Roaming and rehoming

 I have just seen another friend off to the airport. It was good to have him stay again and we did a lot of exploring in the area known as the Riviera of Flowers. There are pictures below of some of the more dramatic and unusual sights.

He's my oldest friend; we've known each other since our teens and he's been fully supportive of my trans life and has come out with me and the girls on occasion. His mother died some years ago and although he took a lot of her old clothes to charity shops not long after, he hasn't touched her favourite dresses and better items. He's asked me if I can go through them and give them a suitable home. His late mother was my size in both dresses and shoes so I will be glad to give any ones I like a home with me. I did ask if he was OK with someone else being seen in his mother's clothes as many people are very sentimental about that sort if thing but he chuckled and said he had no such feelings and that his mother would probably enjoy the slightly subversive idea of a transwoman inheriting her wardrobe. So I may have a few additions to my clothes collection soon, and items that suit me less I can offer within the trans community. 

I'm going to Britain next week and that will be one item on the agenda. Another is sorting through my own household effects which were put into storage before the pandemic and haven't moved since. It's time to get them rehomed.

Here are some pictures from our adventures over the last few days.

Passionflowers.

Sanremo from the harbour, with Monte Nero, the first of the Alps, behind.

The lush jungle in the gardens of Villa Ormond, Sanremo: bananas, banyans and more.

 

The root of the problem. Moreton Bay figs ripping up the paths in the gardens of Villa Ormond. The triffids are among us.

Turtlemania! Japanese Garden, Sanremo.

From the beach at Bordighera you can see three countries: Italy in the foreground, France on the right and Monaco on the left.

 

A huge cactus in a private garden in Bordighera. The label says it was grown from seed in 1955.

The world's northernmost date palm grove is at Bordighera, perhaps originally planted by Carthaginians in the first millennium BC. Bordighera is nicknamed the City of Palms and these trees supply palm fronds to the Vatican City for use there on Palm Sunday. They also produce dates for eating! Down the steep valley you can see some tombs in the British cemetery, from the days when a colony of 2000 Brits lived in the town which had only 1000 Italians.

The Beodo trail through the palm grove has a cat feeding station every half mile or so. I assume there is a crazy cat lady who indulges the pussies' whims every day. We met several overfed cats on our walk who seemed quite insistent that we should fill their empty bowls.

 

We followed the palm and kitty trail as far as this soaring viaduct that carries the E80 or Trans-European Motorway. This runs from Lisbon to Mount Ararat where it joins Asian Highway 1 to Tokyo, a total distance of 26,659 km or 16,566 miles. That's a pretty scary distance to drive!

Talking of highways, here is a Roman milestone that used to stand by the Via Julia Augusta, the main road from Italy to Gaul and Spain. DXC on the lowest line of the inscription = 590 miles from the forum in Rome. It was repurposed over a thousand years ago to as a column in the crypt of the church of St Michael in Ventimiglia.

There are two more Roman milestones repurposed as holy water stoops in the church above.

 

I'm now packing to go to Britain. I'm a bit apprehensive but I hope my trip will go well. I like where I now live - the climate suits me very well. But I am missing a lot of my stuff and getting my life back into alignment after several years of chaos would be calming.

Sue x