Book 4

Book 4

The Parenthood Years 

2010- 

‘I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them show the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside, give them a sense of pride. Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.’ 

Linda Creed 

(Originally recorded by George Benson in 1977) 

The Lady of Gardencourt 

“She was a young person of many theories; her imagination was remarkably active. It had been her fortune to possess a finer mind than most of the persons among whom her lot was cast; to have a larger perception of surrounding facts, and to care for knowledge that was tinged with the unfamiliar...It may be affirmed without delay that She was probably very liable to the sin of self-esteem; she often surveyed with complacency the field of her own nature; she was in the habit of taking for granted, on scanty evidence, that she was right; impulsively, she often admired herself...Every now and then she found out she was wrong, and then she treated herself to a week of passionate humility. After this she held her head higher than ever again; for it was of no use, she had an unquenchable desire to think well of herself. She had a theory that it was only on this condition that life was worth living; that one should be one of the best, should be conscious of a fine organization, should move in the realm of light, of natural wisdom, of happy impulse, of inspiration gracefully chronic.”

Henry James 

From ‘Portrait of a Lady’

Chapter 27

Arrival - December 2010

Annette’s due date came and went, but finally her contractions started on Friday 10 December at 2 am in the morning and were between 20 and 10 minutes. We had a scheduled appointment at Careggi Hospital at midday, so packed an overnight bag just in case. We arrived at hospital and Annette’s contractions were now between 10 and 7 minutes. The check-up went fine and they told us to come back when the contractions were at 5 minute intervals. They continued all afternoon and by Friday evening almost 24 hours after starting were approaching the magic 5 minute mark. We rang the hospital and they told us to come in, this was it! 

So at 2.30 am on Saturday morning we stumbled into the Renault Clio and onto the traffic free roads of Florence. Half an hour later and we were at Carreggi in the Margherita birthing center. Fortunately there was a room available, equipped with double bed, bathroom and a birthing pool. 12 hours later and with a lot of pushing at 14.10 on the 11th December our little miracle arrived! The midwives were excellent and there were plenty of them. Annette’s Labour stretched through 3 shifts and at the end there were about four of them present. I got to change the first few nappies of black tar like poo. Isabel came out with dark hair at the back and golden highlights on the top. Big blue eyes and weighing 3.170 kg and 50 cm long. She had no trouble feeding and we got to finally have a doze. 

The next step was to phone our families who were itching to hear what was happening. We had our first visitors at the hospital. My students, Enzo Ramalli and Lucia. The pediatrician kept an eye on Isabel as her weight dropped to 2.820 kg and they decided to keep us in another day. More visitors arrived, work colleague, Julia Waldman and Annette’s ex-student Francesca Rizello, who as a gynecologist had helped Annette during her pregnancy. The following day Isabel was almost up to her birth weight and we were released. 

I took Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as my three day late legal paternity leave and Thursday as unpaid leave, so I had a few days to help Annette and Isabel settle in. I did try to get the Saturday off, but my boss said no. Ironically on the Friday Florence suffered its worst snow for fifty years and my Saturday class was cancelled. Sweet justice. So we spent our first eight days together as a family. 

On the Monday I had to be back at work, but for only three days as we broke up for the Christmas holidays. I went back with a bottle of Veuve Cliquot Champagne, Ferrari Spumante and cakes to celebrate with my work colleagues and students who were very happy for Annette and I. 

Davide, Rossana and Lorenzo popped round to see Isabel and then Nadia and Alberto too. 

Cue Christmas shopping, including 5 panettone from our favorite shop in Cerbaia along with some nice wine to celebrate. I found a 1985 Brunello Poggio All’Oro from Banfi and a 1997 Mille e una Notte from Donna Fugata. Isabel received lots of cards and presents from our friends and from family in England too. 

I couldn’t have wished for a better 42nd birthday. Annette also bought me some cds and dvds. Isabel wasn’t sleeping much at nights, but was good during the days. 

I enjoyed my usual birthday smoked salmon and popped round to Alberto’s with one of our panettone and stayed for crostini with Nadia and their two mothers. 

Christmas Day was nice and relaxing with lots of Skype messages to England. On Boxing Day Isabel had her first invitation out for dinner with our good friends Francesco and Michela. They had his brother and two boys visiting from Rome, but Isabel slept for most of the afternoon. The next few days were spent at home. 

For New Year’s Eve our good friends Davide and Rossana invited us for a special meal, they went to a lot of trouble and even wrote a menu. Lorenzo’s friend Giada was with us and we brought a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. We enjoyed playing some board games. Isabel was a bit restless, she seemed to be better in the mornings and afternoons, however the evening went smoothly and we all toasted the New Year in. 

2011

News wise 2011 was a pretty eventful and horrific year. It started with the Moscow terrorist bombing which killed 36 people and followed with the Egyptian revolution, Castro resignation and Libyan protests, leading to the eventual overthrow and assassination of Colonel Ghadaffi. Earthquakes in Turkey left 582 dead, in New Zealand, which killed 181 people and another in Japan, which caused a tsunami and nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant. Evil mastermind of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Osama Bin Laden was finally assassinated after a ten year manhunt. In the Summer, a Tornado in Missouri USA killed 158. There was a terrorist attack in a Norway youth camp and in London, riots followed the police shooting of a black man, Mark Duggan. At the end of the year the last US troops left Iraq and the long war there was finally finished. In Italy, president Berlusconi resigned. 

January

I didn’t have to go back to work until the 10th of January, while Annette was on maternity leave. We made use of the days together by driving out to some nearby locations, such a San Michele a Torri and Sant Andrea in Percussina, home of Niccolò Macchiaveli. Davide invited me to his golf club in the Mugello, Poggio dei Medici for a golf lesson. Annette met up with her ante-natal classmates so Isabel could meet some other new babies. We also popped over to Annette’s friend Gemma in Prato where Isabel met her two daughters, Sophie 4 and Emily 2. 

After the shock of returning to work we took Isabel on her first proper outing to the pretty town of Loro Ciuffena, near Arezzo. I discovered it on my list of ‘I borghi più belli d’Italia’ and very pretty it turned out to be. There was a little water mill on the river with some old guy who showed us inside. Isabel slept for most of the time in my sling, but it was a successful outing. 

Phil and Jane

Our first family members, Phil and Jane paid us a flying visit at the end of the month and had booked in at JK Place in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. I picked them up and brought them over to our flat on the Friday  evening. They were very happy to see Annette and meet Isabel. They came with bacon and tea, crumpets and newspapers, as well as loads of presents for their new niece. After dinner I dropped them back off at the station. 

We met up on the Sunday at their hotel. It was pretty cool, decorated in black and grey with some classical sculptures dotted around. We went for a walk up Via Tournabuoni, across the Pontevecchio for a peak at the Pitti Palace and on to our chosen restaurant, Quattro Leoni. They enjoyed the experience, but unfortunately the cheesecake had finished. Isabel was good and we took a stroll back to their hotel and said our good byes. 

February

Four Generations

At the beginning of February, hot on their heels my sister Cassandra had arranged to come and visit with my mum and grandma. It was pretty ambitious of Cassandra, as not only was it her first visit to see us, but grandma, like Mavis required a wheelchair to get about. I met up with them at the station and accompanied them to their hotel, which turned out to be the wrong one. We got a taxi to the right one, which was a little out of the center. I went to get the car and then picked them up and brought them to our flat. They were very happy to meet Isabel and came laden with presents. I knocked up dinner and we had an enjoyable evening, four generations together. 

They were here for a few days, so on the Saturday we picked them up from their hotel and went for a walk round Florence. We showed them where we work in Piazza Strozzi and there was a farmers market in Piazza Republicca. Mum and grandma bought some cheese and we tasted some salami and wine. We walked in to see the Duomo and Piazza Signoria. We had booked a table at a tiny restaurant Vini e Vecchi Sapori which was very nice. They only had  five tables and locked us in once they had filled up. The primi and secondi were great, only the desserts slightly disappointing. Afterwards we walked to Piazza Santa Croce, stopping off at a bar, where Grandma got chatting with the bar lady. She bought a fake cat for Lisa and I bought some door name plaques for Cassandra’s children. There was a chocolate festival on in Santa Croce with some free tasting. We took the tram back to our flat for tea and then I dropped the ladies back to their hotel.  

On the Sunday we gave Isabel and Annette’s rest and I took Cassandra, mum and grandma out for a drive in the Chianti.  I stopped to show them our old house at Olmastrino where mum and grandma had visited nearly ten years before. The weather was a bit cloudy, but we stopped in Greve for a coffee outside in La Logge bar. We drove on to Castellina where I had booked a table at Antica Trattoria La Torre, a place I’d been with Phil in 2003. It was packed with locals. We gorged on some very tasty wicked antipasti, primi of ribollita, pappardelle with cinghiale and veal, rabbit and fillet steak secondi. No room for dessert and we had a stroll round this pretty town. Our next stop was San Gimignano. We arrived just before the sun went down, just time for a wander and coffee in the Piazza Duomo and for some souvenir buying. We drove back to Via Pozzino for a light tea and to say goodbye to Isabel. 

The next morning I met them at there hotel, drove them to the station and bade them a fond farewell. 

The weather in early February was still nice so we decided to take Isabel on her first trip to the lovely Lucca. We drove up and parked just inside  the old walls. There was just time for a walk round Piazza Anfiteatro before our lunch date at our usual spot Osteria Baralla. Isabel slept through the whole meal, which as usual doesn’t disappoint. 

Afterwards we enjoyed a pleasant stroll along the Fillungo. It was the last week of the Winter sales and we both picked up some new shoes. Of course no visit to Lucca would be complete without a walk along the top of the old walls, so we pushed Isabel up in her pushchair. 

My good friend Davide was entertaining a business partner and for moral support invited me to dinner at the very swish Golden View restaurant overlooking the river Arno. The view was incredible, food amazing and there was even a jazz quartet playing. 

Our friends Michela and Francesco invited us for a farewell dinner as they were off to the big apple for three years. Francesco had been offered an architectural position in New York and so we joined ex student Stefano to wish them bon voyage. 

Now that we had a little baby, our thoughts again turned to moving out of the cramped flat at Via del Pozzino. We had been there for far too long and wanted Isabel to have somewhere outside to play. We had made an offer to buy a house before she was born and started looking again. One property we went to see was in Lamole. I’m not sure what we were thinking as it was even further from Florence than when we had lived in Greve. Anyway we went to see the house. It was a beautiful morning and we drove up about 2,100 feet. The house had no central heating, needed lots of work to make it inhabitable and the neighbor was a dog breeder. Oh well 

Isabel UK

We had a two-day carnival break, which along with the weekend gave us four days off work. So we decided to take Isabel, who was still less than three months old, on her first plane ride to see the rest of her family. We got her passport done and booked the flights. We arranged for friend Alberto to drive us to Florence airport at the ungodly hour of 6.30am. Isabel was perfect on the flight, feeding on take off and landing and quiet in between. We took the train from Gatwick down to Worthing and were met by Annette’s mum Mavis, who got her first look at her newest grandchild. 

Annette’s niece, Bernice and nine-month old baby, Mya were the first to visit and then Ruth, Joe and Elise came round for dinner. 

After ten years of us coming back to Worthing to meet the latest baby, it was finally our turn. 

We went to a clothes sale with Bernice at the local Charmandean center. Phil and Jane, who already met Isabel in Florence come down to Worthing and brought Leonie to meet her new cousin. My dad popped round also to meet his seventh grandchild. 

Cassandra had arranged for the family to come round her house as Isabel met about a million more relatives, including Cassandra’s daughter Megan, Milo and Thomas. Grandma, Tina, Lisa and Fiorella, Frank and David and goodness knows who else. It must have been a bit overwhelming for Isabel, who was obviously too young to know what was going on or who all these people were. 

We went up to Horsham for Bernice and Graeme’s anniversary and also out to a restaurant called ‘Food’ with my sister, Rita, Mat, auntie Fiorella and Michael. 

March 

A visit to Florence’s premier annual food festival, TASTE was made without Annette and Isabel as they wouldn’t allow pushchairs in! We took Annette’s ex-student and gynecologist, Francesca Rizello out for dinner at one of our favourite restaurants, I Su Pe’i’ Canto, in Carmignano, to say thank you for all the help she gave us. We also enjoyed a pizza out with some of Annette’s anti-natal group who she had been spending some time with, six couples with six newborn babies crawling all over the pizzeria. 

Rimini

I had read an article about an Impressionism art exhibition in Rimini on our trip back to the UK and so we payed this seaside resort our first visit. It was a lovely sunny March Sunday and we made the three-hour drive to the east coast. Isabel slept for the whole journey. We had a stroll on the wide sandy beach and went for a super lunch and great local ‘Sangiovese di Romagna’ wine at a ‘Slow food’ guide restaurant I had found, ‘Osteria dë Börg’.  We then visited the Castel Sigismondo for French Impressionism exhibition which was wonderful. Afterwards we wandered the pretty streets checking out the Roman bridge, arch and Leon Battista Alberti’s famous Tempio Malatestiano. A very successful day out. 

My old English class were itching to meet Isabel and so Enzo booked a table at a new Florence restaurant, Piazza del Vino. There was Enzo, Lucia, Luciana, Valeria, Andrea Orsi, Andrea Benvenuti, Leonardo Corsi and Pierpaolo. We had a great evening gorging on Porceddu and some great wine. 

Portovenere 

The spring weather was very pleasant, so much so that at the end of March we decided to introduce Isabel to the Ligurian coast with her first visit to one of our favourite towns,  Portovenere.  After a two-hour drive we’re ravenous and settle down at ‘trattoria la Marina’ on the seafront for a wicked Lobster linguine. Afterwards we strolled along the pretty promenade and up to Byron’s Grotto to finish a great day out. 

April began with an invitation to our good fiend, Scottish Caroline’s villa in the Montelupo hills. She had also invited Mary Rasheed and new boyfriend, Matthew Cory (brother of legendary teacher-trainer Hugh Cory) We enjoy a very pleasant Sunday lunch munching on hors douevres and sipping Pimms and being entertained by Caroline’s eccentric husband, Nanni. The views were spectacular and the lunch of lemon pork and guinea fowl and our Gelateria dei Medici ice cream balls yummy too. We check out her chickens and pick and eat some wild asparagus growing on her extensive property. 

Isabel had her second trip to school. Annette took her into see the teachers and reception in February and I took her to see one of my young learner classes who had been bugging me to see her.  We made it out of the house again on some warm weekend afternoons with drives up to Artimino and a lunch at ‘Fattoria di Maiano’ where unfortunately Annette found some maggots in her salad...  

Phil and Leonie 

Into April and Annette’s brother Phil paid us his second visit in only three months. This time bringing his daughter, Leonie, who was visiting after an eight-year gap. They were staying at the Hotel Savoy in the centre of Florence for three days. We met up on he Saturday for a coffee at Gilli in Piazza Repubblica. He had booked a table for diner at a restaurant called ‘La Barrique’. Isabel was a bit grumpy and the food a bit unusual... 

On the Sunday we picked them up at the station and took them up to Piazzale Michelangelo before our lunch date in Panzano-in-Chianti. We stopped off for coffee in Greve and then drove up to Panzano for our lunch under the wisteria at ‘Oltre il Giardino’.  Our last stop was San Gimignano for some essential jewellry purchasing for Phil’s partner, Jane. We finished up back at our house for tea, exhausted. 

Monday, I was working, but Annette and Isabel had a lunch date at the ‘Villa Salviatino’, but we had to turn down a dinner invitation to the Villa San Michele. 

Still it was great for Phil and Leonie to spend time with Annette and Isabel. 

After our Fattoria di Maiano let down, I was treated to two more sub-par meals. A works do pizza at ‘O’ Munaciello and a meal with one of my adult classes at Quattro Leoni. Just went to show, not all food experiences in Italy are A1. 

Easter Holiday

For our Easter holiday we decided to pay a visit to Lake Bracciano in the North of Lazio. We booked three nights in an agriturismo farmhouse near the lake. On our way down we stopped at the pretty city of Viterbo. The weather was quite pleasant and we enjoyed strolling around admiring the cool dark grey travertine marble buildings. The farmhouse, Casale Carraccia was comfortable and they even had some rabbits, pigs and chickens to keep Isabel happy. Isabel still wasn’t sleeping well so Annette spent most of the holiday in a daze. 

The following day we drove into the gorgeous lakeside town of Anguillara Sabazia. Part of the town was up some very steep steps, which proved tricky with the pushchair, followed by some  strolling along the cobbled streets and lazy lunch. We meet a Calabrian photographer on the lake who has a small exhibition and we buy some of his prints. 

Our next day trip was to Cerveteri, to check out some 3,000 year old Etruscan tombs. The weather turned a bit drizzly, but that didn’t deter us. After a look in the small museum we headed out to the ancient burial ground and wandered among the 200 or so round tombs dotted around and went inside some of them, Isabel seemed to enjoy herself too. In the evening we went to the Trattoria del Castello back in Bracciano where we have a great view of the Castello Odescalchi, famous for celebrity weddings, including Tom Cruise and Katy Holmes. 

We checked out and headed to our final destination, the Villa Lante. We stopped for a cappuccino in the pretty town of Lante and then onto the Villa and gardens which turned out to be very beautiful.

For the Easter Monday holiday we paid our local Giardino Orticultura a visit and saw some lovely azaleas. Our good friend Alberto put us in touch with his cleaning lady, Tamara, from Moldavia. She came round for a few hours a week and also did some ironing, she was wonderful. 

Grandma Mavis

We were very privileged to welcome Annette’s mum Mavis for twelve days in May. It was her ..... visit and at now 82 was no mean feat, coming on her own, equipped with wheelchair. I picked her up from Florence airport and she had a few days at our house with Annette and her new granddaughter, before our weekend excursions. On the Friday we went for s drive to the Val d’Elsa, stopping off for cappuccino at Barberino and s picnic at a lovely spot we had found at Linari. We drove home by way of Montespertol to show Mavis the house in Montalbino we had made an offer on. 

Saturday, Mavis requested a visit to Greve, for old times sake. We booked a table for lunch at ‘Ristoro di Lamole’. We stop for a view of Florence up Piazzale Michelangiolo before the drive out to Chianti. The restaurant had a gorgeous outdoor terrace, where we enjoyed s fine meal while admiring the spectacular view. The local lilac ‘giuggiole’ irises were in bloom and we stopped to have a look and chat with the old guy who grew them. We finished up in Greve, where there was a flower market on, 

Sunday and we decided to take Mavis to see Tuscany’s largest lake, Trasimeno. We were again blessed with glorious sunshine and arrived just in time for lunch at our favorite restaurant on the lake in Passignano. The lake fish was superb and Isabel made friends with some children on the next table. Afterwards we had a pleasant stroll along the lake, before heading home. During the week Mavis got to spend some quality time with Isabel and Annette, with some short trips to the park and iris garden. 

On the Friday we took Mavis to the Pitti Palace. One of my students had given me some free tickets to the costume gallery, so we made the most of the opportunity to visit the Palatine gallery too. We enjoyed the Titian, Canova, Raphael and Caravaggio masterpieces on display. For lunch we went to an old favorite, Quattro Leoni for an alfresco meal. 

Sunday and it was our last full day together and Mavis had requested Lucca. We were quite a sight with wheelchair and push chair. Our first stop is the Palazzo Pfanner, setting for the film ‘Portrait of a lady’ (where we chose Isabel’s name from’. The roses in the gardens are in full bloom and we had a great time chilling out there. Lunch was at yet another favorite restaurant, Osteria Baralla, where we were again eating outside. We finished up for a coffee in Piazza Anfiteatro, before the drive home. A fitting end to Mavis’ visit. 

The following week we checked out the newly restored rose garden in Florence. After abstaining from wine during her pregnancy, Annette was back on the purple stuff. Unfortunately our favorite Tuscan wine festival in San Casciano was no more. However when one door closes... we stumbled on another festival in Montecarlo, Lucca (Tuscany, not France). There was a minibus that took us round the wineries, including the most famous, Buonamico. The scenery was breathtaking and the wines great. Isabel enjoyed her first wine festival. Last year’s successful ice cream festival is back in Florence in Piazza Republicca and Piazza Pitti, so during work breaks I made the most of it. Our last date in June was the annual ‘Cantine Aperte’, open wineries event. This year we decided to take a trip to Montalcino. That May turned out to be one of the hottest on record. The scorching weather continued as we visited Silvio Nardi, at Casale del Bosco, in the middle of nowhere and then Casato Prime Donna, an estate run by women only. We got to meet the owner and founder of ‘Cantine Aperte’, Donatella Colombini. 

June 

Our regular courses had finished and summer courses began. The hot weather didn’t let up and Isabel had gone from crawling backwards to forwards, so we made some necessary security adjustments to the flat in Via del Pozzino. 

