The train coming from Rome up the coast is very late so I must wait at the Viareggio station for over an hour. The air is getting cooler closer to the sea.
The train passes through tunnels on much of the trip up to Chiavari, but I manage to snap this shot of the water in a brief break between the dark tunnels.
I find Chiavari a pleasant relief from the heavy heat of Lucca. The view from my kitchen window makes me happy.
This must be my sixth time in Chiavari, as relatives live close by, but this time I see it more favorably. Maybe it’s because I have time to roam in the narrow archways.
I locate Panificio Centrale, the best gastronomia in town, and buy some stuffed zucchini blossoms for lunch.
I am seeing things I had not noticed before, including these terrazzo designs in the pavement.
It’s nice and cool under the medieval archways that are crossed with the narrow lanes called caruggi.
Chiavari also has its shrines.
And its statue of Garibaldi.
I meet Maurizio and Ornella for an after dinner drink, and we decide on plans for the weekend. The next day is market day in Chiavari. I can’t help but get swept up in the commotion, although I have nothing to buy.
The market spreads throughout the historic district.
I do buy some sugar prunes, the same kind grown by my grandfather but now rarely available in California.
I’m enjoying Chiavari, a very livable city of about 30,000 residents. I’ve seen most of the tourist sites, and I’ve nothing to do but walk about the town and relax. Best of all, it’s not overwhelmingly hot.