Monday and the Monties

After last night's festivities, it was a slow start today for everyone except Helen - who turned her alarm off at 07:30 and headed out to release the geese and get some exercise in.

At 9am, it was time for Helen and I to head out in both cars to Montecatini Terme, as we were due to return the hire care 9.30am. At the last minute, Allison offered to keep Helen company for the journey, so the two girls followed me in the no 182 bus once I'd refuelled the rental. Helen found driving the 182 bus significantly easier and less stressful with Allison riding shotgun - I think the chatting along the way took Helen's mind off the driving, meaning that the whole thing came a lot more naturally and she felt more relaxed about it.

After the Europcar man had made all the usual checks and we'd both signed the return paperwork, I took over the wheel of the 182 bus, with Helen in the passenger seat and Allison in the back, and we set off to head back home. En route, however, we (I say we, but it was my suggestion) decided to stop briefly in the main square in Pescia square to have a round of cappuccino ginseng and croissants. As predicted, Allison seemed to like the ginseng coffee!

Feeling a little guilty at having gone for coffee while Q was at home, we hurried back to find him reading the newspaper on the guest patio in the morning sun. We presented him with a take-away croissant we'd bought for him, that we thought was 'normale', but turned out to be sugar coated - he didn't complain too much through the day about it though, so it can't have been that bad.

By this time, it was almost lunch so while Helen did an hour and a half's work, I prepared a platter of cured meats including the last of our lardo from last week's trip to Colonnata, some cheese and bread with a good strong peppery Tuscan oil. We all sat and ate on the patio, admiring the view and the clear weather. 

After lunch, we decided we would head out for a small amount of sightseeing so hopped in the car and headed for Montecarlo. Our guests were suitably awed by the beauty of the place and the amazing views (even though it was rather hazy today). We wandered the quiet streets, enjoying the atmosphere and architecture.

A happy trio in Montecarlo. 

Once we'd circumnavigated the town, we decided to have a quick glass of wine at a little bar on the main street - Allison and Q are on holiday, after all. There were a handful of tables outside the bar, so we plonked ourselves onto seats and ordered wine. The proprietor asked if we wanted salami and cured meats to go with the wine, but having had just that about an hour ago, and not feeling the need for any more food just yet, we declined. This only served to produce a quizzical look on the proprietor's face - he wanted to confirm that we only wanted wine, we told him that, yes, that was all, and he shrugged and left.

When he returned with the wine we'd ordered, he also brought a few slices of cured meat (peppered pork fillet) and bread. Despite having understood that we had declined the offer of food, it seemed he just couldn't help himself - such is the custom of some form of food accompanying wine here in Italy.

One glass turned into two with yet another plate of meat and cheese. This time, instead of peppered pork fillet, he brought out a salami made with truffle. Despite all feeling full from lunch, we made short work of the snacks. When we had eventually had our fill of wine and snacks, Allison refused to let me pay the bill - so instead I bought a bottle of both the red and white wines that we had been drinking - local Montecarlo wine, and very nice too!

After leaving the bar, we headed to the car and made our way back up the hill to home. Helen and I put the geese to bed, then when Allison and Q joined us from the apartment, we all settled on the patio for a bottle of fizz and some nuts and crisps until the stars came out. At that point, with the temperature dropping rapidly, we came to a group decision that dinner was unnecessary this evening, so Allison and Q headed back down to the apartment to get an early night and recharge their batteries ahead of a couple of days of sightseeing in Florence, starting tomorrow morning. That means it will be back to our days jobs for a while - until we collect them from the train station again on Wednesday evening.

The next couple of days therefore promise something slightly more resembling 'normal' life for us - office work for Helen, strimming work for me. We'll be looking forward to Allison and Q coming back and spending the end of the week with them.