A splash around Lucca

Given that, a week ago, the forecast for our visitors' holiday was somewhat wet and miserable...

... we've actually done really well for weather while the Wattses have been here, with most days dry, and even some sunshine. Today, however, was wet. 

The plan for the morning - which the forecast would have us believe was to be drier than the afternoon - was a trip into Lucca to walk toddler and puppy around the walls. By the time everyone was ready to set off, I'd already done an hour's worth of work and decided that I'd be better off going with them to Lucca this morning and carrying on with my work in the afternoon if the afternoon's weather really was going to be so much worse. 

As we all piled into the car, the rain started splatting down, and continued lashing against the windscreen as we drove along the wet roads to Lucca.

We parked, zipped up coats, put up hoods, unfurled umbrellas and set off in the direction of the city's walls. 

Who's that on the left in the padded jacket??!

Ollie decides he'd rather not walk with us.

Yes, it's still raining out there.

Rather than sit on the wet ground, Reggie prefers to sit on my boot.

We only walked a small section of the wall - it was rather wet, so we decided not to overdo it, and instead headed off into the middle of town in search of somewhere warm to have a warm drink and a snack. We found a small cafe in the square outside the duomo where they were happy for us to take our soggy dog inside, so we went in and luxuriated in the warmth and dryness. We each had a panino, which hit the spot and even Ollie munched away happily, while Reggie sat quietly under the table, waiting for crumbs to fall from the sky.

The food got the Ollie Watts seal of approval.

After our lunch, we wandered on a bit further, thinking we were heading in the general direction of the car park. Every time we go to Lucca we forget to take a map with us, and every time we go to Lucca we get lost - to varying degrees of 'lost-ness'. This time we excelled ourselves. Of course it's impossible to be truly lost in Lucca - the wall goes around the city in a circle and you will eventually get to where you need to be. However, on this occasion, feeling slightly disorientated, the decision we made to turn left onto the wall instead of right (well, we had a 50/50 chance of making the right choice) was clearly the wrong one. Not to worry, we walked on, knowing we'd get back to the car eventually, and considered the fact that things could be a lot worse - the rain had stopped, so we were walking in the dry. That was until the rain started again. In earnest.

Ollie splashed along through all the puddles, ignoring pleas from Mummy and Daddy to stop getting his shoes and trousers (soaking) wet, and Reggie ploughed on, his fur getting spikier and spikier, with the occasional stop to shake the water off. 

We did, eventually, make it back to the right spot and made our way back to the car park. Reggie needed no persuading whatsoever to jump back into the car, and Ollies shoes and socks were peeled off him for the journey home.

On arriving home at around 3pm, all we could think about was lighting a fire and making some hot cocoa. While I sat down at my computer with a hot water bottle to chalk up another couple of hours of work, Stuart, Dave, Sarah, Ollie and Reggie sat near the fire, with Harry and his Bucket Full of Dinosaurs keeping Ollie entertained, Reggie sleeping off his long walk, and the grown-ups quietly chatting.

A couple of hours later it was time to put the geese away - for which, today, Sarah did the honours while Dave, Stuart and Ollie popped down the road to Amanda's for some onions to put in the turkey fajitas for tonight's dinner.

Having finally packed up my work for the day, it's now time for me to go and find my space by the fire.