We decided to go to the Radda wine festival and took a picnic which we enjoyed in Castellina. When we arrived in Radda the weather finally broke and the heavens opened. The temperature was back up to 35 degrees for my last Saturday at work and afterwards I went to the Florence Wine Event in Piazza Pitti. On the Sunday we took a drive out to Mugello and Borgo San Lorenzo. The following Saturday we drove up to Montespertol for the annual wild boar festival and on Sunday we went to the Castellina wine festival and stopped for a picnic in Impruneta. I managed to get into a midweek performance at the Ideon cinema in Florence where famous actress, Isabella Rossellini was reciting some poetry. 

Baratti and Campiglia

Isabel got her first swim in the Mediterranean in mid-June as we booked a night in a b&b in Campiglia Marrittima, which our friend Alberto put us in touch with. We arrived at Baratti in time for lunch and spent the afternoon on the beach with Alberto, Nadia and the rest of their friends. Nadia’s cousin Silvia takes Isabel for her first dip in the sea and somehow we managed to keep her from getting sunburnt. We were invited to dinner at Nadia and Alberto’s and back at our b&b to sleep. In the morning we had breakfast on the terrace and the owner brought out his pigeon for Isabel to stroke. We spent another nice day on the beach and Isabel has survived her new experience. 

The following weekend we took Isabel for her first outdoor swimming pool experience on Saturday at Parco della Rennai in Signa and on Sunday at our old stomping ground Greve-in-Chianti as Isabel begins her Summer ‘Italian style’. 

I just managed to get to see the art exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, which was on Cubism and had some masterpieces by Picasso, Miró and Dali.

I saw the opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Florence and they had some great pop memorabilia including The Who’s Lambretta from Quadrophenia.

July

We broke up for the Summer in the middle of July and had a nice invitation to Alberto’s house round the corner for dinner. Isabel got her first taste of watermelon and chocolate. We spent the first week going to the outdoor pools to cool down. We had thought about going to the Dolomites and had contacted my friend Enzo about staying at his flat in the Plonner residence. Unfortunately the weather forecast was really bad, so we changed our plans at the last minute. A quick phone call to our landlord Silverio and we booked 11 nights at his flat on Elba.

Summer holiday part 1 - Elba

Day 1 Thursday 

After last year’s holiday here we kind of figured it was the easiest thing to do with a seven-month baby. We did some manic last minute packing, loaded up the Renault Clio and made the 1 1/2 hour drive to Piombino. We catch the 12.30 ferry and after the hour-long crossing we are at Portoferraio to pick up some shopping. We arrived in Zanca at 3.00 and picked up the key from 90-year old neighbor, Livo. A quick clean of the flat and unpack and we headed out to our first beach destination, the beautiful Fettovaia. We were back at the flat for the 8.30 sunset and dinner on the patio. 

Day 2 Friday 

A nice relaxing morning on the terrace overlooking the sea and lazy lunch, before returning to Fettovaia. There was a special event at Portoferraio dedicated to Elba’s most famous ex resident, Napoleon in the evening, so we drove there in the evening. In true Lee-fashion we stumbled onto a free wine tasting on the sea front before our dinner appointment at Osteria Libertaria. There was a small costumed parade and Napoleon himself wandering the streets.  

Day 3 Saturday

We recovered from our big night out with a relaxing morning on the terrace and returning to the beach at Fettovaia in the afternoon. We were back for the sunset and dinner back at the flat.

Day 4 Sunday

Today we had a long day planned. We took a picnic and drove anti clockwise around the island. We stopped for lunch at the pretty St Piero in Campo admiring the spectacular views toward Campo nel Elba and Marina di Campo and had a little explore and peak at the frescoes in the local church. After lunch we continued driving and stopped to cool down at the beach near Marina di Campo. We had a 7.30 date with one of our favorite restaurants on the island ‘il Giardino in Porto Azzurro. Our 10 dish antipasti didn’t disappoint and there was a jazz band on hand to provide some entertainment. 

Day 5 Monday

After another morning on our terrace we paid our local beach at St Andrea a visit and it turned out to be quite nice. 

Day 6 Tuesday 

We had a dinner invitation from our friends, Annette’s ex student and architect Piero and his wife Paola, who had recently bought and restored a house in San Piero in Campo. The house looked great and Paola had knocked up a wicked pasta alla Norma followed by a sumptuous octopus casserole. We bought the ice cream and we tasted the local Aleatico dessert wine. Isabel has a whale of a time crawling about on their parquet floor. 

Day 7 Wednesday

Piero and Paola were driving back to Florence to meet up with their daughter and we invited them over to ours for lunch the following Friday. Today it rained all day for a change, so we got stuck into some summer reading. 

Day 8 Thursday 

Yesterday’s storm was slowly dying out. In the afternoon we took a drive round to Biodola, but the sea looked a bit rough, so we drove back to Fettovaia for the afternoon. In the evening we go out for a pizza at a restaurant we spotted down the road, Bastia’s. The food was forgettable, but Isabel made friends with the owner’s daughter. 

Day 9 Friday

We cleaned up a bit for our visitors and kept the lunch simple. Prosciutto and burrata, which proves popular and our pasta with anchovies, parsley and pine nuts, which is surprisingly good. Paola bought dessert, a green tomato crostata. They liked the flat. 

Day 10 Saturday

For our penultimate full day we explored Marciana Alta, which had thousands of steps and after lunch headed out to the beach at Cavoli. In the evening we were back home for sunset and dinner. 

Day 11 Sunday

On our last full day we finally make it to Biodola, but this time we found the small beach at Scagliere and enjoyed our last afternoon. Isabel made some new friends at the beach too. 

Day 12 Monday

Sadly our last day. We packed and cleaned and drove back to the port at Portoferraio to catch the 12.30 ferry back to Piombino and the mainland. And that was it. 11 days on our lovely island, all chilled out and ready for the second leg of our summer holidays...

Summer holiday part 2  

the UK

We only had a one day turnaround, so some serious washing and packing ensued. Wednesday 6.00am and we were in the taxi heading to Florence airport. Our usual 7.55 Meridiana flight went smoothly. It was already Isabel’s second time on a plane. We took the train down to Worthing and grandma Mavis met us at the station. It was nice to swap the 40 degree heat of Italy for a pleasant 20 degrees. We arrived in Hawthorne Crescent in time for coffee and Annette’s sister Ruth and niece Elise are round Mavis’s to welcome Annette and Isabel. 

Day 2 Thursday 

Our first full day was a bit mad. Bernice and Mya visited from Horsham and Felicity, Stan, Peter and Lily we’re there too. Isabel was in her element with all these children to play with. In the afternoon we took her round my dad’s house to see her grandad Michael. 

Day 3 Friday

We took Isabel round to my mum’s new flat for lunch. Mum had Cassandra’s daughter Megan for the day, so Isabel met yet another cousin. After lunch we went to Victoria Park and met up with my sister, Cassandra. In the evening I caught up with my old Chatsmore chums for a drink. Ian Wilkins and Joanna Head joined us too. 

Day 4 Saturday 

Phil, Jane and Leonie were down from Cambridge for the day and we had lunch at Mavis’s house. In true British fashion the sun has disappeared and we stayed inside for most of the day. Stan and Elias popped round and lightened the mood. Phil and Jane had a big announcement to make. They were buying a house together. 

Day 5 Sunday

The rain has settled in and we dodged the showers on our early morning Sunday car boot sale, however we picked up some very cheap toys and books. In the evening Fiorella had arranged a party with lots of family invited. Isabel got to meet even more relatives and a pretty unique photo op with her auntie Rita, great aunties, Lisa and Fiorella and great great auntie Tina. 

Day 6 Monday 

Auntie Lisa had invited us for dinner with grandma Giulia, who sang some Italian lullabies to Isabel. 

Day 7 Tuesday

It was our big day out as we decided to take Mavis out to Hever Castle, one time home of Anne Boleyn. It was only an hours drive away just past East Grinstead. We found a nice country pub in the village of Hever, aptly called ‘King Henry VIII’ and enjoyed a nice meal in the garden. The castle was more like a country house, but the architecture and moat were cool. Also the garden were huge and easy to negotiate with the wheelchair and push chair. The home dated from the 13th century, but the Italian garden added in 1903 by William Waldorf Astor. The roses were in bloom and we all had a lovely afternoon. 

In the evening we were at Rita’s. Holly and Will had tea together and Mat came home and cooked up some chili which him, Annette and me eat? Isabel enjoyed herself, despite having another long day, but unfortunately there had been riots all over the country, so the atmosphere was a bit chilled. 

Day 8 Wednesday 

For our penultimate day I had arranged to go with mum and Cassie to see Carl in Bath. He’d had a major breakdown, so it was essential I saw him. We made an early start and stopped in Salisbury for a coffee in the beautiful cathedral cloister cafe. Carl was in good spirits and we spent about three hours with him playing games and doing his jigsaw puzzles outside in his courtyard. We stopped in the long drive home for dinner at the ‘Shoe inn’ just outside Southampton. Annette and Isabel had spent the day at Bernice’s. 

Day 9 Thursday

Our last day in the motherland was spent shopping and packing. We bade our farewells to Mavis and Ruth and Elise popped by to say goodbye. My mum took us up to Gatwick as we said goodbye to England. 

Summer Holiday part 3 

Le Marche

In our eternal quest to escape Via del Pozzino, especially during the heat of August we had booked another holiday to  an area close to home, Le Marche, an area we had only been to once before. I had spotted this apartment in the south of the region owned by an English couple. 

Day 1 Saturday 

It’s about a four hour drive to our destination so we broke the journey up with a stop in Spello in Umbria. It turned out to be a little gem. We ate our sandwiches and found a great bar with a gorgeous garden to have a cold drink. Isabel was the star of the bar and we enjoyed the spectacular views of the countryside. Afterwards we had a wander through the pretty medieval streets and I find an enoteca and came away with some local Sagrantino wine. We pressed on with our drive over the Appenine mountains and searched for our destination aptly called ‘the Hideawy’. We eventually found it and were welcomed by our hosts, Mark and Sarah. Our apartment was very cosy and the outdoor pool rather small. I had a pre-dinner swim and we enjoyed dinner on our outdoor patio. 

Day 2 Sunday 

We spent our first morning relaxing and exploring the extensive property and after consulting Mark and Sarah’s homemade guidebook we decided on a short trip to a nearby gorge, the Gola di Infernaccia. I strapped on my baby harness and we went for a very pleasant walk with some spectacular views. In the evening we had booked a table at a local agriturismo farmhouse, Le Selve, where we gorged on some local cuisine. 

Day 3 Monday

It clouded over a little today, so we stayed at our farmhouse for most of the day, only venturing out to our local town, Amendola, for an aperitivo. The weather brightened up and we had a pleasant evening. 

Day 4 Tuesday

It was our big day on the coast, which was about an hour’s drive away. Our destination was Mont Conero. The road from Amendola was pretty straight and we arrived at the Adriatic. As we looked for a nice stretch of beach to stop just north of Pescara, it all looked a bit built up, dull and crowded. We decided to drive up to Mont Conero and look for something a bit more interesting. By the time we arrived at the pretty hill top town of Sirolo perched on top of a cliff, it was time to have our picnic lunch, which we had overlooking the sea. We spent a few hours having a stroll and had some trouble trying to find our way down to the beach. Eventually we found a car park with a shuttle bus service to the beach of San Michele. The bus ride down was hair raising and the beach incredible. We spent a few hours here trying to keep Isabel out of the sun and the sea was a bit rough. We took the shuttle bus back to the car park and drove on to a monastery where we enjoyed an aperitif on their panoramic terrace overlooking the coast. We decided to stop for dinner at Portonovo but after some exploring failed to find the town. Eventually we parked up near the beach and after witnessing a wonderful sunset had the most amazing fish dinner in a restaurant, ‘Marcello’ actually on the beach. 

Day 5 Wednesday

This was a recovery day after yesterday’s exploits. However after lunch we drove up and up the Sibilline mountains. The views are breathtaking. We reached the top and there was s good festival going on. We stopped on the way down in Sarnano, which was listed in the most beautiful hamlets of Italy book and very quaint it was too. We stopped for an ice cream to cool down, before heading home for a dip in our tiny outdoor pool and a candlelight dinner on our patio.  

Day 6 Thursday 

After another relaxing morning at the Hideaway we booked a lunch date at a nearby lake San Ruffino, aptly called ‘Osteria del Lago’. We gorged on antipasti and truffle pasta and relaxed by the lake afterwards. 

Day 7

We decided to visit Ascoli Piceno. It was about an hour’s drive away from Amandola. It turned out to be a very elegant city, constructed mostly from grey travertine stone. We wandered through Piazza dell’Arengo and bought some of the local ‘olives all’ Ascolana, which were yummy. The main square, Piazza del’ Popolo was very impressive. We stopped for an aperitif and watched the world go by. On the way home we stopped for dinner in Communanza at the Locanda del Gusto. It had been recommended to us by a Florentine couple who were staying at the same farmhouse as us. The food was very tasty and cheap. In fact all the restaurants we ate at were a lot cheaper than Tuscany. 

Day 8

Unfortunately our holiday had come to an end as we packed up and checked out. We had all day to drive home and in true Cooper/Woodland fashion made the most of it fitting as much in as possible and taking in the scenic route. Our first stop was Matellica, home to the Verdicchio white wine. Unfortunately it was midday in August and like a ghost town. Our next stop was at the Caves of Frassassi. We ate our picnic lunch and descended into the depths of the earth. The caves were pretty incredible. However after about an hour in the enormous, cold, dank, dark depths, Isabel has seen enough and we emerge back up to ground level and sunlight. Our last port of call was the very pretty Gubbio in Umbria. It was our second visit here after a slightly disappointing visit five years previous. It was prettier in the August twilight, but our search for somewhere to eat was proving tricky as everywhere was booked up. The main attraction was the Palazzo dei Capitani. We eventually went back to the first place we tried and they found an outside table where we enjoyed a lovely pizza. A fitting end to the third leg of our holiday. 

Amazingly even after three summer holidays we still had a week before starting work. We alternated days between outdoor pools at Greve and Parco della Renai. Interspersed with trips to various restaurants, including Osteria del Milione up at Scandicci Alto and La Castellana up at Montefioralle. 

September 

My return to work was made easier by the visit of Annette’s brother Phil who was in town for a conference and staying again at Villa Salviatino. Annette has gone to lunch with him earlier in the year and now I got to experience some five star luxury. We joined Phil and Jane Who was accompanying him for fresh Bellini cocktails in the garden before going for dinner in the swanky outdoor restaurant. 

We took them out for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Pienza, Latte di Luna on the Sunday and timed our visit to see their annual cheese festival. 

September started with an aperitivo on work colleague Jane’s newly refurbished roof terrace in Scandicci. Isabel met up with Jane’s daughter Lavinia, who was a year older. One of Annette’s anti-natal class invites us to a barbecue at their house, there were about 10 8 10-month olds all going crazy together. 

Even though we had a new baby, we still went to some of the wine festivals we had been so accustomed to, especially as Isabel was fairly safe in her push chair. So we attended September’s Greve wine expo ond Panzano’s Vino al Vino, both complete with their own jazz bands. I also attended the second edition of Wine town held in some of Florence’s historic Palazzi. 

We drove over to Prato to see Annette’s friend Gemma and Tiziano. Their two girls Sophie and Emily were now five and three. Isabel had a great time playing with them. 

More wine festivals followed with trips to the pretty Castello di Oliveto in Castelfiorentino and Arezzo, where we also stayed for dinner at the Osteria da Luchino. 

October 

October started with what else, another wine festival. Benvenuto al Brunello were holding a special tasting at the Grand Hotel (now called St Regis) in Florence. I invited work colleague Peter along and after some glass swilling we admired a collection of super cars on display in Piazza Ognissanti. 

Mavis - Autumn 

We were then treated to a special ‘Autumn’ visit from Annette’s mum Mavis. 

We took her up Piazzale Michelangiolo and to see the rose garden, which now had a permanent exhibition of bronze sculptures by the Belgian artist Folon. 

Just like her daughter Mavis was always eager to see some new places, so we decided on Bologna, a city we had been a few times before and only an hour’s drive from Florence. It was a bit chilly, so we wrapped up and had a little walk to reach the center and had booked lunch at the Trattoria Leonida. We got stuck into pasta with truffles and porcini mushrooms. Afterwards we had a wander to Piazza Maggiore and enjoyed this lively city, which had been voted Italy’s most livable. Today there was some kind of peaceful middle-Eastern demonstration going on. We escaped into a swanky bar for coffee, before the long walk back to the car and short drive home. 

The following Sunday we took Mavis to Orvieto. We had wanted to take her when she was here in April but ran out of time. It was a cold, but sunny day and we arrived at lunchtime. Again it was a bit of a walk up to the historic center, especially pushing Mavis in her wheelchair and Isabel in her push chair. We found a restaurant, Osteria Numero Uno, but unfortunately my pork was a little undercooked. They did however have a children’s play area which kept Isabel happy. Afterwards we had a pleasant stroll in this beautiful city and I bought a woolly hat for Mavis. We made our way to the impressive medieval Duomo and enjoyed a drink outside in a bar and soaked up the last rays of sun. On the walk back to the car I bought Isabel a hat too. 

November 

For the All-Saints bank holiday we took Mavis for a drive in the countryside, back to our old stomping grounds of Montefiridolfi, Fonte de Medici and on to Greve for a coffee in the square. The Autumn colours were spectacular especially in the vineyards. I picked up a calendar and the usual pancetta from Falorni’s the butcher. 

We enjoyed more Autumn colors on our trip to the Villa Petraia. We came here about seven years earlier and decided to bring Mavis for a visit. We were shown to the disabled entrance, avoiding another lengthy walk. We arrived just in time for a guided tour of the ground floor and then relaxed in the gardens where there were still some summer bourganvillia out. We finished up with an aperitivo at our local bar, the famous, Giorgio. 

The following weekend we stayed a bit closer to home with a drive out to the tiny hamlet of Monterrigioni. The weather was a little warmer, but no sun. Today there was an organic market on and some dirty looking guy gave Mavis a bag of roasted chestnuts. We stopped for some tasty cake and coffee in an outside bar, before heading back home. 

For Mavis’s last full day and inspired by a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition on in London we decided to take her to the birthplace of the genius, nearby Vinci. It was a warm afternoon and a quick drive here and in no time we were strolling in the main square admiring the scenic views. A stop in a local bar for a coffee with another great view and nice way to close out grandma Mavis’s Autumn visit. 

The good November weather continued as we took a drive out to the east of Florence to try some of this year’s new olive oil. It wasn’t a good harvest due to the lack of rain. There was a small sagra in the town, but the wine we tasted was pretty forgettable. A real gem we discovered was Autumnia, a sagra in Figline Valdarno. The historic center was similar to Greve, but bigger. Parking was tricky as this was a popular festival. There were loads of local food and craft stalls and we tasted some more new oil. There was also a farm animal section and Isabel got to see some huge white Chianina cows, ponies and rabbits. 

November continued with our annual trip to the truffle festival in San Miniato. We came on the Saturday after work and it wasn’t too crowded. All the usual goodies were here and we bumped into work colleague, Rebecca and her Neapolitan partner. 

I was having some private lessons with another work colleague, Jane’s partner, Fabio. We had a couple of evenings at their flat for their daughter Lavinia to play with Isabel, who Jane’s had given the nickname, ‘peaches’. One evening Jane invited old friend, Lucca, his wife and their new baby. 

After work one evening I caught a short gig at the Hard Rock Cafe as ‘90’s Brummie soul stress Beverley Knight was performing. 

Many of Annette’s ante-Natal class pal’s babies were turning one-year old and we had a few invitations to birthday parties. A foretaste of our future... the first one was Dario. There were about 100 people at a local nursery school, a huge cake, tons of presents and of course many noisy babies, total chaos. The second party was for Niccolò and ditto. I’m glad it was them organizing and not me, for now! 

December

After many attempts, my old super-class decided to meet up for a reunion meal. The location was at Aviazione near Campo di Marte and it was good to see everyone. Andrea Orsi, Leonardo Corsi, Enzo Ramalli, Luisa Bracco and Lucia. Isabel was walking around the restaurant (with a hand) 

A week before her first birthday Isabel managed to walk (unaided) and seemed very happy with herself. Opening up of course a whole new world. 

And so to December 11. What a first year it had been! We had a quiet birthday at home. Chocolate panettone, balloons, lots of presents, as Isabel enjoyed herself almost as much as we did. It was my last week at work. We had found a baby sitter for Isabel, our neighbor Ale, as Annette would soon return to work and Annette joined me at our staff party at the library organized by Peter, which meant wine courtesy of il Volpe d l’uva and music courtesy of him. 

For Isabel’s birthday we took her to Pistoia zoo. It was freezing, but sunny and they had lots of cool wild animals. Some of the enclosures were a bit small, but Isabel enjoyed seeing all the animals. 

