THE PAVEMENT WAS THEIR CANVAS

I love walking around Genoa. No matter how often I go, there is always something to see and discover. On one such walk I happened to be with my Italian friend Anna, whose knowledge of the history of the city is phenomenal. We were walking on a stone pavement in the city centre, when Anna stopped and started looking for something on the street. She asked:
"Did you know that hundred years ago, all these stone slabs were hand crafted by stone masons who then also decorated and signed them?"
So we are not walking on any old concrete slabs then?
I started looking at the pavement with a newly found curiosity.

Sure enough we found one such signature (pic above), hidden away in of the stones in a pavement leading to an alley. It was quite a revelation to realise that hundred years ago the pavement stones were not manufactured in some nameless factory, which produced thousands such slabs a day, but that every single one was painstakingly patiently made by stone masons who decorated every stone in their own style and treated this as an opportunity to leave their own mark in Genoa. Those stones have lasted to this day - respect!

THE RAIN AIN'T STOPPING IN GENOA

Today there was  a message on my cell. It is from the Comune di Genova informing all residents of the city that there is very heavy rain and a very real possibility of another major flooding.

I only need to look out of the window facing the street to know that it is true: there is already a small river flowing. Luckily the apartment we live in, is high above the street level but this is still worrying. There has been a thunder storm for couple of hours now.

People are being asked to stay inside and not to go outside unless absolutely necessary. No doubt a major traffic chaos will follow. We all knew that it was coming as the cell phone messages keep coming, Last week schools were closed for three days. If the situation has looked to be somewhat under control in the city centre of Genoa, it was far from it elsewhere in Liguria, for example in Santa Marghareta Liguria and Chiavari. And today there are already reports of rising water levels in other parts of Liguria too (www.ilsecoloxix.it)

This flower stand has been on the balcony and quickly filled in with water in couple of hours. 

It was only barely a month ago that the heavy rains caused major flooding in the city centre of Genoa. One person died, many had to abandon their homes and cars in great haste and millions of euro worth of damage was caused by flash floods. An army of volunteers,  quickly named as the "mud angels" started spontaneously arriving to the city centre to clean the mud, dirt and water. I was not here at that time, but the damage has been visible to this day, especially in the Brignole area, where many shop owners lost their stock and had to close down, temporarily or in some cases for good. Unfortunately insurance companies do not come to the rescue as flooding is not covered in most policies. Some businesses have tried to salvage what they could by selling flood damaged goods outside their premises. What has angered the residents of Genoa is that a similar devastating flood happened in 2011 and the city received emergency funding for essential infrastructure repairs. Very little has happened though because there was a dispute regarding the tender process of who should be awarded the contract and the money is still sitting somewhere three years later.

PRESCRIPTION VALID FOR ALL EU COUNTRIES - DOES IT WORK?

I have high blood pressure and the daily tablet has become a necessity I cannot live without. Yes, I know that loosing five to ten kilos combined with vigorous daily exercise would help too and in the end I might not need any pills, but I haven't got that far yet.  

Usually, when I am in Finland I go and see my doctor to stock up on these tablets so that I don't run out. Last time I visited my country of birth, there were several news articles about a new EU directive which says that a prescription given in one EU country is valid in all EU member states providing that you have asked your doctor to give you an EU prescription. 

That is worth trying, I thought and promptly got one. 

This morning I realised that I have only five tablets left and therefore, it will be necessary to go to a pharmacy here in Genoa. I assumed that there might be problems: perhaps it needs to be translated in Italian? Perhaps this type of medicine is not sold here? Perhaps I need all sorts of documents to prove that this is a genuine prescription? Armed with the correct vocabulary and ready to explain, I went to the nearest pharmacy. 

The pharmacist took the prescription and nodded.
He went to get the tablets.

I paid and left. Time elapsed: 5 minutes. 

Perhaps people advocating against the EU forget this type of little benefits the EU membership brings to ordinary citizens. For once, someone out there in that big bunker in Brussels has been thinking about practical problems faced by millions of EU citizens and got it right! 

HUNTING FOR SPICES IN PORTO ANTICO

I really, really like Italian food. 

But there are times when nothing but a curry full of chili and exotic spices will do. For some reason, I get this craving especially when the weather turns hot. 

  When I moved to Genoa, this was a big problem because initially I could not find any hot spices or curry pastes in the shops. Coconut milk was a particular challenge. The mainstream supermarkets stock soy sauce and some very mild Mexican salsa sauce, but that was about as exotic as they are prepared to go. 

This is one of the shops on Via Gramsci in Porto Antico selling spices, all types of rice, curry pastes, spicy sauces and coconut milk. 

   Even though chili is certainly used in Italy  - I have even come across one Italian who actually makes his own mule kick strength chili sauce - it is usually in a very mild form, unless you are in Calabria: there they make nduja salami where one of the key ingredients are roasted hot red peppers. 

