The past few days have been so busy with the beach and family time, that I pretty much forgot to blog. It's been wonderful having Zia and my cousin Valeria in town this whirlwind of a week.
On Tuesday, my cousin Mario's daughter Arianna turned one. Her and her three-year-old sister Rosella are absolutely adorable. That night, Mario and his wife Cassandra hosted a party at Lido iBeach, which is beach club at the far north end of town. It's a beautiful club, with a pool, restaurant, and an amazing panoramic viewing spot to watch sunrises and sunsets. I went with my cousin Valeria and enjoyed a great night of celebrating.
On Wednesday, after spending most of the day on the beach, Valeria and I met up with good friends Monia and Omar to grab a couple of cocktails on the Lungomare. We visited one familiar club, which no longer had fancy cocktails, and then Lido Aurora which has a new Tiki Bar and an 11 page drink menu. Got one with house made basil and cucumber syrups and gin. It was a perfect drink to cap off a night of great conversation.
Last night, again after soaking up the sun all day, I met up with Mario, Cassandra and the girls for some pizza at Ristorante Netti and a quick stop at Shangri La for some gelato. It was my first time to eat at Ristorante Netti this year, though I have picked up food to go from there many times this summer. I got an old favorite, Pizza Netti, and it was once again fresh and delicious. We also ran into my cousin Gino and his wife Carmela a couple of time while we were out on the town.
Tonight, my cousin Vincenzo and his wife Mariella came for a visit. It was great to see them, and to have Zia stay for a longer visit. Luckily, I'll get to see them again in a couple of weeks in the United States.
As I'm writing this, we are getting our first real rain of the summer. Clouds rolled in after 9 p.m., and it just started storming. Tomorrow is supposed to be 16 degrees cooler than today, with clouds, sun, and rain. Weather is like a coin flip tomorrow. Forecasts also change here faster than the island from "Lost." This is my last weekend in town for this year, so it'll be busy with cleaning, packing, and securing the house for the "winter."
