May the 13^th…

Friday the 13^th … Italians by nature and tradition are somewhat superstitious, hence the preponderance of the corno portafortuna (horn) amulet and the mano conuto symbol. You know the one that looks like a hand with a raised index and pinky… both worn to protect against the evil eye (malocchio) and general misfortune.

Now I’m not particularly superstitious but when I thought about the steep, curvy, one lane, two way road down the mountain and I realized it was Friday the 13^th, well the superstitious Italian gene in me shifted nervously… “Oh don’t be silly” I said to me, “you have a fancy car and the all knowing google map to lead you!”

So, off we go. We need groceries, lunch and we want to wander the town a bit.

The trip down wasn’t as scary as going up. The thing is, if you meet a car coming up and there is no room to pass, the car pointing down hill has to back up… up hill… until there is a spot where the car going up hill can pass. It is more than a little nerve wracking. I measured the incline at different points along the route and it runs between 15 and 18 degrees of slope. outdoor stairs in public spaces range from 5-20 degrees of slope. It doesn’t sound real steep but it sure feels steep.

We get to the bottom without incident so we need to park. We pass the grocery store… and keep going… looking for the blue ‘P’ signs indicating public, paid parking. We finally find what must be the main parking for the whole town. 2 euro per hour. Not bad. We’re about 5 or 6 blocks from the grocery so we will have to carry whatever we get back to the car… that certainly changes the wine and beer strategy.

Not sure what’s going on with the rental cars here but I think they have transponders that broadcast their locations and identifying information. You can bop through the toll areas and then just log on with your plate number and pay the tolls. And, when we entered the parking area, the ticket we got at the gate had our plate number printed on it! Hmm…

Lunch first at a marina side cafe. Calzone for me and …. Margarita pizza for D. What a surprise. There is something about the richness of the flavors here. The food relies on the ingredients, usually fresh and mostly organic, for the flavor. It is rarely over seasoned or seasoned all that much at all. The flavors of the ingredients are to point.

We wander and window shop and just enjoy the lake and the mostly tranquil vibe.

And then… groceries. Unless you find one of the large ‘hypermarkets’ which sell everything from bananas to bicycles, or a ‘supermarket’ which is more like a D&W or Kroger or A&P… you will find yourself in a grocery store. This one is about 800-1000 square feet total including the displays blocking the sidewalk. All the staples but not a lot of options. Isles that you have to turn sideways in but fresh fruits and veggies, good looking cheese and meat counter, an odd selection of beer, and enough wine to get you through.

A tiny selection of toiletries and cleaning supplies, 4 different kinds of diapers. And that about covers it. We load up our reusable shopping bags with enough for the next couple of days and trundle away towards where we think the car is parked.

Another thankfully uneventful ascent of the mountain and it’s time for a little pre-dinner nuthin’. Vacation mood, read a book, watch the birds, empty the mind…

We figured out the induction cook top and think we figured out the symbols on the oven, whatever we did we did end up with roast chicken and green beans for dinner at about 8pm. Getting on the continental schedule finally.