#2924 Chiavari, Italy

 How about a little day trip to Chiavari, Italy? Let's go!

On the last full day of our art trip, we all took the train about 10 minutes south to Chiavari (pronounced key-AH-vah-ree). It was a rainy, grey, drizzly day, but the drizzle let up when we got to town, so that was nice. 

Again, I didn't do any research about the town before going there, so I didn't know what to expect or what to look for. Lizzie did a bit of research, but since we didn't know where our starting point would be or what the plan was when we got there, we just went with the flow. 

Suzy and Jeannette took us to what seemed to be a main square in the centro storico. There was a market happening there. Jill gave a quick demonstration of some sketching and painting techniques, a plan was made to meet up for lunch, and then we were on our own.

Here are some photos of the square and the market. 

statue of Giuseppe Mazzini in front of Palazzo di Giustizia di Chiavari

market in Piazza Mazzini

plants for sale at the market

boxes of lettuces

I liked the pretty lettuces, so I painted them:

my take on the boxes of lettuces

Lizzie and I walked around, admiring the town. There were many, many arches. This is just one pic of arches, but there were several streets that looked a lot like this one.

a street in Chiavari

The street in the photo looks pretty empty, but there were lots of people walking around the town that day. Lizzie and I wanted to sit at a bar (that's what a cafe is called in Italy), preferably outside under an umbrella without many people around, and we wandered until we found the cutest little place that ticked all the boxes. We spread out our art stuff, ordered cappuccinos and entertained ourselves for an hour or so until we decided to go ahead and get some wine. It was probably around 11:30 or 12:00 by then. Art is fun with wine and snacks.

Lizzie!

Don't I look like an artiste?

And yes, that lovely snack tray was included with our wine. And the wine was very nice.

After awhile, it was time to bid arrivederci to the cute bar and meet the group for lunch. Here are some photos of the streets.

This street (no cars allowed!) was we painted and drank wine.

All that greenery is a barrier for a restaurant. Cute!

Our group's farewell lunch was in a gorgeous restaurant, Enoteca Ristoro.

panoramic shot of the restaurant before the meal arrived

What is an enoteca, you ask? Well, it is basically a wine shop or wine repository. Often, regional foods will be offered to pair with the wines. You can see there is a lot of wine here.

We sat inside - it was raining steadily at that point. We had some appetizers that I don't remember. The menu was limited and probably changed daily. I had roasted veal with potatoes and it was wonderful. I also enjoyed the wine. Ligurian wine is quite good. For dessert I had an apple tart that was cake-like. I'll be doing a post of all the foods I had at some point in the future, and I'll post photos then. 

After a leisurely lunch, we walked back to the train station. We passed by this statue of  Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy.

monument to Vittorio Emanuele II (seagull on top is not permanent!)

The statue is across the piazza from this:

Cathedral of Nostra Signora dell'Orto (Our Lady of the Garden)

We flashed past this church on our way in and on our way out of the town. Suzy and Jeanette aren't tour guides, they put these art tours together and find places for us to draw and paint and eat. If I were to go back to the area, there are places I'd like to explore a bit more when my time is my own.

As it was, I had a lovely time in Chiavari. I got to make some art, drink some wine, see a different town, and eat some good food. I chatted with the some of the other folks during the meal, and it was fun.

When we got back to Rapallo, we met as a group for the final time to do one last bit of writing based on one of Lizzie's poems, and we wrote in each other's sketch books - kinda like when you sign yearbooks at the end of the school term. I like this tradition. We did a similar thing in Greece, but the notes were on a big piece of paper. I still have that one, and I treasure it. I really like that we have the notes in our sketchbook for this trip. I love to look back at it. 

This trip's sketchbook is sort of a travel journal/scrapbook. I've got postcards and receipts and cards from restaurants. I'm also sketching as I go. I wanted to complete it while I was on vacation, but I didn't have the time, especially the second week when Lizzie and I traveled to different cities. It has been fun to play around with it post-vacation, though. It's bringing back happy memories.

I didn't really write much about  the time we spent in Rapallo itself, did I? I might squeeze a post out of that material. I've got lots of photos, so that might be next. 

Happy December!