The suspense!

After a late night out on the patio on Sunday, it was a late start for me yesterday morning - despite Helen getting up to exercise at 6am, then coming back in, showering, and starting work in the bedroom (her temporary office), I slept on and didn't wake until 8:45am.

Mom and I sat on the veranda drinking tea and waking up slowly as the sun rose over the hill behind the house into a clear blue sky above - the weather forecast promised a good day today.

After breakfast, and while Kerys and Ben still slept, Mom took to applying a second coat of paint to one of the garden chairs while I half-emptied the man cave to find homes for everything and tidy up a bit after the hasty piling in of tools from the apartment last week.

Those jobs done and the kids having surfaced, it was soon time for lunch - the usual smörgåsbord of cured meats, cheese, fresh bread (cotto a legna - cooked in a wood fired oven), tomatoes straight from our plants, cucumber and feggatini (liver pate) all under the shade of our garden umbrella as it was now midday and toasty outside.

After lunch, while poor Helen headed back to her office for an afternoon in the gloom, the rest of us headed out for a bit of sightseeing with a vague plan of heading north up the valley in the direction of Abetone. Not only would this give us some amazing views back towards Pietrabuona and Pescia, but it would give everyone a better idea of the location of our houses and its context within the immediate area. We duly stopped at Vellano first, and then Goriaolo, each time taking in the view from a higher vantage point.

After that it was non-stop to Mammiano Basso and the suspension bridge (Ponte Sospeso) that Helen and I had passed on our trip to Abetone a few weeks back.

The sign says that the pedestrian footbridge is one of the longest suspension footbridges in the world, and at 212m in length and reaching a height of 40m at its highest point, it certainly looked impressive, not to mention somewhat daunting. 

Ben was keen to get on it, so soon we were all tentatively taking our first steps on the open-grilled walkway of the bridge. The bridge was constructed by the owner of the local metal works factory so that workers from the village across the gorge could make an 'easy' commute to work - it's been here since the early 1900s and still seems in great condition.

We all made it to the other side, even Kerys who struggles with heights. I was very proud of her for that, as I was sure that she would wait for the three of us to make the crossing without her, but without a murmur she followed.

After waiting for a few minutes for the bridge to clear, we made the return journey with our eyes fixed on the bar in the park area below - so once we were back on terra firma that was where we headed for drinks and ice creams all round. 

Our afternoon.

Vs. Helen's afternoon.

Feeling fully refreshed, we decided to push on another 6 miles to find the botanical gardens which, according to the leaflet, offered a 1.6km walk each way to and from it.

It was a very slow and windy 6 miles but very easy on the eyes, and we finally arrived at the gardens - a small section in the middle of the woods displaying all sorts of plants, fungi and trees. We walked around the gardens with varying degrees of interest and were soon leaving wondering where this 3km walk was!

Another point of interest in the gardens was a sign displaying a black-and-white drawing of 'il poiana' or Buteo buteo (the common buzzard). The picture clearly showed its underwing, and I am now convinced that is our regular visitor overhead at the farm.

After all of that excitement, it was time to head back to Pescia to do the shopping. Unfortunately, however, we missed the turning, making it not such an easy return leg and we ended up in Pistoia after what must have been an hour-long detour! We quickly circumnavigated the city on what must have been the ring road and were soon in Montecatini and Pescia bound.

After piling our trolley high to the point of overflowing in Esselunga, we left for home - by this time it was gone 8pm, Helen was wondering where on earth we had got to and whether we had completely abandoned her, and we were all ready for a drink on the patio. While we sat out in the rather cool evening air, I lit the remaining instant BBQ that was still lurking in the woodshed so that we could cook some Tuscan sausages while we chatted. 

Needless to say the pasta dish I had planned for the sausages soon turned into rather less glamorous sausage sandwiches but they were very tasty ones - they certainly know how to make a tasty sausage here!

Another hour of chatting and cards games later we were all retiring for an early night (respectively speaking, that is, it was 11pm).

Almost forgot to mention that while we were out, Helen took a phone call from the car dealer to be told that our car is ready for collection! Really?!? We couldn't quite believe it... We're about to head off there this morning so watch this space...!!!