Roam, Italy

September 23, 2014

 

Back Track...

     I must begin this report with a remembrance of last night. After I posted my ramblings, we were headed out for a nice dinner in one of the neighboring towns. We had arranged to be picked up, at our hotel, by the restaurant’s owner at 7:30pm. 

     Ristorante il Caminetto, is a homey, mountain trattoria in Gittana, a tiny town of 81 folks, high above Varenna. It is owned and operated by Moreno and Rossella. Moreno spoke English quite well, which was a big help. The route to this little burg climbed several hundred feet with 18 hair-pin turns. I counted every one! This road made the old Lewiston grade look like a Walmart parking lot. The majority of the route was single lane only. If Rossella missed one turn, I’m sure we would have died of starvation before we hit the bottom of the cliff! Gulp. 

     Needless to say, we were quite relieved to arrive intact. The views of Lake Como from this high, windy road were breathtaking!

Another couple (from another hotel) followed us in their own rental car. Jim and Irene were from just north of Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

     The four of us settled in at one table, Jim and Irene at the table next to us. Soon, another three people arrived, coming from Berlin, for a total attendance of 9 diners. 

     Turns out Jim was a dead ringer - especially in voice - for comic Paul Reiser (Mad About You). He is a facilities manager who could easily make a living as a stand-up comic. His wit was formidable. My work was cut out for me this night! He was VERY funny. The other table of three (older woman with two young men) asked where everyone was from. When we said Spokane, she laughed and said she and one of the gentlemen (her son) were from Spokane as well! He now lives in Berlin and she was visiting him. SMALL world!

     We all interacted all evening and pretty much died laughing at everyone’s stories. 

     The food was great too. First course: 6 different cured pork meats with toast and a variety of pâtés. Also anti pasta veggies. Second course: Risotto w/ mushrooms and eggplant ravioli. (Throughout this entire meal, Moreno would bring out a GF alternative for Marilyn that was delicious!) Third course: choice of catch of the day - a local fish much like salmon - or veal. 

     We all ate, and laughed, until we thought the earth was flat! A little wine was had as well. We skipped dessert - no need to appear gluttonous!

     Moreno returned us to our hotel shortly before midnight. What a special evening with five other total strangers and two wonderful host chefs! Very memorable last day in Varenna on Lake Como. 

     Today was a travel day to Cinque Terre. 5 hours by bus, ten minutes by train, twenty minutes by dragging luggage, and we are here. High 80s on the Mediterranean!

     Well, time to wrap this up and polish off about three more bags of airline peanuts, courtesy of Delta Air. Writing about last night’s meal has made me hungry.

 

 

September 24, 2014

 

Coastal Assault

     The bus ride yesterday took us through at least a hundred miles of tunnels. Long, long ago, there must have been a very active tunnel lobby massaging the transportation committee. I can just imagine their campaign slogan: “Screw it - go through it!” I have no idea how they made their way through all that solid rock. It would be a major accomplishment by today’s methods. These engineering marvels make traveling more efficient, but the sight seeing inside them kind of sucks. I'm sure the snow plow drivers love them!

     Today we explored the Cinque Terre area. It is made up of five towns along the Ligurian Sea on the northwest coast of Italy: Monterosso; Vernazza; Corniglia; Manarola; and Riomaggiore. We also threw in Portovenere - just because it was there (and it was included in our day trip pass.) As long as I am dropping names, what’s one more?

     We went via boat rather than rail - greater photo ops. Lots of: on the boat/off the boat, climb all over the place, then climb back down, and repeat at the next town. You would think the NFL would be recruiting place kickers from this part of the world as strong as these Italian legs must be. 

     Many people far more fit than I will hike the rugged terrain between these towns. I saw an older gentleman get off the boat with full battle hiking gear and wearing bedroom slippers! Either he had thrown in the towel for the day, had something to prove, or maybe had lost a stupid bet. Guess I'll never know. 

 

Random Sighting:

     While having a tall cool Becks in the piazza at Portovenere, a seagull landed and we noticed it only had one foot! Weird? Then, another seagull landed and it had only one foot too! (Honest - I'm not making this stuff up!) They gimped toward each other and proceeded to get in a tif. My buddy Marty, a divorce attorney, quickly deduced that they had once been an item, found they weren’t all that compatible, and still hadn’t agreed to a settlement. Obviously, no pre-nup. Idiots.

     It baffles me how and why the Italians built their settlements on shear cliffs above the sea. Amazing feats of engineering and construction. Apparently these folks didn't have anything better to do for several decades. I have no idea how they transported and staged their materials to some of these sites. I’m sure adventuresome pirates approached these burgs, took one look at what they faced and said: “Nope. Let’s find someplace flatter to raise a little hell.”

 

Just wondering...

     The hair dryers in these hotels are odd. They look like the front 10% of an elephant coming through the wall. I don’t know whether to dry my hair or feed it some of those Delta Airlines peanuts - we have plenty left.

     Today’s double scoop gelato: Nutella and Cherry. Plenty yum!

Tomorrow we are off to Florence. Mike’s Dave is expecting us.