And then there was one

The rainy weather continued for the remainder of our week at the villa in Ricco della Golfo di Spezia – but on Tuesday, it contributed to an unexpected adventure. After spending most of the day accomplishing not much of anything, we finally reached the “I’m booooored” stage and headed out to find some entertainment in nearby La Spezia. We didn’t have anything specific in mind, though Lenore had spotted a grocery store earlier in the week, and thought that would make a good first stop.

Little did we know, the “Coop” supermarket in La Spezia is actually part of a mall! What better rainy day activity could there possibly be than hanging out at the mall? I wouldn’t quite put this one in the ranks of US malls, but it was pretty similar in its offerings to a Fred Meyer, which was plenty to keep us busy. We spent the better part of the day finding Capri pants for Erik (he doubted the Capri at first, but is now a proud owner of four pairs!), perusing the broadest selection of groceries we’d found in all of Italy, and chowing down on cheap mall pizza.

Wednesday we headed off to Florence for a whirlwind day, starting with a morning tour, followed by lunch and afternoon shopping. The tour was great (thanks to Walking Tours of Florence), reminding me of why I love Florence so much – there’s just so much fascinating history, art and architecture there!

[Warning to the guys: The next paragraph is about shopping. Proceed with caution.]

And as if that’s not enough, Florence is known as the best place to buy leather in all of Italy (if not the world) – and trust me, we did our best to buy out the city. Erik & Lenore are both now proud owners of new leather coats, and Lenore has a new purse and gloves to boot. I went a little wild and bought two new coats (one red, one black) and a leather backpack. And I was overjoyed to find when I got home that my fake red Prada purse from Rome perfectly matches the jacket. Belissimo!

After our long day in Florence (and the much longer drive home), I was barely prepared for Erik & Lenore to depart for home on Thursday morning. I waved goodbye with mixed emotions – it’s been an unforgettable trip with the three of us, but I also felt ready to turn outward and start meeting other travellers and locals, which can be hard to do when travelling with companions.

Unfortunately, I didn’t meet a soul during the past two days alone at the villa – not that I’m surprised. In a town that small, it’s rare to find anyone who even knows how to say hello in English, much less have a conversation. And it’s definitely off the beaten tourist track. So I had a couple days of just me, Gnorley, my books and BBC TV. I plowed through The Da Vinci Code in no time (I highly recommend it, by the way, esp. if you are going to be travelling in Italy), and got more than my fill of British news.

I also got a bit of a middle-of-the-night scare… I awoke last night to a weird creaking noise that sounded distinctly like footsteps. Needless to say, as a woman alone in a big country villa with no phone, I had made absolutely sure to lock all the doors and windows before going to bed. And I’d been in the villa long enough to become accustomed to the normal sounds of the night, but this was different – this was clearly something in the house, walking around, and I was freaked out!

After lying there for a while hoping the noise would stop (it didn’t), I finally mustered all my courage and decided to track down and confront the source of the noise. I turned on the light, got out of bed as quietly as I could, and dug in my backpack for my little traveller’s knife (feel free to laugh heartily at this image – I mean really, what was I going to accomplish with a two-inch knife?). I then headed out to explore every room in the house, and finally found (drum-roll please)… nothing. But oddly enough, when I went back into my bedroom, there was the noise again. I stood there, puzzled, and still somewhat freaked out. Out to the hallway: No noise. Back into the bedroom: Noise. What the hell? And finally it hits me: there’s an animal on the roof. Thankfully, aside from my dignity, I came out of the incident unscathed.

So, between the lack of human interaction and the things that go bump in the middle of the night, I’m looking forward to the prospect of a hotel room in crowded Milan tonight! I’ll have one night there, then will continue on to Chamonix (in the French Alps) in the morning.

Ciao,
Barbara

Comments

[DAD]

Hi Babs! Wow, what a fantastic journey you're on. So envious! Who's Pete? He has the hots for you, eh? Love the other photos. You sent in the picture to Magee, didn't you? That's what everyone things here. Miss your IJKK and APAC travel buddy? :) Don't want you to be online too much so I'll sign off now. Keep having a great time!

Your pal,
David

[DAD]

Should have run my comment through House of Style. Should have been "thinks here," not "things here." Need sangria.

David

P.S. I'm the first to post a comment? Come on, people! Let's show Babs some love!

[DAD]

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!