As any of you who noticed our tardy post from yesterday will understand, we had a very late night at Sue and Chris's last night - and a fun one at that. Where the time went I have no idea, and all too soon it was time to leave Ben to his sleepover.
So it was a late start to the day for everyone except Helen, who feeling duty bound to follow her usual routine of exercise and work, although did so with a certain lack of enthusiasm.
The morning started with some low cloud hanging around over the tops of the hills, that we hadn't been expecting, but it soon disappeared and out came the sun. It seemed intent on making up for the last couple of days - it was hot! Mom and I melted on the patio while trying to read and blog, respectively, and I had to keep escaping indoors for brief reprieves. For one fleeting moment, Helen was in the best place to be, as there was a lovely breeze blowing through the bedroom/office, but I'm sure she would beg to differ!
Lunchtime arrived very quickly because of the late start, so we ate a mixture of tomato focaccia bread with piles of fresh tomatoes and some meat and cheese... (obviously!)
After lunch we yet again left poor Helen to her computer while Mom, Kerys and I went to collect Ben. He seemed to have had a great time, although he hadn't woken up until nearly noon so probably thought our arrival to take him home a touch too early.
We sat and drank tea and chatted for an hour, which was most enjoyable, and before we left Henry (Chris and Sue's eldest) phoned Telecom Italia for us to find out why our phone wasn't working. They told him that the issue was external and required an engineer and that it will be fixed by Monday (we'll believe that when we see/hear it!), big thanks to Henry and we'll now wait and see how this particular saga unfolds.
After tea and chatting, I took the folks off to tour a bit of our valley. Our first stop was Pietrabuona. Helen and I normally walk up the very steep cobbled street from the road, but this time I decided to try and drive the windy road into the square to save everyone the steep climb. It was a tight squeeze getting the 'bus' through the archway into the square, but I did it, and parked in the last available space. We had a short walk around the narrow streets and looked back across the valley at our house before heading back to the car.
As we were on the way to the car, we bumped into a man going into the church with a set of ladders, he asked if we would like to see inside - of course we would! I don't think I've ever been in such an echoey building, the acoustics inside were amazing and I could only imagine the effect on the voices of a choir.
Mom and the kids lit a candle for Dad while I chatted to the man, who I found out was a painter. He had been painting the inside of the church for four months. He told me he lived at number three across the square and had been here for 25 years since marrying and moving here from Sorana (where his brother still lives in the family home). It was hard work trying to listen to him with all the echoing!
After Pietrabuona, our next stop was the pizzeria/gelateria/birreria on the outskirts of Castelvecchio for ice cream and a drink.
Feeling suitably refreshed, we walked around the outside of the Romanesque church at Castelvecchio before hopping in the car and heading home. I decided to try the short route back, hoping that the roadworks in the valley bottom had by now passed the point in the road we needed to use - they had certainly been close to it when I last drove to Lanciole two weeks ago. However, we soon found out that the road was still impassable, so a three-point turn later, it was back past the church and home the long way.
When we got home and unloaded I suddenly realised I didn't have my bag with me, and that I must have left it at the gelateria. Ben jumped back in the bus with me for another windy drive up to Castelvecchio where we found my bag still sitting on the seat exactly where I had left it - I heaved a big sigh of relief.
We finally got home at 5.30pm and relaxed on the patio for an hour or so before going indoors to reheat the remaining ragu to eat with gnocchi while we watched Beverly Hills Cop 3. Helen and I retired after that and left the kids and Mom watching TV. Hopefully, with batteries fully charged tomorrow, we will make a proper visit to Montecatini Terme.
No comments:
Post a Comment