Thursday, June 16, 2011
Our liquid lunch
A lovely morning, this morning, so we decided to go to the beach at Arinella for a coffee and a swim. And what better way to end the morning than a light lunch at Cafe a Mossa in Lumio?
As we got into the car this morning, the temperature had been registering 36 degC. When we left the car outside the cafe in Lumio, it was distinctly cooler at 15 degC. We should have known better when a waiter started extending the rain covers to maximum. Well, we thought, even if it does rain, the covers will protect us.
We heard the rumblings of thunder first. Then we saw flashes of lightning. By the time we had finished our lunch, the rain had started, but as Tony Bennett would say, the best was yet to come.
We were considering a post-lunch coffee when the rain started in earnest, and clutching our belongings, we fled indoors. Then the real storm arrived.
Only once – in Canada in the early eighties - have I witnessed a more severe storm than the one we witnessed today. The water was inches deep outside the cafe, and as you can see from the picture, the adjacent steps became a torrent.
Our hosts gave us all a glass of eau de vie, on the house, to fortify us as we sheltered from the storm and it was an hour before we could escape without fear of drowning.
We are back in the apartment now, but as I write this the rumblings have started again and the rain is back...
... and later still, a lightning strike has taken out our aerial, so no telly for us tonight.
PS. This was a day or two ago - telly back working!
