There was the old man who wandered along behind me for a time, whispering 'Bella' and making me smile. I wasn't sure he was talking of me until I stopped to buy something and came out to find he had caught up and there was the whisper again, 'Bella ...'
Having just become one year older, I feel of an age to appreciate all compliments that drift my way, no matter how ancient the man or how infirm the mind ;)
Then I looked up as I strolled through a Genovese streets two nights ago and saw 'I heart' and then 'Genova' and the lights exploded into a cascade of colours on a huge illuminated sign that captured my feelings about this city precisely.
I love Genova, she writes quietly, hoping nobody minds this excess.
There are so many small things that make me smile as I wander these streets without language ...
Meanwhile this internet cafe has become something of a second home, as I check here for emails I'm sometimes urgently requiring to plan my life here.
Ciao.
i love the cadence of this post, you sound at peace and enjoying the role of observer in a new place.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a fabulous birthday :)
ReplyDeleteciao bella ;-)
ReplyDeletei know the feeling so well. being lost & in love with a new place. glad to hear you had a nice bithday. and happy birthday, btw, hurray!
I wandered over to your blog from Paris Parfait's some time ago and now feel compelled to tell you that I think the old man whispering 'Bella' was perhaps Genova's way of telling you it loves you back!
ReplyDeleteObserver is my happiest place, Van. I'm glad it's come through here.
ReplyDeleteI did, Michelle. Grazie! :)
Ciao bella kompostella :) Thanks for your birthday wishes.
Hi Barbara, it was lovely to find you here and your comment, well it will leave me smiling for days, I am sure of it. Thank you!
"There are so many small things that make me smile as I wander these streets without language..."
ReplyDeleteLove that...reminding me as it does of the first time, having split up with the friends I'd been traveling with, that I found myself in a foreign country all by myself, in a little village where nobody spoke English...and how strangely liberating that was...to be free, in a sense, of words....
And now, speaking of words, the "Word Verification" below is "lesubust"...which could mean a whole bunch of things...
Yogaforcynics, sorry about the word verification ... they destroy me on my bad days.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it's liberating once you accept that language is gone. I fought it a little at first but I've relaxed into now and I'm enjoying it.