Our usual last minute Christmas shopping was done and we sent lots of E-Cards to friends and family. I had my traditional Christmas Eve smoked salmon and cream cheese birthday dinner, Annette had bought me a digital camera and a cake with the number 43. In the afternoon we popped to Gemma’s house to exchange presents and on Christmas Day were invited to Nadia’s house for dinner with her family. 

Boxing Day and the few days after were warm and sunny and we went for walks up Piazzale Michelangiolo and Fiesole. 

Unfortunately our Christmas holiday came to a sudden halt as Isabel had caught a virus and vomited seven times in one night. We cancelled our holiday to Pavese and invitations from Bea and Riccardo and a New Year’s Eve dinner with Davide and Rossana. Then Annette caught it. 

2012

2012 was a bit of a landmark year. It started with the Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia captain crashing into the beautiful island of Giglio and leaving 32 passengers dead and an eyesore for locals for another three years. In February the queen celebrated her diamond jubilee. In May Chelsea were finally crowned champions of Europe and Spain beat Italy in the Euro finals. Italian architect, Renzo Piano had his Shard skyscraper opened in London, becoming the tallest building in Europe. The Olympic Games took place in London and the hosts finished third in the medal table with 29 golds and 65 medals in total. On October 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman while traveling on a bus to school. She survived the attack and would go on to become an activist for female education and a Nobel Peace prize winner. In November Barak Obama would go on to secure his second term. 

January 

By Befana Isabel was better so I took her for a drive out to Barberina Val d’Elsa to give my new camera a try. Our friends Feancesco and Michela were back in the country for Christmas so I took Isabel to meet their new baby, Niccolò. 

We were both back to work and at the end of January and I just managed to catch the art exhibition on at Palazzo Strozzi, ‘Money and Beauty’ with some nice Botticelli pieces. We also just got a visit in at the Palazzo Blu in Pisa to catch the Picasso exhibition. We took Isabel up to the Pensione Bencista in Fiesole for a Champagne tasting. She was walking quite confidently by now. 

February and we drove out to Volterra for the afternoon. It was cold, but sunny and we even had a picnic outside on the way. We also took Isabel to the animal reserve at Galcetti 

There was a flower exhibition up at the Villa Caruso at the end of February and we had a very pleasant afternoon and Isabel enjoyed walking around the beautiful gardens. 

March 

Our old friends Alison and Piero had decided to move back to the Uk and so we arranged to have one last day out with them in Arezzo. Their daughter Frida was a similar age to Isabel, but we hadn’t really seen much of them. We booked a table for lunch at ......  and had a pleasant enough day out. The antique market was on so there was a really buzzy atmosphere. As it turned out though it was the last we ever saw of them as they didn’t really keep in touch with any of their old  colleagues or friends in Florence. 

The following Sunday we decided to go to the new wine exhibition in Lido di Camaiore called Terre di Toscana. After the Villa Le Corti festival finished this had become Tuscany’s premier wine event. We drove to the coast and had a little run on the warm early spring sand and then went into the Una Hotel. Isabel made friends with another little girl as some people had brought their children. Again I went to the Taste food festival on my own the following Saturday after work, 

Chapter 28

Poppiano

And so yet another new chapter for the Coopers. After six years living in our tiny flat in Via del Pozzino, in the suburbs of Florence and failure to buy a house (in our price range) we finally decided to look for somewhere we actually liked to rent, preferably back in the countryside with with a garden for Isabel to play in. 

Up to now all the places we’d lived in were found through friends, so now we tried to go through some different estate agents. 

We started scouring the internet on 9 March and it took us 21 days to find our dream house. 

The first viewing we had on the Friday was through an agent in Tavarnelle for a house in Chiesanuova, not far from Florence, just past Scandicci on the Via Volterrana. It turned out to be a real gem. Old style with a patio and use of the land and olive groves, with chickens running free. We spent all weekend imagining ourselves living there. It proved too good to be true. The following Monday we received an email. “The owner has promised many houses already to other people. I’m really sorry, but this house is no longer available.” We got the feeling they didn’t want children living there. They had another house opposite, but not as nice. 

After this initial disappointment, with Pietra Toscana we saw house three at a complex near Cerbaia, the grounds were pretty, but there was no privacy. House four at Baccaiano near Montespertol was on the first floor, too big and there were too many steps. House five was near Spedaletto, down a long dirt track and looked like it was going to fall down. 

Houses six and seven were in Montelupo. The first one was almost opposite our friend Caroline in Bottinaccio, there was a communal swimming pool, but the flat was just a shell. The next house was near Ginestra in Via Bracciatica that led to Malmantile. It turned out to be one of our favorites, a first and second floor flat with a small outside balcony, use of the land and a great view, but we weren’t done looking just yet. 

On the Saturday we saw no less than six properties. We start off with a house we saw on the internet. It was with Pietra Toscana again. The landlady only wanted a short term contract, but had changed her mind, so we agreed to go and have a look. It was just outside a small hamlet called Poppiano, as in Castello di Poppiano near Montespertoli. We met the agent outside and went for a look. It had everything we were looking for. An old stone exterior, exposed beams, terra-cotta floor, open fire, bath, a patio outside where we could put a table and chairs and a large communal garden with a barbecue. There was a single divorced guy living in the small flat next door, who had two girls of 2 and 5 who stayed with him at the weekends and a couple upstairs who had just given birth to a baby girl. It would need a bit to f baby-proofing, buy sounded perfect. 

Our next appointment was in Ugolino near our old stomping ground of Strada-in-Chianti. Unfortunately it was on the main Chiantigiana road and not very nice. Our final appointment was in the tiny hamlet of San Fabiano near Quattro Strade. Nadia’s niece Sara used to live here. The owner, Marta showed us round four apartments, the last one was occupied by an elderly lady with Alzheimer’s. The whole complex was like a comune and completely run down. The flats were ugly and there was no private outside space, a shame because the views were spectacular. 

In the space of two and a half weeks we had seen 13 properties and we decided to go back and have abother look at two of them. The one in Bracciatica and the other in Poppiano. On our second visit to Bracciatica we still liked it and the owner seemed very friendly.

Just to make matters more complicated, Liz and Miriam from work’s landlady was looking for someone to rent her flat just outside Impruneta. So we arranged to see it on the same morning as going back to Poppiano. At Poppiano we met the landlady, Loretta. She had a bit of a fake smile and seemed very protective of her beautiful property, but we loved it. We drove on to view the other property in Monteriolo. It was a dream location and close to Florence. It was down a short dirt track, but a bit isolated. The views were spectacular and there was a huge terrace. The house would need a bit of work done to it. 

The decision was a bit of a no-brainer and so Poppiano it was. The phone call was made to confirm and we went to sign the pre-contract. We tried to negotiate the rent down a bit, but the landlady wouldn’t budge. We agreed to do a checklist of the furniture and after consulting our personal friend and handyman, Alberto agreed a moving in date of April 25, which was a bank holiday, Festa della Repubblica. 

We packed and boxed all our few worldly goods, dropped Isabel at her babysitter Ale’s house, picked up our hired van from Europcar, which turned out to be a big Luton instead of transit van size. Alberto and his brother-in-law Stefano came round and helped us load the van. We only had a few pieces of big furniture like the washing machine, sofa, sideboard and bookcase, but a lot of heavy boxes filled with books. We arrived at Poppiano and the Luton wouldn’t fit under the Gate, so we had a 100 mette walk to the house. Luckily we had a little trolley. Alberto and Stefano were fantastic and in an hour and a half we had unloaded everything. The weather threatened rain, which luckily didn’t materialize. Our last port of call was to drop our kitchen table off at Annette’s friend Gemma’s house in Prato and then drop the van off, pick the car up and then collect Isabel from Ale’s. We arrived back at Poppiano exhausted, but happy and made use of our new bath straight away. 

The weather at the end of April was rather unpleasant, but that was ok because we had lots of unpacking to do. We attended this year’s Centovini wine festival, which had now moved from the Relais Certosa hotel to the pretty Villa Castiglione in the hills around, Galluzo, where Isabel could make use of walking around the pretty gardens.

May

The weather on the first of May bank holiday was pretty bad, but Some of the other days were warm and sunny. Our landlady, Loretta put a small table and chairs on our patio and a nice big sun umbrella, so we began to have some lunches outside. Our new local town, Montespertoli was a five-minute drive away and had a nice big Coop where we could do our shopping. 

On 5 May Chelsea reached the FA cup final again and faced Liverpool. I managed to watch the match on live stream on the computer. It was a great match as Chelsea won 2-1 with goals from Ramires and Drogba. 

We spent time sorting out our boxes, tidying and generally being back in the countryside. Some days it was warm enough to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner outside. This was the reason we had moved. Spring was blooming, with poppies, irises and even roses out in the surrounding area. 

We agreed to train to become online writing examiners for Cambridge through a program called ‘SCORIS’. By mid May the weather was up to 30 degrees and we spent a lot of time outside in our garden. I even christened our barbecue by grilling up some wicked sea bass. 

I managed to catch the next art exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, ‘Americans in Florence’, with some nice John Singer Sargent’s and other impressionists. 

For this year’s Mille Miglia historic car race we drove down the road and watched it at Chiesanuova. We bought some schiacciata from the famous ‘il Giotto’ and found a nice spot to watch all the vintage cars motoring by. Isabel was more interested in playing in the field of poppies, but it was a lovely sunny day. 

On Sunday 19 May 2012 after losing the final in 2008 to Man United, Chelsea reached the Champions league final against Bayern Munich, who were playing at home at the Allianz Arena. I watched the match at home. It was a thrilling duel. Mueller scored late in the second half, but Drogba equalized. Ex Chelsea player Robben had a penalty saved by Cech in extra time and Chelsea won on penalties. After 16 years of supporting Chelsea, we were finally champions of Europe.  

After work I stumbled on this year’s ice cream festival in Santa Maria Novella. They changed the format again, this time for €15 you got a bag, five tastes of ice cream and a cocktail. 

After taking a month to settle in we thought it was about time to have our first guests round. That honour fell to the Longo’s. Annette hadn’t seen them since January, so we invited Davide, Rossana and now 12-year-old Lorenzo for dinner. 

I bought a huge T-bone Fiorentina steak and fired up the barbecue. It was a nice warm evening and we enjoyed our dinner together. 

I enjoyed a nice dinner with the Saturday class I had been sharing with Mario. One of the students, Stefano lived in Montagna, just down the road from us. His house was in the middle of nowhere, next to a Frescobaldi vineyard. Nearly all the students were present, there was loads of food and drink and everyone had a good time. I even left with a bottle of Vin Santo and wine. 

It was Isabel’s second Cantine Aperte and after last year’s long trip to Montalcino, we decided to stay local. We chose Castellina-in-Chianti as our destination. The weather was glorious, so we took our picnic lunch and drove out. 

Our first stop was Castellare di Castellina, a small family run estate just outside of Castellina. We arrived in time for lunch and then had a brief private guided tour of their small cellars. We enjoyed a tasting of three of their wines. 

Next we drove on to the larger estate of Rocca delle Macìe. The surroundings were beautiful. We did some tasting first, before going on a guided tour of the enormous cellars. Isabel obviously enjoyed running round the outside in their gardens than being down in the cellars, but we had a pleasant visit. 

June

At the beginning of June our local town, Montespertol had its annual festival. We enjoyed going up to the wine fair, ‘Il mostro del Chianti’ and on the Sunday seeing the costumes procession through the Main Street. Isabel enjoyed seeing her Babysitter Ale and mum Emanuela, who have s stall selling some of Ale’s hand painted ceramics. We enjoyed the wild boar evening too, despite some torrential rain. 

Our nieghbour, Sandro proved to be very friendly and Isabel got on well with his two daughters, Nina and Gaia. Sandro bought a large paddling pool and the girls had a whale of a time up on the patio in the hot June weather. 

We finally managed to agree on a date for our moving team to come round for dinner. The problem was they usually spent the weekends at the beach and midweek was difficult as we were usually working. Now we were into our summer courses we arranged to have them round on a Wednesday. I knocked up some wicked barbecue chicken, using my special barbecue sauce (courtesy of HP!) it had Silvia baffled. They came bearing many gifts. The evening goes well as Alberto, Nadia, Stefano and Silvia seemed to enjoy themselves. Usually loud Silvia behaves herself and hopefully we repaid some of the sterling work Alberto and Stefano had put in. Although a I suspected that Stefano never wanted to see another box of books in his life! 

The invitations continued as we made the most of the good June weather. We had two of my private students, Luisa and Leonardo round for dinner. They got a bit lost arriving so I went to meet them. Luisa had brought round her home made pesto and Leonardo two huge T-bone steaks. Again I fired up the barbecue and they went down a treat. They brought some gifts for Isabel and we had a pleasant evening together.

For our fourth round of guests we invited Annette’s friend Gemma, her husband Tiziano and two girls, Sofia and Emily. They came round in the afternoon so the girls could have a dip in the paddling pool with a Isabel. I again pulled out my barbecue chicken which went down well and they ended up staying quite late. 

July 

With all this fun at our new home it wasn’t until July that we finally made it to the beach. Work colleague and friends, Bea and Riccardo invited us to their beach house at Marina di Bibbona for lunch. An easy 1 1/4 drive and in no time we met up at their residence. It was only a short walk to the beach, but unfortunately it was an extremely windy day. We braved it for a few hours, before giving up and going for an early lunch. It was nice for Isabel to play with the three-year-old Vittoria and we enjoyed a tasty lunch, most of which had been prepared by Bea’s mum. For the afternoon we decided to make use of their communal outdoor swimming pool rather than go back to the windy beach and had a nice afternoon. We stayed for a light dinner before heading home, giving Riccardo a lift back to Florence (all 6’ 8” of him) 

We broke up for the summer and stayed our farewells. Work colleague Julie Thorpe was retiring. We headed out of Florence as the weather heated up to an unbearable 40 degrees. Work colleague Jane popped round for a drink with her daughter Lavinia, as the two girls had a splash around in the paddling pool together. Jane announced she was getting married in August, but unfortunately we weren’t invited. 

For the first leg of our summer holiday we had chosen to go back to Elba for 11 days for the third year in a row, for three reasons: 1. It’s beautiful 2. It’s the same price as last year and 3. With our one-and-a-half year-old, it’s hassle free. 

We left on Thursday morning bright and early for our lunchtime ferry crossing. Isabel enjoyed the play area on board and in no time we arrived in the island. We make the usual supermarket stop, forty five minute drive to Zanca, quick unpack and straight down to the small beach at San Andrea. 

Unfortunately Silverio had put up a wire fence to keep out the ‘mufflone’ and now our sunset view was spoiled. Anyway after the beach we were back for our shower, cup of tea and new sunset view. 

Day 2 

We had a Lazy breakfast and morning on our patio and reading, wild Isabel played. We headed out to our favorite beach, Fettovaia, where Isabel enjoyed playing in the sea with her new Winnie the Poo rubber ring. 

Day 3 

Was a bit cloudy so we stayed at the apartment, venturing out for an early evening passeggiata in Marciana Marina. We booked a table for a pizza after checking the TripAdvisor reviews, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to those good reviews. Still we enjoyed a nice evening by the sea. 

Day 4 We were back to Fettovaia for the afternoon. 

Day 5 - 24th July was a very special day, our 13th Wedding Anniversary and we decided to book a table at our favorite restaurant on Elba, il Giardino, in Porto Azzurro. We spent the morning at the apartment and after lunch we drove back towards Portoferraio and on to Capoliveri. We spent the afternoon at the pretty beach of Zuccale. In the evening we headed onto Porto Azzurro for our fourth visit to il Giardino and their lovely garden. We had our usual monster antipasti and seafood pasta. 

Day 6 

It was a bit cloudy so we decided to take Isabel to Elba’s small Aquarium. She enjoyed herself on the perfect non beach day. 

Day 7

We were invited to our good friends’ Piero and Paola for dinner. They had a friend staying with them and we drove up to Their house in Campo ai Pieri. We had a pleasant evening of feasting. Isabel showed off some of her crawling skills. 

Day 8

We stayed close to home with another visit to our local beach at Sant’ Andrea. 

Day 9 

We were back at Fettovaia again.

Day 10

We took a drive round to Marciana Alta for an aperitivo, with some olives Ascolana and that amazing view. 

Day 11

For our last day we stayed local again with a third visit to the beach at Sant’ Andrea. We’d had nine days of sun and only two cloudy and We all had a very relaxing time. All that was left was to clean and pack.

Day 12

We paid our sad goodbyes to this enchanted island. We caught the early ferry from Portoferraio to Piombino. We had arranged to make a stop off on the way home to visit some old friends we hadn’t seen for some years, Annette’s ex student, Saverio and his wife, Pina. We thought they would like to meet our new addition. They were both well, considering their age and we spent a pleasant hour with them. 

We arrived home, with only a few days turnaround before the second leg of our Summer holidays. 

The only way is Team GB. 

UK Summer

This year’s annual pilgrimage to the motherland was made a bit special as London was hosting this Summer’s Olympic Games. Everybody was in extra happy spirits. 

Day one - Friday

We were washed, packed and up nice and early for our 7.55 am flight. We drove to Florence,  I dropped Annette and Isabel off and went to park in the backstreets. The flight to Gatwick went smoothly, but landed at the north terminal, meaning we had to take a later train down to Worthing.  We arrived just before lunch. It was warm and grey and Mavis and Ruth met us at the station. Mum and Grandma popped round in the afternoon or tea and to see Isabel and then Bernice and Mya, Ruth and Elise all round for dinner. 

Day 2 - Saturday 

We made the three-hour drive up to Phil’s house in Cambridge. He had just moved into his new house and it was very impressive. The garden was magnificent, but being England in August it was too cold to make use of their outdoor swimming pool, even with heated water. 

We went out for lunch and when the rain finally stopped we had coffe outside. We drove back to their house and spent some time in their garden, which Jane didn’t like and was going to have re-landscaped. There was a huge trampoline which Isabel, Annette and Leonie enjoyed having a bounce on. 

My cousin Adam was getting married today. He only invited a few family members to the service and dinner, no kids. The others were just invited to the evening part. He invited us two weeks before, but we had already made plans. Bernice was having a party in Horsham, so on the way back we take Mavis to the party. It was an extra special occasion as she announced she was pregnant again with her second child. Rory was also there with his soon to be wife, Chloe, so it was nice to meet her. Unfortunately their wedding was going to be in September, so we couldn’t go. 

Day 3 - Sunday

We got up early to hit the car boot sales at Roundstone farm and picked up some more clothing bargains. We were at my mum’s for lunch. She had Cassie’s daughter, Megan, who was a similar age to Isabel and after lunch the sun appeared so we went for a walk to Sea Lane and the two girls got a chance to play on the beach. 

Day 4 - Monday

We went for a trip in Worthing town to find some more clothes for Isabel. We were back for lunch at grandma Mavis’ and in the afternoon took Isabel to grandad Mike. She loved his guinea pigs. 

Day 5 - Tuesday 

My brother, had been moved closer to Worthing. Today I went to visit him at his flat on Littlehampton beach. It was a grey, windy day. He seemed ok and had a tv and some puzzles. Afterwards we met  up with Cassie and her kids for a picnic lunch and then took the little train to Mewsbrook Park. Carl is good and we had an enjoyable afternoon. 

Day 6 - Wednesday

Again the weather wasn’t great as we had arranged a day out with Bernice, Ruth and Felicity’s kids to Tillgate Park in Crowley. Again we had a picnic lunch and managed to find some trees to shelter under. The kids had a great time in the park and they also had a small farm and some animals. 

Day 7 - Thursday

We decided to take Mavis out for the day to Winchester. We booked a table in a nice looking restaurant. The food was god if not spectacular. Getting around with Mavis in the wheelchair proved a bit tricky. We couldn’t manage the castle or the round table, but we made it to the cathedral where we relaxed on the huge lawn and caught up on some Olympic action on the big screen. 

Day 8 - Friday

We had a relatively relaxing day as Mavis treated us to lunch at the Downlands pub and we were joined by Ruth and Elise. 

Day 9 - Saturday 

Cassandra had arranged a big family meal at the Yeoman pub. Almost all the family were there and it was nice to see everyone and the kids enjoyed themselves in the park. 

Day 10 - Sunday

I had arranged to meet one of my old school friends, Giles Brandon. We had got in touch through Facebook. He was living in Luxembourg and was in England to catch some of the Olympics. I hadn’t seen him for 26 years, so we meet up by the pier in Worthing and had a trip down memory lane. 

My auntie Lisa invited us to lunch. She was back with Derek and Grandma was there too and we even got to sit in the garden. 

In the evening we got an invite to Rita’s. Natalie pops round with her boyfriend and Isabel and Will got on really well. 

And that was that. Mum offered to take us to the airport on Monday afternooon, so all that was left was our Sainsbury’s supermarket sweep, packing and goodbyes. Our flight home is smooth and we return home to Poppiano some time after midnight.

We still had 10 days of our holiday left, but unfortunately our paddling pool had been earlten by some little fury creatures who had also taken up residence somewhere in the house. We bought a new pool and some special poison treats for our new visitors.

We found a brochure advertising ‘A Veglie sulle Aie’ an event celebrating some of the farmhouses in Montespertoli. We decided to visit Podere Anselmo. We took Isabel to see their horses and had a swim in their outdoor swimming pool. Afterwards we enjoyed some snacks and their wine made from their own vineyards. 

At the end of August we paid our last trip to the beach. We drove to the Parco di Rimigliano and soaked up the last strong rays of Summer. In the evening we went into San Vincenzo for a pizza and then a stroll and ice cream in the buzzy town. 

September 

The dreaded ‘rientro’ back to work, as the weather changed to autumnal too quickly. We checked out a nice medieval festival in Vicoposano near Pisa. Isabel enjoyed a puppet show and we had a pleasant stroll. 

My friend Davide treated us to a slap-up ‘back-to-work fish meal at the very trendy, Strettoio restaurant in the careggi hills. 

We attended the wine festival in Greve and there was a new jazz band, which Isabel enjoyed. 

We paid our second visit to the ‘A Veglie sulle Aia’ event with a visit to La Lonbricaia in Montalbino. Isabel loved looking at all the animals they had on their farm and we tucked into a tasty plate of cold cuts and wine. 

The sun was back out for our annual visit to Panzano’s wine festival, Vino al Vino, where we enjoyed the wine tasting and usual jazz band. 

For this year’s Florence Wine Town event I went along with Peter to enjoy some nice Brunellos and yet another jazz band performing. 

September was very enjoyable at our new home in Poppiano with much time spent outside in our garden and some local walks in the nearby vineyards. The vines were bursting with grapes, awaiting this year’s harvest. We had an invitation to Barbara and Matteo’s for Sophia’s second Birthday party in Chiesina Uzzanese. We had a great time in their garden until it chucked it with rain. 

I was on my own for this year’s Vino a Piacere wine festival at Villa Castiglione. The weather was still bad, but there was plenty of wine to cheer up the spirits. 

We paid our second visit to the annual food festival in our now local town of Certaldo, Boccacesca. The town was packed and Isabel enjoyed herself in the park. 

October 

After seven months of managing in the countryside with only one car we decided maybe it was better to buy another car. We looked at a few second hand cars, which seemed a little expensive and in Italy you have to pay a large ‘change-of-ownership’ fee, so Annette decided to go for something new. We looked at the Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1, but then Annette spotted a purple Peugeot 107 in the showroom and plumped for that. After two weeks she took possession of her new baby. 

The pleasant October weather continued and we decided it was time to check out some local restaurants. Our first choice was Osteria del’Ignorante down the road in Lucardo. It turned out to be a very nice surprise. The food was fantastic, the view to die for and the owner very friendly. The gardens were very pretty and Isabel had fun running around them. 

The weather finally turned Autumnal as we invited Gemma and Tiziano and the girls for lunch. It was a nice opportunity for Isabel to play with Sophie and Emily and after a nice lunch we had a trudge in the now soggy vineyards. 

One of the negative aspects of moving out of Florence was that Annette kind of lost touch to her ante-natal group friends. We tried to rectify that by accepting an invitation to Dario’s second birthday party.  It turned out to be a bit of a disappointment as there were only a few other children besides Dario, Mattia and Elisa, but at least Isabel had a chance to play with some other children and we caught up with some old friends. 

November

It was a sad start to November as my uncle Derek lost his short battle with cancer at the relatively young age of 63. Two years before his retirement. Obviously Lisa and the girls were devastated. 

We took possession of our first woodpile for the winter. We were a little over-optimistic ordering ten quintals or 1,000 kg. It would last us two winters. The Autumn colors were spectacular in the countryside. 

I attended a couple of wine festivals, the first part of Florence Wine Event held in the deconsecrated church of San Filippo di Neri in Piazza di San Firenze. The second was part of Sommelier, Andrea Gori’s ‘God Save the Wine’ series, Great Wines of the World at the swanky Hotel Bernini. Unfortunately I failed to get a ticket, so went along to see if I could blag my way in. After a few tries and refusals I managed to get in. It was incredible tasting wines from California, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand. 

December

And so on to December, which now in addition to Christmas and my birthday now included Isabel’s on the 11th. Fir her second birthday she was big enough to appreciate it a bit more so we bought a cake, candles and lots of presents. We received lots of presents from our families in England and we spread giving them to her over several days. 

We broke up from work and had 16 days of holiday. On the 23rd we had an invitation to Gemma and Tiziano’s in Prato. We arrived with presents and food and enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon eating and exchanging gifts. Isabel was a bit bigger now so could interact with Sophie and Emily. 

For my 44th birthday on Christmas Eve we had some sunny weather and I chose to go to San Gimignano for the day. We had a lovely visit and cappuccino in the main square before returning home for my customary smoked salmon and cream cheese, this year accompanied by some Bellavista Spumante and a 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio al Vento, courtesy of Col d’Orcia. 

We had another Christmas Day supper invitation like last year from our friends, Nadia and Alberto. Barbara, Matteo and the girls were there too. 

Boxing Day we were at home opening presents, tucking into some goodies we had ordered from an English shop for n Viareggio. We made use of our open fire and bath too. 

We invited friends Bea and Riccardo and their two kids Dodi and Vittoria for lunch. I knocked up my cannelloni and the weather was good enough for some football and games in the garden. Next door neighbor Sandro and his two girls joined in too. 

New Year’s Eve was a spectacularly sunny day, so we made our annual pilgrimage to the Val d’Orcia. The drive down was smooth and in no time we were installed in our favorite restaurant, Latte di Luna where owners Roberto and Enrica were serving us up the usual pici with cinghiale, maialino arrosto, sformati and semifreddi. We took turns to walk about with Isabel between courses and came out very satisfied. Afterwards we had our usual stroll around and purchased the obligatory local pecorino cheeses. 

We drove home to welcome in the New Year with our favorite friend, Veuve Cliquot. 

2013

2013 was a relatively quiet year news wise. President Barack Obama was inaugurated for his second term on 21 January and an Argentinian cardinal was elected as the first Latin American pope, Francesco on 13 February. On April 8, Dame Margaret Thatcher, the ex-prime minister who brought such controversy in the 1980’s died at the age of 87, William and Kate gave birth to future heir to the British throne, Prince George on July 22 and on December 5 ex-president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95. 

We enjoyed Oscar winning film 12 years a slave and Italian film ‘La Grande Belleza’, music by Bruno Mars and Pharrell Williams and new tv show, House of Cards. 

Our first outing of the year was to the very colorful Kandinsky exhibition at the Palazzo Blu in Pisa. We stopped off at a cool park for our picnic lunch and Isabel had some fun on their trampolines. 

We made a return trip to Pistoia Zoo for a late birthday treat for Isabel. Her ‘terrible twos’ have started as she wanted to join the animals in their cages and touch them. We had an enjoyable day and did get to touch the elephant’s trunk and the giraffe’s tongue. 

February

We got our first taste of carnival ‘Italian style’, as we now had an excuse with Isabel. In England we had been used to having carnival in the summer, but in Italy, as in many catholic countries, carnival is connected to Easter and always held during the four weeks leading up to Mardi Gras or Martedì Grasso in Italy. We drove to Viottolini near Vinci where they had a small procession and four floats. The idea is for children to wear a fancy dress costume and so Isabel wore her new butterfly wings and wand. There were lots of other children and we bought some ‘coriandoli’ which were tiny bits of paper, like confetti which you are supposed to throw at each other.. sounded fun if you were a two-year-old. 

Soon after we had another carnival invitation from Isabel’s babysitter, Ale’s mother, Emanuela at a local olive mill. In fact it was a room full of children going crazy with this coriandoli and spray string... We weren’t so sure about it, but Isabel loved it . 

We paid the agriturismo at Montalbino another visit to see the cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits etc. but again Isabel wanted to join the animals, rather than just look at them. 

Vinoteca al Chianti had a special 20-year anniversary wine tasting at the Villa Castiglione, so I went on my own to taste some older Italian wines from 2001-2013. 

Isabel finally got her wish to see the boy with the long nose as we visited the Pinocchio park in Collodi. We chose a nice sunny day to visit. The park was a bit run down, but there were some nice bronze sculptures of characters from the book dotted around the park, enough to keep Isabel interested. 

We returned to Lido di Camaiore for this year’s Terre di Toscana wine festival. The wines were great and I even got to taste some Ornellaia and the very expensive Redigaffi. Corzano and Paterno were on hand to provide the cheese and we even had the chance to play on the soft sandy beach, dreaming of summer. 

We had a two-day carnival break, but the weather turned miserable. We had an invitation for dinner from Davide and Rossana and the Florence chocolate festival to keep our spirits up. 

March

We had thought about going away for Easter, but the weather forecasts were disappointing, so we decided to stay at home and make use of our garden and go on some local trips. 

Our first day out was to the Rocca di Staggia near Poggibonsi. We chose a fairly sunny day and enjoyed our picnic lunch in a park before going into the old fortress. The guided tour around the walls looked a bit scary so we decided against going up. 

Easter was spent quietly at home. We went out for another picnic lunch on the Pasquetta bank holiday Monday stopping on the road between Montespertoli and Certaldo. We tried one of our local restaurants, Fico Lesso for a pizza, it was ok but nothing special. 

We decided to visit the Villa Reale in Marlia near Lucca. We booked a table for lunch at the Antica Locanda di Sesto. It was a bit posh and pricey and the food only ok. We pressed on to the Villa which looked pretty closed up. Eventually we roused the doorman, paid our entrance. Nd entered a huge gardens. We were on our own before other visitors trickled in. The grounds were pretty spectacular and we enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon. 

As we were living in Montespertoli now we realised that our favorite cheese makers, Corzano e Paterno were located near us. After a few failed attempts we finally found the right road to arrive at the farm. It was down a very long uneven dirt track in the middle of nowhere. We bought practically the whole shop and had enough cheese to last us the year. 

April 

With Easter over and back to work the sun finally came out. We had been recommended this place called Poggio Vallicaia. by our neighbor Sandro, who unfortunately had also moved out. It’s a huge woods near Scandicci. We packed up a picnic and drove up with what seemed to be half of Florence. Lots of families were gathered and had brought huge picnics and were enjoying barbecues. Isabel joined in with some kids activities that were being organized and we had a great afternoon. 

We celebrated our first year back in the countryside in Poppiano with Annette’s mum, Mavis, who had booked to come and stay between our two bank holidays, April 25 and May 2. It had been a cold, wet winter and spring hadn’t really appeared yet, but as usual Mavis was to bring her usual spectacular weather. 

Annette picked her up from Pisa and Loretta had kindly let her stay for free in Sandra’s now vacated flat so she didn’t have to negotiate our stairs. She settled in nicely and Annette took her and Isabel to our local park. We booked a table at Osteria dell’ignorante, but it was a bit grey so we sat inside. The food was still good though. The weather was warm enough to enjoy some breakfasts and lunches outside on our patio. 

Our first major outing is to Montecatini. Obviously Mavis, as our most frequent visitor had been to most places, but never here. We drove up to the Tettuccio thermal spa and it was fairly easy to push the wheelchair over the polished marble. There was a fashion show on which was quite amusing and we enjoyed a relaxing drink in the outside bar. 

We had a week off work so it was nice to spend some relaxing days with Mavis, going up to visit the castle at Poppiano and to Montespertoli for ice cream and Mavis was quite happy to chill out on our patio in the sun. 

For our next big trip out we decided to visit our now neighboring town if Certaldo. It was only a short half an hour drive and Isabel liked the ride up on the funicular. We enjoyed a pleasant stroll around the almost deserted cobbled streets and a nice aperitivo on the castle terrace. 

For our last outing we went for a pizza in a pizzeria suggested by our landlord, Jago at Fiano, it was cheap and cheerful as we bid Mavis a fond farewell. 

May

I saw only my second Giro d’Italia cycle race as this year the Florence stage fell on a Sunday. The riders were coming from San Sepolcro near Arezzo, so we drove to Pontassieve to watch the peloton. Unfortunately it was raining, so we ate our sandwiches in the car and found a spot to watch. In three minutes it was all over, but we were there. 

This spring there was a Salvador Dali exhibition, with lots of weird bronze sculptures popping up all over town and some originals in the Palazzo Medici Ricardi which I went to check out. 

Also I attended this year’s Florence Wine Town exhibition and after work on the Saturday caught this year’s Mille Miglia car race in Piazza Signoria and by the Pitti Palace. 

This spring’s art exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi was celebrating some sculptures from the early Renaissance, with pieces by Donatello, Ghiberti et al. 

For this year’s Cantine Aperte festival we checked out two wineries in the Carmignano area. Our first stop was the historic, Tenuta di Capezzana estate, dating from 804 A.D. where my old friend, Stefano Chioccioli had worked as their oenologist. There were loads of people and we managed to taste some wine without going on a tour of the cellars. The gardens were very pretty and they even had some ice cream on hand to keep Isabel happy. 

Our next stop was where one of our favorite ‘sfuso’ table wines came from, Fattoria Ambra. It turned out to be just a garage. However they have some bites and we bought a few bottles and a 5L bag-in-box of their table wine. 

A timely festival that was now becoming part of the calendar, was the ice cream festival that this year had moved to Piazza Santa Maria Novella. I went along on the way home from work to sample some of the weird and wonderful flavors on offer. Florence mayor closed it down for a few days as there was some permit controversy, but there was enough time to try some lovely artisanal ice cream. 

This year our local wine festival, ‘Mostra del Chianti’ was bathed in sunshine. We went up the road and enjoyed a few glasses of some nice local wines and saw the historic costumed procession. 

June

At the beginning of June I managed my usual sweet talking and got into a couple of film premieres at our local Historic Odeon cinema. The first one was the Oscar-nominated Italian film, ‘La Grande Bellezza’. I was sitting in the second row and listened to speeches from the Director, Paolo Sorrentino and actors, Carlo Verdone and Sabrina Ferilli. The film was great, especially on the big screen. The second premiere was a documentary film called ‘Trashed’. Jeremy Irons was on hand to introduce it as he narrated in the film. I saw him having a drink in the Odeon bistrot bar surrounded by host of older Italian ladies. 

Isabel’s babysitter’s mum, Emanuela, who was a school teacher invited us to her end of year school party. The rain held off as I took Isabel along to the pretty town of Marciola. First there was a play and then food, all outside. Isabel had a great time and even got to meet the star of the show, the girl playing Peppa Pig. The only problem was getting her to come away. 

This year we visited a few farms for Montespertol’s ‘Veglia sulle Aie’, the first one was at Frescolbaldi’s Tenuta Castiglione in Montagnana. It was a balmy evening and we joined the throngs of locals gathering. Isabel played with some local kids and we got stuck into some grilled meats. We checked out their cellar and extensive selection of wines from around Tuscany. 

Next up was Podere Gualandi. Following close on the heels of our Frescobaldi visit we came to this smaller winery up the hill at Poppiano. They had some bunny rabbits which Isabel enjoyed making a fuss over and there were some wonderful views. The ‘sfuso’ table wine they offer us was nothing special and the dry sandwich even less inspiring. The owners were an American wife and Italian husband. The wife seemed very friendly, but the husband rather grumpy. Especially when I asked him about his other bottled wine, which he informed me were not part of the tasting and he was not going to even show me, oh well. 

Our second visitors of the year were uncle Phil and auntie Jane. We were very excited to be welcoming them back and even helped find them a local hotel worthy of their stay. We eventually went for a place I had had my eye on for a few years, Villa Mangiacane, an historic villa thought to have been designed by the master himself, Michelangelo. They were making only a flying visit and after landing at Pisa airport and checking in, come round our house for lunch. We bought in some Corzano e Paterno cheeses and Annette whizzed io a fancy salad. It was a beautiful sunny day and great to see them and we enjoyed a lazy lunch and an even lazier afternoon relaxing in our garden. We met up at their villa for a tour and aperitivo in the wonderful terrace. The property was recently bought by a South African company and restored (later I found out by the father of one of my students) 

We took them for dinner at Podere Torricella. The setting was perfect. An agriturismo with a pretty outside garden and we arrived just in time to admire the sunset. Unfortunately the waitress forgot our order and we were left waiting for a long long time. The food was good, but the next day Phil and Jane both got food poisoning, terrible for them and our swim in their pool and lunch at the Villa were both cancelled. 

In the afternoon they popped round for a few hours, it was nice to see them and they got a chance to see our house, but the weekend was spoilt. 

Isabel’s babysitter Ale had Finally decided to tie the knot with her boyfriend Simone and they asked Isabel to be their honorary bridesmaid. We ordered a pretty burgundy dress from Next in the UK and she looked as pretty as a picture. We arrived at Ale’s house early and followed them to the small church, ‘chiesa di San Romola’, which was in the Lastra a Signa hills. It was a beautiful sunny cloudless June day as we enjoyed only our second Italian wedding in 12 years. Isabel walked with them down the aisle, but then was her usual restless self, spending most of the time outside the chapel. After the confetti and photos we drove to the reception. We were invited to the whole day including lunch and dinner. The reception was at the fabulous Villa di Piandaccoli and the tables set up outside. After aperitivi we sat down for the mammoth ten-course meal like only Italians can do. Cake, speeches, disco (minus the dancing) and lanterns finished off a perfect but tiring day. 

At the end of June my mum paid us a visit. Well actually we decided to pay for her flight with the idea of her to look after Isabel while her Ale was on honeymoon and we were still at work. As it turned out our summer schedules meant we were working different ends of the day and mum was only needed for a few overlapping hours. Still it was nice chance for Isabel to spend some quality time with her grandmother. 

Our first big day out was for San Giovanni. After lunch we took the car and tram into the center. We made our way to Piazza Signoria where we enjoyed the costumed parade. Unfortunately the heavens opened and we ditch our planned trip up Fiesole, had a quick pizza and made our way home without seeing the fireworks. 

During the week I took mum and Isabel for a drive to Certaldo. It was a nice sunny morning and Isabel enjoyed the trip up in the funicular. We had a pleasant stroll around the almost deserted cobbled streets and a cappuccino at an outside bar. Most of the other days we stayed at home and had lunch in the garden and Isabel played with her grandma. 

At the weekend on the Saturday we decided to go to Lucca. Again it was a nice sunny day and after a short drive we arrived and were cycling around the historic walls. We spotted a jazz band warming up for a concert this evening, so decided to stay and watch them. We managed to get a table for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Osteria Baralla and after feasting on some wonderful dishes head to Piazza Anfiteatro to catch the show. They were pretty good and Isabel enjoyed dancing to the music. 

On the Sunday it was warm enough to swim so we took mum to our local pool at Baccaiano. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon soaking up the rays and swimming in the refreshing water. Afterwards we knock up some Bellini cocktails and had dinner at home in the garden. 

Our last trip was to San Gimignano. It was hot and sunny again, a perfect excuse for ice cream in the main square. Isabel met some Egyptian children and had a nice play. It was a fitting end to mum’s visit, which I’m sure she enjoyed. We did some nice things together and Isabel really enjoyed seeing her. 

July

The hot summer continued and we had a very nice day out with Gemma and Tiziano and the girls. They invited to go to a river just north of Prato. We pack up our swimming costumes and drove to their house. It was a bit of a long journey but eventually we arrived. After a short walk we arrived at a pretty river in the middle of nowhere. There were no other people there so we had it all to ourselves. The water was freezing but that didn’t put the girls off. It was a memorable day. 

We finally broke up for the summer and had our usual six weeks holiday. Before our first holiday we spent a day at the beach at Baratti. We met up with our friends Nadia and Alberto. After a pleasant day on the beach they invited us up to their house in Campiglia for dinner. 

Elba

For the fourth year in a row we decided to go to the beautiful island of Elba for the first leg of our summer holiday. €100 for the car ferry, 11 nights at the ‘nido’ for €700, it was hard to beat. 

Day 1 

By now we had all our preparations off to a tee. Early start, cappuccino at the port of Piombino before our departure. Isabel spent the whole hour crossing in the adventure playground and we arrived at Portoferraio in no time. We did our usual shop and then drove up to Zanca, to unpack and then head out to our local beach at Sant’ Andrea. After a nice afternoon on the beach we head back up to the house for sunset and dinner. 

Day 2 

For our first whole day we decided to come to the long sandy beach at Biodola. We enjoyed a nice afternoon, sunbathing, swimming and playing in the sand.

Day 3 

After a lazy morning in the patio we paid our favorite beach at Fettovaia our first visit. In the evening we checked out a restaurant recommended by one of my student Bernardo’s father, who had a house on Elba. Osteria del Noce was in Marciana Alta, so nice and close. It turned out to be a real gem as we gorged ourselves on various fish dishes. 

Day 4 

We stayed local going back to the small beach at Saint’ Andrea for the afternoon and back home for sunset and dinner. 