   But in Genoa? I found some spices and sauces from tiny ethnic shops in centro storico. The problem was that as much as I wanted to remember the exact street corner and address, I never did and even if I did, I always seemed to arrive on a wrong time of day and the shop was closed for lunch or a holiday. 

We are definitely eating a Thai curry tonight and I already have roasted couple of eggplants for baba ganoush, where tahini is one of the "must have" ingredients. 

Then one day I was on bus number 20 coming towards Porto Antico and saw a very welcome sign for Asia-Africa-South America market on Via Antonio Gramsci. I went back there later and ever since then I have been a regular customer. This is not the only "ethnic" shop on this street, there are at least two others, where the selection is quite similar, but perhaps more catering for people looking for authentic Japanese and Chinese food ingredients. 

FESTIVAL BANDS WITH HAPPY TUNES IN GENOA

I could kick myself for not realising earlier last week that there was an International Music Festival going on in Genoa! Shame, as I missed the party in Porto Antico, where the Copenhagen Showband from Denmark danced on the street ( http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/multimedia/genova/2014/07/12/ARbWr5AB-grande_genova_tutto.shtml?hpar=1.) Some lucky friends had also been on Piazza Matteotti on Saturday evening where several bands played happy dancing tunes until very late into the night.

Finally I managed to see some of the action yesterday at Palazzo Ducale - last day of the festival - where bands from Hungary, France, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Israel, Italy and Spain entertained an enthusiastic audience with everything from old classical numbers to jazzy pieces of contemporary film music.

Concert Band of Sarvar from Hungary 

The Junior Orchestr Plzen from Czech Republic has won several band competitions and it showed, they were a joy to listen to. 

This was the sixth time Filarmonica Sestrese www.imf.filarmonicasestrese.com has organised such a huge, international gathering for brass bands, marching bands and youth orchestras. The whole event was free to the general public, thanks to generous sponsorship from the public and private sector.

When one band finished, another one took the stage. Here are members of the German band Fanfarengarde getting ready to play.

SEDUCED BY FRUITS OF SUMMER

Today I felt like a modern day hunter gatherer after a little stroll on our street. 

There are two tiny shops (literally the size of one small room each) selling organic, home grown veggies and fruits. It is always worth going into these shops to see what is on offer and worry about recipes later. In any case, I have stopped making shopping lists since it is a totally useless activity here: I am so easily seduced by whatever looks delicious. Even though I am not always sure what to do with some less familiar vegetables (for some reason artichokes come to mind), I trust that Jamie, Nigella and others have explored this neighbourhood before me and I have never been let down by any of them yet. 

Right now it looks like cherries are on their way out, but on the other hand fresh figs have arrived. Nigella suggests figs preserved in rum and I might try that. I also picked a bunch of dried oregano - the perfume is simply divine and it looks pretty on the kitchen counter too. The blueberries were a bit of a surprise, since they were not particularly sweet, but they will taste perfect in muffins or mixed with yoghurt and sunflower seeds with little bit of honey for breakfast. Garlic makes a regular appearance in almost anything I cook and the cloves of these were big and plump. The lemons are from a friend who came by yesterday and said that there is too much growing in her garden and would I like to have some. Yes, please!  

PROTECTOR OF THE SEA AND THE VERY FIRST VEGAN SAINT

Yesterday afternoon we went to watch a ceremony in the small boat harbour in Nervi.  It was the annual blessing of the sea by Saint Francis of Paola (or Francesco di Paola as he is better known here). Last year we missed it, so I was glad we had an opportunity to see it now.
   It was a hot day and there was quite a crowd watching the procession of the statue of Francis arriving to the porticiolo. First, he was transferred to a small boat with the priest from the local parish and they then went out to the sea.

Francis is thought to be the patron saint of all mariners, boatsmen and the navy. As with all saints, there are many stories about miracles associated with him.

  According to one legend, Francis of Paola was once refused a passage by a boatman when crossing the Strait of Messina to Sicily. Despite this setback, Francis managed to get to the other side. He put his cloak on the water and made it a rudimentary sail by tying it on his staff www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Paola. The wind took to the sail and carried Francis over.

A small number of boats followed to the spot where the actual blessing took place, while the spectators on shore were entertained by a local brass band. They returned 15 minutes later and St Francis was put back on dry land. Couple of very strong looking guys lifted up a big cross of Christ, followed by the statue of Francis and then the procession moved towards the small harbour, stopping every now and then for prayers.

Slowly, we approached the local church, which was not far away.

The bells of the church started playing a very joyful melody as soon as the procession appeared.This was definitely not a pre-recorded tape, but someone who was clearly enjoying a bit of a "solo".
  St Francis, by the way, founded an order of monks. He was very fond of animals and therefore this must have been the very first vegan order in the world as the monks were not allowed to eat meat, fish, dairy, eggs or cheese. Quite ahead of his time, I think.