July 09

This will actually begin with the last Sunday in June. My friend Angela and I were sitting on the terrace of the fancy hotel across the street, overlooking the lake and the mountains where Swiss and France meet. We were having a drink to celebrate my birthday, and we got talking about this little town in Italy just over the border that we pass on the way to Milan, but have never been to.

I had just picked up a brochure about train deals that afternoon, so we pulled it out and it was very inexpensive, so we decided to go on Sunday. We got up early, so we could do the 2 hour-train trip and still have most of the day to enjoy there. The weather was a perfect 28C and we just wandered around the town, had a tea (and espresso for her) then jumped on a boat to go to the islands in the lake. We had a very leisurely lunch on the second island - fish from the lake, of course! We waded in the tepid water, sat in the sun and ate fruit in the late afternoon, then took our train back. A beautiful day!
July was a month of new experiences and visitors for us. The new experiences were that Ken started his new job, and I did a 3-week intensive French program (9-3), with my homework mostly completed on the train to and from. As for the visitors…

FRIENDS
First, our friend Scott (and friend) came for the weekend to go to the jazz fest with us. Sat. night we had dinner here, and checked out a concert. Sunday we took the “salsa boat” cruise around the lake, which was a lot of fun.

Next, my friend Susan came with her 4 kids to spend four days. There are lots of activities for the kids at the festival, but I think they enjoyed taking the ferry boat to the castle and exploring it and then the beach at the lakeside on the way back. I didn’t get enough time with Susan ‘one to one’, but we never do… however, one night after she got the kids settled into bed, we went down to the festival to poke around in the shops and catch a bit of music while Ken kept a listening ear to the kids. It is always a flurry while they are here, but I am glad they get off the farm for a little adventure too.

Ken and I did the “jazz train” when they left on Friday. We spent the wknd here (cleaning, laundry, cooking) and getting ready for the next guests.

Our friend Jan from Australia arrived on Monday (13th). Great to see her – first time since Dec. ’07 in Sri Lanka! We had a couple days to catch up, then our friends from France arrived. Fabrice on the Wed., and Bene on Friday night. On Sat., Scott came from Geneva to join us, so we had the 6 of us who met in Sri Lanka together! I made a typical S.L. meal for the lunch and we all sat and laughed and talked together.
While everyone was here, we went to the festival to watch performances every day and we came across some enjoyable music. Our little apt was full and there was lots of help for putting meals together. This was an intense, fun gathering, and by Wed. we were back to just Jan.
It was really great to see everyone again and share some good times together again. In the life we lead, we meet wonderful people, but once we (or they) move on, there is such a slim chance that we will meet again. Having the six of us here together was really special, and everyone planned their time around Jan’s visit. We are happy to have hosted our dear friends.

ITALY
Jan had planned to go to Italy to spend a week, and since my French course ended on Friday (24th), I decided to go with her for four days. We sat together and made a plan to go to the “Cinque Terre”. There are 5 villages perched way up high on the cliffs along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. They are now recognized as a “world heritage site” and they are fixing up the trail that takes you along the cliffs from one village to the other.

On Friday we went as far as Genoa, then took the train the next day to the city just beyond the villages, and then walked from the 5th village (Riomaggiore) to the 4th (Manarola) and then on to the 3rd. The walk between the first two villages is supposedly only 20 minutes, but Jan and I kept looking back and taking more photos. It was really a beautiful walk with stunning scenery at every turn. The path to the 3rd village (Corniglia) was a few hundred metres above sea level, but it was well below the elevation of the village.
We had to climb up hundreds of stairs – I took a few photos on the way up, but you can’t even see them all at the same time… maybe that’s a good thing! Once we got to the top, we were rewarded with a beautiful village with narrow streets and alley ways. While we walked around we checked out menus, then decided on a place that served muscles. Jan and I were keen to enjoy the local seafood and have dinner with the sunset.
By the time we finished, paid, and walked back to the stairs, we realized we only had 10 minutes before the train. Too many stairs… not enough time! So we wandered back through the village and bought tea and a light dessert to share before starting the trek downward. I’m glad I had my flashlight since it was dimly lit. We took a late train back to ‘La Spezia’, and the couple who sat across from us were from Canada and Australia! Funny coincidences!