Day 5

We were back near Biodola, to the small beach adjacent called Scaglieri. On the way we stopped at Marciana Marina for an ice cream at a wicked gelateria called La Svolta. After coming off the beach we picked up some bread, schiacciata and yummy pear and chocolate cake at our favorite bakery. 

Day 6 

We had arranged to visit my friend Gianclaudio’s house the following day, so today we took it nice and easy with a return trip to the nearby Fettovaia after lunch. 

Day 7

After lunch we drove towards Portoferraio to a little town called Bagnaia. One of my students, Bernardo’s family own a house in a holiday complex here. We met up and went for a swim in their large communal outdoor swimming pool. Afterwards we had a huge slap up dinner at their house. As well as Bernardo’s parents his two aunties were there too. They really liked Isabel, were all very welcoming and we had a very enjoyable day. 

Day 8

Today we took a break from the beach. We drove down into Marciana Marina and explored all the backstreets and alleyways. We bought Isabel a helium balloon and stopped for a very civilized aperitivo overlooking the harbor. We were back home to see the sunset and dinner. 

Day 9 

We headed to the buzzy beach at Cavoli. There were younger people here and thumping music from the bar. We enjoyed another afternoon on this lovely beach. 

Day 10 

Today we headed back to our favorite beach At Fettovaia for moresunbathing, swimming and sandcastle building. 

Day 11

For our last full day on Elba we geared up for our mammoth drive to the other side of the island. Our first stop is to the very picturesque beach of Zuccale near Cspoliveri. We spent a relaxing afternoon there, shower by the car, change into our glad rags and drive to Portoazzurro. We had booked a table at our favorite restaurant and the 20-dish antipasti was still in the menu. We got stuck in, there was an Irish band playing some live music which Isabel has a good boogie to, but she was a bit tired and we had to drag her away. 

Day 12

For our last day we made our customary visit in the morning to our local beach at Sant’ Andrea. We arrived at 8.00 am to an empty beach. We put our towels on the sand, German style and had breakfast in the bar. We enjoyed our last morning on the beach before sadly packing up and leaving after lunch. We had a late 6.00 pm crossing and arrived back home late. 

August 

We had a 4-day turn around before heading to the motherland and in between checking out some sunflower fields we visited another farm as part of the ‘Veglie sulle Aie’ at Società Agricola Latini. The drive was a bit hair raising and food and wine not much good, but Isabel got to hold some newborn chicks. 

It’s fracking windy George! UK Summer

And so to our annual penance that was England. This year made more tricky as our usual Meridiana flight from Florence had been discontinued. So we drove to Pisa airport and left the car in an airport car park. Anyhow the flight with Easyjet was fine and my mum picked us up from Gatwick north terminal at some ungodly hour. 

Day 1 Thursday 

We spent our first full day getting acclimatized to the huge drop in temperature, always a shock. We picked up some groceries from Sainsbury and I popped into Boots to say hello to my sister, Rita. In the afternoon Ruth, Elise, Bernice and Mya come round and we got to meet nephew number 19, the gorgeous baby Asher. 

Day 2 Friday 

We met up with Ruth and Bernice for a picnic lunch on the beach. This year the wind seemed particularly strong. Bernice had a rough night with Asher. He had a serious kidney problem, but was ok while we were in England. There was a cool new bar and playground near splash point and the kids enjoyed playing in the sand. The new swimming pool next to the Aquarena was now open, there was an outdoor part, but of course no one was swimming as it was far too cold. 

I had a date with mum to see Carl who was now at Swandean. We took him out to the Woodman’s arms on the Arundel road for several drinks of coke. He was a bit fidgety, but better than he had been. 

Day 3 Saturday 

Today was rather a busy day. We drove round to Ruth’s to meet Felicity’s new boyfriend, Cornel. He seemed nice and the kids had a whale of a time in the garden with a giant bubble maker. My sister Cassie had arranged a family lunch at the Thomas A Beckett pub and of course we were inside again. It was great to see everyone even if we had to wait for about two hours to eat. The kids made use of the pub garden. Notable absentees include Rita and family and as ever Alan’s girls. 

In the evening Annette’s auntie Joyce and cousin Gaye made the short journey from Portsmouth. It was good to see them although we were subjected to the dreaded holiday photo album. Isabel just about made it through the day. 

Day 4 Sunday 

We were out nice and early for our annual car boot sale trip to the Roundstone and picked up the usual bargain clothes and toys for Isabel. Total price 37p. For lunch we were invited to my mum’s and Milo was on hand to provide a playing partner for Isabel. They got on very well and mum knocked up her signature dish lasagne. 

In the evening we were round my sister Rita’s for a buffet and games. My dad was also round which was nice for Isabel to spend some time with her grandad. Will let’s her have a go on his giant trampoline which took up the whole garden. Holly turned up with a new tattoo which Rita apparently knew nothing about... sixteen year-olds. 

Day 5 Monday 

Luckily it was a nice sunny day today as we had arranged to go on a picnic to Arundel. Newly weds Rory and Chloe come too and we got to meet Chloe’s parents. Isabel was in her element with Her cousins, Elise, Mya and Asher. 

Day 6 Tuesday 

And we were going to a concert. I spotted an advert for old reggae group, Black Uhuru who were performing at Brighton’s Concorde II. My mum had agreed to have Isabel for the night. 

Cassie invited us to her house for lunch. My grandma was there too. Cassie was living in Mendip crescent, not exactly Worthing’s most exclusive addresses. She had her uncle Mel and cousin Roy Jamie living with her and the three kids and her on/off boyfriend Ade. She had the same giant trampoline as Will in her garden, except the netting was broken and Milo had broken his arm on. There were beer cans strewn all over the place. 

In the evening we dropped Isabel at mum’s and drove to Brighton for our concert. We ate some soggy chips in the car as it was raining and then went in to the concert. We caught a bit of the support group, Samsara and then old timers Black Uhuru hit the stage. We enjoyed a couple of hours of foot stomping and ear splitting reggae. It was so loud and the crowd was so old some of the people even had cotton wool in their ears. 

Day 7 Wednesday

Luckily we didn’t receive a phone call from mum as our two-year-old was fine. We picked her up in the morning and went to Felicity’s for lunch. She had moved into a house in Angmering with a huge garden. Isabel had a great time playing with Lily, Stanley and Peter. 

In the evening we got a take-away curry, our first and last one of the year. 

Day 8 Thursday - London

We managed while in Italy to book tickets for a very special exhibition at the British museum, ‘Life and death in Pompei. We caught the 9.00am train from Worthing and by 11.00am we were in the capital. It was Isabel’s first time here, although I’m not sure she’ll remember it. We brought the push chair, but as usual she was reluctant to get in it. 

Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, with the throngs of other tourists. We had a nice walk through Green Park to the Thames and enjoyed our picnic lunch at Embankment. 

We decided to go on a boat ride, which Isabel liked and we got a look at some of London’s newest skyscrapers, including Renzo Piano’s Shard, which was now the tallest building in Europe. The weather was a little overcast but it didn’t rain. 

We took the underground to the British museum. Isabel had finally gone to sleep in the push chair, so we rush round some of the famous permanent Greek and Egyptian exhibitions. 

She also slept through the Pompei exhibition which was fascinating. Ironically many of the pieces are usually on display in Italy in museums in Naples. 

Isabel finally woke up, in time to have a run around the museum courtyard and a trip on the bus back to Victoria station. We bought some chips and then made the train ride home, to Worthing. 

Cambridge weekend

Day 9 Friday

Uncle Phil had invited us up to his new house in Cambridge again this year. Last year we only came up for the day, but this year they had redecorates some more rooms and we stayed for two nights. 

We arrived with grandma Mavis in the early afternoon after some horrendous traffic jams and lunch at a service station. We were welcomed, unpacked our things and settled in. Jane had cooked some salmon and we enjoyed a relaxing evening. 

Day 10 Saturday 

We enjoyed a very leisurely breakfast outside on the patio and then Phil and Jane take us for a visit to Ely to see the very beautiful Norman Cathedral. We had booked tickets for another exhibition called Houghton Revisited, in Houghton Hall in King’s Lynn. Phil and Jane left us and we drove on to Norfolk. 

We arrived at the spectacular Palladian inspired villa which was the one time residence of Sir Robert Walpole. He amassed a huge collection of European portraits, but unfortunately his ancestors went bankrupt and sold them to Catherine the great, Empress of Russia. The pieces are normally housed in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, but are on show here for the first time in 200 years. 

We arrived through the grounds complete with deer. It was partly sunny and cloudy and there was a biting wind. We got some lunch in the cafe then started the tour. Unfortunately Isabel was a bit bored and started climbing on the furniture. A guide told her off. Apparently it was very old antique. So we took it in turns to see the exhibition and there were some nice pieces by Van Dyck, Poussin, Velazquez, Reubens and Rembrandt. We finished up with a cup of tea and then a run in the garden, much more suited to a two-year-old. 

Jane cooked a nice dinner for us and we had a relaxing evening before Isabel and then Mavis made their way to bed and Phil and I caught up on some footie on Match of the day. 

Day 11 Sunday 

Again it was nice enough to have breakfast outside on the patio, but of course nowhere near hot enough to make use of their outdoor ‘heated’ swimming pool. Phil had booked a table for lunch at St. John’s Chop house, so we donned our glad rags and drive into Cambridge. It’s a nice restaurant and most of us had the traditional English Sunday roast and even Isabel was well-behaved. Afterwards we took a leisurely stroll around the city and along the river Camb. We even got to go inside King’s College for an impromptu tour by Phil. It was a nice sunny afternoon and we had a lovely time. 

All that remained was to pack, have a cup of tea and last walk around their pretty garden, before making the two and a half hour drive home, luckily traffic jam free. 

Day 12 Monday

We pop down the town to get some last minute items from Worthing’s finest shops, back for lunch with grandma Mavis and a tea date at my dad’s. Isabel got to see the rabbits and spend a few hours with her grandad. 

In the evening we were invited to my auntie Lisa’s for dinner. It had been nearly a year since uncle Derek had died and the mood was somewhat sombre. Grandma was there too and even Joanna and Jamie popped in to say hello. We are forced though to sit through their holiday video of  Arizona. 

Day 13 Tuesday 

Our last day in the UK and as always a mad rush to pack and run round Sainsbury for some essential bacon and tea purchasing. I pop into Boots to say goodbye to my sister Rita and that was it. Mum picked us up, we said our fond farewells to grandma Mavis and headed off to Gatwick and back home to Italy. 

We arrived back home to a very hot Tuscany with a week left of our summer holidays. We paid a visit to La Casa Rossa as part of the Veglie sulle Aia. We had the usual glass of wine and sandwich before waiting for a balloon ride. The basket looked really small and the heater very close to your head. Fortunately it was too windy to go up. 

Being Tuscany the weather was still hot enough to swim at the beach so we decided to head to Rimigliano on the Etruscan coast. After the one and s half hour drive we were lying on the golden sand and splashing in the crystal clear Mediterranean. We enjoyed a nice afternoon soaking up the last rays of summer. In the evening we went for a pizza to Bolgheri. Afterwards we had a stroll in the pretty town and Isabel was entertained by a clown making animal shaped balloons. 

September

And the grand ‘rientro’ back to work, which was made easier with our last weekend trip to the beach. We were invited to Riccardo and Bea’s house at Marina di Bibbona. We met at their house nice and early at 10.00am and walked up the beach. It was a lovely warm sunny day and no wind. We had a picnic lunch on the beach and stayed with them for dinner in the evening. It was a fitting way to end the summer. 

Wine festival season started well with the 43rd Expo at Greve. This year their were more local producers, so more chance to taste a variety of wine and less worrying about getting tickets punched. It was still too hot to be drinking red wine, but the brass band were on hand to keep Isabel happy. 

Chapter 29 

Nursery School

And so to a big milestone. We had chosen what appeared to be a very nice school for Isabel. Only a five minute drive away in the tiny hamlet of Montagnana. It had only been built a few years ago and we went to the open day with all the other three-year-olds who would be starting nursery school. It went well and Isabel really enjoyed herself playing with all the other children. The two teachers she was going to have, Valentina and Chiara seemed to be nice too. So our little Isabel at 2 years and 9 months was going to be starting nursery school. 

This year our school, the British Institute were sponsoring some Fiorentina home games. So they had a draw for two free tickets. I won them and so took my work colleague Peter along to watch their match against Cagliari. We had some expensive seats in the tribuna. We scored early and were winning for most of the match until Cagliari scored late to make it a 1-1 draw. 

It was a very special Autumn in Tuscany as we were hosting the world road cycling championships for the whole month. I got to cycle my old bike round the course in Florence and come down to watch several of the races as they passed Piazza Strozzi. 

Mid-September and we all went to Panzano for the Vino al Vino festival. The following weekend I went to the Vino é Piacete festival at Villa Castiglione. 

October

A very special Sunday was spent at the Artemi Franchi stadium in Florence. I volunteered to help distribute leaflets for my school the British Institute as we were one of the official sponsors of the biggest home game of the season against our arch-rivals, Juventus. With the carrot at the end of the stick, we got to watch the match. Our director, Julia Race was there, along with Peter Dulborough, Ed from the library, his girlfriend and brother. It was quite hard work but the match itself memorable. We went down 2-0 in the first half, with goals from Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba, but in the second half we managed 4 unanswered goals including a hat trick from Giuseppe Rossi. The Fiorentina fans including me went crazy, I was hugging complete strangers and it went down in Fiorentina folklore history. 

We were becoming friendly with our ethnic  neighbors, Paolo and Jessica and Isabel was spending lots of time with their daughter who was now walking and talking. They took us to Poggio Antico, a farm where they bought their fruit and veg from. It was cool, but down a rather bumpy track and in the middle of nowhere. 

We spent a pleasant afternoon in San Gimignano. There was a charity market on and the pull of their yummy ice cream was too much. Isabel hot herself yet another wooden Pinocchio doll. 

The weather finally turned cold, but that didn’t stop us from paying a visit to Volterra. There was a food festival on, Voterragusto, so we had a pleasant drive out and stroll round this old Etruscan town. The food was nice and they had some local wine to taste too. 

I caught this Autumn’s art exhibition at Strozzi. It was a Russian themed Avant-Garde themed affair with some nice pieces by Kandinsky. 

We were invited to a very special ceremony by our local Montespertoli council. They had decided to award an honorary citizenship certificate to all foreign born residents. In Italy, unlike Britain, being born here doesn’t give you automatic citizenship. In fact you have to apply on your eighteenth birthday. It was a very touching gesture to the 1,000 foreign born residents in Montespertoli, quite a large number considering the population was still only 10,000. So we drove up to i Leci wine museum and Isabel is presented with the certificate by the local mayor. It was a very moving event. 

November

Isabel was invited to no less than two birthday parties in quick succession. Both in Florence. The first one was by one of Annette’s pre-natal group, Alessandra Capelli. Her daughter Arianna was turning three and we went to their house to celebrate with them. There were only three children present and we had a pleasant enough evening the kids playing and the adults who had never met sitting around trying to make stilted conversation. It would be s foretaste of our future.

The second evening was at our friends, Riccardo and Bea’s house. Their daughter, Vittoria was turning four. This time I had a more enjoyable evening playing subbuteo with Riccardo and his son Dodi. 

December 

After a three year hiatus we went to Siena for the day. It was Isabel’s first time. We hadn’t booked anywhere for lunch and were forced to eat somewhere that had space and were treated to one of our worst meals ever... that’s why you book in advance. There was a Sicilian market complete with costumed dancers and singers and in Piazza del Campo plenty of pigeons to keep Isabel happy. 

The Christmas holidays were a bit of a let down this year as Isabel and Annette are struck with sickness. We managed to celebrate Isabel’s third birthday and my forty fifth and spend a day at Gemma and Tiziano’s before they were struck down. We had to cancel our invita to Nadia and Alberto’s, but we had my Christmas dvd presents and our Cerbaia panettone yo keep us happy, as well as our new sofa in the kitchen by our open fire to keep us cozy. 

Instead of going to Pisa as usual (this year’s Andy Warhol exhibition wasn’t our cup of tea) we went into Florence to see a special exhibition of impressionist paintings from Paris’ Musee d’Orsay at the Pitti Palace. 

This year we decided to return the favour by inviting the Longos for New Year’s Eve. We started with crushed cannellini and rosemary crostini. Pork and apricots with Brunello wine. We welcome the New Year in with Champagne. 

2014

A strange year news wise, an Ebola epidemic spread throughout the year with 6,000 people eventually dying. In January Seven-times Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher suffered a skiing accident and was left in a coma. Italian president Enrico Letta resigned and ex Florence mayor Matteo Renzi at 39 became Italy’s youngest president. In March a Malaysian airline disappeared and another one was shot down. Russia invaded Crimea, Ukraine. In June comedian Rik Mayall died and in July Germany thrashed Brazil 7-1 on their home turf and beat Argentina to win the World Cup. 2014 saw the rise of the Islamic terrorist state, ISIS and in August actor Robin Williams took his own life. In September Scotland voted, only just, to remain part of Great Britain. 

Music this year included:

Happy - Pharrell Williams

Sky full of stars/magic - Coldplay

Demons - imagine dragons

Take me to church - Hozier

Stay with me/not the only one - Sam Smith

Counting stars - One Republic

Good films were thin on the ground with 

Gone girl and A long way down. Tv equally forgettable with only House of cards. 

January

The first few days of the new year were nice and Sunny, so we wrapped up, made a picnic and headed out to Barberino in Val d’Elsa. We enjoyed our lunch with a gorgeous view and drove on to Petrognano for some more spectacular views. 

Befana came and went and we were back to work. The weather was still nice and the sun was out so we went for a drive out to Castellina-in-Chianti. We packed up a picnic and ate in a park and then had a nice stroll. Most shops were still closed up but it was warm enough to take our coats off and soak up some rays. 

We had watched an English tv program called Italy unpacked and they had a wicked cacciucco in a restaurant in Livorno. The weather was still good so we decided to take a drive out to Livorno, somewhere we’d never explored before and see for ourselves. The restaurant was called ‘l’arrogosta’ so we booked a table. The drive is only one hour and in no time we were munching on this amazing fish dish, every bit as good as they said, especially accompanied by a glass of Barolo. Afterwards we had a stroll round the pretty harbor. Isabel enjoyed running between the expensive yachts. We admired the famous statue of the four moors. Then we checked out the ‘little Venice’ canals. Which were amazing. Isabel has her obligatory ice cream, even in January and I bought myself some half price Air Jordans in the sales. We finish up at the Mascagni Terrace to witness a cool sunset. It was a surprisingly memorable day. 

February 

Isabel was really enjoying nursery school and was  making lots of friends, Emily, Gabriele and Sofia seemed to be her favorites. Today she was invited to another friend Vittoria’s fifth birthday party. It was being held in the basement of a local bar in Baccaiano complete with two clowns and a poor girl dressed as a puffo , that is a smurf. Isabel had her face painted as a butterfly and had a whale of a time running round hitting the smurf with a sword balloon. 

The chocolate festival was back in Florence so I stocked up on a selection as a Valentine’s Day gift to Annette. Luckily she shares them, so a win/win for me. 

Isabel’s Birthday invitations were coming thick and fast, so we began to be a bit selective. She went to her friend Adele’s party in Ortimino. She got an even better butterfly face paint job and as it was carnival season they had lots of ‘coriandoli’ like confetti, spray string and foam. It was a very messy party. 

We decided to come to a bigger carnival this year and so went to San Gimignano. We took a picnic and came early yo avoid the crowds. It worked and we enjoyed a few hours of peace before the madness that is carnival began. 

March 

This year’s Terre di Toscana was a bit special. We were on our Carnival break holiday at work, so we decided to come on the Monday, while Isabel was at school. We stopped off at the English shop in Viareggio first to stock up on some goodies for Easter. Then drove along to Lido di Camaiore. On the Monday they have a selection of older vintages, so very interesting to try. We had a taste of Sassicaia too. A very naughty way to spend a Monday. 

The nice weather continued, so much do that we decided on a trip to Liguria. We’d seen a cheap fish restaurant in Lerici on TripAdvisor and si booked a table. The two-hour drive was ok, but finding somewhere to park was more of a challenge as everyone else had the same idea. Eventually we found a space. The fifteen-minute walk along the promenade is pleasant and the food amazing. Afterwards we found a spot on the sandy beach and even managed a paddle in the sea, not bad for March. 

For this year’s TASTE food fair I squeezed in a visit on the Monday between lessons and came away with the usual goodies at the end. 

Nadia invited us to her house to celebrate her nephew Matteo’s 38th birthday. I bought him some craft beers from the newly opened Eataly shop in Florence. Silvia and Fernando were there as well as Sara and Daniele and the girls had a nice play together. 

It was a nice warm Sunday and so we went back to the woods at Poggio Valicaia for a ramble and relax on our rug. We spotted a ‘ficatolle’ sagra in San Vincenzo a Torri and so went to investigate. They turned out to be little balls of dough stuffed with various fillings, so we got some with ham and cheese and one with Nutella, which Isabel thought was cool. 

