Genova, after the storm

I had to wander down to the port this evening, and it’s not really my favourite part of town to wander alone, here in this beautiful city but I had to check up on boats trips and times.

The light was calling me ... a siren song really however I just left the big camera safely in its bag, chicken-hearted creature I sometimes am. 

Then wandering back up via San Lorenzo, I couldn’t resist.  I think you can see why ...

And so I fly ...

I’m off again ... to Genova, otherwise known as that city I love. But really… I’m there to work rather hard.

And after the work, I need to stay on because, there is this book I have been talking of putting together for quite some time now.
It’s time.

And of course, I’m taking the wedding photographs too, those ones from Madrid and Suffolk because I have been living life at 1,000 miles per hour since taking them and still don’t have them quite completed ... although almost everything else that needed doing is done.

So tomorrow, I’ll be that woman wandering again.
A presto.

Maddalena

I spent just 24 hours in Lerici but there was so much and so many packed into that small window of time that pulling each thing out to hold up to the light so I could write of it all has been more difficult than I could have imagined ...

And Maddalena, like Stefano in Genova, has kindly put up with my outpourings about them but really ... I must.

So ... last Sunday, Maddalena, GP and Orazio, with Francesco joining us near the end, headed up into the hills above Lerici for a feast.  The sky was a deep blue, the sun was warm and the restaurant was the ARCI place in Solaro and, honestly, the food was extraordinary.

Our feast was as follows (grazie Maddalena, because I couldn’t remember everything and had names for even less): We had marinated tuna and swordfish served on large platters, then fresh oysters still in their shells - a presentation that took me straight back my childhood in New Zealand.  There was a platter of shrimps and another of salmon, and a tagliolini al nero di seppia and zucchine (squid), served up next to the most delicious pasta I have ever tasted - a spaghetti alla bottarga (made from dried fish roe).

Being civilised Italians, the others all drank a white wine and were gentle about my barbarian self choosing a small jug of red wine (but it really is my favourite drink in the world, she whispers). 

Of course, there was water throughout, and this tasty little sorbetto al limone that you drank through a straw - a mix of lemon gelato and limoncello, blended together.  It was delicious.  We ended our feasting with a crema catalana! and then wandered slowly back down the hill to meet up with the others back on the shores of the Ligurian Sea.

Bliss!

Grazie Maddalena, GP and Orazio, Francesco too, for a beautiful afternoon.

A taste of Heaven, Lerici

There was this stunning lunch had while I was staying with Maddalena and GP in Lerici ... and I have been so scared of attempting to write of it and failing, that I have risked losing the best of it in my mind.

I didn’t photograph the stunning food because we were so busy eating it.  Perhaps I regret that now ...  because there were so many delicious things new to me, or old friends forgotten - like that plate of raw oysters in their shells.

Sitting way up there, in the hills above Lerici ... blue skies and sunlight, talking and eating with excellent people ... it was the happiest I’ve been in a long time.  Grazie to the lovely people who shared their world with me.

Alice Koller, Solitude

Being solitary is being alone well; being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.

Roberto ...

This is Roberto, the lovely man who charmed me with his willingness to take me by the arm and show me around Lerici ... explaining in Italian while I replied in my English, with that smattering of Italian I have.

Maddalena translated Roberto explaining that, next time, we’re cycling to a village nearby’.  I’m worried about my level of fitness and will have to go into training to keep up with him.  I can still see his quietly bemused smile, on that Sunday morning when I huffed and puffed my way up the castle stairs.

Maddalena and GP were so very good to me during my stay there in Leirici, and meeting their friend Roberto was just another delightful moment that mixed with so many other delightful moments in bella Lerici.

Shannon ... the one who lives in Genova.

I know this lovely lady living in Genova.

I just discovered that Shannon had posted about our meeting up this time.  There was the breakfast at my favourite cafe - Bar Boomerang and then dinner on my last night in the city, at a pizzeria-not-my-own.  And you know what, it was okay.  So I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending a pizza at Sciuscia e Sciorbi, the staff were lovely.

That was mostly me, when Shannon wrote of paying our bill with change ... I had 20.50euro in change and I didn’t want to carry it on the long trek home, nor could I afford to give it away.  The pizza and wine worked for me. 
As I said, the staff are lovely ...

Anyway, meet Shannon and Traveler over on their Genova Blog.

Art and Ancient City Gates, Genoa

In good times arts are magical, and in tough times they are essential. That’s when you need them the most.
Art makes you human.
Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin Poet Laureate

I love the beauty of this ancient gate, especially that painting catching the sun on the day I took this particular photograph. The lovely thing is that this particular gate takes me back to Paola’s place and so I passed through it daily.

Porta Soprana is one of Genova’s five medieval gates and it was constructed back in the 12th century to deter Emperor Barbarossa.

Chiavari ... an evening out

I wanted to return to the story of Stefano, Miriam and a lovely evening spent in Chiavari, just half an hour's drive from Genova.

