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| another sunny day with colors that are hard to imagine |
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| first coffee of the morning |
Sun early, then some clouds reaching out over the mountains.....the the sun pushing back and the day clearing out by the time we ventured out. We headed down to Nervi after breakfast and a "pre-packing" exercise. We walked up and down the Passeggiata. First we wanted to see if the Blue Marlin Bar was progressing in its setup. Unfortunately, very little progress.......so we will have to defer until the next trip.
The surf was rather rough and the sun on the water was brilliant.
We then ventured down into the harbor in Nervi and had coffee at a very nice little bar right on the water. It was quite pleasant and just the experience we were looking for, blending a bit with the local crowd at a simple bar on the harbor.
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| view from the cafe |
We made it back to the Villa for lunch, but found attendance was minimal. Ivana and Valeria were away at meetings, so only Mia, Jim and Jane. That's ok, as we totally overate the fantastic foccacio formaggio that was served......really fantastic.
After lunch we retreated for a riposo......already having logged 5.000 + steps in the morning. It was a lazy afternoon, culminating in a trip down to Bogliasco and a visit to the Kiki Bar! As we were leaving, we ran into Ale, who was working on organizing the library. We had a long chat with her about all kinds of things.......she is really a good friend.
Bogliasco looked better than ever during our walk to the bar.
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| Kiki Bar down on the rocks |
The Kiki Bar was fantastic. Ale told us it was here favorite place, and that the locals always ordered Pina Coladas......as Romano, the owner, made them special with fresh pineapple! He was friendly, as usual, and brought out an amazing tray of hors d'oevres. The afternoon sun could not have been more brilliant and the waves were rather robustly crashing on the rocks. It was truly a memorable experience hanging out at this small cafe......only 6 tables......on the shore of the Ligurian Sea. What did we do to deserve this?
A quick rest and a shower back at the ranch and we were ready for cocktail hour (almost, as we were still feeling the Pina Coladas!).
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| my first martini in a month.......with Stracchino cheese from Mia...... |
Ale was there, visibly upset about something and on her phone. Mia was first on the scene, followed by us and Jim and Jane. As we were soon to find out, Joan and Sarah had apparently been reported lost in the woods on the trails above the Portofino Promontory! Ale had been talking with the police and the coast guard. For a while there was much confusion.
Finally, we got word that they had been found and were being rescued. They were scheduled to be back in Bogliasco by 10:00 tonight......and it was 7:00 when we first heard this.
We waited for more information until dinner was served. We said a sad "arrivederci" to Ale and sat down for a dinner of 'coniglio' which to those who don't know is rabbit! This was a surprise to us, and not a keen choice for Andrea......haha......but fortunately we had a large appetizer of pasta. It was actually quite good, but still a bit tough to get used to.
After dinner we grabbed a bottle of wine and waited out on the terrace to see when Joan and Sarah might return. We heard from Danilo (who served dinner) that they may be arriving by ambulance! As it turns out, they were dropped off by one of the rescue team members. They seemed a bit weary, exhausted but glad to be back.
They were actually stranded somwhere on a mountain top in the woods for five hours. They had made a wrong turn on a trail and were totally lost. They were actually rescued by helicopter! We will hear more about the details in the morning........quite an extraordinary story.
We watched the late sun setting after a wonderful day. For us, this is what magic and memories are made of. So fortunate to be part of this.
