Last Saturday GP and I went down to the seas to hike in the Manea Range, the lower Maritime Alps that follow the coastline.  We parked in a town called Finale Ligure, hiked up into the hills and followed the crest to Noli, my favorite little seaside village. 

We stopped for lunch in a cave accessed by a person sized hole in a rock face.  Stepping through you find yourself on a large shelf over the sea.  Very cool.

lunch spot

not bad eh?

view over small beach

looking down on Noli

Waking back was another story.  Instead of going over the hills again which was time consuming, we followed the road along the coast, which was at times a little harrowing with a precipitous drop to the rocks on one side and speeding cars on the other.  At one point we climbed the rocks down to a remote beach for a sit.  It was a lovely day. 

Alas that was last weekend followed by a week from Hell at work.  My new comrade in arms in the Library has proved to be F@#%ing insane!  It's taken me almost 3 months but I've finally come to the conclusion that she sees, hears, and interprets everything in a completely contrary way to everyone else.  I'm terrified to speak as she takes everything I say as an aggression.   She chastises the children constantly for misbehaving when they are being perfectly well behaved.   Everything is an affront to her.  I'm thinking she may be paranoid schizophrenic.  Really.  I've asked for a meeting with her and two (at least) other people present so that it's not her word against mine when we discuss some issues we've had.  I HATE confrontations and would much rather retreat into my own space and silence but this is unavoidable as we literally work side by side every day.  Oh to be a hermit....

xxoo me

It's time I stop teaching.  I realize I've been saying this for a while now but someone needs to keep me away from children.  In the past two days I've had one kid report me to her mother because I was "mean" and wouldn't let her check out a book, (which was far above her reading level and she had had for 2 months without progressing past the first chapter), and the second I had in tears Friday because he brought me back a book that had been damaged and I chastised him, (he's always been a sniveling little prig).  I am obviously a wicked woman.  And what has really shown me that I should no longer be doing this is that I don't give a hoot.  I would much rather be spending my days bingeing on The Great British Bake Off and sleeping in late. 

Anywhoooo.  Yesterday GP and I went into the city to go to our fav food market.  We stopped by Piazza Castello in the center of the city, to see the huge manifestation against the city's mayor.   There were an estimated 60,000 people.  She is not liked.  They elected a beautiful, well-educated young woman thinking they were getting a progressive newcomer.  What they got was a yes-man to the  party that stands for and does nothing.  So she has stood for and done nothing.  Except to say that she wants Torino to be the first Italian vegetarian city.  Yup.  She said that. 

At the market we loaded up on fish and veggies as we are back on our diets for a while pre-holiday.  The cholesterol numbers have been creeping back up.  Damn this aging thing!

Oh these fish mongers and their sense of humor!

Then last night we went to friends for dinner.  Gianni is a wonderful cook and makes most of his pasta by hand as well as grows his own vegetables, has hens for eggs, and makes his own limoncello!  He made us work for our dinner.  I spent an hour and a half stuffing and cutting out ravioli.

GP making shadow puppets on my pasta!

They were very yummy if I must say so myself.  I did them justice. 

After a few weeks of rain, Indian Summer is predicted for next week.  A last hurray!  xxoo me

Ah London.  I love it from a distance.  But every time I'm there I think "JEEZUS!  I could NEVER live here!"  If it's not the weather, rain every other day, or the lack of affordable produce, half a pound for 1 miserable little apple, it's the fact that not having Thanksgiving, they start decorating for Christmas the first of November!  To quote our eloquent president "WRONG!"

Starbucks, November 1st

That said, I have just returned from a few days visiting the daughter where I saw Kinky Boots at the theater, (I highly recommend it),  saw Bohemian Rhapsody at the cinema, (epic music,) and ate expensive exotic food like kuzu guvec, (Turkish lamb), and sultana scones, (saying sultana instead of raisin makes them exotic).  But generally I just stumbled along after G who is busy and has a life there and who walks way too fast.  I had her take me to see the Kenwood Ladies' Bathing Pond in Hampstead Heath, a huge park not far from her place.  (I've also seen it called Highgate Pond and Hampstead Pond.  Dunno. ) There are 3 swimming ponds in the park, one exclusively for women, one for men and one mixed.   They've been open for swimming since the late 1800's and are maintained via small contributions by patrons.  The Ladies' pond is surrounded by woods and fenced to provide privacy.  There is a changing room, a tiny snack bar and wooden platforms for sitting with ladders for access to the water.  Photos are not permitted as many of the patron bathe au naturel.  I snuck a corner shot from the end of one of the paths leading in.  It is charming, naked old ladies apart.

Tomorrow back to the grind. xxoo me