We actually drove through evening sleet to arrive in this small town on the Italian Riviera, in the region of Liguria.  It was dark but I saw enough to make me want to return one day.

Our first port of call was Paola’s beautiful clothing boutique, C’è chi c’ha, and after picking her up we wandered on to meet up with other friends of Stefano and Miriam’s.

Our destination was Ristorante Da Felice, the beginning point for my journey into the cuisine of the Ligurian Sea.  One that, unbeknown to me, would be continuing in Lerici in the days ahead.

Whenever I eat with Stefano, I always leave it to him to advise me on the menu, as no one knows more than a local.  The proof would be in the fact that I have never had a bad meal with him.  And that evening was no exception.

I began with this delightful shrimp dish before moving on to the mighty Palamite nell’ Arbanella ... and I may or may not have that correctly written but it was a startling dish.  The fish is a Palamita and is a predator, like tuna, as you can see in the youtube I hunted down.

The photograph gives you an idea of the unusual presentation - Stefano persevered, in low light and with his cellphone camera, wanting to capture this dish that was unusual even to them.  The fish was served up in a small glass preserving jar, seasoned with a little lemon and herb ... it tasted delightful.

Dessert was a small selection of deliciousness, as the waiter and Stefano plotted a serving that worked around my problems with fresh fruit.

It was a lovely evening with good people and delicious food in a beautiful place.  Grazie to the very kind people from Genova, who included me in an evening I won’t forget.

La dolce vita ...

Returning to Genova from Lerici on the train tonight,  I felt ‘la dolce vita’ was the only way to describe my experiences these last few days ...

I arrived in Lerici, and stepped off the bus into the sunset you see at the end of the post and that was only the beginning.  I had been invited to visit by Maddalena, a truly lovely woman I met online more than ten years ago ...back when we were both locals in a chatroom called Travel.  We met so many good people there, there was Mary Lou, Diede, Marco in Rome ... and many many more.  We were talking of them as we wandered in her Lerici these last 24 hours, realising just how lucky we had been to find a space like that in those days.

So, there was a train trip from Genova to Lerici late yesterday afternoon, to finally meet Maddalena and her lovely GP, having been invited to their weekend studio there in that beautiful town.  We dropped my gear at her place and wandered down to a roadside ... bar (Maddalena will laugh when she reads that) but there was prosecco and it was good.  I was introduced to Roberto, a delightful man who was just leaving as we arrived ... but more on him later.  A little prosecco and then we were off to meet Elisabetta, her son Marco and his friend Davide ... the teenage boys were booked for an impromtu Saturday night English test.  They were very good-natured about it and we enjoyed their English.

It was there that I was introduced to an interesting red wine, one that I must get the name of, and then we were off to dinner.  This was a continuation of me tasting most of what the Ligurian Sea has to offer ... a journey begun with Stefano, Miriam and their friends during the week.  The fish-filled ravioli was divine and my main fish-dish was also rather exquisite ...

I was fascinated to learn that Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley had lived close-by, and had anchored their sailing boat in Lerici. 

I woke early and, having mentioned I might, I slipped out with my camera leaving the others asleep.  It was 8am, the light was stunning ... although it has to be said that it never stopped being stunning while I was there. I was wandering along by the harbour, knowing no-one and heading to ‘the rocks’ when I met Roberto again.  He remembered me.

Roberto is lovely. He took me by the arm and off we went.  He’s in his 70’s and was really rather delighted over having to wait for my younger, rather unfit, self at the top of the stairs as we made our way up to the castle.  He was still chuckling about that when we said goodbye to him tonight.  It reminded me, yet again, that I live a rather sedentary life over in the flatlands of Belgium.  I need to go into training, as he told me we’re going cycling next time I am there ...

Anyway, the story of our morning stroll takes on a whole new dimension when you realise that I don’t really speak Italian ... I just know a few words.  And Roberto doesn’t speak English however ... we talked the whole way.  We made our way up to the castle, then on over the back to look at the stunning seascape ... then down through the narrow back streets of Lerici to the piazza and into a cafe for coffee. 

I just adored him, although I felt quite the idiot for not having more Italian.  We were fortunate, we did find a very kind woman who translated for us for a while.

An entirely delicious day followed but it is too much to fit into one single blog post and so, more another time.
Grazie, Maddalena and GP.  It was truly delightful!

The Caruggi, Genoa

I want to return to the caruggi of Genova, with a tripod and someone to wander with ... as they aren’t always the wisest of places to pull out a big camera and get lost in your work however, that said, I’ve never had any trouble in there.

I love the ancient alleyways here in the historical heart of Genova.  The general rule of thumb is that if the street lights aren’t working, then avoid them.  But some have been renovated and I find most of them beautiful, even the dilapidated crumbling ones.

One story goes that, for military reasons, the streets were made narrow and the houses were built close together to slow down the invaders, most particularly the Moors, who frequently attacked this ancient city.  I read that the people of Lombard, the Normans and the Saracen also attacked Genova. 

