It is great to be back in Santo Stefano al Mare. It is a little village that hugs the sea along the western Ligurian coast. Here is the little piazza where the old people of the village sit in the evening and families stroll before and after dinner. Kids run and play among the narrow pedonales or walking paths and friends call out to each other.
Around the corner you will find the Verdura and Frutta Negozio, the Macelleria, the Salumeria and the Panetteria. In other words the vegetable and fruit shop, the butcher, the dried meat shop and the bread baker. You will also find a gellateria and a pasticceria or ice cream and pastry shops. Food and drinks are amazingly inexpensive here compared to the US. A good bottle of wine ....4 €, Yesterday we bought a cantelope, 2 carrots, lemons, lettuce, bananas, zucchini, and a bottle of wine for 12€. Even eating out is less expensive.... a delicious dinner for two, including wine.....maybe 30€.
Each little village has a special market day when vendors come from all over to set up their stands. Friday happens to be market day in Santo Stefano. The aroma of cheese is thick in the air, salamis are hanging, just waiting to be cut, shoes, dresses, underwear, tablecloths.....there is a wonderful variety of goods to look at.
Here is our favorite fish monger. He is quite the character! And he sells freshly caught calamari, arselle or tiny clams as well as fish.
Here we are heading up the alley to the apartment.
A lovely pista ciclabile or bike path runs through the center of town and you can ride from San Lorenzo to the east all the way to San Remo to the west. The communities along this stretch of the Medditeranean are busy turning the old railway line into a continuous bike path. From the bike path you can access all the beaches along this stretch as well as the little villages that line the shoreline. It is a wonderful way to explore this area of Liguria.
Here is the view of Santo Stefano from the bike path.
On Tuesday we take the train to Torino to visit two dear families....Fabrizio and his wife, Jolanda and then Paolo's sister Carla, her husband Alberto, their son and his wife and new baby. Carla and I drove around northern Italy during that glorious summer when we were both 18. Next Friday we will again get on the train and head to Gallarate, north of Milano to visit, Sarah Colombo, Francesco, their baby Giuditta and Sarah's mom, Franca. Our camera charger was stolen along with lots of other stuff so I will not be taking many pics in the next few days.... We fly home on September 24th.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment