You have to love the Italians for being so deliberately helpful or unhelpful, depending on their inclination. No one, absolutely no one at the hotel believed me when I said yesterday that the room had no electrical outlets. One by one, they came up to inspect and shake their head in amazement. Of course, you can’t rewire the place because I want to recharge my camera, but the theatrics of the parade were hilarious.

But I also remember last night’s dinner, where the owner kept pausing to chat because it was a slow night. He talked about how important it was for his grandfather to locate the restaurant close to the fish market way back when and how the menu has remained true to these nautical roots. Since I was incapable of deciding what to order, he came forth with a special plate of favorite selections, all arranged on a bed of arugula and raddichio.