Sunday 8 November 2015

A weekend of upside down weather

Saturday saw us up and out fairly promptly as we had plenty we wanted to get done before the weekend was out. First on the list was to give the ever energetic Reggie a decent run out, so we hatched a plan to go to the Pescia river south of town in the Alberghi area where it's usually blissfully devoid of other people (on the side of the river that we use, at least).

We left the house and drove down the valley in the glorious sunshine, so it came as a shock as we levelled out and approached Pescia to find a wall of fog ahead - gone were the blue sky and glorious sunshine, replaced by thick fog! It seemed like something of a weather reversal - not that we have bad weather on our hill, but Pescia often fares a little better for weather and temperatures due to the fact that it's at a lower altitude and the cloud and mist often float around the foothills. Not so today though, which left me wishing I had come out in more than a t-shirt, especially as the LED sign at the garage entering Pescia registered just 12 degrees.

We were soon on the river bank and walking further south with the river bank to ourselves for the entirety of the walk. Reggie thoroughly enjoyed himself, barely stopping running, including at full speed through the river - he certainly seemed less bothered by the murky weather than we were, although it was just comfortable enough for me in the end.



After a good walk, we retired to café Delice - the one we first tried yesterday - for a coffee. After a couple of much needed and good quality cappuccini we headed off, against the grain, to do our food shopping mid-morning. Visiting the supermarkets mid-morning is something we have been avoiding for many months due to the throngs of other people all doing the same, but the idea of going home only to have to come back into town again at lunchtime seemed like a waste of time, effort and fuel, so while Reggie lay in the boot slowly perfuming the car with the smell of damp dog, we dutifully filled trolleys at both Esselunga and Lidl before finally heading home just before midday for a bit of lunch. As we left Pescia, still thick in fog, we saw brightness ahead of us on the road and on reaching San Lorenzo, the mist parted to reveal the whole of the rest of the valley still bathed in beautiful sunshine with clear blue skies.

Lunch was a fairly rushed affair as we were both keen to get started on some outside work, so after despatching the remainder of yesterday's quinoa salad on the patio in the glorious sunshine, Helen went to work breaking up concrete blocks and other detritus from the side of the house to finish filling the section of floor behind the house that will form part of the shed floor while I started bolting leg supports to the concrete pads I'd poured last week and the making a start on constructing the basic framework of the shed. This was not an easy task as very little is flat or level so it was a case of measure everything at least three times before cutting or drilling a thing!

Helen and I finished the afternoon by mixing and pouring a quarter of a tonne of cement into the section of floor behind the house to start to lay the shed floor.








By the time we had exhausted the 10 bags of concrete, we were both feeling pretty exhausted ourselves, and since time was marching quickly towards dusk we decided to call it a day and retire indoors for much needed hot showers, a glass of wine and dinner. This evening's dinner was one of our staples - vegetable fajitas. Tonight, though, we pimped our fajitas with a tomato salsa made with lime juice from the first of our very own limes from our lime tree - it was delicious!



First on the agenda for Sunday morning was once again a run-out for Reggie. We decided to try a new walk out today, and headed up the valley, through Vellano and on up to Macchino. We pulled over in Macchino in front of a selection of 4 different footpath signs and set off on our way, reasoning that with a choice of four we ought to be able to find a decent enough walk!

We also had with us the sat nav device that we've used on cycling trips, newly loaded with local maps that Helen's Mum and Dad kindly brought over for us. We started following a path through the trees that afforded us some lovely views of the valley. Once again today it seemed as if the hills were bathed in sunshine and bright blue skies while the valley bottom appeared to be smothered in fog and mist - we were quite shocked by just how warm it was. Usually when we drive up the road even just as far as Vellano, we notice a degree or so's drop in temperature with the climb in altitude. Here, however, the reverse seemed to have happened - we were higher still than Vellano, yet the temperature felt several degrees warmer than in Pietrabuona!



We followed the well marked path for quite a way, before turning off to find a loop that would bring us back to our original point, as shown on our sat nav device. All was going well until we found that the path that followed the loop was not quite as well maintained as the main path - in fact, it was obstructed with fallen trees. By this point, we had gone too far to make it worth our while turning back and re-tracing our steps, so we went off-piste, carefully picking our way through the carpet of leaves, clambering over fallen branches and heading in what we hoped was roughly the right direction to bring us back onto the right path. Reggie was delighted that we had for once joined him in going cross-country and ran about happily as we huffed and puffed our way up the hill.




Happily, we did eventually come out on the track again, after which the going was a lot easier!


By the time we reached the car again, we were feeling super-heated - it really was too warm for long trousers and big boots, especially on the uphill climbs! We decided to stop at the little café in the village of Macchino for a well earned cappuccino and a fairly in-depth chat with a very friendly Italian couple who were sitting outside the café enjoying the sunshine with their impeccably behaved dog. They wanted to know more about Reggie, although drew the line at us getting him out of the car, as their dog didn't seem quite so impressed with the idea!

Coffees dispatched, we trundled back down the hill, stopping to take a gratuitous photograph of the beautiful view from Vellano on the way - the mist still lurking the valley bottom.


Instead of going directly home, we carried on as far as Amanda's shop in the village where we called in to get some food for lunch and for Helen to collect some homework from Samantha. We were surprised at how cool and fresh it felt down in Pietrabuona after the heat of the hills.

On getting home, it was getting towards lunchtime, so we popped our treats in the oven to warm through before sitting on the patio in the glorious sunshine to enjoy a seafood and chard stew, pork escalopes in tomato and caper sauce and some boiled potatoes - delicious.


After lunch it was back to outside work for both of us - it might be Sunday, but we had a lot to get done! While I made some good progress on the construction of the shed roof, Helen went up the terraces to spend the afternoon making and tending a bonfire and getting rid of just one of the many piles of brambles.

The soundtrack to our afternoon consisted of barking dogs (for once not Reggie, although the noises did seem to upset him and he spent a fair amount of time barking back, not that we could blame him), lots of shouting and the occasional gunshot. There was clearly a hunt going on and it all sounded very close indeed - it wasn't until Helen climbed up the terraces to start her bonfire that she spotted someone in high-vis orange on the hill opposite us - it's amazing how sound travels around here.

By the end of the afternoon, Helen had completed the burning of one of the piles of bramble and I had the beginnings of the shed roof in place - a productive afternoon indeed!






Tomorrow we are due to try our hands at olive picking for the first time - on Chris and Sue's olive terraces, so it'll be an early night tonight in preparation for an early start in the morning.

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