TWO NIGHTS WITH MASSIMO THE GREAT!
I was introduced to Max Bar by a colleague who is good friends with Massimo (AKA Max, the owner). He had actually let Max know that we would be in Italy at some point in October and we then contacted Max to let him know which night we intended to pop down. I use the term 'pop down' loosely as this was our intention at first, but we actually ended up staying there for the whole evening and the next!
Our taxi driver Chicho – self claimed 'the best taxi driver in the whole of Pizzo' was absolutely hilarious! It was a long drive and he managed to some how make the journey seem much shorter with his jokes and hilarious stories about his Italian road rage and his need to call everyone “IDIOTAS!”.
Once we got to Tropea, we decided to have a quick meal then head over to Max Bar. Somehow, Max managed spot us from about a mile off (not literally) and came over straight away to introduce himself. How he knew he had the right group of girls, I have no idea, but he did. Maybe because Tropea is only really filled with locals at that time of the year? Who knows. Anyway, instantly we felt as though we were in good hands, he was so polite and courteous and told us to take our time and come over to the bar once we finished our meal – which we did..
After the meal we strolled over to the bar which was all of about 50ft away and were greeted again my Max and also a couple of his friends and employees. Upon arrival, we were treated to two bottles of chilled white wine and plenty of complementary snacks. He toasted to 'new friends' and a 'good night' and seated us at the front of the bar outside. I'm not sure why but I always prefer to eat outdoors (provided the weather is on my side) as opposed to indoors. It must be something about being able to take in the evening air and watch the world go by with a nice glass of wine that I have always taken to.
Throughout the night , Max came back to check on us multiple times (I'm talking at lease 10-15) and half of which he would have a large swing of wine and then go back to work – so very different to the UK. During his absences, he left us in the good company of his very interesting friends (to say the least) and the waitress who was more than happy to keep filling our glasses once we had moved on to the cocktails.
The drinks at Max Bar were pretty average price for that part of Italy, slightly dearer than Pizzo, but Pizzo is a very homely area where not many tourists are on a regular basis.
Towards the end of out second evening in Tropea, just as we were considering turning in for the night, Massimo whipped out his very mighty weapon (no! Not that!) - the live musicians. Normally, the live happens on the weekends at Max Bar but since we were heading back home on the weekend, he called in a favour and made an exception!
Such a great night!
We stayed until the musicians went home, singing, drinking and just enjoying life in Italy. The band was made up of two people – a female singer with insane and effortless vocals and a male guitarist who matched her flow perfectly. Together they make the best sounds and we actually felt privileged that Max went to all the trouble of having to pay them extra to come out JUST for us. There was no way we could have left early that night – even if we wanted to – which we didn't!
All in all, it was an amazing two nights which words can't even do justice! Between the live music, the drinks and the hospitality we received from Max and his team, it was definitely one of my most memorable European nights!
P.S. Apologies for the crappy iPhone quality!! I left the good camera back at the flat :(
We flew to Italy with Monarch. Whilst this post 100% expresses my own thoughts and opinions, I have added an affiliate link in case you would also like to fly with Monarch and help a sister out by giving me a few pence and pounds ;)
