A day in the Life.

Andrea and his assistant...thanks!

Lots happening here, great shot of model, graffiti and old man playing clarinet. He was great.

Blue boats at marina.

Empty promenade...I bet on weekends its packed.

The happy vagabond.

Fabulous market.

Nancy is still nursing her bum knee so we are laying off exercise today, that means no stairs or sweat (but still plenty of walking). With all the help Andrea (from La Spezia) gave us, we have decided to take the train, tell him molte grazie, and bring him a bottle of wine. That is the least we can do for such great customer service. I just spent 15 years in retail and I know exceptional service when I receive it. Even with the language barrier he figured out what we wanted and took care of us. I hope his company knows what a good man, and employee, he is. He was thrilled with the wine, he thanked us profusely and wished us good luck on our trip. This guy was a real character and I’m happy we met him.

After delivering the wine we are just wandering around the city and seeing the sites. La Spezia is huge compared to all the villages of the 5terre, it seems there are never ending shops and ristorantes in all directions. We walked in what we hoped was the direction of the sea. Our aim was good (I was navigating) and after walking thru a park we came to the docks and a wide promenade lined with trees. It was such a peaceful place we sat and enjoyed a few minutes. There is always something nearby to tempt you and as we resumed our stroll we purchased a couple of chocolate ice cream bars, the perfect food for eating, walking and talking.

When we planned this trip these were the kind of days we were hoping to have. No schedule just spur of the moment decisions. As we walked towards the city center we came across a huge outdoor market, vendors were selling fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, cheese and clothing. There was something there for everyone. To bad it’s such a long trip back to our flat, I would have bought tons. Good judgement (Nancy) prevailed, she pointed out that carrying a 5 lb. watermelon would be a bit more difficult than I thought. So we bought nothing, and will dream of watermelon tonight. Good wife.

We did however have 1 must item on our want list, that we had not been able to find. When you buy lettuce in the 5terre it has just come out of the ground, hence the dirt that needs cleaned off. Nancy really wanted one of those spinners you use to wash lettuce. We had checked a couple of kitchen stores with no luck, there was a kind of general everything store connected to the Supermercato we had shopped at previously in La Spezia so we went to check it out. As Nancy was checking around I found this young guy and said, “Do ve insalata centrifego”, this I had looked up earlier in my handy little book (except the centrifego part which I made up)...it off course translates to, where is the salad spinner (loose translation with me making up words). He walked over a couple aisles, searched around for a minute and picked it up!! $6 euro, and I got to be a hero to my wife. After he gave me this wonderful device I used another phrase I had looked up (drum roll)...I asked him, “Como si dice questo Italiano”, “What do you call this in Italian”...you’ll love this...it is called a “Insalata Genie”. Salad Genie, is so American.

Got our purchase and headed back to the barn. The train was late, hot and sweaty so we decided to forego the 382 steps and take the bus, only $3euros and worth every dime of it. We immediately walked to the Gelato shop and treated ourselves. Todays creation was chocolate mint and pistachio...perfecto!

Tonight we cook at home, salad, broccoli and pork chops...a real Italian meal, OK maybe not typical, but all products bought in Italy and of Italian origin. Then a quiet night contemplating tomorrow. Ciao.