Monday was a bit of a washout. After all the lovely summery weather we've had here over the last few weeks, this week has turned a little cooler and damper - great for the plants, but not so good for the holiday makers. However, they all made the best of it by reading, watching movies and in the evening making a trip in to town where Helen and I left the three holiday makers to get into the holiday spirit in Bar Pulter while we got thoroughly drenched walking Reggie in the pouring rain before going to see Andrea to clarify the final points of the new plans before submission to the Comune and to Florence's superintendent.
We joined the others in the bar for a pre-dinner drink before going home for a seafood festival, courtesy of uncle John who took charge in the kitchen. We started with a huge bowl of prawns cooked in loads of garlic. With paper towel and a finger bowl at the ready, the two Helens, Mom and I enthusiastically tucked in while John finished off cooking a seafood risotto with plenty more garlic - it was delicious and a real treat for us as we haven't eaten anything from the water for many months.
After washing it all down with a couple of glasses of wine we retired to bed hoping for improved weather the following day.
Yesterday was indeed a brighter and drier to start the day and after breakfast we left Helen in the office and went walking around the land - mainly along the two donkey tracks and finally around to the old quarry before climbing the terraces. We followed all that with a cup of tea on the patio, much more like it!
By the time we'd drunk our tea it had already past 11am, so we all hopped into the car to head into Pescia. Helen and I needed to withdraw a heap of money in order to pay another bill to the comune - a second part to the fine that we thought we'd already paid and seen the back of. Once we'd finished in the bank, we met up with all the others for coffee in Franco's bar before heading home for lunch.
After lunch, John and I went to work down on the lower terraces for a couple of hours, and while John took a spade and a fork to only bed that is as yet unworked, I started planting out as much of the stuff from the cold frames as space allowed: runner bean, borlotti beans, some cucumbers, sunflowers and nasturtiums, then I thinned out the tomatoes, lettuce and carrot before calling it a day at 3pm.
Once again, Helen and I needed to go into town to visit Andrea this afternoon to sign the finished plans (for the pergola, poly tunnel, solar panels and new woodshed) and to give him the receipt from the bill we had just paid (with the money we withdrew from the bank in the morning), which he tells us is the 'final' bill from the Comune. Over these last couple of meetings, we seem all of a sudden to be getting an idea of what all this planning, administration and bureaucracy is going to have cost us - so far we've been travelling down this little part of the journey completely blind with no idea what the costs were going to be: Andrea's, the geologist's, the architect's, the various council taxes/costs (of which there were four), and we now also know that, by law, we need to have a larger roof window fitted. The window must be large enough for a person to fit comfortably through (75x70cm minimum) and we have to have a life line system installed for the solar panel fitter/maintenance. The news that we would have to enlarge the window was a bit of a blow, but as it leaks quite badly in the rain and is not fixed into the roof well, if at all, I had half been expecting to replace it anyway - although not for one that needs a bigger hole in the roof! The life line system was a complete bombshell, but understandable, and I'm sure the cost of it will be much less than having the house scaffolded for access and maintenance.
After leaving Andrea, Helen and I gave Reggie a quick walk up and down the river before dropping Helen into the square to meet Sue so that they could walk to Rita's for their Italian lesson while I went home to drop off Reggie and collect Mom, Helen and John to head back into town for 6.30pm where we'd all planned to converge in Bar Pulter, with Helen and Sue joining us from their Italian lesson and Chris and the boys also coming along. Fortunately it was quiet when we arrived so we grabbed the largest table and the nine of us squeezed around it and had a lovely couple of hours over some drinks while eating plate after plate of the free nibbles that Alessandra foisted upon us: pizza bites, ham sandwiches, crisps, stuffed peppers and salted flat bread with dips.
Before we knew it we'd talked Italian life and tractors until almost nine o'clock so we parted company and left the Phillips family walking home in the rain while we drove up the valley for a late dinner.
This time, Mom took charge of the meal, rustling up a Chinese-style chicken curry with rice and chips. It's been a very long time indeed since Helen and I have eaten Chinese food (a number of years I would guess), and it was very enjoyable.
The late dinner meant it was quickly past 11pm, so we all headed off to bed hoping for an even better day of weather. As I write I can see signs of sunshine coming in through the door so I think Lucca beckons today.
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