(To start at the beginning: Adventures in Italy Part 1)
Bordighera – August 2016
I found out yesterday that the dolphin that I thought was on a menu a few days ago wasn’t actually dolphin, it was something called dolphin fish. I felt you should know this in case you were disturbed by the idea of Italians eating dolphins. Kris knew what it was but didn’t realize my misunderstanding. I’m still glad I didn’t order it.
Yesterday was to be our “beach day,” but God had different plans. We got to Bagni Kursaal around 11:30 and made our way to the umbrellas and chairs set aside for us, identifiable by the towels already placed on the chairs. Our hosts are so very sweet and generous! It was overcast and windier than the day before, but the temperature was still very agreeable. Kris took a dip in the ocean early on, but mostly we just sat again and either read or wrote (Kris brought his journal with him) or just looked out on the mighty expanse of blue before us.
There are beach vendors here, men who go from chair to chair trying to sell things like jewelry, towels, mats or books. In an hour and a half, I had five of them stop by. Here’s how a typical interaction with them went :
Man: *many Italian words* spoken while showing his wares
Me (they never approached Kris of course), smiling but firm: No, grazie.
Man: *many more Italian words*
Me: No, grazie
Man: *More Italian words* as if the words “No, grazie” were to be interpreted as “please continue”
Me: No, grazie.
It usually took about four or five “No, grazie’s” to bring about an end to the conversation. One man had set out two or three of his beautiful mats in front of me and when he’d finally accepted the idea that I wasn’t going to be buying them, spent 5 minutes at the foot of my chair slowly and carefully folding them up and putting them back over his shoulder, perhaps in a last attempt at getting a sympathy purchase.
Ombretta came for us at 1:30 and brought us over to the Bagni Kursaal restaurant right on the beach where we would have lunch. Sofia and Tomas joined us, the latter clearly not in a very good mood. Remember, he’s only 2 1/2 years old. They plied him with toys and colored pencils (colori) to try and cheer him up, but he wasn’t having any of it.
Ombretta ordered food for us after having established the fact that Kris likes seafood and I do not. The appetizer came first, a HUGE plate of mussels. Everyone dug in eagerly except me, of course. I tried two of them and although they weren’t as bad as I had anticipated, they weren’t good enough for me to want to fill up on them. It’s best not to think about what they look like when you eat them, that’s for sure. Ombretta had ordered a splendid plate of risotto with sausage for me, an excellent choice! Kris got a large plate of fried calamari, which he ended up generously sharing with Tomas, who sat next to him. Or should I say that Kris was happy to let Tomas steal pieces of calamari off of his plate. Tomas declared his intention to eat all of the calamari and when his mother asked him playfully what Kris would eat, he replied that Kris could eat the plain spaghetti on his (Tomas’s) plate. By this time, Tomas had cheered up considerably, which made everything easier for Ombretta and Sofia. We were joined mid-way through the meal by Fillipo, the boyfriend of Sofia’s sister who also works at Bagni Kursaal.
Toward the end of the meal, the wind picked up quite a bit and it began to look very dark out over the ocean, creating a spectacular contrast with the still fairly light beach. It was fantastic, if somewhat foreboding looking.
Not long after I took those photos, the rain came pouring down. We helped the restaurant staff in moving tables and stacking chairs in a protected area, as well as bringing in all the trash cans.
Ombretta and Sofia both apologized profusely for the weather as if they were responsible for it. Bordighera had had perfect weather all summer long – no rain until that day. We assured them that it didn’t ruin the day for us, but they were very unhappy that this should happen on the one day we planned to spend all day on the beach.
We all hoped it would blow over soon, but when it became apparent that it wasn’t going to stop, we took advantage of a temporary break and made for our respective homes. We walked with Sofia while Ombretta biked back with Tomas. By the time we dropped Sofia off at their house, it was starting to pour again, and she offered to have us stay at their house until it stopped, but we wanted to get back to the hotel and get dry, so we pushed on, walking the 8 blocks or so to the hotel in heavy rainfall. We were dripping wet when we walked into the lobby, earning sympathetic looks from the staff.
To be continued! Next: Adventures in Italy Part 16
This post will blow over by morning’s light…
Lynniebeemuseoday 
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