I woke slowly this morning, enjoying the sensation of being in a bed fitted with beautifully heavy white sheets that had belonged to a friend's grandmother, and thinking about how it is to wake up here in Genova. The city I have loved for so long now.
On this quiet Sunday morning it felt a little like Christmas morning ...
I had my window open to the world outside and the church bells began ringing in the Sunday morning silence. I wanted to sleep again but I couldn't. I have too much I want to write ... of these past days and nights, and of my photography workshops for 2017. I know i can share this city and my photography in ways I have never been able to offer them before. They are my passions ...
I was out last night (Thursday and Friday night too) but last night, listening to a band called Nickel & Dime at the agriturismo called E Reixe. E Reixe (Genovese for Roots) where we were served the most delicious food before the dining room became the concert venue.
I was out until 1 am, like the previous two nights ... different friends, different music.
The people I've met these last few days ...it's been remarkable. But last night, the most striking thing was the love I saw there in the room. The band members are all friends, and they were having a really good time, as were those who joined the band and played or sang for a song or two. And then there was the love between husbands and wives ... it shone, even managing to warm those like me, out there on the edge of it all.
Perhaps it's because I'm a photographer who loves to write, or perhaps it's simply my way of being but I enjoy quietly studying the people I meet. It's like exploring a new country, although just as a tourist. I only get to see what is there on the outside but last night seemed special, as people let this curious New Zealander question them, and tell her stories too.
Those stories that feel like they get more surreal as the curve of my life expands and is lived in different countries ... as I live different lives.
I have fallen into bad ways. I've been using my phone camera to take photographs, enjoying the freedom and lightness of it but it's just not good enough. I just went through the photographs I've taken these last few nights but low light remains a problem. It turns out ... phone cameras aren't magic wands and one must still observe the rules of photography and light. Mmmhmm but it was a great night, with music that made me smile so hard, and good people. I wandered off to youtube and found Nickel and Dime playing in another bar that I love - da Ostaia da U-Neo, over in Sestri Ponente. I was there Thursday night.
But it's Sunday. Let's see how it unfolds.
10.15am, and the church bells are ringing again, louder ... and my bed is calling me back. Just for a little bit.
Buongiorno!