There was a small festival last night in Nervi in the small boat harbour, at the end of passegiata Anita Garibaldi. We saw an advertisement promising food, drink and music and decided to wonder down the harbour area in the early evening to have a look.
The local fishermen's association had transformed the tiny square into an outdoor restaurant with long tables and benches. There was an air of informality. Tables were covered in plastic cloth, secured in place with brown packaging tape. Simple, but efficient.
Even though the weather - which has been absolutely gloriously sunny and hot for couple of weeks now - turned into a thunder storm with light rain later, it did not spoil the festive weekend athmosphere. People still came to the party: families with small children, elderly couples, teenagers...
After buying a ticket, €8 per person for food and drink, we found a free table and sat down to enjoy the evening. Teenagers volunteering as waiters and waitresses came to inspect the tickets and then brought us a plastic plate of freshly cooked fish with pieces of bread covered in tasty tomato sauce and a glass of deliciously cold white wine.
Then the rain started and everyone ran to seek shelter in a covered area. We found another table and met a very nice Italian family. We even managed to have a conversation in Italian with them. Luckily, they also spoke some English so we got the basics covered.
A Rwandan band was supposed to be performing but sadly that was cancelled due to the weather. Neverheless, the evening continued in all the other small restaurants and bars along the harbour.
We went home happy.
This was the first time we had a strong sense of having participated in something benefitting the whole community. After last night one other new feeling has started to take shape as well: perhaps this is now a little bit our neighbourhood too.
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