Nice-Alassio-Genoa-Venice

Our days in Alassio are mostly spent visiting various family members of my friend, being fed, chasing the sun, and boozing like the tiny little hounds this town seems so full of.
We would usually start with coffee and pastries on the way to Nonna Anna’s house, where we would then drink beers, followed by wine with the meals usually two courses, then coffee and Mirto, delicious liquor from Sardinia.

I salivate at the thought of her cooking each day as we meander up the hill to her house. It was the first time I had tried rabbit, and veal meatballs, now I know a lot of people would not agree to this, but you tell me do you agree with disappointing someone’s Nonna, who lovingly prepares this food every day for her family and she can't even eat it, a woman who lived through World war II, a woman who calls nuns whores?? No, I thought not. She is the sort of woman who you can tell exactly what they're feeling with just the expressions on their face, and her eyes read your soul like a book. Everything you would expect from a real Italian Nonna.

If we we’re not there for lunch then we stop by a local shop where the proprietor, Nino prepares you Panini from his deli counter. He has sweat pouring from his brow and into my sandwich, I don't care though, this guy has a face you can trust. All the locals know and love him, he is always smiling, possibly always drunk and definitely eats well.

We drink and grab slices of pizza or focaccia, Ice creams or more pastries whilst tanning the afternoons away on the beach.

Then of course around 5pm is ‘aperitivo’ time, where all the locals meet at bars for a spritz (Aperol or Campari with Prosecco and soda) and free plates of snacks are usually served, we tend to order a few, the locals don’t.

Dinners of 3 courses or more, each family member wanting to outdo each other,Nonna say’s you won’t get portions like hers anywhere else though. Followed by Drinks at Charlie’s, another local celebrity, his face is not as kind as Nino’s, but still spoke a thousand words.

I don't even want to mention that we would usually grab another pizza (each) on the way home, but also I'm kind of proud. And that is life here until we collapse usually at 3am for on average 5 hours sleep a night. I wish I could sleep better hung-over, sweating like a pig next to an extreme snorer/night farter. I wish I could live like this every day.