Having swooned at the sunny, blue sky and t-shirt day along the seaside path in Sanremo three weeks ago, and having made new friends in town there, (and being up-to-my-ears in Winter in Milano), last weekend I went back to Sanremo for another dose of Springtime.

The train route goes up over mountains, and we rode through a landscape of fresh snow in Ronco.

Saturday gave us some early sunshine, followed quickly by an absolute drenching rainfall, requiring a quick, sopping-wet dash into the “bar” (as they call the coffee shops) for a caffé with the locals, also in out of the rain. There was a stormy sky out over the Ligurian Sea, some crashing waves and my favorite sound of stones tumbling in the surf.

After the coffee was down (3 sips if you stretch it out), and the rain had subsided, the stroll through town continued.

“Attenti al cane.” Beware of the dog.

I’ve seen these signs in other small towns at stores selling fresh meat (beef, sheep, goat, pork, poultry and rabbit, bagged and fresh), skimmed and partly-skimmed milk and seed oils. (I’d love to get my hands on a set of these signs to bring home with me. Better than a Prada handbag.)

This is a concrete, pre-fab, railway storage shed from the 1920s. It’s roughly 12′ x 9′. I hadn’t noticed them before, but after seeing this one, I later noticed a few of them along the train tracks heading back to Milano. Isn’t there something Japanese in style about it? I’d like one of these for my garden tools and supplies.

Saturday evening was spent laughing and eating with a group of seven.

Sunday morning dawned bright and brilliant blue, exactly what I had hoped for! The old train track route has been converted to a long, seaside, walking/bike path which links towns for many kilometers in the region of Liguria. On such an early-Spring Sunday, the path was filled with families, couples, old folks pushing other old folks in wheelchairs and cyclists in their decorated racing jerseys. Everyone was out moving under the sun and fresh, salty air.

There’s something psychologically uplifting about blue sky and palm trees…

The sky has been so GRAY in Milano for so long! It’s been a “heavy” winter and a blue sky like this is a balm for the soul!