Days 27 and 28 - Santa Margherita Ligure

Day 27 – Santa Margherita Ligure

A view of SML from across the harbour where the big boats tie up

Another slow day. However, this one contained a highlight through meeting a long-standing family friend of Paola and Silvia’s, Paolo. Paolo is the head of the local carabinieri in Santa Margherita Ligure and lives in Rapallo (3 km away). Paolo very kindly agreed to catch up with me after Paola suggested it and put us in touch. Paolo has some English, but says ‘not a lot’. I have essentially no Italian, in spite of Paola’s efforts to teach me over twenty years ago and my desultory use of a language training app over the last 9 months. However, when we met, Paolo and I managed OK, relying on the Google Translate app to make more complicated passages of conversation move smoothly. (That technology is pretty wonderful, actually. I’ve heard that in-ear Apple iBuds will soon be available with this capability built-in. Then, the Babel Fish will be with us.) Paolo showed me several places to eat that were less expensive than the ones I’d found for myself and he introduced me to several locals as we walked around SML. He also established a connection for me in Naples (another carabinieri) for my forthcoming trip. He’s a lovely man and a generous host/guide. The rest of the day was domestic stuff and reading.

Daily facts: Location: Santa Margherita Ligure Temp: 19 Weather: Sunny

Day 28 – Santa Margherita Ligure

Today was reserved for preparing myself (and the anxious traveller) for tomorrow’s big train journey to Utrecht. Through the morning I made sure that I had all the clothes and other essentials ready to be packed. I checked and re-checked my travel arrangements. The big concern was a transfer in Lugano, Switzerland, which gave me 4 minutes to get from the arriving train to the departing train. Four minutes didn’t seem much for the connection to be missed. Even the Eurail app (which set up the journey) warned about it. I did some research and discovered that the journey that I would start in Lugano happened roughly every thirty minutes. There was a 90 minute transfer later in my booked trip, so I held in reserve the same sector (Lugano, CH to Koeln, DE) departing Lugano 30 minutes after my currently booked trip. I figured that, if needed, I could make the reservation on the train that was going to arrive late and buy seats on the later leg when I got to Lugano station. Anyway, that was the backup plan in my mind, and it put the anxious traveller into a more relaxed (but still anxious) state.

The lunch venue – Santa Lucia

Also during the day, I met with Paolo for a coffee at a pasticceria (bakery) that I’d walked by many times; it’s close to the carabinieri building. We also, later, met for lunch, as Paolo had arranged the day before. Paolo’s friend Antonio and his wife run the restaurant. Paolo suggested that we leave it to Antonio to decide what we’d most enjoy for lunch. I agreed immediately. Antonio provided a seafood antipasto, linguine with prawns, fried seafood (in a style like tempura), and (of course) home-made tiramisu. It was a totally gorgeous lunch. Paolo and I managed to have a very friendly and interesting conversation, often relying on Google Translate to provide the central statements in the matter, but then Paolo’s English is easily good enough to manage the other parts of the discussion. We discovered a number of coincident values and life choices; for example, he and I both have the same capacity solar installation and battery set up on our homes, we both have an electric car (he also has a Toyota Landcruiser, so he’s not totally green) and an electric bike (Paolo’s is an electric mountain bike and he was showing me video of him and his son descending some lunatic tracks in the alps). All the while, it was another perfect day. It genuinely couldn’t have been a nicer way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Paolo had to go back to work (apparently he’s rostered on a Sunday once a month) and I went home for a little nap. In the evening, I packed my bag, closed down the apartment, ate the food I still had in the apartment for dinner, and set up for an early night. My alarm was set for 5:00 am, to make sure that I got to my 6:07 am train without a hitch. All this preparation meant that the anxious traveller could sleep.

Daily facts: Location: Santa Margherita Ligure Temp: 21 Weather: Sunny