse lipped New York investment bankers and their hyper-entitled spouses would not help. Fortunately the town overall is not that big, populated mostly by the mentioned urban Italians with their villas and hideaways, and run by efficient, observant, easy going locals, so visitors could never overcome or come close to outnumbering those who create the town's charismatic charm.
On top of that, no visitors that come from those upper strata would even think of staying in our pleasant perfectly located but not so aptly named Grand Hotel with its little rooms, tiny balconies, exploding light bulbs, and no flat screens. We can still hope to go back.
posted by John Borden at 11:27 AM
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