HUFFING AND PUFFING UP THE MOUNTAIN WE WENT

Yesterday was such a glorious day that staying inside was not an option. We decided to check out the views 202 metres above the sea level on the mountain of St Ilario, which we can see from one of the windows in our apartment. 

There are two ways to get up there: you can either cheat and take bus number 516 from Nervi to the last stop and walk from there or you can have a really good leisurely work out session on the way up through the long, narrow alleyways and hundreds of stone steps. This is an excellent way to find out one's current level of fitness and it is really worth it. In the end, it took us roughly half an hour to walk up to the mountain, not bad at all. 

  On our way up we could not help but wonder how do people manage to live on the mountainside. Judging by the number of private gates and doors to numerous buildings next to the stone steps, there must be quite a large community of people out there. Daily tasks, such as carrying shopping bags or getting mail delivered, could be interesting challenges when there is only a limited access to the main road. 

 As soon as the top of the mountain is in sight, there is a short, well positioned  promenade with delightful views across the sea and an ancient church Cappella San Rocco di Nervi, nice and cool escape from the heat, full of local history. Looking down from the promenade, Nervi is like a toy town. The trains passing through Nervi station could easily be part of a skillfully built miniature train set. The size of the park of Nervi can  also only really be appreciated when looking at it from high up.

 There are no cafees or restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the promenade, but it is certainly possible to find a quiet spot for a picnic. Going down on the same stone steps is faster than walking up,  but a word of warning: if you have any knee problems, there might be some painful moments. 

EARLY MORNING AND THE AMBULANCE IS COMING

In the early hours of today I had to call an ambulance.

John woke up with intense pain in his right arm, something that had been there for couple of days but was by now considerably worse. A tennis elbow, for sure? We thought that couple of painkillers would take care of the problem, but this was a case for something far stronger than paracetamol. So much worse that around 3.30 am I woke up with John screaming in pain. He had some kind of a muscle spasm, we realised later. Then he passed out. Came back to this world again, but only just. It was pretty frightening. John's face was totally white, he looked very sick. John barely responded to my frantic attempts to get him to answer me when I called his name. I decided that it was time to get the professionals in as it was obvious that this was beyond my thin internet based knowledge of the science of medicine and way past the "best before" date of the first aid course I took years ago. 

  It is so funny what you remember and what you don't remember in a situation like this. Such as: what is the emergency number....

  I called 112 and got quickly transferred to the right people and talked to a lady who had clearly dealt with panicky people before, possibly one every 5 minutes. She reassured me in Italian that an ambulance was coming, trying to assess the situation at the same time. Is this a heart attack? The pain was on the right side, so no. But it was still a very serious pain. The Genoa ambulance service got there pretty quickly, just 20 minutes or so. By the time they arrived, John was concious again and was able to walk to the ambulance where he was put on a stretcher.

   Believe me, in a real emergency things are suddenly happening like in a slow motion movie. The ambulance men said that John may need his trousers, for example. And did I think I might be coming in the same ambulance to accompany John to the hospital. Oh yes, I should get dressed too. It is amazing what kind of a combo you can think of when you have exactly 3 minutes, definitely not one of those fashion moments worthy of a selfie.  In John's case, he got the trousers but still had his heavy woollen night socks on his feet plus shoes. At least I knew how to behave in the ambulance: watching all those episodes of "Casualty" were not in vain. 

  We were taken to San Martino hospital's accident and emergency department. Within half an hour John had been processed, had his first medication and was waiting for a cardiogram, which he had very quickly. We were lucky, there were not very many other patients. Then we waited for the morning shift to come in and a doctor saw him couple of hours later.  We were reassured at every turn that we had not been forgotten in the corridor and people were unfailingly friendly. John got medication and even though this particular problem will need a long time to go away totally, he is fine and now recovering at home. 

  The ambulance service is run by trained volunteers, if I have understood correctly. They depend on donations and the goodwill of the community. Never have I had such a good reason to be grateful for this service. Next time I see them asking for a donation, there is no need for speeches. 

