Being a contrary sort, and knowing that Italy was famous for its bitter aperitifs, I went for something different.

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Nuts are generally good accompaniments to most aperitifs, but woe betide the wine lover who attempts to pair dry roasted peanuts with wine.

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Opera singers often turn up to serve arias with your aperitifs.

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We set out on our own during the late afternoon, ambling through yet another dry riverbed, and wound up at the top of a windswept peak at sunset: Lemarti and Boniface building a fire, Trzebinski embracing and whispering to her young daughter, Tacha, relaxed conversation, aperitifs on offer--and a communal sense of wonder.

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