Hector's Vacation

After a couple of hours in the sunshine which the late afternoon brought us we decided with very little thought to go back to Santa Lucia, though, this time with the intention of trying something new. The place was not nearly as crowded tonight, perhaps because it was quite windy outside so no one was choosing to sit under the canopy.
We sat inside next to a family with two young children; while we were thinking about what to order the two girls had just got their ice cream and were busy spreading it around the plate-oh to be young again. This time the waiter bought us out some bread sticks- now theres a foodstuff that Hector really enjoys. Having watched too much BugsBunny he was very taken by crunching the entire stick into his mouth in one go by taking small nibbles- and making a lot of mess all over the table.

While we made our decisions Yves Saint Martin- perhaps France's all time greatest jockey- came in for a meal with his wife and family. This brought great excitement to many of the faces in the restaurant as the racing fraternity all recognised him instantly and the owner welcomed him in with open arms and a kiss to each cheek.For starters I chose the Salade Santa Lucia, which had parma ham, creamy gorgonzola, mozzarella and fresh tomatoes; Dad chose roasted aubergines in parmesan.

The portions, as ever, were very generous leaving us extremely content and almost regretting the orders of our main courses. Comme d'habitude, Dad (with his ability to make polite conversation with a lamp-post) started chatting with the waiter, commenting on it seeming quieter than normal this year, but the waiter laughed this off saying that it didn't seem quiet if you were working at the restaurant even if the hotels were empty.


It turns out that waiter, like my Dad, has been here for the last 28 years- he works with his younger brother and says he has always enjoyed the work; no doubt that is why he doesn't look old enough to have been there for so long. Our main courses arrived looking very impressive, we'd both ordered a veal escalop but while Dad went for the Milanese, simply breaded with lemon juice, I chose the Santa Lucia, which arrived with a piece of ham and melted mozzarella cheese on top; both had spaghetti with a tomato sauce on the side. This meal was extremely filling and I went back to the hotel feeling very full indeed.