Just ask a question

I took the picture of the cats while hiking from the Cinque Terre village if Corniglia to Manarola. At first I was disappointed that the coastal trail was closed due to landslides, but when I took the higher trail I saw some amazing sights along the way. At an Internet cafe in Manarola I asked the manager, Francesca, if my translation of "Two Cats in the Cinque Terre" (Due Gatti Nelle Cinque Terre) was correct. I showed her some of my photos and asked her for the Italian terms. The amazing little tractors on rails that transport the grape harvest are called "monorotaie". The tiny alleys of the Cinque Terre and Genoa are "carrugi". With only a little more questioning, though, she supplied lots of fascinating opinions about the area and Italy in general. The best focaccia comes from a certain neighborhood in nearby Ka Spezia, people who live near the coast are more open than people from inland places, once they get to know you. The Milanese, for example, have personalities that are as grey as their city. When I told her about the name if my blog, she showed me a picture of the decidedly impractical shoes that she had recently worn to a performance of La Boheme at La Scala in Milan. Despite her reservations about Milan, she said that being in the opera house, thinking of its history and listening to the music reduced her to tears even though they had "pigeon loft" seats and the shoes only made it through the second act.