Lerici

In the garden below our apartment, jasmine vines cover the stairway railings. The sea breeze brings waves of perfume to our second floor. The entire town smells like jasmine, because walls of jasmine bloom everywhere, overloading our noses in the same way our eyes and ears are overloaded.

There are many beautiful seaside villages in Liguria, so it's hard to say this is the most beautiful. After all, the competition is stiff with the Cinque Terre just a few miles to the northwest. However, the castle that anchors Lerici at one end and the long promenade to Lerici's sister village, San Terenzo, make this place particularly scenic. The tourists flock here for the seashore, but the coastline here is rocky and only small pockets of sand allow for a few crowded beaches. In addition to the sun worshipers, the town attracts mariners.

There is a little port here that is protected by a breakwater, which I spend a lot of time on, because it is the only place where I can comfortably let Bella and Boomer off leash. The entire breakwater and all of the shoreline protection consists of piles of huge marble blocks. The world famous Carrara marble mines are just east of here and marble is used everywhere. Marble steps, marble floors, marble baseboards, marble sinks, marble tables, marble windowsills.

Saturday is market day in Lerici, and it's prime season for strawberries, asparagus, young artichokes, and small squash with blossoms. The market is small, but bustling and offers everything from regional cheeses and meats to swimsuits and perfume. Liguria is famous for seafood. Calamari, shrimp, mussels, and octopus are common ingredients. Genova, just an hour away, is the birthplace of pesto. Even though the food isn't so different from the offerings in the Pacific Northwest, I'm a little lost when I shop. I need to meet a nonna, who can share her Italian cooking secrets with me!