Bogliasco Giorni: Monday

We slept in a bit this morning, missing breakfast, so we walked into Bogliasco to our favorite place, Bar Centro, for cornetti (crema & pistacchio) and cappuccini. After a walk down to the beach, we circled back up to main piazza only to turn the corner and find ourselves in the middle of a funeral. Someone said it was a very old man who had been a fisherman in the village.

After lunch, inside today because of the clouds, we planned an afternoon adventure. We decided to head west, through part of Genova, towards the mountains above the city. Our first destination was the Romanesque church, San Siro di Struppa, from the 1100's. Luckily, it was open...... my favorite church of the entire trip so far. There is a beautiful entry court - black and white checkerboard pattern made entirely of pebbles just in front of the church. Inside it was so simple and beautiful. Outside, next door, were several men playing bocce at a private men's club. We watched for a few minutes before heading further north into the mountains.

As we drove higher and higher on the very winding roads, we noticed a change in both landscape and vegetation, and how far 'behind' the trees were than down by the sea. We drove through the mountain towns of Bargagli and Torriglia. This area is known as Genova's Switzerland, because it has a very similar alpine feel. We then headed back down towards the sea, driving through beautiful forests, full of flowering chestnut trees. Eventually, we connected with the same terrifying road we had taken a few weeks ago! This time, though, we knew what to expect and it didn't seem so bad......I guess we are becoming accustomed to tiny, twisting roads with few guard rails.

We made it back shortly before drinks and dinner and Gianni Biaggi's last evening here before his return to Switzerland. After dinner, Robin, a writing fellow, read two of his short stories, which were wonderful.

La Mattina