Il Nostro Primo Giorno a Villa dei Pini

Even though we were tired from a long day of travel, we could not immediately fall asleep (maybe it was the espresso after dinner!).  We eventually succumbed and drifted away, lulled by the sound of the waves outside......which was periodically interrupted by the dull vibration of the train going by.   Morning brought the sound of the birds and a mix of clouds and sun......and the view of the pine trees out our window.

We went down for breakfast around 8:30.  We had a chance to connect with Ivana and followed her back to the office afterwards.....to have her help with calling our hotel from Monday morning to see if they could find a pair of shoes we had left behind. She called, and heard back just before lunch that they had found them, which led to a fairly straightforward process where we filled out an email form and put the recovery into motion!

Flowers at stair leading to main office

some kind of exotic flower in the hillside garden

Formal front entry to Villa dei Pini........which is seldom used

View to the Villa, looking up from the garden path

THE WEEKLY MARKET

For our morning activity we did a simple walk down and through the center of Bogliasco.  It turns out today is Market Day, so that was a fun stroll, as the booths are all set up in the main piazza and adjoining street which is closed to traffic.  It was nice to wander around and rekindle our familiarity with the town.

The weather was nice, but relatively humid.  When we got back for lunch others were talking about some more rain later this afternoon.  We enjoyed a nice lunch of salad and a form of focaccia bread with spinach and prosciutto......and fruit and coffee.  That was enough to send us back to the room for a rest, although we actually migrated up to the covered roof terrace and sat in the sun for an hour or so.  

Then we went back to the room and worked on the blog and some watercolors........which eventually led to a late afternoon nap (we are feeling wonderfully lazy!).  We got up around 4:45 and went down for a cup of tea and some cake, which is where we are now.

A couple of other images from this morning..........Andi is fascinated by the stone paving patterns (background of this blog) and I am intrigued by wash hanging on buildings (a kind of personality story telling) which adds life and that sense of human occupancy.  Finally, we enjoy the layered chronology of public posters which have been torn off in collage-like form.

 

The evening hours were pleasant and we met another couple during aperitivi before dinner - Jim Schmidt and Jane MacDonald - from Newton of all places!  He is a Professor of History, Philosophy, and Political Science at Boston University and a former Bogliasco Fellow in 2012.  Also arriving today was Ayana Mathis, a writer who is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop, where she studied under Paul Harding and Marilynne Robinson.......and whose first book,  the THE TWELVE TRIBES OF HATTIE was a New York Times Bestseller!

Can't sign off without mentioning that our first course at dinner tonight was a wonderful risotto with funghi porcini.......so much better than everything we try at home!