Last Monday, Day 60, when we were in Italy and serendipitously ended up meeting and spending the evening with Kimberlee Smith, the friend of the Johnsons, from Ohio and a yoga instructor, we hit it off, and so made a plan to meet again. Thursday is market day in Bordighera, Italy, so today is the day we decided to come back and visit her and have her introduce us to this charming town where she is living and that she loves so much.
We got up earlier than usual to make the 45 minute drive across the border to meet her at her apartment by 11am in time to browse the outdoor market, one of our favorite sports. We arrived as scheduled. Kim was feeling a little under the weather, so we took it kind of slowly, but that was fine with us because we still weren't fully awake yet. We walked over to the sea and the promenade that had been stark-naked empty on Monday when we walked there, and was now chocker-block filled with stalls of all kinds of things for sale. It must have run for more than a kilometer. The sun was shining and we just slowly meandered past all the stalls, one of our favorite things to do.
I don't think we've ever seen so many vendors of knock-off high-end designer handbags anywhere ever like this...and the bags were of very good quality...Chanel, LV, Hermes, Birkin, Lancel, etc., etc. If I hadn't have just invested in a real Lancel bag, I definitely would have bought one of these, they were that good. Kim got very interested in a bag that was ticketed for 200 euros. We started bargaining with the lady and got her quickly down to 150. The next thing we heard was 130. The bag was great but Kim wasn't sure she really needed it. We thanked them very much, said she'd think about it, and started walking away. Then a man appeared and said he would give it to Kim for 100 euros. We both looked at each other like we really bargained well, cause this was really a good price, although we knew he was still making money. But in the end Kim decided not to buy it. We had fun in the process.
We got through about half of the market (we started in the middle) and none of us bought anything...oops, yes, Kim bought one of those gas lighters for candles, a cute miniature one, for 1 euro...we didn't think it was right to bargain in this case. She loved her new purchase, just what she needed for her candles.
By then it was lunch time, and Kim knew exactly where she wanted to take us...to the very end of the market and the promenade, out on a promontory overlooking the sea...La Reserva, one of her favorite restaurants in Bordighera. We sat on the terrace hanging over the rocks talking about everything, specially brainstorming about what she could do here with her newly acquired Yoga Instructor's license...the food was great, and the view stupendous! We all loved it all.
Next, Kim wanted to take us around and show us why she chose to live in this little town of about 10,000 people, located at the western end of the Ligurian Riviera right near the French border, founded around the 4th century BC. Some points of interest are that Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opera, designed several buildings here, and Claude Monet lived here and painted numerous pictures of the town. Besides being right on the Mediteranean, Kim showed us some beautiful architecture, lovelier than most other seaside towns.
We then walked through pretty gardens to some gradually inclining stepped walkways and up to the charming little vieux ville (old town), with many little alleys where people actually still live, all leading to a charming main square with a small church...right out of an opera setting. But the best part? No tourists! Oh they do get a few, but no interference here...that's a good thing. We stopped into one cute little restaurant to say hello where she knew the owner, who didn't speak any English, but Kim introduced us and chatted and made herself understood. She's not shy about trying to speak, which is so endearing to people, and although she just arrived a week ago for her 3-month sojourn, she knows a lot of people...she had spent some time here before, but it's still amazing how many people know 'L'Americana' and with whom she has some connection. Kim KNOWS how to network!!
After chatting up some other locals, Kim wanted to take us somewhere very special, and really a best kept secret, not the least of which is because it is a challenge to get there, HIGH above Bordigheri on a mountaintop. Jill wasn't sure she wanted to experience the road to get up there, but Kim said it is so beautiful, authentic, and a very unique and little known place, that Jill agreed to go. It is Seborga. It is really a commune of Italy, in the region of Liguria. However, it is notable for its claim of independence from Italy as a sovereign principality. In 954 it was ceded to the Benedictine Monks when a monastery was built there. After the former Prince died, it is now "ruled" by a Prince who was plucked out of obscurity, from a noteworthy family in Italy (they invented Lycra) and a known billionaire, in euros...go figure that out! He apparently lives in the town in what is known as the Palace of the Principality.
To get to Seborga you must drive the very curvy and dangerous road high, HIGH above Bordighera, and about TEN kilometers long altogether. Needless to say, this was not one of Jill's favorite drives and she spent serious time protesting Marty's driving while under the dash. Kim tried assisting her with yoga breathing exercises but nothing much helped. Marty's manhood was constantly under siege, but we finally got there out of duress, a torturously long trip for Jill!
As you arrive at the village entrance, you find yourself in a large parking area (no charge), as cobblestone village streets are not passable. Kim walked us around the ancient village which dates back more than a millennium, and suddenly a man says, "Are you American or Canadian"? He turned out to be Timothy Brice Johnson, an American painter who has lived in Seborga on and off for thirty years...an aging hippie type...a true character! We were in search of Mark Dezzani, an Englishman friend of Kim's who has also lived in Seborga for about thirty years and is a journalist who runs a radio station from his home and writes for Riviera Life, a local weekly. Mark is an intelligent, witty, man with a wide range of interests and is currently involved with promoting an art exhibit at the Prince's Palace in a few weeks. Mark is a busy man and a great conversationalist. Sometimes he doesn't come down off the mountain top for weeks! There was also a hippie looking woman on a computer in what seemed to be a bedroom, and there were art pieces and cats, here, there, and everywhere. We can't quite figure out how this all adds up, but it sure was an interesting and informative and different experience!
We then left Mark's place and Kim walked us around this ancient town some more until Jill announced that it was time to leave. She was NOT about to get "stuck" in Seborga after dark with Marty behind the wheel, and she meant business! Marty got Jill's message of fear, and so the descent was not as hairy as the way up. Our ears were popping all the way down.
This was far from a boring day so far, and it's not even over yet! It was now about 7:30 and Kim suggested that we have dinner in the old town at Garibaldi's, a charming, family run restaurant she had taken us to earlier to meet the owners and see the kitchen, of course. How could we refuse! She then suggested that we invite a friend of hers, Gulshen, to join us, someone who is very connected in these parts and Kim wants to get to know her better. We were fine with that, as these kinds of interesting invitations don't come every day.
Gulshen is an Indian woman of about 65, born in Kenya, married for about 35 years to an older man from a good Bordighera family, and has been widowed for about three years. She is obviously very wealthy and belongs to many philanthropic organizations on the Riviera, and so is involved in many fund-raising events and knows everyone. This is a good person for Kim to know and Gulshen seems to have already taken Kim under her wing.
We had a lovely dinner, the conversation was very varied and interesting, and then they offered to lead us to the autostrada, as it's tricky to get to, especially on these windy dark roads at night. We said our good byes, and it was sad to leave Kim who we now had spent some quality time with and gotten to know. She will definitely see us when she comes to NY, and we certainly hope to see her again in Bordighera in the future.
What a fun, interesting and different kind of day this was! And sadly it's all coming to an end.
Bonne nuit.
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