Paul and I have been married for 18 years and known each other for 27, but he continues to surprise me. Several months ago he planned a wonderful evening for us, as a surprise for me, to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Dinner at Grotta Palazzese in Pogliano a Mare — a gorgeous restaurant in a grotto.

All I knew was that we had dinner reservations for our anniversary, and nothing more. Paul parked the car and a driver wishing us “auguri” (congratulations) brought us to the location, we checked in with the maitre’d, and walked down four flights of candlelit stairs to the sea. A gorgeous setting, approximately 50 candlelit tables along the sea and in the cave overlooking the grotto. A saxophonist performed all night, and at the table next to us, there was a marriage proposal. The food was very good, and the service attentive.

We drove back to Alberobello and the kids didn’t burn down the trullo, so the night was a huge success!

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And now for menu updates from Paul:

We decided to go with one of the restaurant’s tasting menus.

We started with Yellowfin red tuna tartare, then seared sea scallops served over beet root cream and pistachio.

Our primi was Calamarata pasta with amatriciana sauce, monkfish, crispy bacon and pecorino. Our secondi was a sea bass. And finally, we ended with dark chocolate bon bons.

It was all beautifully presented and very good. I’ve often remarked to Karen how lucky we are. Some of that is simply being in the right place at the right time and taking advantage of those opportunities. To be able to take Karen out to one of the most beautiful restaurants in the world on our anniversary was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. It did not disappoint.