Mid-August Lunch at Belotti

 

Lattuga ( living butter lettuce, toasted pine nuts, lemon dressing) plenty for 2

          

            To celebrate International Left Hander's Day, I took Dean out to lunch at Belotti in Oakland

This could be Italy but it's College Avenue in Oakland

Casoncelli Bergamaschi

Dean ordered casoncelli, a scrumptious, rich pasta dish that the chef describes as "my mom's Bergamo style stuffed pasta with beef, prosciutto, pork shoulder, grana padana, smoked pancetta, butter and sage."

 Dessert - an americano with a rich version of tiramisu. I had a traditional espresso

     Speaking of mid-August, I love this Italian movie. It's the perfect entertainment for hot summer nights! I saw it in the theatre a few years ago but it's now available from Netflix, so I sent for the DVD  and watched it again (and again!)

Happy Times at the Ferry Building

Simone and Giulio outside the Ferry Building

This colorful couple appeared at Book Passage in San Francisco one morning when I was working, and I was impressed. I figured they were foreigners, so we struck up a conversation. I found out that Simone Fougère is a DJ from New Zealand and her companion Giulio Cavallo is Italian. Anyway, they were headed back to their home in New Zealand from Spain where they live in the winter. I asked if I could take their picture and they were delighted to model. It was always fun meeting interesting visitors at the Ferry Building, which was a destination for tourists, when there were tourists.  Click HERE  here for a sample of their show.

Paris--- Place D'Italie Friday Morning Market

I'm gazing at the Figues de Barbarie (prickly pears) in drizzling Paris, remembering sunny Sicily  

Farther along (this market goes for blocks) I admired a basket of African bracelets. I only bought 3, what was I thinking!