Beachin' it up!

79 degrees and sunny with a strong seabreeze! I'm almost halfway through the third book of Game of Thrones, Peter's working his tail off but enjoying it (and also finding plenty of time for cooking up fab dinners and playing some pirate game on the iPhone lol), and we are both very tan!
We were in Zurich last week and I have some great photos to share. Coming soon!

Andiamo alla Spiaggia...

This the beach we frequent in Diano Marina. The house is up on the hill in the distance, but you can't see it from here. There are tons of kids running around trying to catch the little "pesce" and black-skinned ladies baking topless in the sun. The middle-aged guys love to talk to Peter. Yesterday, he got about three chapters of a family history. The guy's distant great great aunt went to Tempe, Arizona in the 1870's and bought some land and a cow. Now, the family are crop dusters, still in Arizona.

We always get a chuckle out of how much food accompanies an aperitivo. They bring with our drinks with lots of snacks, olives, focaccia, charcuterie, etc. This example is from a place aptly named "Il Solito Posto" ("The Usual Spot").

Pass Wind

I know I'm a little immature, but I giggle whenever I see this ad....

"Wind" is mobile services provider like Verizon back home, and this actually says "switch to Wind."

The Best Focaccia

The Focaccia Shop in Diano Marina

One of our favorite places in town is the focaccia shop. The owner is the third generation (I believe) to own the shop and makes the best focaccia you can imagine, and of all different types. He will also stop Peter for at least ten minutes to talk about politics and ask about America. I can't quite understand, but I can get the gist. When we've been there before, I could understand him asking when we're getting married, and this time I could understand enough to know he was asking "where are the bambini." 

This focaccia below has no yeast and is stuffed with cheese from Recco and ham topped with a little rosemary. Recco cheese is a soft cheese like cream cheese, and I think it tastes somewhat like ricotta (only amazing and delicious!). We actually ventured to Recco last summer because there was an article in Vogue about the amazing focaccia in Recco. Why not see for ourselves?:)

Focaccia Tipico di Recco

Whole Wheat Walnut Gorgonzola Focaccia

Week 2, Post 1: A Tally of Events

Days since arrival: 6
Number of dinners by the fire: 1
Days on beach: 1
Trips to grocery store: 4
Meals eaten on patio overlooking Mediterranean: 4
Times locked in public bathroom: 1
Number of yoga sessions: 1
Days slept in way too long: 5
Books finished and started: 1 and 1
Walks along boardwalk: 4
Power outages from power tools: 1
Cups of espresso consumed: 10
Pictures taken: 5
Days spent doing "housey stuff": 3
Blogs started: 1

It took us several days to adjust to the time, and I think we're still confused. With Peter working several time zones at the new job, it's been hard to figure out what time it is here and now. One wonderful thing adding to the confusion is the very long days. It isn't completely dark until after 10pm! 

The long evenings draw everyone down to the boardwalk, and we can still hear music from up at the house as we fall asleep. Kids are still out on the beach playgrounds and Disney-themed merry-go-round after we head home... uptight American moms, go ahead and gasp!

The first few days were quite cool, but it was wonderful and sunny. We had to scrounge around the house for a warm blanket, but we weren't about to close the windows. The Mediterranean air is too refreshing to block out. It quickly became rather hot, but it's never too hot here. We don't even have air conditioning. It's never sticky and gross like back home. Even when the sun is hot hot hot, the shade is a cool escape and the terra cotta flooring is basically ancient cooling technology.

Because I woke up a bit late (again) this morning, I had to find a little corner of shade away from the blazing morning sun on the patio for my first yoga session. I allowed myself the first week to be lazy, but I was determined to start my daily yoga sessions today. It totally sucked! But it will get better as I work myself back into the habit. I'm glad I did it even though I felt I had no balance or strength.

My dad asked me for a daily picture of "normal stuff" so I'm going to post them here as well. These are from yesterday, taken with my phone. I'll try to take better ones next time.

Pic #1: There must have been 25 sailboats out there Sunday afternoon, but I don't think you can see them in this pic - regardless, they are there. This is a view from the house.

Pic #2: This is the little patio off the kitchen where we spend tons of time - either lounging/sunning on the lounge chairs or eating at the table. This is also where I did yoga this morning, but it was engulfed with the hot mid-morning sun.

Pic #3: Operation Trim Hedge turned into Operation Fix Weed Whacker

Today, we continue doing "housey stuff." Peter just found a chainsaw and is currently splicing the broken extension cord. I just remembered that I do not know the number for "911" in Italy, so I'm going to go find that out...