In La Spezia, we came across, and enjoyed, some music in the town square in the city centre. It was a hip-hop/techno beat, and the teens were there to show-off their cool dance moves. There was a man there in his 70’s who decided to get some dancing in too, then started swinging (in a much older style dance) a teen girl around the dance area. At the same time, there was this little bit of a girl (3 or 4 years old) and she was definitely “bustin’ the moves”. All ages were there and it was fun to be a part of it. We kept the dance moves going as we wandered back to our hotel.

Sunday we got up early and went back to Genoa, dropped our bags off at the hotel on the way to the pier to catch our boat for a day trip. We were going to visit the “Cinque Terre” from the sea this time. The views were stunning and at the end of the villages, we carried on to another town (Porto Venere) that was old, breath-taking, beautiful! We stopped here and had lunch. The crew of the boat suggested 2 restaurants, so Jan and I quickly went off in the opposite direction to a seafood restaurant and had a lovely lunch away from the crowd from the boat. Something we found interesting was that Jan and I were the only foreign tourists on board. Everyone else was chatting away in Italian, and the tour guide went on and on and on with what must have been ‘fascinating information’. Jan and I just made up our own commentary as we went. ; - )

That eve after we docked, Jan and I wandered around the quay and saw the replica of one of Colombus’ ships that crossed to the Americas. Amazing! It looks more like a work of art than a sea-going vessel! We wound our way back up to our hotel… having a sense of the geography but no sense about the area. We found ourselves in a rather ‘seedy’ area where the poorest people live. The old city is built with very narrow alleys to provide shade and coolness from the hot sun. But this makes it dark even at 8pm in the summer, and there just isn’t enough light or space. There were a lot of people from other countries living there, as we could see by their clothing, skin colour, and items sold in shops and restaurants. It was an eye-opening experience! We ended the evening with a lovely light supper and the chef was very happy to make something especially for us.

Mon. morning we visited the city of Genoa. I was very keen to see Christopher Colombus’ house and the old castle just next to it. There are also a few streets with beautiful Renaissance architecture with very ornate interior design, so we went off to explore on foot.

Well, “Cristoforo’s” house was this tiny little structure just next to the Fortress towers. All the other buildings from those days are long gone, but thankfully some guy (an architect and historian) petitioned the city to save “Cristoforo’s” house. The more ‘modern’ 18th century buildings and newer 19th century buildings surround the lower streets, but Cristo’s house is on a bit of a hill up from the main street. It was a thrill to be inside his family home where his father had a tailor shop on the ground floor and there was a small kitchen at the back and a dining/living room on the next floor with a small staircase leading to a couple bedrooms on the top floor. The ship’s bell is on display, a model of the “Santa Maria” and a sculptured bust of Cristoforo as well. It was a real highlight for me to be in a house that was around since at least the 1400’s. I have been in castles that have been around since those times, but because they are such large structures, and the people who occupy them are of social importance; castles tend to be well preserved. But this little house that was probably 12 feet wide and 30 feet long was a glimpse into reality for common-folk 600 years ago. I loved it. The Fort’s towers are all that’s left besides a part of the stone wall. We climbed up the stairs which afforded great views of the city and harbour, and it was here that young ‘Cris’ first dreamed of going to sea. If we had been taught history about ‘people’ instead of about war and conquering countries (and memorizing dates), it would have been much more interesting for me.

Anyway, our tour of Genoa was over all too quick, so we picked up some wonderful foccacia sandwiches and jumped on a train back to Milan. We spent the rest of the afternoon there and I took Jan to see the famous Duomo (Cathedral). It is a sight to behold! We walked through the first shopping mall in the world… so ornate with arched glass ceilings and in-laid mosaic marble floors. We had a picnic under the statue of Leonardo Di Vinci, across from the opera house, then headed back to the train station to go in different directions. Jan was off to Lake Como, just ½ an hour north, and me; 3 hours west to Montreux. What a wonderful adventure!

Jan returned Thurs eve, and treated us to dinner, and on Friday eve we went to Geneva to meet up with Scott and had a picnic in the park while listening to some great live music. Next morning Jan was away on the next part of her adventure, and Ken and I went off to celebrate our one-year anniversary.

More on that in the Aug. update.
I will end by saying how fun, intense, and ‘full’ of life and sun July was! Great!