Thinking of you wpainterw Bill
 

How are things going since your return from the hospital? I have been thinking of you a lot and I'm sure I'm not the only one so I posted here instead of sending you a private message

I finally got those pictures for you too! I went to dinner at that little restaurant in Piazza Shelley (the place where the famous poet's body was found in 1822). I sat outside overlooking the piazza and Villa Paolina, home of Paolina Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister. I had a delicious dish of breaded and baked anchovies in a tomato caper sauce. Sparkling water to drink of course. Afterwards I stepped over to the piazza to take some pictures for you. It was a little dark, I hope you can see.

Here is Villa Paolina at the back of the piazza (furthest from the sea) It is now a museum.
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Here is the little restaurant, you can see the outdoor seating along the road. If you are looking at Villa Paolina, it is just across the street to the right. They serve pizzas from a wood oven and then have a daily list of specials like the anchovies I had. My friend had the octopus stew.
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This is the statue dedicated to Shelley located in the middle of the piazza.http://i65.tinypic.com/ixb4oi.jpg

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This plaque says that it was installed in 1894, then damaged and dismantled by the nazi's in 1943, it remained damaged after the war but was repaired and cleaned, bringing it to its original condition on the 6th of May this year.
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I hope you enjoy the pictures! The piazza is just two blocks from the beach, it is a nice location.

Thinking of you as always, hope you, your wife and your pup are hanging in there and finding ways to enjoy the summer.

Ugh, sorry, the pictures are sideways, I can't figure out how to change that on tiny pic, the uploading site. I hope your neck is not to stiff from the humidity (like mine is!!) and you can turn your head sideways :D

That is so kind of you to post these pictures Meraviglioso. wpainter is such a wise and generous soberrecovery member. He always posts something that makes you think. I hope he is doing okay.

You are right Soberween, he is so wise and generous. We are fortunate to have someone of his age (90 and counting, wow!) who can share insights and wisdom that only come with time and age. Yes, we are lucky indeed.

I posted the pictures because he is a big fan of the poet Shelley and knows all about this little beach town where I live where the poet's body was found. Amazing that he would know of it as not many people outside of Italy have even heard of the town!

Wanted to pop this up to the top :).

Mi manca I'italia!
My home away from home.
Grazie per le foto!
Jules

:grouphug:

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those are beautiful pictures Mera, and thinking of you too Bill. Hope you are doing well! I also always appreciate all your wisdom, kind words and inspiration of strength you bring to SR :hug:

Hope you're doing well Bil :)

Thanks Mera and Lunar for the pics. and the pics help :)
D

Thinking of you again today Bill. I'm going to be working and doing annoying things like going to the horrible post office (Italian post is the WORST!), picking up prescriptions and going to the pharmacy. Would you like photos of that? :funjump:

But this afternoon I hope to get a little sun and then I am going to make pear mostarda. Did you try that when you and your wife visited? It is like a marmalade, but thicker. You make it like a marmalade with fresh pears, sugar and lemon juice. The mostarda calls for lemon zest as well and essence of mustard oil. It is spicy and sweet and absolutely delicious with cheese and boiled meats. Particularly sheep's milk cheese from Sardegna.

I had a very damaged and diseased tree in my yard, it was near death when I moved in. I researched what to do and have been working on it year after year, scraping out all the dead part of the trunk until basically only a shell remained. It would produce many pears each year but they never ripened or are big enough to mature. So I decided to give it one more year before taking it out and planting something new. Well lo and behold this year it is producing the most incredible bounty of pears you could imagine! I have more than I an eat or give away so I am going to try making this mostarda. Wish me luck!

Good morning Bill, just checking in, you must be resting.
Another sunny day here. I got all my errands done yesterday and then had a lot of work with my tourists. Again, another time I was so thankful to be sober, I really gave great service yesterday.
One family was due to arrive from Belgium but they called me and said they would be late due to an accident on the autostrada. Then when they got near they got totally lost. We had difficulty communicating, my French is not very good and their English so so. A lot of phone calls back and forth trying to figure out where they were so I could guide them in. Finally I remembered the brilliant thing on the iPhone "share my location" So I asked them do to that, and was able to go in my car and find them, yay technology! They were hot and angry, saying the directions on the advertising site were wrong. I calmed them down easily and made a quick stop at my favourite gelateria to buy them all a cone of gelato, after that they were very happy! I spoke with other guests and made reservations at restaurants, etc. In the past, I would have been too drunk to want to communicate with anyone, just letting everyone fend for themselves. For one family I recommended this neat restaurant that is located up a windy hill, they serve dinner in the courtyard of an old church and on Monday nights during the summer they have a fixed menu that includes wine pairings and have live jazz music. Yesterday's theme for the music was "American Songbook" a man on piano and a woman singing. They really wanted to go but were worried about paying for the fixed menu with the wine because one person would not drink in order to drive (so responsible!). So I said "how about this? I don't drink, so I will drive you and just eat at a table myself and then whenever you are ready to leave I'll bring you back." They were so surprised and pleased with my offer. The other family that agot lost also wanted a restaurant recommendation so I told them about another great restaurant in the same direction. Later I found them and said I was taking another family that way and asked them if they wanted to follow me to be sure they found it.
So I went to the villa at 19:45 to pick everyone up. I stopped at the first restaurant and introduced the family to the owner and got them settled, I made arrangements to pay for the antipasti platter that they serve (prosciutto, cheeses, olives, bruschetta, etc) and then ran back to the car to continue on to the other restaurant. We arrived and I got the family settled then sat at my little table right up front and had a very relaxing meal listening to the music. They found me later when it was time to go. They were so happy with the night, to be able to taste the wines and not worry about driving. They were not drunk at all, just responsible people who do not drive after drinking.
I got lost in my head when she sang "All of Me" I love that song so much. It was the jazz version, a bit different from Frank Sinatra's version. I almost cried though, I was feeling so happy and so moved by the music.
I didn't get many pictures of the meal, I only took one of one of the antipasti, these delicious stuffed olives that are then breaded and deep fried and served warm.
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I hope you will check in and let us all know how you are doing, we miss you!

I hope everyone doesn't mind me topping this up again, I want Bill to find it when he returns. He often remarks that he feels lonely, so do chime in fellow SR members, I'm sure he'll be happy to see our messages when he logs back in. :)

Sending you love, Bill.

Thanks for this thread, Mera.

Hi Bill,

I hope you are feeling a little better. I am another one who always appreciates your positivity on here!

Sending lots of love your way.

❤️Delilah

All thanks goes to our dear Bill for being such a great support :) I had promised him these photos for some time so wanted to post them for him.

Bill, I hope you're doing well.

Thank you for being you! :)

Awesome pictures, Mera!

Hoping Bill is doing well and
wanted to say thank you Mera
for sharing the pictures here
with us from across the world. :)

I can only imagine how awesome
Italy is in person but thru your eyes,
phone, lens, you can transport its
beauty right here for us to enjoy.

Mera you are much appreciated. :)

Hi, Bill. I hope you are resting well.

Mera - I've just seen this thread. I'm happy to have the opportunity to send some love to you, Bill. I've always enjoyed your posts & learned so much from them. You're a priceless family member here. :hug: