|
It’s spring. The trees
are green, asparagus is in the stores and my feet are
starting to itch. I get this awful itch every spring. It’s
time to pack a bag, get a on a plane and land in my favorite
country… Bella Italia. The first place we go is to
Monterosso in the Cinque Terre. We step off the train and
out of the station onto the boardwalk by the sea. Breathe in
the sea air…look down the coast...thank God the villages of
the Cinque Terre are still there and as stunning as ever.
Like a necklace with beautiful beads laid along the rugged
coastline. It never gets less beautiful or less exciting to
be here.
The Cinque Terre is five villages that are now a national
park. No Starbucks or McDonalds here. They are each nestled
in a valley. The pastel houses stand upright along the
cliffs with their tiny beaches and narrow stone streets.
There are so many photo ops here. Sunsets waiting to be
enjoyed with a glass of wine, dinners with plates of fish
caught this morning (except Bob who can’t eat fish), and
waking up to the sound of church bells.
We’ll discuss where to go first. We’ll definitely go to
visit Kate and Fabio and see how much their son William has
grown. They have a house in the valley with a stream running
through topped by a bridge that brings you up to the pink
stucco house. Then we could hop on the train or boat and
head to Manarola. Our friends have a bakery there. Lori
actually dreams of the focaccia al formaggio (cheese
focaccia) they make here. Maybe in the early evening we’ll
go to our favorite “enoteca” (wine bar) to see Susanna , a
friend and sommelier (Bob’s favorite combination in a
person). We’ll stop in the pottery shop and hug our friend
Cristiana and ask about her winter and how her daughter is
doing in Barcelona. As we do the passegiata (evening walk)
with the rest of the village, there will be many “Ciao’s”
and lots of questions about our nipotina (granddaughter),
offers to come to dinner, or go out on the fishing boat.
It’s so nice to feel you belong here. It even seems they
missed you a little during your winter away.
Lori will eventually say. “Let’s take the boat”. In the
winter we are so landlocked in Dallas it feels very free to
be out on the sea looking back at terraced hillsides and
pastel villages. The water is navy blue and the air smells
of the sea.
In a few days our guests will arrive and we’re so excited to
introduce them around and show them the place that we call
our second home. We’ll enjoy the scenery, get invited into
the kitchen to cook and drink great wine. Ah...la dolce
vita!
|
