October 1
Rapallo, Italy
Gary’s feeling better but still not quite his best. We were supposed to take a trip to Lavagna today with his cousin Vittorio. Vittorio lives and works there and he wanted to show us his ‘hood. Gary was disappointed not to go but thought it best to lay low for one more day. I was happy to have our tea kettle and made Gary some tea to enjoy with me on our lovely balcony.
Then I went to join his sister Deb and brother-in-law Al outside of the hotel.
We walked to the train station to get the train to Lavagna, a 13-minute train ride from Rapallo.
I love that the train line runs along the Mediterranean in parts of France and Italy. We got out and the station was right there by the beautiful sea. Vittorio met us and we walked to the town center.
We were joined by Vittorio’s wife Cinzia and son Marco at the Ristorante Delfino Verde. Yeah, just another absolutely gorgeous spot with outdoor seating by the water. Everybody’s happy here!
I was especially happy when the server announced that the pesto was vegan, free of cheese. YUM! I started with a fresh salad.
Then I went to heaven with this pasta al pesto dish. After lunch we were offered a green digestivo, an Amaro (Italian herbal liqueur) made from lemon verbena by the restaurant owner.
It was such a beautiful day! The food was simple and delicious. I wished Gary was with me and wondered what he was up to. I knew that at the very least, he had a gorgeous view from our hotel room balcony.
After lunch Vittorio showed us a little of the city. We walked to the Basilica di Santo Stefano.
The streets are charming.
When I got back to Rapallo, Gary was feeling a bit better. He wanted to have some simple soup. This was more challenging than it sounds. We went around looking for a “health food” store that might sell some bouillon. After a bit of a walk we found one. I couldn’t believe it. And they had some vegetable bouillons. The problem is, like most bouillons, they were mostly salt. I didn’t want Gary to fill up on salt water so we kept looking. In hindsight, I should have kept quiet and let him get what felt good to him at the time. Instead we continue to search the store and things got tense. We ended up buying these just-add-water cups of soup with ramen noodles. Looking around a bit more in the store I saw they had vegan cones, 4 to a box. I knew Gary wouldn’t want any and we would be leaving Rapallo the next morning. But I wanted to support the vegan foods they had available. I bought the box. Our walk back to the hotel was lovely.
We boiled some water in the electric tea kettle and filled our soup cups. We only added a little of the “flavor” packets that were also high in sodium. Unfortunately, they were awful! At least I had the vegan cones to enjoy. I had two.
We went out for our last evening walk in Rapallo. It was a beautiful evening.
