I flew over to Genova last Friday and immediately, upon arriving ... stories began to unfold.
It was a madly-busy, exquisitely-joyfilled 5-days. And I couldn't reach the back-end of my website for some reason but honestly, I had no spare time.
I stayed with the kindest friends out at Arenzano. And I met their friend, the talented artist Giorgio Bormida. Actually, I wanted to cook dinner for Francesca and Beppe before I left, and ended up cooking for Giorgio too. It was only as I began dinner prep that I thought ... 'What have I done??! Cooking isn't really my best thing'. But they were all very kind.
I caught up with some of my favourite people there in the city but completely missed out on catching up with others. It was lovely to catch up with Stefano, the owner/operator of Righicam, over lunch. And with Francesca and Norma, from Le Gramole.
And then there was that 24 hours spent working with Diana, staying at B&B Baur with her and Micha. It was sublime ... photographs and words to follow in the days to come. I heard my first cuckoo as I sat by the open window in the morning. And the views ...
The kindness of Genovese strangers stunned me and ... well, it made me smile. A lot really. I met a lovely guy at a concert in Palazzo Ducale, who kindly explained all that was happening, to Outi and I. But Outi and I is another whole story.
Meanwhile, here I am, just in from an 11-hour day of traveling. It was a day that involved a train, a taxi, a plane from Genova to Rome, a bus to and from the plane, another plane to Brussels, then a bus and a tram home.
I shall return with photographs downloaded, with a mind rested and ready to tell you some stories.