Smith family holiday - week 2

The second week of the Smith family holiday was a mixture of work, rest and play - for everyone!

Project: stair gate

When we first got Reggie, we put in place what was always intended to be temporary stair gate - in our naive minds, we thought that Reggie and our two cats would soon get used to each other, and we would be able to remove the stair gate, safe in the knowledge that the three animals would get on with each other - or at least tolerate each other and act civilly around each other. Over time it became abundantly clear that the stair gate would have to become a permanent fixture. The cats (sadly now just Florence) were terrified of Reggie, and Reggie would probably like cat for his dinner - or at least as a toy to play with, and despite some apparent civility and restraint on his part under controlled conditions (when one of us stands at the stairs between dog and cat with a bag of treats for each), we simply can't take the risk of Reggie finding his way upstairs to terrorise Florence. Therefore, after 21 months it was finally time for the temporary structure to come down - to be replaced with something more permanent, sturdier and more in keeping with the rest of the furniture. Who better to help build it than a pair of holidaying teenagers a dab hand with a paint brush and a hammer?

Staining the poles.

Adding the mesh.

Ready for a gate

Finito! (As you might have guessed, the gate closes with an upcycled washing machine spring).

Apprentice farmers

Both Kerys and Ben did plenty to help out during their stay with us, both keeping on top of the daily watering of the seedlings in the poly tunnel, while Kerys turned her hand to chicken husbandry, doing a daily check for eggs and checking their water and food supplies, as well as bee keeping, joining Stuart for the weekly check of the bee hive. She did a sterling job, and they even managed to find the elusive queen.

Meanwhile, both Kerys and Ben tried their hand at driving the tractor up and down the drive - we'll make farmers of them both yet!

Learner tractor driver #1.

Learner tractor driver #2.

Almost a pro.

Novice bee-keeper.

First bee inspection done - they even found the elusive queen! 

Another birthday

After having celebrated my birthday during the first week of their holiday, the second week saw the second birthday of the trip when we celebrated Sheila's birthday. Stuart, Sheila, Kerys and Ben started the day with a Reggie walk along the river, followed by a brunch on the apartment lawn, and later in the afternoon, after I had finished my office work, we all headed to Montecarlo for a round of birthday drinks.

A hot walk along the river...

...but at least one of the party got to cool off in the water.

Happy birthday Mom/Sheila/Nan! 

Birthday brunch.

Birthday drinks in beautiful Montecarlo.

Project: cultivator

One of the many pieces of broken equipment we inherited from our predecessors was an intriguing three-wheeled cultivator - which somehow had made its way here after having been manufactured originally in Wolverhampton, UK!

Despite a couple of attempts in the past to get the engine running - once with our friend Paul (Granville) and once with Stuart's uncle John (both mechanically minded) - it seemed doomed to stay immobile, but Stuart had an idea as to how to give it a new purpose and a new lease of life.

After towing the cultivator to the end of the drive with the tractor, Stuart rallied his troop of workers and set them to work refurbishing the sad old cultivator.

By the end of the project, we had a very smart and shiny three-wheeled agricultural machine ready to greet visitors to our property. The project wasn't quite finished this week though, as Stuart's plan is to plant geraniums in the back, giving an added splash of colour - watch this space!

Work begins.

Preparing the base.

Cutting the wood.

Staining the wood.

Painting.

Preparing a stencil.

More painting...

... and some more.

Final touches.

Finito!

A Medieval festa

At the weekend, we headed to what is fast becoming one of our favourite local spots: the village of Lanciole. For the last couple of years, Lanciole has put on a medieval festival during the summer, complete with sword fighting, archery, medieval costumes and plenty of food and drink - it sounded right up our street.

As with most days this week, the heat was punishing, so we wandered around a bit, Stuart and Ben had a go at archery, and then we retired to the shade of a bench outside the circolo for a refreshment stop.

After that, we wandered around the village a bit more and somehow found ourselves in the house of one of the village summer residents, with glasses of beer being thrust upon us! The very friendly lady who owned the house (and who comes to the village with her husband for two months every summer, outside of which they live in Florence) showed us around her entire house (every room, even apologising for the state of the storage cupboard), pointing out all of its original features, and then invited us to sit in her kitchen with a glass of beer – people really are incredibly welcoming here, but this seemed to take things to a whole new level! Stuart and I were thrilled to find that we understood roughly 85-90% of what the lady said, although poor Sheila, Kerys and Ben were left flummoxed and bemused. We managed to extricate ourselves after just the one glass of beer and after promising to look her up when we next go to Florence, and after another short circuit of the village we called time on the visit, leaving the sword fighters and archers to carry on into the evening.

What it says on the banner!

Not exactly medieval, but an interesting collection of beautifully restored radios from the 1930s.

Lovely views.

Three hot Smiths.

That pool looked SO inviting.

Once again, Stuart impressed the locals with his archery skills - not bad for a foreigner!

The target.

Ben's turn.

The sword fight begins.

A refreshment stop in the shade.

Beautiful Lanciole.

Ferragosto

Monday was ferragosto - the big summer bank holiday here in Italy, for which most businesses close, with many closing for 1, 2, or 3 weeks, and every man and his dog heading either for the sea or the mountains. I decided that since it was both a bank holiday and the last full day of the Smiths' holiday, I would take the day off work and treat it as a holiday too.

After scratching our heads as to what to do with the day, we decided to attempt to find a picnic spot somewhere in the Padule di Fucecchio - a wetland area to the south of us which is the largest inland marsh area in Italy, covering 2,000 hectares. At that size, it ought to be easy to find, right?!

Having attempted to visit the Padule once before, but failed to find our way in, we hoped that this time would be easier. Unfortunately it wasn't. Thanks perhaps to our confusingly laid out AA map of Tuscany (on which entire communities are left out, roads are missing, and the names of places that do make it onto the map are aligned so as to make it impossible to tell where exactly they are positioned), we ended up on a magical mystery tour. That wasn't really all that magical, but more hot and sweaty and stressy.

We DID, however, eventually find the right spot, and we all tumbled out of the car and headed straight for the shade of the nearest tree to lay down our picnic blanket and spread of food. It was a very pretty spot, but next time we will try cycling - the path next to the river in Pescia eventually ends up in the Padule, so there shouldn't be any chance of going wrong!

Padule di Fucecchio.

Other than that, we had a lovely evening meal at Da Nerone for Sheila's birthday, some more stop-offs at Sandrino's cafe for light refreshments and table football, a visit to a Bonsai museum, ice creams, and lots of time enjoying everyone's company.

Birthday meal.

View from Sandrino's cafe.

Bonsai museum - a 250-year-old tree.

We finally had to say goodbye to Sheila, Kerys and Ben on Tuesday evening, when we drove them to the airport for their evening flight back to the UK. The two weeks have flown by, and we have loved having them here. Reggie has been in his element with a constant supply of play mates and source of treats and fuss. We were all sad to see them leave, and we are already looking forward to their next visits.