To the Chekhovs, April 1891. Finalmarina.

Part of the well-known 1891 series of travel letters; by this point Chekhov’s party has left Italy and is moving west along the Ligurian coast through Finalmarina (near Genoa), bound for Nice, with a return home via Vienna already anticipated.

writing to the family in Moscow, Chekhov asks for news on the dacha question and the household mongoose, giving a poste-restante address in Warsaw for the reply. He reports leaving Genoa behind on the coast road to Nice, praising the scenery but complaining of relentless rain and mud, and jokes that the weather alone may sink the whole trip. He mentions a second visit to St. Peter’s in Rome, where he paced off the 250 steps from the door to the altar. He asks after his brother Ivan, wanting him to wait at home until Anton’s return, compares foreign train travel unfavorably to Russian (better carriages, friendlier people, no station buffets abroad), asks after their aunt’s health, sends regards to all, and predicts a stopover in Vienna on the way back. He signs himself, in playful Italianate style, "Your Antonio."

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