benissimo!

It happened. Against all of my own prognostications and denouncements, it was. And now I am one whole decade further along the route to the sun. Lew brought me three cards- three! cards in lieu of the fact that he couldn’t find one that said Happy Birthday. We had plans, yes we did. We were going to the Funghi restaurant first, which was closed on Tuesdays. ( Martedi ) The second choice was our favorite ravioli restaurant which closed early, the third was closed after covid, and we decided to wing it. The birthday girl got to choose. Looking carefully at an out-of-date Travel advisor, we found a place called Gastronomica Olga. Sounded like rave reviews, and a one-dollar symbol for price. How could one lose?

The waterfront of Chiavari is getting less crowded, and the day was perfect, with the sun shining, and a cool breeze off the sparkling azure sea as well. Heaven. We parked and ambled over to a little storefront with no seats. The gentleman inside told me where there was another, a second Gastronomica Olga. (How could there be two?) We rearranged ourselves and drove to a corner of the town we’d never been to — upscale apartment buildings facing the water, people sitting on a little beach, a promenade, and a boardwalk that followed all the way back to the boat harbor. There was one old-style, unpainted rock building – and of course, inside, there was a deli case full of rapidly diminishing trays of food, with what appeared to be local folks milling about, ordering and taking away to an outside seating area. Lots of anchovies and fish. It looked wonderful, although we realized we had missed many of the main dishes, as they hauled away very large trays, with the remains of the day stuck to the sides of the trays. We ordered, choosing quickly,.

The owner, along with his son’s father-in-law, — they were buds — told us later that his son had called from the first Olga place to let him know we were coming. Also, he told us Francesco Sinatra’s father’s mother lived nearby.- they were very proud of this neighborly celebrity. They are in a beautiful spot, and I bet that Olga is his wife, and the cook. We closed them down too, and. they walked us to the door, their last customers of the day.

Earlier, we were supposed to go and look at a house. A fixer-upper. I am pretty excited about this house, but at the last moment, the keys were apparently not available for us. The keys are in Milan, with one of the aged owners, while an aged purchaser ( me) cannot get in. Darnit. It was my birthday, and things are supposed to go your own way, aren’t they? No word on futured availability either.

I found a fabric shop but was struck by indecision. I am going back today to purchase some lovely material that I saw. We never put up drapes after we moved in, so perhaps it’s time, at least in the living room. I love fabric-feels as well as designs and could volunteer to just stay and go around touching everything, rubbing it against my face and fingers. Somewhat like a cat.

I will have to come back for the other rooms I guess. Poor me.

Bill’s last day is tomorrow, and his tickets were changed around by the ever-changing airline scheduling gods. They aren’t better than our ever-wonderful agent Jacob though, and he saved the day one more time. It’s terrific to have someone as well-versed, and as accommodating as he is. Recently he’s gone out on his own; he is called CounselTravel. You’re welcome.

We celebrated with a gelato in the one place that has sugar-free, cafe Defilli, who know by now what I order. Being American, we also get a cappuccino, as unItalian as you can get. They only drink it at breakfast, and otherwise, a tiny thimble of expresso does the job. But, I can only go so far. No giant mugs of coffee here. It’s 2 euro for a thimble.

I am now officially old. I mean, I was bf=efre, but now the line has been crossed, the stars aligned, the deal sealed. Old.

I didn’t get this out in time, so let me just say that we have had pretty fabulous weather, even though that includes a record-breaking 29 inches of rain in one hour, and have been enjoying the cool bright days since. We are in a town where I cannot locate a single postcard. It appears that people here don’t carry them.

Today, the 8th,

Bill departed this morning and is at this moment still arriving in Cleveland by way of Washington DC and Frankfurt. Cousins John and Elaine leave in a few hours for Rome, thence to Chicago, after one last dinner together. We are two lost souls on the highway of life. We hope to get to an antiques fair in the morning that is held in the old historic district in the center of town, near where I bought my fabric. I’ve never been to an antiques fair, so I am pretty excited to see this open-air market. It’s all especially interesting when you cannot understand what people are saying, I’m guessing.

Brother Bill began his blog, called Oh, Contrrian! We each write differently, and it is fun to hear his take on the dogs, and observations on many fronts. He is available on https://lavezzi.us/travel/italy/italy-2021-part-1/ As always, he is articulate and entertaining.

Until later