They deserve every single euro they get. 

  San Martino hospital is a very large establishment in Genoa and they take care of  thousands of patients every year. It is easy to be critical about hospitals, but perhaps "thank you" are the words we should be saying more often. And today there was a good reason to do so. 

FRUSTRATING TIMES BUT A NEW BEGINNING AWAITS

There has been a long silence on this blog but there is a good reason for it: we have moved to a new apartment. Still in the same neighbourhood, so not a biggie. We also love the new place and are very happy to have found it.

Moving to a new apartment is an excellent opportunity to discover all the useless stuff which has been hiding in cupboards and dark corners in the previous place. This time I will be ruthless! "If it has not been used for the past year and a half, it is not needed" is my new motto. 

Nevertheless, this has been a very difficult and frustrating three weeks and during this period I have almost started questioning the decision to come and live in Italy in the first place. Honestly, I can barely believe that we are in Europe. The endless delays and explanations why something cannot be done today but next week are driving me to the point of utter exhaustion. The lessons I have learned in the last couple of weeks are priceless and the next time I know that moving must be planned like a military operation. 

Perhaps the most infuriating issue was discovering that there was no electricity meter in the place and a new one had to be ordered. This has turned out to be a very difficult thing to solve. Customer service is the last thing the electricity company is interested in. For them it is totally reasonable to ask people to wait anything between 4 to 6 weeks while they are getting their paper work in order. The gas company was not much better. There was a long delay in getting the gas connected because the gas people could not come to an agreement which gas meter belonged to our apartment. Luckily, this has now been sorted out and we finally got our gas cooker to work last week. Hot water and heating system is also now operational (only that there has been a general problem with gas in Genoa and everyone has been asked not to put their heating on or to use gas for cooking only, but that is another story!). Even though we started the process of getting new gas/electricity contracts well before moving into the new apartment, it has taken a lot of time and effort to settle in properly. We are also only dreaming about the internet connection inside the apartment at the moment. It is probably going to take another six weeks as the telephone company people have to come and sort out the telephone line.... 

However, we are finally in the new place. Hopefully all this will be a distant history very soon, my blood pressure will return to normal levels again and all the unpacked boxes have dissapeared from the lounge. Patience, patience. 

This Christmas tree seems to be in the back of the building more or less permanently. waiting for another December. Quite practical as there is no need to decorate it again. 

LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFE IN THE UK

The internet radio is a wonderful invention. Thanks to that I listen to the radio much more than I used to, often while cooking or doing boring stuff in the kitchen. Recently I happened to have the BBC Radio 4 on and there was an interesting discussion about freedom of movement in the European Union area. 

  They interviewed young, educated and upward mobile Italians who have moved to the UK in hope for a better life. For these young professionals Italy represented a place with no jobs and no opportunities. Unfortunately, they are right. Italy's economic growth has been very slow for many years now and unemployment is on the rise. In January 2014 Italy's youth unemployment rate jumped to 42.2 %. There are not enough jobs for graduates either (read more on www.italoeuropeo.com). Average monthly wages are very low in Italy compared to what you could earn in a fast moving, happening economy such as Britain. In Britain professional advancement is also not entirely a question of who you know or how good your parents are in networking. Wages are higher in Britain (but so are living costs). And if you can take the rain, wind and winter floods, why not use the right to seek your fortunes elsewhere. But will these young people return to Italy one day? Judging by the interviews on the BBC Radio 4, it's unlikely. 

AN AFTERNOON IN CHIAVARI

Last Saturday I had a pleasant afternoon stroll on the streets of Chiavari, only an hour by train from Brignole station with an Italian friend, Sonia. We have a little pact: she wants to practice English and I want to learn more Italian, so we combine this with visits to interesting places. This works well as we always have a lot to chat about history and architecture. Chiavari has plenty of both. There is a seaside promenade and many historical sights, including an impressive looking cathedral, Santuario di Nostra Signora dell'Orto, which has been in the same spot since 1633.

  Sadly, we only had  a couple of hours and mainly walked along the main street, Via Martiri della Liberazioni. It was buzzing with people looking for bargains at the market stalls selling food, clothes, shoes and other hard-to-resist items. One of the main attractions of this particular area are several long and narrow porticos offering plenty of  protection from the elements. Some of the heavy stone columns are from medieval times. People must have been quite short then as the porticos are quite low.

    In many places the historical shop signs have been left in place. A shop currently selling clothes and shoes may have been a pharmacy or a grocery store in the past. These signs are reminders of a different time, perhaps of an era of ladies in long dresses wearing hats and carrying umbrellas on their way to the shops.
  Some places have even tried to keep the historical interiors in tact. For example, the deliciously decadent looking cafe/bakery called Defilla with heavy golden framed mirrors on the walls and massive chandeliers should not be missed. It is worth going inside just to admire the interior of this famous cafe.

    I also could not resist taking a photo of this particular shop window. You never guess what is their main  line of business: electrical goods and hardware!!
   Not a bad way to spend a leisurely afternoon. Plenty more to discover the next time.

THE DAY IN MILAN THAT NEVER HAPPENED

I was supposed to be in Milan yesterday. Got on the train very early in the morning at Brignole station and settled down to read a book. I love travelling by train and despite all the bad publicity trains get here for being constantly late, I still much prefer trains to planes and cars. Couple of minutes later we arrived to the next station, Piazza Principe. An Italian man came to the cabin (there are six seats in one cabin) and said that I was sitting on his seat. I took out my cellphone with the SMS from Trenitalia and checked my number and it was correct.The man went to get the conductor, who arrived just when the train left the Piazza Principe station. He had one look at my ticket and declared that it was for the next day (meaning today) and therefore, I did not have a ticket. And he was right. Naturally, by this time all the other passengers in the cabin were mighty interested in what was going on. 

As this was an Intercity train, the next station was Tortona, an hour away. Luckily, the conductor did not start demanding that I should pay a fine, which would have been quite a lot (I think 80 euro). I am sure he had seen it all before and realised that this was a genuine mistake. I got off in Tortona and returned to Genoa, the day ruined!!! But I learned my lesson: when buying a ticket on the internet, check what you click on the travel date section before proceeding to pay... 

MY LITTLE POT OF ESPRESSO

People, I know what you think. "This woman has been in Italy for well over a year and not - repeat - not made a cup of espresso at home yet." Iknowiknowiknow. But I have owned an espresso pot for well over a year and that counts for something. Today was the day I decided to use it for the very first time.
  In the beginning, I actually did not like espresso much. Too dark and bitter coffee for my liking. But the coffee culture in Italy is so addictive. At 10 am every morning I either want to go to a coffee shop and have a shot of espresso, often with a cornetto (brioche) - or I make coffee at home, usually an instant...
  Naturally, there are now very fancy coffee making machines in the market and capsules with different flavours so that you can be your own barista, but I like the shape and size of my espresso pot and prefer to make coffee this way. Especially now that I know how easy it is. 

I found excellent step-by-step instructions from this blog  www.thehungrymouse.com - so well worth checking it out, if you want some re-assurance on the actual process of making a decent cup of espresso. 

  There are couple of things to be aware of. An Italian friend told me that when making espresso in a never before used pot for the first time, you have to throw away the first cup of espresso because it often tastes bitter. Did that. The other thing is to make sure that you do not boil the water too fast or on a too big flame of gas. Again, the espresso will become bitter very quickly. You are also not supposed to peak inside the coffee pot all the time. Leave the lid on and the little pot will do its job. So, all this advice in mind, I set to make  a shot of espresso.

   I put cold water on the bottom part of the pot, up until the little screw mark. Then I added 3-4 teaspoons of coffee to the second part, enough to fill the small container. All that was left, was to tighten up the top part in place and set the pot on a moderate flame of gas on the stove.

 After couple of minutes, there was a bubbly sound. When that finished I took the pot off the flame and took a peak inside: there it was, my very first home made espresso. It tasted very good, too!!! Success!!