April 

Yet another birthday party invitation for Isabel. This time from work colleague Jane Gelder. Her daughter Lavinia was turning five and she had invited another couple. English mother and Italian father. They had two kids, a four-year old girl and boy of two. They all played together nicely and Jane even managed to organize some party games. 

I attended this spring’s art exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi which was a celebration of mannerism featuring Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino. 

We finally made it to the Easter holidays. It was rather late this year and included the April 24th Festa della Repubblica and 1st May holidays. However we had about nine days to relax and recharge for the end of term push. The weather was mixed, but we were invited to our friend Caroline’s for the ‘Pasquetta’ Easter bank holiday in the Montelupo hills. She had invited about twenty other friends and had prepared enough food for 5,000. We ate down in the cantina, the Prosecco was flowing and her husband Nanni on form. We met some nice people and had a wonderful afternoon. Nanni puts some old music on and Isabel had a good dance. 

Our Easter break concluded with a visit to Monteriggioni. It was a nice sunny day, we parked up and had a pleasant stroll on the cobbled medieval streets. As Isabel was now three years old we decided to go for a walk around the walls and were rewarded with some spectacular views. We finished with what else but an ice cream before heading back. 

Isabel went back to school two days before us, so we took advantage by spending the day at the health spa at Monsummano Terme. It was a scorching hot day and we managed to get very sunburnt at the Grotta Giusti. Afterwards we went for a very civilized aperitivo in Montecatini Alto. 

After being invited for dinner by some friends of our neighbors Paolo and Jessica, Rosario and Giuditta. So we decided to return the favour. We were very ambitious in having four adults and three children. The weather was good enough to eat outside and we pulled out all the stops on the menu. 

Antipasti:

Prosciutto crudo, crostini Toscano, olives, Corzano e Paterno cheeses

Primo

Melanzane alla parmigiana 

Secondo

Faraona arrosto 

Contorno

Pepperoni dolce ripieno con risotto di pancetta, borlotti e rosmarino. 

Dolce 

Apple crumble

Gelateria dei medici ice cream balls

Wine list

Spumante Antinori

White Fiano di Avellino

Red Tricorno Castello di Poppiano

May 

Annette’s brother Phil was in town for a week long work conference. Annette met il with him for a coffeee and I joined them for a mozzarella themed lunch at the swanky Obika in Via Tournabuoni. Jane came at the weekend and we met up with them on the Saturday. They took the Sita coach from the station and I met them at the bus stop in Baccaiano. They spend the day at our house in the garden. We had the rest of the Melanzane alla parmigiana, Corzano e Paterno cheese and risotto for lunch and I had bought a very special Bolgheri wine, Grattamacco and some Berlucchi Spumante. They bought lots of new clothes for Isabel and Phil changed into his shorts. In the afternoon we drove to Certaldo. Isabel loved the funicular ride up and we had a pleasant stroll. We finished up with an aperitivo in the Hotel Castello. We picked up a takeaway pizza, which we ate at home before I dropped them back to Florence to their hotel at the St Regis. 

The Medici villas around Florence had recently been awarded World Heritage status and today were officially being inducted. We decided to visit one of our favourites at Artimino as Oscar winning classical composer Nicola Piovanni was performing. Unfortunately it was a bit windy so they moved the performance inside. We just managed to squeeze in and enjoy the maestro playing some of his most famous pieces. 

As part of the San Casciano festival of bread and flowers the Villa of Poggio Torselli was opening its doors and foregoing the usual €25 guided tour costs.  I brought Isabel with me to investigate. The Villa itself was fairly plain, but the gardens and the views were spectacular. We spent a few hours enjoying ourselves and I even came away with a complimentary bottle of wine. 

I just made it up Piazzale Michelangiolo to see the final iris blossoms and the rose gardens in between Friday lessons. 

For this year’s Cantine Aperte we decided to journey south to Montalcino. We booked a table at Latte di Luna in Pienza for lunch. As ever it’s a gorgeous, hot, sunny day and in no time we were seated outside munching on the usual pici with cinghiale, suckling pig and semifreddo. Afterwards we had a stroll through the medieval streets around the outside walls and of course made some pecorino cheese purchases. We had decided to make only one visit, to the historic Brunello winery of Barbi. Isabel was now old enough to decide that visiting cellars was not that exciting so we skipped the tour and just tasted the wine. We were only a few kilometers from the abbey of Antimo, so we drove up for an early evening stroll around this beautiful pre-twelfth century building. 

June

We were in the middle of a heatwave as May turned into June. Annette agreed to a little trip to Radda-in-Chianti for the annual wine festival, Radda nel bicchiere. Most people had gone to the beach so there was a little more room to move around as we picked some very nice wines to try. Isabel of course enjoyed playing on the park. 

We completely missed this year’s festival at Montespertoli, but after a 6/7 year absence we paid the medieval festival in nearby Malmantile a visit. Unfortunately it was too hot, even at 6.00pm and there were too many people squeezed into this tiny hamlet. It seemed like all of Florence had turned up. Still we enjoyed the costumed parade and flag waving even if the drumming was a little too loud for Isabel. 

The forty degree weather finally broke as we were up at Montespertoli for the wild boar festival. Luckily it was under cover as we gorged ourselves on all kinds of meat. The football World Cup had started as Italy got a 2-1 victory over the always hapless England team. 

I managed to find a day when three of my student friends, Andrea Orsi, Leonardo Corsi and Luisa Bracco could come over together. It turned out to be the Friday before our San Giovanni four-day weekend. It was a balmy evening as I cooked up some meat on the barbecue and I introduced them to Corzano e Paterno cheese. We had a very enjoyable evening and Leonardo brought Isabel some books from England. Afterwards we enjoyed some star gazing, helped by Luisa’s astronomy skills. 

So after a four-year gap we decided to dig out the tent, dust down the inflatable mattress and take our three-and-half year-old, Isabel on her first camping trip. The weather forecast was pretty good and we decided on a couple of nights during the San Giovanni break. 

Isabel was all excited as we packed up the  Clio and headed down to Grosseto to our favorite campsite, il Fontino in Scarlino. We arrived before lunch to discover they had built more chalets and the tent space was reduced. Still we had no trouble finding a spot as we counted only another three tents amongst the chalets, campers and caravans. We ate our sandwiches and headed out to the beach at Baratti to meet our good friends Nadia and Alberto. Matteo, Barbara and the girls were there too as were Dario, Rosella and of course Big Mario. The weather was perfect, the sea calm and we had a lovely afternoon. In the evening we were invited up to Campiglia for an impromptu dinner by Nadia and Alberto and caught some World Cup football action. We drove back to the campsite late as Isabel got her first night in the tent. She was fine although the mattress had a slow puncture. 

The next morning we were up, showered and breakfasted at the campsite bar and spent the morning by their outdoor swimming pool. The new Barman was a big grumpy, but knocked us up some cold cuts, cheese and bread for lunch. In the afternoon we headed off to our favorite beach at Punta Ala. 

It was a bit overcast, but eventually the sun came out and we enjoyed a couple of hours on the beautiful sandy beach. There was even a new car park. Eventually we tore ourselves away, drove back to the campsite, showered, changed and headed back out for our dinner date at Castiglione della Pescaia. I did some homework and came up with a new restaurant to try, il Ritrovino. I ordered the cacciucco which was nice and Annette a seafood pasta. Unfortunately Isabel was sick, without even having eaten anything. We drove back to the campsite straight after dinner and had a quiet night back in the tent. In the morning Isabel was feeling better, so after breakfast at the bar we packed up the tent and relaxed by the pool for the morning, after lunch again by the pool we drove back to Riva degli Etruschi for our last afternoon on the beach. Overall a successful first camping trip for Isabel. 

We were well into summer courses. The June heatwave gave way to a cooler, wetter July, as we prepared for two special visitors. My mum came from the 28 June to 11 July and overlapping, but not sure they meant to was my niece Natalie, who was not only making her first trip to Tuscany, but first time in Italy. Here from 2-9 July. 

I picked mum up from Pisa on the late flight and we got back after midnight. Isabel was sleeping in our bedroom in her bed and Loretta had leant us a bed for mum. As it wasn’t beach weather we decided to visit Lake Trasimeno instead. After a two-hour drive we arrived at our favorite town, Passignano-sul-Trasimeno. We drove a bit further round and found a cool beach and park, which Isabel made good use of. She even found some friendly children to play with. We ate our sandwiches in the park and only I was crazy enough to go for a swim in the lake. In the evening we found our old favorite restaurant, Trattoria del Pescatore for a slap up fish meal. Mum had a steak. 

We were working most of the week but I did manage to take mum and Isabel to Certaldo, for Isabel’s ride on the funicular. We found a cool restaurant along the Main Street and tucked in to a plate of cold cuts. 

I took Isabel with me to pick Natalie up from Pisa. Her flight was delayed so I took them to see the leaning tower. Loretta kindly let Natalie stay in the unoccupied bed sit downstairs, although she was a bit freaked at seeing a lizard inside the house. 

For Natalie’s first day I was working so Annette took the ladies to San Gimignano for the day. On the Friday I was only  working from 4-6, so I took the ladies in to Florence for Natalie’s first look at the Renaissance city. First stop was Piazzale Michelangelo, where unfortunately it was a bit overcast. I drove them back to where I usually parked and we took the tram back into the station. I showed them Piazza Santa Maria Novella and the Porcellino and then met up with Annette at the Antico Vinaio for a huge panini lunch. We took a stroll to Piazza Signoria and Piazza dell duomo before mum’s shoes broke. She bought some new ones in San Lorenzo. It was time for me to do my lesson, so Annette took Isabel home and I arranged to meet them at 6.00pm, leaving them to go and see a certain giant white sculpture. (Michelangelo’s David) we went for s very posh aperitivo on the roof terrace of the Hotel Minerva back in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. The views were spectacular. 

I gave Natalie the choice of beach or city and she went for city. So Lucca was the destination with the promise of cycling on the walls too god to pass up, but that’s about all she was interested in doing as we drove back home and enjoyed one of the many dinners in our garden finishing up with limoncello. 

Monday and the ladies relaxed at home ready for another day out to Siena. We saw a bit more of the city and even had a peak inside the very beautiful Cathedral. 

Tuesday and I was working from 9-3 so I dropped Natalie off in the center of Florence and she spent the day wandering the ancient streets and dodging the showers. It was a pretty dreary day but that didn’t seem to dampen her spirits. She even found her way round the Bargello. Mum came in on the coach and we met up for our evening visit to the Uffizi. For me it’s great to be back here playing tour guide. They were doing some work so some of the paintings had been moved around a bit but we managed to see the major pieces. 

Afterwards mum treated us to a slap up meal at Quattro Leone with Bistecca, fiochetti di pere and they awesome cheesecake. 

Wednesday and Natalie was all packed up and ready for a final look round Pisa before I dropped her off at the airport. All in all a very good first visit to Italy. 

I dropped mum off at the airport a few days later. 

School was coming to a close. I attended an impromptu lunchtime concert in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi. It was a nice saxophone jazz quartet. 

Our good friends Davide and Rossana invited us for a very strange meal at their home. Every dish seemed to consist of tomatoes. Still it was nice for Annette and Isabel get the rare chance to be with them and we also had Veuve Cliquot champagne and Brunello too. 

A very nice rediscovery this year was Mercantia. A street theatre performance festival in Certaldo that we had come to many years ago. We decided Isabel was old enough maybe to enjoy it, so we brought her along on the Thursday to avoid the crowds. She absolutely loved it and we had a great evening watching all the varied performances. 

We finally broke up for the summer and decided for an unprecedented fifth year in a row to spend the first leg of our holidays on the enchanted isle of Elba. Isabel was stil only three and a half of it seemed the easiest thing to do. 

Elba

We had booked 13 nights with our ex landlord Silverio for €800, but he actually charged us only €750, which for almost two weeks in July was pretty amazing. 

Day 1 Monday 

We tried to leave home on the Monday morning, but there was a terrible thunderstorm and our electric gate failed to open. Loretta came to the rescue and we just made it in time for our ferry. The crossing was smooth, we made our usual food stop in Portoferraio and arrived in Zanca at around 3.00pm. The weather was still overcast so we stayed at the house, unpacked and organized everything. We managed to have dinner outside on the patio and got ready for our next two weeks. 

Day 2 Tuesday

You know the routine. Breakfast on the patio, lazy morning on the sun loungers and lunch on the patio. In the afternoon we drove out to Fettovaia and we ennoyed our first afternoon in the beautiful sandy beach. We were back home for, showers, tea a quick dinner and then headed back out to Marciana Alta for the first of several concerts. There was a special music festival celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Elba’s most famous resident, Napoleon and tonight was a blues night with a couple of bands playing in the square at the top and Isabel had a good dance. 

Day 3 Wednesday 

After breakfast we headed out to Biodola and enjoyed a nice afternoon on the golden sands. In the evening we were back home for sunset and dinner outside on the patio. 

Day 3 Thursday 24 July 

Today it was our 15th Anniversary so we had booked a table at a restaurant we came to last year, Osteria del Noce. Again we had a lazy morning on the patio and after lunch drove to the buzzy beach at Cavoli. The restaurant was again a big hit with some incredible fish dishes. Happy 15. 

Day 4 Friday 

We were well into holiday mode, morning on the terrace and afternoon at the beach. Today’s choice was Scaglieri and then home, sunset and dinner outside. 

Day 5 Saturday 

After lunch we paid our nearest beach, Sant Andrea our first visit. They had made the beach a bit bigger, but it was still a lot smaller than the other beaches we were used to. After dinner at home we were back out to Marciana Alta for a taste of some ballet. First we sat through a local school performance and then a professional production of Riccardo Cocciante’s ballet music version of Romeo and Juliet, called ‘Amore, Vita, Morte, questa la città.’ Isabel loved it and we had a great evening. 

Day 6 Sunday somehow got lost? 

Day 7 Monday 

We went back to Biodola

Day 8 Tuesday 

Unfortunately the weather was bad, so we stayed at home and caught up on some holiday reading. 

Day 9 Wednesday 

The morning was still overcast but we did venture out for a stroll to Marciana Alta and had a drink and some olives all’Ascolana and saved the day. 

Day 10 Thursday 

Our big trip to the other side of the island. After breakfast we made some sand which and headed off towards Portoferraio. We decided to stop off and found a secluded beach at Vitticcio, where we ate our sandwiches. There was a cool restaurant and bar there so we stopped for a drink on their lovely terrace. We continued on to the picturesque beach at Zuccale. In the evening we ditched our usual restaurant in Porto Azzurro in favour if somewhere in Capoliveri. We parked up and found an interesting place, Osteria Le Grazie. It turned out to be a great find and we indulge ourselves in some fishy delights. The town was coming yo life and we had a pleasant stroll among the gathered throngs. We stumble upon a jazz band and Isabel had a boogie. We finished with some wicked ice creams at Zero Gradi and then made the long drive home. 

Day 11 Friday 

After our long day yesterday we were back in relax mode spending the morning at home. In the afternoon we drove out to Fetovaia for some splashy fun. In the evening we had an early dinner and headed down to Marciana Marina for a Tango show. The square was packed and the show pretty good. 

Day 12 Saturday

After another morning lazing on the patio we headed back out to Cavoli where the music was still pumping out and we had some fun on the white powdery sand. 

Day 13 Sunday 

Unfortunately all good things come to an end as did our holiday on the beautiful island of Elba. We headed out for our only morning on the beach at nearby Sant’ Andrea before cleaning and packing and saying goodbye to the ‘nido’ nest. Would it be our last time here? We caught the ferry and arrived home to Poppiano relieved to find we hadn’t been visited by any little fury creatures. 

August 

Sunshine, showers, chilli, vanilla and cupcakes. 

UK Summer

We were off for our annual trip to the motherland for 12 whole days. Now that Meridiana had stopped flying from Florence we took the less convenient evening Easyjet flight from Pisa. After half an hour delay we got off the ground and arrived to Grandma Jane waiting for us at Gatwick. Some roadworks on the A-27 meant we arrived at grandma Mavis’ at well after midnight. 

Day 1 - Friday 

We said our proper hellos to grandma Mavis over breakfast. I popped round to Broadwater shops for some groceries and bumped into my old friend Jim Wright who I hadn’t seen for about 10 years. He had just recovered from a short illness and looked rather thin. After lunch Bernice came round with Mya and a now walking Asher. I left them playing and went down the town to buy some clothes from TK Max. We had a relaxing dinner with just Grandma Mavis. 

Day 2 Saturday 

And so began the sunshine and showers.., luckily today there were more sunshine than showers.  First job was to hit the car boot sale on Broadwater green for some baby clothes bargains. We decided to take Mavis out for a pub lunch and after consulting our ‘trusty’ TripAdvisor, headed out to Petworth, or Ball’s Cross to be precise. We found our destination, the Stag pub, gave our order and settled into their pretty garden. I had the burger and chips, Mavis fish and chips, Annette the dressed crab and Isabel, just the chips. Welcome to England.  It was actually surprisingly tasty and afterwards we drove up to Petworth house and enjoyed a nice stroll in the gardens. 

For the evening mum had offered to have Isabel for the night and Annette and I found a chilli festival in West Dean near Chichester. It was quite a long drive and the college grounds were enormous. During the day there had been loads of cool stools selling everything chilli and we got to taste a few very hot sauces before they packed up. In the evening there were lots of cool Salsa bands and we had a good boogie. We also tasted some interesting international foods as well. 

Day 3 Sunday

After a bacon and egg brunch we got ready for the big family day barbecueat auntie Fiorella. Michael is playing chef and there were a lot of family present. Carl managed to stay for about an hour before mum and I take him back home. Even Rita and Mat put in a appearance. Notable absences, Dad, Alan and Cassie, who was in Florida, Adam, Nate, Jamie and Kyle. Everyone else was there and it didn’t rain. 

Day 4 Monday

And we took it easy after our big weekend. Bernice and the kids came round in he morning and after lunch we hit Worthing town centre for some major kids clothes purchases. I took Isabel to the Lido and we go on some of the rides, dodging the showers of course. 

Day 5 Tuesday

And we had arranged to take grandad out for a somewhat belated 70th birthday lunch. He was looking after Will, so of course we invite him too. We picked them up at Rita’s and drove out to our destination, Burpham near Arundel. It’s a fairly nice day and again we are sitting outside at the George. After we ordered I took Isabel and Will to play in the park for a bit. I ordered a plate of charcuterie and local cheeses which was fabulous. Annette and dad had some wicked hamburgers and Will some fish. It turned out to be the best meal of the holiday. 

Afterwards we drove on to Swanbourne lake to feed the ducks. The kids enjoyed ice creams and milkshakes and we had a good ramble around the lake. 

In the evening I took Isabel to auntie Lisa’s house to see great grandma Giulia and we got a Chinese takeaway, with Joanna and Jamie. 

Day 6 Wednesday 

This was another big day as Annette’s auntie Joyce had invited us to Portsmouth to give us a guided tour of the warship H.M.S. Warrior. She was working as the only female guide and we gladly accepted the invitation. We drove up to her house in Bosham and bought some takeaway fish and chips we we ate together at her house. We then made our way to the dry docks at Portsmouth and hopped on board this huge 1860 war ship. Joyce gave us a fascinating tour and Isabel and Mavis really enjoyed themselves too. 

In the evening we dragged Isabel to felicity’s house and after a sleep in the car she was revived enough to play with the kids and then settled down to watch the film Frozen. 

Day 7 Thursday

We arranged for yet another pub lunch! Probably one too far, this time with Rita and Mat. We decided on the Cock Inn, in Lewis. We arrived a little late. I had three enormous lamb chops and Rita s curry as we dodged the showers. Afterwards we had a pleasant stroll around Lewis castle, finishing with the best coffee of the holiday in a cool Polish run cafe. 

In the evening we were at Ruth and Joe’s for dinner as they were back from holiday in Norfolk. 

Day 8 Friday 

Cambridge weekend 

So into our weekend up at Annette’s brother Phil’s beautiful house in Cambridge, which should have been the icing on our proverbial ‘holiday cake’, but unfortunately turned into a can-you-get-me-out-of-here-we-have-a-three-year-old moment. 

Our drive up again turned into a real odyssey. A two-and-a-half hour trip became a five-hour treck  with traffic jams and toilet stops and we arrived already exhausted. Leonine was on hand to welcome us and Phil and Jane settled us into their newly refurbished cottage, which was fabulous. Jane had cooked up a tasty lamb stew and dessert and it was nice for Isabel to spend some time with her cousin Leonie. We also got to meet Jane’s much talked about daughter, Katie, who seemed pleasant. Unfortunately Isabel had burnt her tongue on Ruth’s extra hot microwaved gravy and was a bit whiney and Jane thought she was milking it. We retired for the evening enjoying a nice hot bath. 

Day 9 Saturday 

It was too cold for breakfast outside on the patio, but Jane had whipped up some scrambled eggs and bacon and Phil had some of the world’s most expensive loganberry jam. 

