Il Nostro Ritorno a Bogliasco: Downshift

Funny that we have actually come to enjoy the crazy italian way of driving.......particularly on the hillside roads (narrow, steep and crazy curvy) along the coast line. It is quite an experience, probably more akin to a ride in an amusement park! Our little Lancia has been up to the task and after a few days of getting used to the clutch and the stick shift, we are having a lot of fun! Hence the title for this post of 'downshift.' We need a day to slow down a bit without putting on the brakes too much! Saturday just seemed right. The result is a blog without as many photos or stories to tell.

We woke up to a sunny, but strangely hazy morning. At breakfast, the group (at least 6 of them) decided they wanted to take the train down to Chiavari to see an antiques market. They were not 100% sure it was 'this' Saturday, but were determined to go anyway. We had already been there earlier in the week and loved the town......but not enough to go back today. Also, the train excursion will probably take an hour and a half more than we did it in our car!

We caught up on emails, painted a bit and then decided to head down to Nervi for a cappuccino. In the spirit of laziness we drove and parked behind the train station. We wanted to be on the water, but it was approaching lunch and the restaurants/cafes that have water frontage on the passeggiata tend to discourage coffee drinking at the tables after 12:00. The place we wanted to stop at was just starting to set up for lunch at their outside tables......but they were really nice and said it would be fine for us to hang out for about 30 minutes.......just enough time for our cappuccino!

The sea was a bit rough, but there were a lot of Saturday swimmers in the water off the rocks.

Afterwards, we returned to the Villa for lunch around 1:00. There were only four of us there at first......Brian (Scottish poet in residency in Venice), Julian (English poet from Southampton) were later joined by Caoilinn (poet from Ireland living in Holland). The meal was served on the terrace (wonderful insalata caprese) and at the end of the meal we were joined by Alessandra (Ale), her husband (Masi) and there 3-year old son, Ettore. We were connected with Ale when she became pregnant and have stayed in touch. Andi brought a small gift, "Make Way for Ducklings" as Ale hopes he will be bilingual! Ettore was very excited to receive a 'regalo.'

We managed to resist the urge for an afternoon outing! We did a lot of painting and rested (for almost two hours!). Then showers and general organization and getting ready for dinner.

That's where we are at the moment.......finishing up this section of the blog. I am about to head down for a walk in the gardens before the 'Ore d'aperitivi.' We are only tracking a little bit over 5,000 steps today and need some more exercise!

After dinner, we got our act together and decided to head down to Bogliasco for a Summer celebration.......a Saturday night beach party! We arrived at around 10:00, with the festivities supposed to go on to midnight. It was casually fun, with families and folks of all ages. There was a DJ and lots of activity. I hate to say we led the way with the American dance disco fever on the beach......locals were actually taking photos of us! Probably a bit humiliating, but lots of fun!

We left around 11:15, in advance of the rest of the group......and were back in the room by 11:30.......so much for the 'downshift!'