Actually, talking of invaders, in 1155, the hugely impressive city wall was built to protect the city from Emperor Federico Barbarossa ... the man I had only previously known as Barbarossa.  And then the 16th century was known as the Century of the Genovese and local banks here were lending money to the European monarchs, making it one of the most powerful cities of the time.

Oh yes, an impressive city, an impressive history.

The Lion of Cattedrale Di San Lorenzo, Genoa

I love this particular lion guarding Cattedrale Di San Lorenzo.  I can’t resist taking more photographs each time I walk by.

Today, it seemed like I caught him asleep.  Anyway, San Lorenzo’s Cathedral is Genova’s main cathedral and was begun back in 1155.  Like so many old buildings in Europe, there was fire, back in 1296.  The facade, is a gothic masterpiece completed between 1307 and 1312.

There is so much more about the cathedral but me, I’m in love with the lion.

Well yes ... it was all about the fountain today.

So, it was all about the fountain in Piazza De Ferrari, as you will see in the posts and photographs that follow this one however ... I think it's a lovely way to visit the piazza here in Genova - via the fountain.  It is so central to all that is beautiful there.

The exquisitely-coloured building you can see in the background is the Palazzo Ducale.  It’s one of my favourite buildings, for all sorts of reasons, and the colour its painted facade turns when the light is just right, is sublime.

Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa

In the background, behind the fountain, you can see a part of Teatro Carlo Felice ... reputed to be the most technological theatre in Italy.  It has a stage set that allows twelve complete sets at the same time.

Dedicated to King Carlo Felice of Savona in 1828, and designed by Carlo Barabino - it was neoclassical in style, with two sections joined at right angles however the original theatre was destroyed during WWII.

Apparently, during the reconstruction of the theatre, all of the architects working on it died.  Due to this incredible misfortune, the theatre didn’t reopen until 1991, when its restoration was completed by Aldi Rossi.

Reading from edizioni KINA Italia/L.E.G.O - today the theatre has an interior geometrical structure made of iron, stone, wood and marble. 

Having photographed it and read about it, it seems important that one day I actually wander inside and attend an event.  I’ll let you know.

The light today, in Genoa

It’s been a footsore and wearisome day in some ways but in other ways, it was completely sublime.

The light was exciting as I wandered the city, wending my way down to Via San Luca, repeatedly, trying to resolve the mystery of where precisely the shop was, so I could get my usb modem reloaded.

And then I was punished for not understanding everything first time and penance took the form of walking down ... and yes, back up, from the shop I was buying the hours from.  In a twist of ouch that those who know me will enjoy, my lack of any other fluent language in telephone/internet instructions, meant that after being given painstaking instructions in Italian ... my laptop threw that information back at me in Nederlands, making everything as clear as mud.

I could have cried ... but crying never solved anything.  So I went back down to the shop however it was lunchtime and all was locked until 3pm.

I wandered and returned however the assistant there didn’t speak English and, even worse, I couldn’t explain in Italian.

I thought, ‘Okay, this is my punishment for not learning the language’.  The English-speaking guy was gone and anyway, what sort of internet addict was I?

Well ... obviously quite a bad one, as an hour later I resolved not to waste my 20 euro reloading fee, and wandered back down.  I found him!  But I had to bring my laptop back.

My feet were all but broken.  I’ve really struggled with recovering from last week’s cold.  It’s been a complete pain but I did it - that usb modem has been reloaded.  I'm a little sweaty and footsore,  and slightly mortified by the whole process but it's done.

Other rewards from my day?
Well there are some photographs I think I might be rather pleased with.
And yes, I have internet here at the apartment as of tonight.
There is also fresh pasta - the famous trofie, to be accompanied by fresh pesto from the ladies down in Il Lungho. 

Red wine?
Why yes, there is a little of that too.

Anyway, this first photograph from today is a slice of Giuseppe Corsa di Vergagni’s fountain (1936) located in Piazza de Ferrari.  The light and the wind blowing the water around, simply delighted me.

C’è chi c’ha, Chiavari

Last night I was introduced to the lovely Paola, from C’è chi c’ha, and her boutique selling exclusive Italian high-fashion and Pret-a-Porter clothing.

Fashion rarely makes me swoon, in fact, I have never used that particular word but watching Miriam model one exquisite coat, then another, I may have swooned a little.  I wish I had photographed the coats now. They were exquisite, or perhaps elegant, clearly beyond words.  Maybe my camera and I can slip back to Chiavari via the short train trip and capture something of it all.  Even the tiny shop is exquisite, tucked into an ancient corner of the old city. 

If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of C’è chi c’ha, Paola has stores in both Chiavari and Chianni, then you really must wander in.  You won’t regret it.  You can read more about the Chianni shop here.

There are stories of a delightful restaurant meal in Chiavari to follow but my ‘internet provider’ seems not to be working today and I am at an internet cafe without photoshop for downsizing ...