I am tired. Other than the first night when I slept for about 5 hours, took a short 1 1/2 hour break from sleeping, then slept another 3+ hours, I haven't gotten more than a few hours sleep. Last night when I couldn't sleep, I kept checking the window to see if the clouds had miraculously disappeared and I'd catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse. No such luck. I also read from my book, My Two Italies by Joseph Luzzi. It's a perfect book to be reading right now. It's about Italian Americans. Mostly those from the south since they were the ones who came in droves during the 20th century. How did they adjust (or not) to being in America. It's also about the difference between northern Italy and southern Italy. There's more but that's the gist.
Plus I'd set my alarm for 6:45 before I'd first tried to sleep (at about 11PM). One last chance to see the end of the eclipse. No luck even then. The skies were still gray and the temperature cool when we bid a fond farewell to La Perla and Lake Como. Lou and I both loved our stay there and would highly recommend the destination and the hotel.
Before setting the TomTom towards San Pellegrino Terme, Lou wanted to drive to Pontechiasso, where an aunt of his had lived. As we made the first turn towards Ontechiasso, we saw a Bennet "store." One of the folks at La Perla recommended we stop there for an Italian cell phone. From the outside, it looked like a store like Target might be inside it was more like the mini mall across from the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. We had to buy the phone at one store and the "tourist" SIM card at another. Much more complicated than buying a Trac phone in the U.S. An hour later, we were on our way.
It was after noon by then so we thought we'd eat in Pontechiasso. We couldn't turn down the one street TomTom told us to turn down. We could only drive straight. Straight into Switzerland! How cool would it be to have lunch in Chiasso, Switzerland? Sadly,we couldn't find restaurants with parking and the next thing we were doing was driving back into Italy! I've been to Switzerland twice. Lou hadn't. But this trip doesn't count under my rules which require that a meal be eaten, a tourist attraction be visited, or a night spent. I reset the TomTom for San Pellegrino Terme.
We still wanted to stop for lunch. If you've ever been to Italy (by car) or you know what a nervous passenger I am, you'll understand why I wanted a restaurant on our side of the road. We didn't find one until about 20 kilometers outside of Bergamo, right off one of the hundreds of rotaries we passed through today. Cute little place with a lunch special. Lou was impressed with my facility at ordering even when the menu is only in Italian.
Less than an hour after finishing lunch we entered San Pellegrino Terme. On most signs it's written as S. Pellegrino. Imagine seeing your name everywhere!
We had reservations at Hotel Centrale, one of a few 3-star hotels around. Lou left me at the car while he went in to find out where to park and to check in. When he came out he told me his was "greeted" by a grumpy old man who couldn't find our reservation and never told Lou what floor our room was on. This was in stark contrast to our welcome at La Perla. Lou was told where to park the car and to enter the hotel through the kitchen. Really? No acknowledgement at all as we walk past the front desk to the teeny tiny elevator. We packed in with our bags, stopping at 2 floors where I'd hold the elevator while Lou looked for our room. Finally grumpy old man's son finds us and walks us to our room. It's a very spare room, nothing particularly inviting - except it has more than ample electrical outlets for all our stuff that needs to be plugged in
Off we headed for a stroll around town. Why do people come here? Do people still come here? Lou was wondering why we were here. Just for the photo ops? How much is there to do? Several of our Italian friends, as well as one of Lou's cousins, couldn't understand why we picked here to spend two nights. I'm afraid Lou thought our trip had taken a major slide. It's a spa destination as well as a place favored by bicyclists. I learned a little bit more about the city I share my name with. A river runs through the town. Is that the water? In my eyes, San Pellegrino Terme is charming even if the residents seem very aloof. Almost un-Italian!
Chatting while we walked, I mentioned that today is the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Lou said, "Just wait until tonight. They'll light up a big Star of David up in the mountains for all the Jews of S. Pellegrino." We both laughed at the thought. Just then, I stopped to take a photo of an interesting looking building which quickly became more interesting. There were two Jewish Stars etched into the facade. They looked like they've been there a long time. We walked around the building trying to make a connection as to why those 6-pointed stars were there. The building houses a medical clinic now celebrating the 90th anniversary of the opening of the clinic, then a diabetes clinic, in 1925. I wonder if research will give me any answers.
The sidewalk narrowed so we crossed the street. A sign caught my eye. Another piece of Jewish interest. The 70th anniversary of something involving bambinis and the Shoah had taken place this past weekend. I have a feeling I'll have some success researching this one when we once again have Internet. Right now we only have a week signal in the hallway.
We continued our stroll. My name is everywhere! Lots and lots of photo ops. We walked over to the spa where we have an appointment tomorrow to do the waters. Years of visiting Lou in Albany, so close to Saratoga Springs and this is something we've never done before.
There didn't appear to be any open restaurants at this end of town. I would have been happy having gelato for dinner but Lou wanted "real" dinner. We ended up at a beer bar one street over from Hotel Centrale.
By the time we finished dinner and Lou ended his conversation with the owner (we think), Lou had about 3 or 4 days worth of outings we could enjoy. I think he's trying to think of how many we can squeeze in after the spa tomorrow.
After dinner, Lou still had a taste for gelato, even though we'd just shared the "birra"misu. The gelateria next to the bar had closed while we were eating but I remembered one around the corner. It was open. I wasn't going to have any gelato, but how could I resist?
No internet for posting, photos will have to wait longer. I hope to sleep tonight and enjoy our spa/waters day tomorrow.
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