New Boots ...

I had decided to head back to Belgium, cautiously wearing my broken boots however ... on the way to the supermarket this morning I accidentally looked in the window of the Bata shoe shop.  It's on Via XX Settembre, at 270-272R.  I wandered in, just to browse.

I'm so  glad I did.  The women working there were lovely and so are my new boots.  They had a special deal on ... buy 3 pair and get the second most expensive pair for just 1 euro.    And I loved the idea of that because I loved 3 pair of their shoes however I only bought one pair. 

They were on sale, at 39euro, and I thought them so very beautiful. 

Sadly, my feet are currently hating them.  I floated round the city in them all day, not realising till I reached the other end of town, that some breaking-in would have to take place.  I am home now, wearing my slippers, wondering how tomorrow will go because I may have already thrown out my old broken boots.

Porca miseria ...

But aren't they beautiful.

That Fountain in Piazza De Ferarri, Genova

I am quite in love with the fountain in Piazza De Ferarri.  I consider it the heart and soul of the city ... then again, I am only a sometimes guest here and I might have that quite wrong.  But have you ever heard the sound of it early on a Sunday morning, when the city is still sleeping.  It's something to hear.

Anyway, there are the rules of photography and then  there are those moments when a photographer simply plays with the light and the subject.

This was one of those moments.

Libreria Antiquaria, Genova

I believe I may have created the distortion in this image.  My wide-angle lens and I have an uneasy relationship however I love everything else about this shot ... and I fear that I won't organise myself to repeat it on my last full day in Genova tomorrow.

So please ignore the fact that I ruined the shop sign.  Forgive me even ...

Dear Miss Fletcher wrote of showing me this place, E poi, ancora, le ho mostrato un’affascinante, antica libreria genovese.

And it was a charming, ancient Genoese library.

Reflections ... from that city I love

This stay in the city has involved quite some rain.  Just as New Zealand seems to be waiting for summer to actually arrive, Genova is waiting for the rain to stop falling. 

I flew in after some serious flooding had happened here in the city but the rain hadn't quite stopped  ... and so it was that I discovered the only boots that I brought with me had holes in them. 

But who does that!  One pair of shoes in Italy?!  I can hear my cousin, Julie's, disbelief from here  :-)

However having to replace those boots on my last full day here in the city ... that is going to make it all okay.  And no one will see that my feet have become webbed, like a duck's. 

There is nothing like owning a good pair of boots made here in Italy.

The very serious shoe-shop owner actually laughed when my lovely friend, Barbara, asked him if he might keep the plastic bags I was wearing over my socks, inside my boots (as a basic water-proofing measure) a secret ... as I was attempting to appear elegant while here in Italy.

Mmmhmmm, but then again, if all was simple in my life perhaps it would bore me.

The day ended with more laughter, as Alessandra, Barbara and I discussed 'but which wine?!' while accidentally blocking the wine aisle in COOP.   Oh yes, that was us.

And so, proof from this exquisite but watery city I have spent these last two weeks wandering ... another reflection.  I do love finding them here.