On the Road - First Night ( BJG)

First Night in Chatham, Canada. Nice little town of 40,000, vibrant downtown, despite automotive connections, very few franchise anythings. Where to eat...the perennial problem. We almost never go to Italian restaurants outside of Italy...but it seemed like the best bet...so ...pizza not worth describing - but the grilled calamari appetizer was exquisite...dollop of chopped tomato salad - dribble of balsamic vinegar as well as lemon. And I don't have photos...because I am not in the groove yet. Adjacent table of oh so nice Canadians wanted to chat - told them that when in Italy, we were so embarassed when the Iraq nonsense began, that we would say "Canadian", when people would ask where we were from. Lots of knowing nods all around. We got caught short in this fable in a country trattoria in Abruzzo ( I can tell you what I ate - homemade fettuccine/ragu and ravioli casereccia, followed by a bronzed roast pork with cabbage that had been cooked in the juices and fat)- when some one asked how long it took to get to Toronto. Mott and I stared at one another for a very long time - before giving different answers.

Canadians are so, so nice.