To my delight Phil had arranged for us to visit Bury St Edmonds for the day. So after breakfast we drove up to the market town and parked up outside the Angel Hotel. We went for a nice stroll in the park, there were lots of flowers out and several weddings taking place and some cool ruins too. We had a peak inside the cathedral, but at this point we should probably have taken Isabel to play in the park. Anyway Isabel and I took Isabel round the shops. She danced along to a busker and I bought a new jumper. For lunch Phil had booked us a table at the posh Angel Hotel. We waited and waited and waited as Phil got angrier and angrier and Isabel got more fidgety. The obviously reheated dishes finally came out and duly sent back. 

We drove back home, had a light tea and after I caught some Match of the day football action we adjourned to bed. 

Day 10 Sunday

And the sun made a scant appearance. The swimming pool heater wasn’t working, but it wouldn’t have been warm enough to swim anyway. Jane’s beef was over cooked and Phil sliced it too thick and everybody sat around reading the Sunday newspapers not paying much attention to our three-year-old and wondering why she was so bored. We just couldn’t wait to get away and eventually left wondering whether it would be worth coming up again the following year. What a shame. The best thing about the weekend was that the journey home only took two and a half hours. 

Day 11 Monday

Our final appointment was to see my brother Carl, who was now at Swandean. Then mum took us for lunch in Littlehampton at the Harvester. We then took the little train to Mewsbrook Park where I had arranged to meet my old school friend, Giles Brandon for the second time. We got to meet each other’s families. Unfortunately Isabel was a bit fidgety, so Annette took her and Giles’ two daughters, Astrid and Nathalie  around the park, while Giles, me, his wife, Francoise and my mum went for a coffee and chat. Isabel was ready to go home. 

Day 12 Tuesday 

Our departure day as Dad and Will came to say goodbye and my mum drove us up to Gatwick airport. The flight went smoothly, I picked up the car from the Pisa airport and we arrived home, luckily not to find any fury visitors. 

Back home 

So we had another two weeks holiday before we had to be back at work. The pull of the sea was too much, so we spent a very relaxing day on the Tuscan coast at Rimigliano. We had a nice meal at ‘il Veglierò’ and then popped into San Vincenzo for ice cream and Isabel enjoyed a kids show as we soaked in the late summer Italian atmosphere. Welcome home. 

We checked out the medieval festival called Volterra 1389. There were too many people and the only car park we could find had a two hour limit, so we kind of had to rush round a bit. However the park was really cool, there was an amazing falcon show, but Isabel didn’t want to walk and we had to carry her round. 

After our fairly successful first camping experience with Isabel, we dusted off the tent again. We decided to go to the beach midweek to beat the weekend crowds. We packed up the car with our little three-man tent, blow up mattress, bed linen, chairs etc. headed out on a Tuesday morning and arrived just before lunch at our usual campsite, ‘il Fontino’ in Scarlino. We unpacked the car, put up the tent, ate our sandwiches by the pool and then headed off to our favorite beach at Punta Ala. Exhale. It was a perfect, hot, sunny afternoon and we had a great time relaxing on the warm, sandy, Italian beach... home. 

In the evening we somehow managed to find a restaurant ‘Osteria Sapori del Borgo’ that we had been to in 2004. It turned out to be in a small town called Giuncarico. We gorged ourselves on a huge plate of spaghetti with clams for only €8. Better than anything we had had in England, by far. Isabel played nicely with some Dutch children. 

Our night in the tent went well, with just enough room for the three of us to squeeze in. In the morning we enjoyed breakfast by the pool and spent the morning poolside. Isabel joined in with the entertainment coloring some nice pictures. I popped to the local supermarket to buy some rolls for lunch, which we enjoyed by the pool. After lunch we again headed out to the beach at Punta Ala for another afternoon under the Mediterranean sun. For the evening we drove into Castiglione della Pescaia and back to another favorite restaurant, il Ritrovino. Unfortunately the chef drops a pan of lobster and we waited an hour for a  decidedly average meal. Isabel spotted the little train, so we went on a late night ride around this pretty town. 

The next day after breakfast I packed up the tent and popped to the supermarket to buy lunch. We spent all day by the pool as it was so relaxing and Isabel was having so much fun with the young children’s entertainers and even I had a go at the acquagym. 

Our visit to this year’s ‘Veglie sulle Aia’ was limited to one farm, Podere Arcagnola. It was just down the road from us. The glass of wine and sandwich was nothing to write home about, but they had some cool Cinta Senese pigs and Isabel got to plant some herbs in Gabriella’s ‘orto’ vegetable garden. 

September 

And so to the always dreaded ‘rientro’, or back to work, which after six weeks of holiday was always a shock to the system. This year made a little less painful with a Sunday visit to the Cinque Terre. It had been five years since our last visit, so long overdue and it would be Isabel’s first time. 

We drove up to La Spezia and found somewhere to park in the station car park. We bought our train ticket and joined the throngs of visitors. Our first stop was Monterosso al mare. We found a really cool place for lunch. A cheap and cheerful fish bar with a few outside tables. The food was great, but unfortunately they didn’t have any toilets. We went in search and ended up having a row. Eventually after finding a toilet Isabel played in the park. We then found an inch of sand to sit in and had a swim in the sea. Later we took the train to Vernazza. There had been a terrible mudslide here three years before and were still in the process of restoring. After having a stroll and ice cream we took the train back to La Spezia and drove home after a somewhat mixed day out. 

We had a great evening out locally at Tenuta il Corno, where they had a Mexican evening, with lots of spicy food and Latin music. 

For this September’s wine festivals I was on my own in Greve and Isabel joined me in Panzano for Vino al Vino. 

My auntie Fiorella paid us a visit at the end of September to celebrate her birthday. She came with two friends, Pat and Jean. I met them at Florence station and took them up Piazzale Michelangiolo. After two short wet visits to see us finally she had a lovely sunny day. I drove them back to our house in Poppiano and we enjoyed a long lazy lunch in our garden.

November

After a fairly uneventful October I spotted an advert for a ‘sagra’ in a tiny town called Forcoli, near San Miniato. So on a warm November 

Sunday we made the short drive to go and investigate. We found the food tent, made our order and joined the queue for a table. It turned out to be a wicked lunch of pasta with truffles and porcini, pigeon with truffles, cinghiale and more porcini. Afterwards there was a brass band playing and Isabel had a boogie. Before we left I bought some more porcini mushrooms which I fried up for tea. 

Isabel had made a few friends at nursery school, Gabriele, Emily and Sofia. Sofia was a year older and would eventually be in a different year at primary School, but Gabriele and Emily would be with her in the same class throughout. In November Isabel was invited to Sofia’s fifth birthday party at Montagna in the bar/park. The weather was still unseasonably warm and she had a great time playing with her friends. There was plenty of food and Annette and I had a very civilized aperitivo from the bar. 

My good friend Davide treated us to a slap up meal at the posh ‘Gallo Nero’ restaurant in Greve in Chianti. Rossana’s mum and Lorenzo were there too. The food was very elaborate and some dishes nice. The Lamole wine we ordered was great. 

We attended our second ‘Sagra’ of the month, this time in another town in the middle of nowhere. Chianni, near Gambassi Terme. Unfortunately there was a very long queue to order our food and we bumped into our work colleague, Rebecca. We finally got to eat lunch at 3.00. We were starving and the wild boar never tasted so good. The town was quite cool and there was a lively atmosphere, Isabel had another dance along to some live music before we joined yet another queue for the shuttle bus down to the car. 

This year the unusually wet summer had produced a fly that killed all the olives, so there wasn’t much olive oil. We went up to Montespertol to check out the oil festival, but there was none, so I only came away with a few bottles of local wine. Luckily our good friend Davide got us some oil from a producer in Lucca. 

This year Isabel was invited to a Halloween party at Lavinia’s. There were only three girls, but she got to dress up as a witch and have some fun. She had her face painted three times, also at school and with her friend Emily. 

November

Midway through November I managed to catch a very painful ear infection and was put on antibiotics. I also paid a visit to my old friend Santo Papaleo, the Calabrian dentist and come away after three visits with root canal work, reconstruction and €450 worth of bills. On New Year’s Eve i picked up a throat infection and just to finish me off, it goes to my chest and I was back on antibiotics. 

December

My great auntie Tina sadly passed away on the same day as Isabel’s fifth birthday, 11th November. She had been losing her mind for the last two years, although still managed to live on her own right up to the end. After a short illness she breathed her last at the ripe old age of 95. Her funeral was booked in for 24 of December, my birthday. I decided not to go to England for the funeral. I was ill and Isabel caught Scarlet fever and chicken pox, so we postponed her birthday celebrations too. 

She got lots of presents, from Phil and Jane and my student, Leonardo Corsi. We did a cake for her and bought her a scooter. A week later she had a small party and we invited her school friends, Gabriele, Emily, Sofia, Benedetta and Adele as well as neighbor Elena and Elia. 

We broke up from school for the Christmas holidays. Annette wasn’t feeling too well, but we celebrated my birthday with the usual smoked salmon, cream cheese and champagne. Annette bought me an iPad which was cool. I opened my magnum of 2002 Bruciato from Antinori which was amazing and we settled down  by our open fire. 

We spent a quiet, relaxing Christmas Day opening our presents, as well as Phil and Jane’s we also had some from Davide and Rossana. We spent the next few days in hibernation, only venturing out to Baccaiano to try out Isabel’s new scooter. We spent a nice day in Prato at Gemma and Tiziano’s house and Isabel enjoyed playing with Sophie and Emily. 

And so to the day I knew would eventually come. Unable to cope with her sister’s death only eighteen days before, my grandma went into hospital with heart palpitations and didn’t come out. Eleven days shy of her 91st birthday on 29 December she sadly passed away, quickly and quietly. It came as a bit of a shock to all of us as she had been lucid and in relatively good health. It was the end of an era as one of the greatest inspirational figures in my life was no more. The funeral wouldn’t be until 13 January, so I bought my plane ticket and tried to carry on with life. 

For New Year’s Eve we were again invited to our friend’s Davide and Rossana. They had also invited Davide’s sister and teenage daughter and some other friends. It started well with some awesome antipasti.  My sore throat was just about holding up. Unfortunately Isabel was fed too much by the other older girls and throws up. I was feeling worse, so we decided to cut our losses and left before midnight.

2015

World events this year were pretty horrific. 

On 7 January Terrorists opened fire on the headquarters of French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, killing ten journalists and two policeman. The world showed its solidarity with ‘Je suis Charlie’ banners. In May David Cameron and the Conservatives won a second term, with the ominous promise of an in-out referendum on membership of the EU. On June 9 In Charleston, North Carolina gunmen massacred black worshippers in a church. In September pictures of a refugee boy on beach in Turkey shocked the world. The year finished with another terrorist attack in Paris on November 13 with 130 people killed and on December 14 the Oregon shooting. 

There was some good music this year with songs I downloaded including: 

Maroon 5 - sugar

Weekend - feel my face

Drake - hotline bling

Charlie Puth - see you again

Coldplay - hymn for weekend

21 pilots - stressed out

James Bay - hold back river

There weren’t a lot of good films with 

Inside out, Brooklyn and Spotlight being a few good ones. We didn’t watch a lot of tv, it was the last season of Mad men. 

January

To distract ourselves from all the unpleasantries we decided to check out this Winter’s art exhibition, Modigliani, in Pisa at the Palazzo Blu. We found a bright sunny day and drove and parked up in our usual spot and enjoyed our picnic in the park and Isabel did some bouncing on the trampolines, before we went to see some great paintings. 

And so to my grandma’s funeral. After being back at work for a few days I managed to get four days off for compassionate leave, more than for the birth of my daughter. I flew from Florence on the Monday and arrived at Gatwick to be met by mum and my sister, Cassie. I stayed at mum’s small flat on a camp bed still feeling rotten with my chest infection. The funeral was on the next day, Tuesday, which turned out to be quite busy. Mum put me on her car insurance so I could ferry people around. In the morning I went to Rita’s to sign my condolence card for the flowers. Then I took mum to Fiorella’s and then dropped them at Lisa’s, they were all pretty sombre as expected. Then I picked Cassie and her boyfriend Ady up and drove them to English Martyrs church for the service. There were about 100 people and I spotted some old familiar faces. My brother Alan was there with his wife Kerrie and the girls, which was surprising as they had nothing to do with grandma when she was alive. The service like most catholic masses was long and the priest pretty incomprehensible. I had written out the eulogy in Italy with the help of mum, Fiorella and Lisa and was to read it out as part of the service. I was quite nervous. Here is the full text: 

‘They say that good things come in small packages ... Well that was certainly true of our Giulia, our sunshine! Though she was small in stature, (my oh my) she was big on personality. She lit up a room when she walked in with her wide smile and infectious laugh. She had bundles and bundles of energy and enthusiasm, great joy for life and a warm heart full of love that would literally stretch a mile and generosity to go round for everybody. Giulia had the ability to embrace all kinds of people, which made her very popular with everybody she met and who came to know her and the ambition to succeed in a foreign country... All in that small frame.  

Giulia was born on 8th January 1924 in the coastal town of Castellammare Di Stabia, near Naples, Italy.

It was this Neapolitan heritage that would profoundly influence her life, her strong family ties, her love of food, traditions, the Catholic faith, music and dancing.

Giulia was the sixth of seven surviving children born to Matilde Davide and Giuseppe Colasanto. Her father, tragically died while trying to protect a company warehouse from looters during a severe flood, so her mother Matilde was left to bring up the seven children all by herself, which was in itself no mean feat in 1920's Naples! 

Giulia and Tina spoke often of their strong mother who took several jobs, such as a seamstress, just to keep the family alive. They were so poor that at one point Giulia was sent to live at a local convent for a few years. After returning home money was still very tight and along with Tina, she would sneak into the local cinema and dances as they didn't have any money for the tickets. She also acted in a Christmas play with Tina, both of them as angels, they must have been convincing as the theatre producer tried to get her back for a repeat performance! 

World war two broke out and these were confusing times for Italian people, but in 1943 the fearless Neapolitans managed to uprise against the German forces and welcomed in the Allied troops. 

After leaving school she took on cleaning jobs to help the family. At one house where she worked, Ken, a handsome, young English officer, was staying. He was stationed at an R.A.F. base in her town and would give food to Giulia for her younger sister Anna and their relationship began.

They married in 1945 and made the decision to settle in England. Just imagine how difficult that must have been for a 21 year old girl to leave all her family and head off to a country where she knew only Ken, people spoke a different language and ate spaghetti out of tins!!!

At first they moved in with Ken's parents and then moved to their own cottage in Mill Lane, Sidlesham, near Chichester, where their first daughter, Jane was born. At this point her sister, Tina came over initially to help the young family, but she also stayed, married and made a family and life of her own. 

Giulia and Ken then moved to Manhood Lane in Sidlesham, where she gave birth to their second daughter, Lisa and then in 1960 they switched to Worthing, first in High Street, where their third daughter, Fiorella was born, before finally settling in 44 Normandy Road in 1966. (oh the tales we could tell you about 44 Normandy Road !) Giulia would take on several cleaning jobs for Doctor Giddins and at Barclays Bank, displaying a tireless work ethic.

She would visit her family back in Castellammare most years, but always said that she belonged with her daughters and their families here in England and aren't we glad she stayed? That family has now grown to nine grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren. She made many, many friends along the way too, some of whom are here today, 

Special mention must go to her best friend, Anna, who herself is seriously ill at the moment and the Devivos, who were like a second family to her.

Five years after celebrating their 50 years Golden Wedding Anniversary, in 2000 she lost her beloved husband, Ken and while obviously heartbroken, she picked up the pieces and continued her life, enjoying most of it, despite reduced mobility in the last five years. 

In 2011 her younger sister, Anna passed away and only 18 days before her own death, her beloved and inseparable sister, Tina too. So for our family this represents the end of a generation, the likes of which we will probably never see again. 

Someone once said that there is no such thing as not being forgotten. The only question is the length of time that will happen. So I say to you, reminisce about Giulia, speak to each other about the stories she loved to tell you, laugh with your children and friends about her and your precious, happy and memorable times together, allow the good deeds she bestowed upon you become qualities and principles that will inspire your future generations. In that way, though she may be physically absent, Giulia will live with us always.

In the true spirit of her Neapolitan heritage, (and don't worry I'm not going to sing!) I was looking through some of the songs Giulia loved and a song many of you will have heard many times in various guises struck me, so I thought it would be appropriate to finish this tribute with O Sole Mio. This is the translation from the original Neapolitan lyrics...

What a beautiful thing a sunny day is!

The air is serene after a storm,

The air is so fresh that it already feels like a celebration.

What a beautiful thing a sunny day is!

But another sun that's brighter still,

Is my own sun that's upon your face!

The sun, my own sun, is upon your face!

When night comes and the sun has gone down,

I almost start feeling melancholy;

I stay below your window 

when night comes and the sun has gone down.

But another sun that's brighter still, 

Is my own sun that's upon your face! 

The sun, my own sun, is upon your face!

Is upon your face.’

It was very emotional and I just managed to speak without breaking down. 

Afterwards many people came up to me and thanked me for my words and delivery. It was a very special moment for me. 

We drove up to the cemetery after the service. Fortunately the drizzle had stopped and we said our final fairwells. 

The wake afterwards was at the George pub went well. The food and wine were awful and I didn’t eat much as I was feeling really ill. It was very strange chatting with Alan’s girls who I hadn’t seen for about six years. Some of the family went back to Lisa’s afterwards, but I was exhausted, so I went back to mum’s flat. 

On the Wednesday I popped down the town to buy some clothes and bits from Boots chemist’s. We had a lunch date at Carl’s new home in Chichester. He seemed well and was off the strong medication and the house is nice too. We took him out for fish and chips at the Fish Factory in Worthing. 

In the afternoon I popped to see Annette’s mum, Mavis. She had had a rough winter and didn’t look too good. I had dinner at mum’s in the evening and we watched Broadchurch. 

On the Thursday I had arranged to see my dad. Rita popped round too so we had a nice chat and a cup of tea. 

I was all packed up and mum took me back to Gatwick for my flight home to Florence. 

Back home and back to work and I still couldn’t shift my throat and chest infections. I tried to cheer myself up with a visit to the Picasso exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, which was less than inspiring and a new wine event at the Hard Rock Cafe, called ‘God Save the Wine’ which was very good. 

February

And we had still not fully recovered from our winter illnesses. Annette took Isabel to a couple of parties and I took her to Adele’s party in Ortimino. They were in carnival mood with coriandoli, string and foam spray and Isabel had a ball. 

I bought some chocolates from the chocolate festival in Florence for Saint Valentine’s day to go with the flowers and champagne and we got into watching our dvd box sets of Mad Men, Breaking Bad and House of Cards. 

I was on my own for this year’s Terre di Toscana wine festival in Lido di Camaiore which was fabulous, bringing a miserable February to a close. 

March

I finally got to see one of my most highly anticipated exhibitions at Palazzo Strozzi. Power and Pathos, a collection of 50 Greek bronzes on loan from museums all over the world. Incredible seeing as though there are only 200 in existence. 

I was taken out for a very special dinner by my lunchtime pre-intermediate group. One of the students, Domenico was an architect and had designed the interior of a cool restaurant in Piazza Santa Croce called Finisterrae. We had a great evening of pizza and laughter. 

I paid a visit to this year’s Taste food festival at the Stazione Leopolda after work and after working my way round came out with some very tasty provisions. 

After reading about this flower exhibition in Lucca for a few years we finally went along to see what all the fuss was about. It was actually set in the pretty, small towns of Pieve and Sant Andrea di Compito in the province of Lucca. We drove up and took the shuttle bus to the center of the towns and then made our way round the various locations to admire the beautiful Camellia flowers. It was a very pleasant afternoon. 

We finally made our way back to Pistoia zoo after a year’s absence. We enjoyed our picnic in the pretty car park and then had a stroll round to see all the animals. Isabel was a bit older and realised she couldn’t get in with the animals. We saw the giraffes, elephants, hippos, lions, tigers, jaguars, flamingoes, beats, penguins, zebras and parrots. We finish up with an ice cream in the cafe before driving back home. 

April 

Easter

We broke up for Easter and the weather forecast for looked promising, so we booked a couple of nights in the Colli Euganei, near Padova. 

It was scorching on our first day off, enough for me to get the shorts out. It rained the following day, but that was ok as we were ironing and packing ready for our departure on Sunday morning. 

Day 1 - Easter Sunday

The idea was to continue my Palladian adventure and after leaving at 10.00am we arrived at the pretty town of Fratta Polesine, near Rovigo. We ate our picnic lunch by a river and went to see our first Palladian villa, the Villa Badoer. 

We drove to Monselice and found our agriturismo farmhouse and checked in. We were straight out again to visit the Villa Pisani along the Brenta river. As it was Easter Sunday the entrance was free. It was a huge Villa and the gardens were even bigger. We strolled round and found the maze. It was a very pleasant afternoon. Eventually we made our way back to our agriturismo and had dinner in their restaurant. 

