We arrived Saturday afternoon at our villa in Ricco della Golfo di Spezia (which, loosely translated, means “the richness of the gulf of Spezia”) – a small village about 15 minutes outside the city of La Spezia. It is in Liguria, the Mediterranean coastal region that stretches from the French border in the west to the edge of Tuscany on the east, and features lush rolling hills, beautiful beaches and charming medieval villages. One of the specialties of the region is pesto, which was no surprise after we drove through fields of basil so aromatic that the car was filled with its blissful scent.
After a full day of driving from Rome, our arrival was perfectly timed to catch the sun setting over the villa and the surrounding hillside vineyards. “Villa Ferrari” is huge, with five bedrooms and two bathrooms, 11-foot ceilings, and lots of roomy yet comfortable spaces (both inside & out) to lounge around in. The villa is filled with fascinating antiques, and used to be the primary home of its owners, who lived here and worked the “farm” (i.e. the vineyard). Though the owners now live an hour away and manage more than 30 rental villas, the vines are still harvested for wine today. In fact, there was a 5-liter jug of Ferrari table wine left just for us, which we’ve been diligently working our way through.
That first evening, Lenore had arranged for a local cook to prepare dinner for us. The villa’s owner had warned us that the cook tends to prepare more food than necessary, but we had no idea what we were in for. Lenore headed out for a run and Erik and I set off to do a quick spot of grocery shopping, and upon our return we found the kitchen filled with wonderful smells, and overflowing with seemingly enough food for an army. We settled ourselves at the table on the back patio, prepared to delight in the abundance of food we had seen.
As she brought out course after course after course, however, we began to panic with the realization that we had initially spied only a fraction of what the cook had made. Since she spoke no English, we weren’t able to communicate that we were already full just on the appetizers. We couldn’t bear to hurt her feelings, so we kept eating… and eating… and eating. Finally, she left to take her assistant home, but managed to communicate that she would be returning to serve us yet more food. At that point, we sprung into action, wrapping up the food already on the table and putting it in the fridge, then moving our table settings inside to the dining room, since it had long-ago grown dark. When she returned, the cook seemed befuddled, but fortunately seemed to think we were just trying to be helpful, and shooed us out of the kitchen. After three more courses, the gorging finally ended, and we paid her the fee plus a hearty tip. We then tottered off to bed, stuffed to the brim and content in the knowledge that we had enough leftovers to last us the better part of the week.
On Sunday we woke up to misty hillsides and rain – not quite the “Under the Tuscan Sun” image we’d had in mind when we came here. Fortunately though, we’d already designated it as a lazy day, so we slept in and had a quiet morning, then headed out for a late lunch in nearby Porto Venere after the rain cleared off a bit.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated yesterday with our plans to visit nearby Cinque Terre. The “five lands” are a series of villages perched precipitously on steep, terraced ocean cliffs, and linked by train and footpath. The villages are colourful and quaint, and the inaccessibility to cars keeps the number of tourists at a bearable level. 
We hiked between the villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola, enjoyed lunch at restaurant overlooking the ocean, then took the train to Vernazza where we did some shopping and Erik and I hiked a bit more while Lenore sat in the shade and enjoyed the view of the waterfront.
Today the rain is back, so it’s another lazy day of reading, relaxing and enjoying fine Italian table wine. There’s something very cozy about puttering around in the big villa with the sound of rain outside – even if I am faced with the knowledge that my modest tan from Ischia is fading fast. Also fading fast are Lenore & Erik’s days in Italy… they will depart Thursday, and I will have two more nights in the villa on my own, before heading north to the French Alps.
But that’s enough on the future – right now there’s a thunder & lightning show to enjoy, a “mellow tunes” mix playing on my iPod and portable speakers, and a jug of wine with my name on it (quite literally)!
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