Another beautiful warm day.  Which is good for me sitting out on our balcony enjoying the sun but not so good for the farmers as we are going into our 5th month of drought.  It is powder dry.  Yesterday I took advantage of the weather and went to the sea with two old friends.  And they are VERY old.  MUCH older than me!  I've known K since I first came here in '84.  She was leaving her position just as I was starting mine teaching at a language academy in the city.  We ended up with mutual friends and that was that.  C and her family moved into one of the condos the same year we did, 1990.  She's half English and so we were bound to meet.  I introduced the two of them that year and they've been fast friends since.  We drove down to Noli, a little town 15 minutes west of Savona.  It sits in it's own bay surrounded by high hills so seems far away from the larger more populated towns in Liguria, (the Italian "Riviera").  The hills are tight in on the sea and the train bypasses it, going inland at that point, so Noli remains small and quaint.  Summers are still untouchable as there isn't a square inch of sand to be seen on this coast in July and August.  But once the majority of the vacationers leave, it's a lovely place to visit.  GP's parents used to bring him here as a child and it's the first place on the coast that he brought me to.  Awwwwwwww.  So yesterday we sat on the beach, had pasta with pesto and white wine for lunch, and walked around the old center.  

Looking towards the ruins of the castle on the hill

Beach babes

Tonight we are having MIL for dinner.  I'm sure she'll be quite tasty.  xxoo me