AN UNEXPECTED GIFT

My [non-blogging] commenter Sally was asking about the Altro Posto the other day: if you are not a regular reader you may like to know that it's my preferred bar, for location, service and food. It is conveniently located in the middle of the Via Sacro Cuore, so that you can stop for refreshments there whichever end you are coming from [laden with shopping bags in my case], is next door to the computer shop and a short stroll from Raffaele the hairdresser's. I tend to go there after a visit to Raff's and if it's too hot I sit in the air-conditioned interior; otherwise I settle myself on the terrace, read the papers and watch the world go by. They treat me well, I hear the comforting clink of ice being put into the glass for my gin and tonic as soon as we've said "Buongiorno" and once, when I was using the ATM opposite, they espied me and I turned round to see them standing there with the g&t and plate of complimentary antipasti at the ready! Well, it would have been churlish not to go over... They also give me a discount and sometimes a little gift in appreciation of my custom. [Italian shopkeepers and service providers tend to do this at festive times.] When I was there on Friday I was delighted to be given this new book about the area. It is one of the most informative I have read in Italian and there is an English edition which you may like to look out for if you are visiting.