Christmas morning was glorious, so after exchanging gifts with Giulia and Giacomo I went for a walk along the Cogoleto bay. I started by crossing through the commercial street that parallels the waterfront, fascinated as always by the sights of the small shops and the delcious wares in display. Cheeses, breads, salamies, and a bewildering variety of sweets are but a brief reminder that Italy is the country of good food. I was also reminded that the town started as a limestone quarry and lime roasting center, and in fact one of the most interesting houses is circular in plan view because it is the refurbished lime oven. But the great claim to fame of the town is to being the birthplace of Christopher Columbus!
I followed the coast west until the end of the bay, and then continued along the walking path that follows what used to be the railroad track and its tunnels until I reached the outcrops of steeply dipping serpentinite that so surprised me two years ago. Of course, this is the result of subduction of the Italian microplate under the Alpine plate (and the reason the Alps rise majestically to the north. In fact, the steep foothills of the Alps start less than a kilometer north of downtown, so here you can go from the seashore to the mountains in a matter of minutes. These serpentinites are also the reason why small asbestos mines (now inactive) are found throughout the region.
Satisfied with my walk I returned home shortly before noon, to meet Giulia's genitori (parents) and elderly zia (aunt). They are all good conversationalists, so I had a great opportunity to practice listening-and-comprehension and even contribute in my poor mixture of Italian and Spanish. Giulia's father, Filipo, was the owner of a construction company, and he told me all about building the three apartment towers overlooking the shore (we were looking out of the terraza of the middle building), how he had designed the penthouses thinking specifically on his daughter, and all the hoops they had to go through to get their building permits. He also built the park around the complex, and the sadly neglected plot where the police station was supposed to be built (but wasn't because Cogoleto was simply assigned to the larger town of Arenzano to the east.
Christmas lunch was superb. As antipasto we had some of the leftovers of the night before, followed by a delicious bowl of onion soup as first course, and a roast beef with potatoes as second course. The portions were gigantic, so we were all quite satisfied before the dessert arrived in the form of rice pudding, and slices of two different panettoni, one traditional Genovese and the other the one I had brought from Milan (note to Fabiola: You must try your hand at baking panettone! I believe that after baking it is turned upside down and hung from its base to keep it tall and fluffy).
Needless to say we all needed a siesta after such satisfying meal, so our visitors parted with many hugs and auguri de Natale and a delicious silence came over the house. At 7:30 pm, nicely rested, Giulia, Giacomo and I went down to the movie theater to enjoy the movie Wonka, very nicely dubbed in Italian. A fun finale to a perfect day.
The following day, Tuesday December 26, Giulia left for a well deserved vacation to Jordan. It was with a bit of sadness that I said arrivederci to my good friend, but I hope to entice her to come visit me in Bergerac this summer. So me and Giacomo were left kings of the castle. Giacomo will go his Dad's later today, and I am going to spend the day visiting with "my cousin" Giovanni (DJ's uncle), who I met two years ago and with whom I had instant rapport both in terms of age (he is 78 to my 70) and inclinations (outdoorsy and very much a man who can work with his hands). He came to pick me up around 10 am, in his old Toyota truck (the small ones of 30 years ago, which he has kept going for 600,000 km!). Life has changed for him over the last year, with the passing of his beloved wife Catherina, which in turn caused him to retire from his job as captain of a firemen squad, which in turn made him finally realize that he no longer had the energy of yesteryears. To add to it all, he recently had an operation on the tendon of his left hand, and he had a nasty looking healing incision on his wrist. But as always he was the ever gracious host and together we went to visit Catherina's family house, where over the years Giovanni planted an orchard of olive and citrus trees for his now-departed in-laws, brought irrigation water from the nearby creek, and built many improvements. The house is now empty, the trees need pruning, and the garden needs replanting, but Giovanni no longer has the necessary energy nor "a friend" to help him get things done.
We went back to his home for lunch, where his sister-in-law prepared a delicious meal from leftovers from the Christmas dinner, including an antipasto of prosciutto and a type of broccoli pie that is only baked on Christmas, traditional ravioli as first plate, and a loaf of veal stuffed with peas that was very tasty. The think I will remember best about the sister-in-law is how fast she speaks! Even Giovanni had to ask her to slow down and finish a sentence before moving into a different topic (needless to say, I could barely understand what she was saying, in contrast to Giovanni, who speaks slowly, carefully enunciating each word, and who I have no problem understanding).
After lunch we went to nearby Celle, where Giovanni has about 500 olive trees that every year provide the whole family with first class olive oil. Of his many projects this is the one that brings him greatest joy, and I could see that there were a few newly planted trees at the edges of the carefully trimmed main orchard. I am glad that he has this project, and that he still looks forward to getting up every morning to go walk among his trees.
As we said arrivederci he assured me that he and the rest of the family were looking forward to the visit of Faby, DJ, and Ronnie this coming June. Family has been a very strong guiding principle in his life, and maintaining the link with the American family is for him a true joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment