Antiques and invitations

This morning (read eleven am), after I made the slow walk from the crystal clear sea to the outdoor shower (carved into a probably thousand year old stone wall), a bright orange butterfly landed next to my hand and I couldn't stop laughing.  I looked over at Ben and said, "a butterfly almost landed on me." And he said, "of course it did."  Do the people living here realize they wake up in a fairy tale?  Every walk leads us somewhere magical and I can't even make it through a novel because I don't want to look down.  On our anniversary I asked our beautiful hostess Chiara where we should go and she said, "I will call l'ancora della tortuga."  And there is no question that we will take the train to the turtle cave and eat whatever they put in front of us because it just sounds like the most romantic place on earth. And of course it was perched on a cliff overlooking the sunset and the food was amazing and the hostess gave us special sangria because, "Chiara is-a my friend-a."  So we've been here four days and even though there are five more I feel panicky that we won't fit it all in.  And by all I mean the thirty gelato favors I want to try.

The courtyard outside our room

The restaurant in monterosso

Last night we heard about an antique market in sarzana so we decided to drive up and check it out.  I tried to convince Ben to buy a car and take a ferry across the Atlantic so that I could buy a dining room table and bring it home but I only got a blank stare, which I took as a no.  The town is actually situated inside castle walls and is where napolean's parents were born.  The piazza was filled with vendors and choosing dinner proved to be the first of many difficult decisions. The market was really dozens of streets lined with brightly lit lanterns and everything from antique furniture to African trinkets.  It was a good thing Ben said meet me at the ballon man if we get separated because I lost him somewhere between the jewelry and the Italian captain America comic books.

Will this fit in my suitcase honey?

Bruschetta, gnocchi, and pesto ravioli

The view from above

We finally decided to call it a night and leave the still full streets at near midnight.  I definitely wished my Lawson girls could have browsed the shops with me.  Food, antiques, and bargaining one euro off an old map of Paris, yes please.