Black and White in Barga
10:36 AM
The sunshine was a surpise today, so Nick took us into Barga to enjoy the nice weather. The village is a series of steep inclines, lopsided cobble stone streets, and narrow passagways that are categorized as alleys back home but served as both a sidewalk and a road. No really, sometimes cars came through and you would squeeze up against a wall for them to pass. Don't let it deter you though. Barga is a delightfully old world with friendly faces and a Ciao! to greet you at every stop.
Plenty of people were in town for the inaguration (of whom we never quite figured out), but we headed off to a little gallery tucked into a shop off the street. There were dozens of portraits lining the wall, four or five to an artist, and Nick told us they were all amateurs living in Barga. The gallery had drawn a small crowd and we were happy to peruse the paintings while they chatted around us. The refreshment table had the most delicious assortment of sweets and I had the best lemon cake I think I've ever tasted. For context though, I love sweets and haven't had anything baked, chocolately or particularly sugary for about a week. Please forgive me Barga residents, because I took two pieces of that lemon cake and I don't have any regrets.
We had a funny moment on the way out, as the same woman who happily handed us plates for the refreshment table started to chat with us about the gallery. We apologetically told her we spoke English and so she asked again, "What do you like?" Zach took her to a painting of a small harbor and explained, partly in Italian, how he liked the colors and the brush strokes. She beamed, "Thats mine!" And then explained to us where it was and about the other paintings that she had in the gallery. She eventually was called away to talk to new people arriving, but we had a nice moment with her.
(The man in profile in the foreground is our host Nick!)
Nick took us to his old haunt and we had a round of beers for a change. After mastering wine, Italy seems disinterested in beer so the selection was simple. Peroni. On tap. Finished. The place was small, like most other shops and bars we went to, but was filled with lively music by the two musicians you see above (plus a talented mandolin player). They played a range of songs, but were there to jam, not for anything serious. Nick recalled a time when dozens of musicans would come or an opera singer would pop in to give a lively chorus. The bar was decidedly more tame today, though it was noon on a Sunday.
It was a beautiful day for sitting outside, sipping beers, and nice conversation. For a small village, there's quite a lot to see and always interesting people to talk to here. Zach and I are planning our own jaunt into town this week, so we'll see what mischief we can get into!
Missing you all,
H W Z
1 comments
Such a lovely update! Miss you!
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