I’ve probably eaten more than a thousand meals under this tree. It’s lovely and bright in the fresh dewy morning light, and in dusky summer evenings we can light citronelle to keep the mosquitoes at bay. But lunch in the dappled sunlight, a light breeze and the river and canals sounding under the lively conversations of family and friends? That’s the best! When there’s no place to go afterwards, time unrolls like a spool of ribbon rolling down a gentle slope.