Day 2  - Easter Monday (Pasquetta)

Padova

After a good night’s sleep we were ready to explore Padova. A town made famous for Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and their 1222 university and its most famous alumni, Gallileo. We had been here some years earlier to see the wonderful Giotto frescoes at the Scrovegni chapel, but it had been too hot to visit the city. So this was somewhat unfinished business. 

We drove up and parked near the Prato delle Valle an enormous elliptical square and moat with these 78 amazing statues. We enjoyed soaking up the spring sunshine and Isabel enjoyed the merry go round. My lunch spot was closed as it was a bank holiday today, but we found somewhere nice to eat and enjoyed a wicked dish of sea food pasta and the local pasta, bigoli with duck. We made our way to the Palazzo della Ragione, the Duomo and the baptistery where I checked out some cool frescoes. We finished up watching a street performer and finding the cool 1831 Neo-Classical, Egyptian themed cafe Pedrocchi. It was a long walk back to the car and a short drive back to our hotel in Monselice. 

After a nap and a shower we were ready to hit our chosen restaurant for the evening, Osteria al Filò in Abano Terme. It turned out to be an inspired choice and Isabel enjoyed it too. We shared some courgette flowers stuffed with sea bass. Pasta with Scallops and rabbit. The local red wine was nice too, ‘I’ll Filo delle Vigne’. 

Day 3 - Tuesday

After our abundant breakfast we packed up, checked out and said goodbye to our host, Romena and her cats. We drove into the town of Monselice to have a look at the castle. We then walked up the hill to see the very impressive Villa Duodo and strolled down back into the town for a cappuccino. We then headed into the heart of the Euganean hills, which was actually an ancient dormant volcano. We decided to find the winery whose wine we had drunk the night before. It was pretty high up and I was treated to some tasting and bought several bottles. We then drove on to Arcqua Petrarca, a very quaint little town named after it’s famous resident, the poet Francesco Petrarch, who died here. We enjoyed some pizza slices for lunch sitting outside in the sun. Afterwards we had a stroll and a game of hide and seek. I hid in an enoteca and came out with a few more local bottles of wine! 

We drove on to our second Palladian villa on the border with Vicenza in Poiano Maggiore, in the middle of nowhere. I am happy though to see another great creation by the master Architect. 

Our final destination was Montagnana. I got to see my third Palladian Villa, the Villa Pisana, which turned out to be on the corner of a busy crossroads. We went for a stroll in what was a pretty medieval town and made our way to the main square. Isabel got her ice cream and we walked back alongside the city walls where Isabel had a play in the long grass. 

It was a jam-packed three days and only a two and a half hour drive home. 

We had a few days left of our Easter holidays and spent them at home in Poppiano relaxing. There was time to celebrate Annette’s 44th Birthday with flowers, Moët and Chandon and of course a Birthday cake. Isabel went back to school a day before us so I treated Annette to a day at the health spa. Luckily it was a glorious sunny day and we drove to the Grotta di Giusti at Monsummano Terme, where we had gone the year before. We enjoyed a day of total relaxation and pampering, despite some rather loud, shouts old ladies. 

Isabel was invited to Lavinia’s 6th birthday party, this year held at ‘Fosso Bandito’ a cool new park in the Cascine in Florence. There were about ten other kids and she had a whale of a time. 

Isabel also got to meet her old baby sitter, Ale’s new baby daughter, the six-month old, Giada. 

At the end of April  we were given a special invitation from work to the premiere of a new sculpture exhibition of ‘Angel of the North’ sculptor, Brit, Anthony Gormley, called Human, at the Forte Belvedere in Florence. After driving around trying to find the entrance we finally got in. There were loads of bronze figures arranged in unusual poses and groups and we really enjoyed it. We bumped into a few Bif work colleagues, but that didn’t matter. Afterwards we went for a very civilized aperitivo at Rifruillo and finished with an ice cream. 

At the end of April I attend the Centovini wine event at the Villa Castiglione near the Certosa, it had been moved back a few weeks and the weather was less hot than the usual May date. 

May

May Day as always was a bank holiday and we ordered pizza with Paolo, Jessica and Elena and their friends, Giuditta, Rosario and Elia, which we enjoyed in the garden. 

During May filming of the new Ron Howard film, Inferno started. There were some major disruptions and road closures as Hollywood moved into Florence. Tom Hanks and co. were seen around town although I didn’t get to see them. The actual film wouldn’t come out until 2016, but for a few months Florence provided a pretty cool backdrop, bringing to life the Dan Brown novel. 

I managed to drag Annette out of the house on a sunny Sunday for a trip to the lovely Volterra. The drive was stunning as always and we found a cool lavender van at the entrance. Surprise surprise there was a wine festival on, called DiVino Etruschi which Of course I had no idea about. We enjoyed strolling round this pretty Etruscan town while sipping on wine from some of the 12 Etruscan towns. There is ice cream and a park for Isabel, so everyone was happy. 

Kate Middleton gave birth to princess Charlotte and Italy’s premier tv talk show, Porta Porta did a special on the Royal Family. As Kate had studied Italian as a university undergraduate at our school they interviewed our head of art history and director, Julia Race. A still of Prince Charles from his visit in 2002 popped up on screen and for a split second Annette and I flashed up on Italian tv. 

In the middle of May the temperature hit 27 degrees and the pull of the sea was too much. We didn’t usually go to the beach in May, but we managed it twice this year. We made the one hour forty five minute drive and in no time were picnicking on the golden Mediterranean sand. We spent the afternoon sunbathing, building sandcastles and swimming in the icy cold mid May sea. In the evening we popped into one of our favorite coastal towns Suvereto. We enjoyed a refreshing aperitivo outside the old walls and then went for a nice stroll in the town. We had a hot dinner date at a cool agriturismo, Trattoria da Ghigo. They let us share a five-course tasting menu three ways. The food was a revelation and price reasonable. 

It was an eventful year for our local football team, Fiorentina. Manager, Vincenzo Montella was still doing English lessons at our school and I got to meet him a few times, once with some of my younger students. He was a little indifferent, with an air of Neapolitan nouveau riche superiority. In the league we made it to fifth place, securing a Europa league place for next season. We made it to the coppa Italia semi-finals, beating Roma on the way and in the Europa cup scored a famous quarter-final victory against the mighty Tottenham, sending us into the semifinals against last year’s winners, Seville. We lost the first leg 3-0, leaving an almost impossible job of going through (we would need to win 4-0, or 3-0 and penalties) I managed to get a ticket for the game and settled into the curva Ferrovia. After 22 minutes Seville were 1-0 up (4-0 aggregate) and scored again in the 26 minute (5-0 aggregate) as if things couldn’t get worse, we missed a penalty. It was one of the most depressing games I had ever witnessed live. 

A surprise midweek cultural event as I was invited by my student, Stefania on a tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. I had been here many years ago, but it was more interesting with a guide. She had a relaxed and humorous style and recounted some interesting stories about Cosimo Medici, the builder. The sala del 500 is cool and some of the other smaller rooms on the second floor were amazing too. I couldn’t remember much from ten years ago, so it was a worthwhile visit. 

It was an even better year for My other football team Chelsea, than Fiorentina, who were crowned champions of England for the fifth time in May with three games to spare. Jose Mourhino was named premiership coach of the year and Eden Hazard named player of the year. 

This year the Cortili Aperti and Cantine Aperte (open courtyards and cellars) fall on different days so on the Saturday we went up to our local winery, Castello Sonnino for a visit. It wasn’t a nice day and the castle rather underwhelming. 

After a couple of weeks at the beach I was  ready to get back on the May wine trail. This weekend was Pentecoste a Castellina. After lunch we drove up to this pretty hill-top town. The action as usual was under the vaulted walkway, where we spent a few enjoyable hours sipping away. Isabel enjoyed her ice cream and we came away happy. 

For this year’s edition of ‘Cantine Aperte ‘ open cellars we made the very short journey down the road to Bargino to visit the new Antinori winery. The futuristic building which had been carved into the side of the Chianti hills was incredible. We did a bit of the tour, but a four-year old Isabel wasn’t that interested. We had to pay €5 for a measly tasting, reminding us of the Banfi visit some years earlier. It seemed the bigger the winery, the greedier they were and less personal the visit. 

June

The outdoor pool at il mulino opened thankfully and we came here to cool down on several visits.

We checked the program for this year’s Mostra del Chianti up the hill in Montespertoli and we spent a couple of evenings in the company of some r&b and jazz bands. The wine tents had been expanding and they were serving some better quality wines. 

Instagram 

A very special day was our visit to the castle of Sammezzano in the Valdarno. This was a historic building, usually closed to the public. Every year the owners opened it up to 200 guests who bought tickets on a first come first served basis. I had managed to get some free tickets through the Florentine newspaper, who had arranged for a group of bloggers and instagrammers to go up and take lots of photos which they would then post on social media with hashtags to advertise the castle who were always looking for donations for maintenance. I didn’t know anything about Instagram, so I had to join to get the tickets. 

It meant a 7.30 start on a Sunday and a 40 minute walk up a steep hill, but we were up for it. After driving to the outlet mall in Leccio we met our group of about 20 people and trekked up the hill. It was a pleasantly warm day and we were happy to reach the top. 

The castle was incredible, with 365 rooms  of colourful moorish inspired tiles, designed by Pedro Ximenes in 1860. Isabel was wearing a yellow dress and proved a perfect model for some of the photographers in our party. We had brought a picnic which we enjoyed outside in the grounds. An amazing day captured on social media forever.

Closely following the wine festival in Montespertoli was the wild boar sagra which we came up to partake in. 

We finally managed to have our good friends Alberto and Nadia back round for dinner at Poppiano. It was warm enough to eat outside and I knocked up some cannellini and rosemary crostini, followed by pasta alla norma, cheese from Corzano e Paterno and finishing with Annette’s apricot tart. Alberto liked my Japanese whisky and we had a great evening. 

While we were chatting they mentioned their friend Girolamo who had opened a campsite near Baratti. They made a phone call and we booked a night in one of his caravans. 

We left on the Saturday morning only to be greeted by a long traffic jams. A two-hour journey turned into a three-hour odyssey. We met Nadia and Alberto and they took us to the campsite at ‘Fiorentina’ to meet Girolamo. It was a huge place in the middle of nowhere with only his mobile home and two rusty old caravans. He had built a shower block, but there was no electricity or cooking facilities. We dropped our clothes off and went back to meet the others at the beach at Baratti. 

We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon on the beach, Renato and Mariella were there and Dario too. Afterwards Girolamo picked us up in his shuttle bus and whisked us back to his campsite saving €12 on car park fees. Nadia, Alberto, Renato and Mariella join us for the evening with Girolamo and his parents who had whipped up a feast which we enjoyed Italian style, outside under the stars. 

After a not so comfortable night in the caravan, but a lovely sunrise which I got up to see, we shower and pack. Girolamo whisks us off to the beach at Baratti. We had breakfast in the newly back open bar at the sailing school and join Nadia and Alberto on the beach. Renato took Annette out on the catamaran and even I got to go out in the boat too with Girolamo. After a great day at the beach he drove us back to the campsite where we picked up our car. We stopped outside San Vincenzo at ‘il Veliero’ for dinner. 

This year my upper-intermediate evening class were invited for an end of year dinner by Fiorenza, who lived in Rignano-sul-Arno. After a day at the outdoor pool we donned our glad rags and drove out to the Valdarno. Her house proved a little tricky to find and was down a long, long dirt track in the middle of nowhere, but a wonderful setting. She had made bucket loads of food and it was a balmy evening as we ate outside. Guests included, Japanese photo-mad Jung Hui, Alice, Luana, Fiametta and Ersilio. We met Fiorenza’s two daughters, who kept Isabel busy coloring. 

July

We finally made it to July as Florence was experiencing a major heatwave, with temperatures close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Isabel broke up from school and my mum was coming to stay with us for two weeks. 

Mum

Annette picked her up from Pisa airport as I was working. She brought lots of goodies  including bacon, peanut butter, tea, perfume, aftershave and the Irish Times. 

I took mum and Isabel into Florence and swapped over work from Annette. We all met up at 6.00pm, then went for a stroll to see the sights and finished up at Colle Berretto where we got an Apericena. 

Annette wasn’t feeling too well on the Saturday so I took mum and Isabel for a trip to Cinque Terre. Our destination was Portovenere. We arrived after the two-hour drive and parked up. We went for a refreshing swim, before heading into town for lunch. Mum and Isabel had some wicked local tomato focaccia pizzas and I struck gold, finding a newly opened street food style takeaway fish bar. I gorged on mixed fried baccalà, mussels and sage leaves, which we ate on some steps. For the afternoon we decided on a boat ride to see the Cinque Terre, something we’d done some years before with Mavis. 

It was pretty cool, although we only managed one stop at Monterosso-al-mare, no time for a swim, but we enjoyed a drink overlooking the beautiful beach. We caught the boat back to Portovenere tired but happy. 

After Saturday’s mammoth trip we spent the Sunday at our local pool, it was packed. We finished with dinner up at the top of our garden with the great view. 

I was free on the Monday morning, so I took mum and Isabel for a drive out and up  to Montefioralle and we enjoyed some wicked crostone down the hill at La Loggia in Greve for lunch. 

On the Tuesday I was working until 6.00pm so we went for an evening stroll and ice cream in San Gimignano. It was nice to come here after all the tourists had  gone home. We spotted a dance show up at the Fortezza and decided to stay. It was a wonderful setting and Isabel loved it.

So five years after our last Lucca Summer festival we were back. My mum, who would definitely have preferred to be coming with us, had agreed to look after Isabel for the evening while we went to paint the town green with Irish soul band the Script. We had a fabulous evening, the band were great and it gave us a chance to let our hair down. 

Two days later on Saturday we were back in Lucca on my mum’s request to visit this beautiful city. We drove up and ate our picnic on the medieval walls. We hired bicycles and cycled along the walls, strolled along Via Filungo, relaxed in Piazza Anfiteatro and finished up for dinner, where else but Osteria Baralla. 

On the Sunday we drove mum to the beach for some swimming and sunbathing. The idea was to stop at Riva degli Etruschi, but we couldn’t find anywhere to park so we drove round to Baratti. We found a spot and enjoyed a lovely day at the sandy beach and sparkling sea. In the evening we went for dinner at il Veliero to finish off a great day. 

We took Monday to recover. On Tuesday Annette took mum and Isabel to the local outdoor swimming pool for the day. On the Wednesday we went in search of sunflowers and nearly got arrested for parking on the side of the road. Our last stop was Certaldo for a wicked lunch. 

Annette took mum back to Pisa airport as we bade her farewell. 

Our last outing before the holidays was to this year’s Mercantia in Certaldo. We came on the Thursday again to avoid the crowds and again Isabel loved it and we had a great evening. 

Elba

Surprise surprise this year we went back to Elba for the sixth year in a row. Beauty+Conenience+Value=Elba. This year we were going for a whopping 14 nights. 

Day 1 Monday

Our lunchtime departure from Piombino went smoothly as did our food shopping at Portoferraio. We arrived at our beach house in Zanca at 4.00pm, just in time to dump our stuff and head out to our local beach at Zanca. In the evening we were back at home to watch the sunset and have dinner. Our holiday mode was engaged. 

Day 2 Sunday

After breakfast, a lazy morning on the terrace and salady lunch we were straight down to business making the twenty minute drive to our favorite beach, Fettovaia for an afternoon of swimming, sunbathing and sandcastles. We were back home in time for that sunset and dinner outside in the terrace. 

Day 3 Monday

Breakfast, morning on the terrace, lunch and then we were out to our third beach in as many days, Biodola. It was a bit breezy, but we still had fun. Home, shower, sunset and dinner outside. 

Day 4 Tuesday 

The same as yesterday except exchange Biodola for Cavoli. 

Day 5 Wednesday 24 July 

Today was our 16th Anniversary. We had again booked a table at Osteria del Noce in Marciana Alta. We hit the beach early in the morning today at nearby Sant’ Andrea. Isabel even made some friends in the park. We enjoyed our sandwiches on the beach and after the afternoon on the beach head home for showers. We don our glad rags and drove up to Marciana Alta for our Anniversary dinner. We enjoyed a wicked meal with fish antipasti, primi and swordfish main and chocolate cake to finish. 

Day 6 Saturday 

After breakast, morning on the terrace and lunch we headed back to our favorite beach, Fettovaia for some splashy fun. 

Day 7 Sunday

The choice for today was the pretty little beach at Scaglieri. 

Day 8 Monday 

Today was a bit cloudy so we decided to take Isabel down the mine and show her what a four-year-old would have been doing 100 years ago. There are a couple of mine museums on the island and we headed for the one near Porto Azzurro. It made a change to the beach and Isabel seemed to enjoy herself. 

In the afternoon the sun came out so we hit the tiny beach called Ferrato, as recommended by our friend Caroline. As we were near Capoliveri we drove in to find somewhere to eat. We found a little ‘gastronomia’ selling some takeaway fish with a few tables on the side of the road. We parked up and gorged ourselves on an array of very cheap fried and marinated fish to die for. 

Day 9 Tuesday 

Today was still a bit cloudy so we stayed nearby at Fettovaia. 

Day 10 Wednesday

We had an evening date up at Marciana Alta so in the afternoon we went back to Fettovaia for our fourth visit. We were home and showered and headed out to a free classical concert up in the fortress. It was a magical setting, but Isabel was a bit tired and bored and we only lasted a few songs. 

  

Day 11

We were back at Scaglieri for an afternoon of fun at the beach. On the way home we stopped at Marciana Marina and picked up some Italian style fish and chips which we enjoyed on the harbor. Afterwards we went for a pleasant stroll in the town and stopped for a wicked ice cream at La Svolta. 

Day 12 Friday 

After lunch we heads back to the beach at Cavoli for some fun in the sun. 

Day 13

This was our big day. The idea was to end up in Capoliveri to see the finale of the Torremar music week and il Volo, Italy’s newest opera boy band sensation and Eurovision audience winners. 

We drove out to the famous beach at Sansone, the one featured on all the photos of Elba. It is actually made up of tiny pebbles, so not one of our favorites. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy, so after our picnic lunch on the beach we decided to pay the Aquarium at Marina di Campo a visit. We had brought Isabel a few years ago but now she appreciated it a bit more. She really enjoyed checking out the shark, turtles and giant crab. The sun was back out so just enough time for a swim at another favorite beach, Zuccale. We finally made it to Capoliveri and unbelievably found the perfect parking spot near the restaurant we had booked. Unfortunately there was the most incredible electrical thunderstorm and we were stuck in the car. We almost decided to call it a day, but miraculously the clouds abated and the sun can out. We were eating at the same place as last year, Osteria Le Grazie. I had an amazing cacciucco and two girls on the next table kept Isabel happy. 

After the meal I went to put some more money in the parking meter and when I returned Annette and Isabel were waiting outside the restaurant with a small group of people. Apparently il Volo, the group that were performing were getting ready and warming up in the room next to our restaurant. Some of the people were waiting for them to come out, when one of their staff asked Annette if her and Isabel would like to meet them. They go inside while I waited outside. They came out and Annette had some amazing photos of the three boys with Isabel. We followed them up to the main square and listened to the crowd go wild as they performed some of theirs ones. It was a memorable evening. 

Day 14 Sunday 

After yesterday’s shenanigans today called for some major relaxation, so morning on the terrace and afternoon at the beach of Fettovaia, sunset and dinner at home.

Day 15 Monday

Our last day on this lovely island. We went down to the beach at Sant’ Andrea for the morning. Lunched and packed and drove back to Portoferraio for our departure and the ferry home. 

England 

Day 1 Thursday 

A late evening flight and delay meant we didn’t arrive at Gatwick until after midnight. Fortunately my mum was there to welcome us and drove us to Worthing to Mavis’ where we would be staying for the next 13 nights. There was no traffic at this time and we arrived in Worthing at 1.15am, obviously Mavis was sleeping as we had a key. 

Day 2 Friday 

In the morning we were greeted by our host, Mavis. It was nice to see her. She was a little better than when I had seen her in January, although she had cut her head on her car boot. We unpacked and did some grocery shopping. 

In the afternoon after waiting in vain for Bernice to appear, we rang and decided to meet up with her in Highdown gardens. Felicity, Peter and Lily were there too and we enjoyed frolicking in the sun. We bumped into our old poetry guru, John Bryant in the cafe. 

We were back at Mavis’ to see my dad for a cup of tea, it was good for Isabel to spend some time with him. 

Cambridge 

Phil invited us up to stay with him in Cambridge for three nights, but after last year’s slightly uncomfortable stay, we thought two would be enough. 

Day 3 Saturday 

The drive up was almost traffic free and we arrived at around midday. It was great to see them and we got settled in to the bungalow. Jane’s mum was also staying as they had just celebrated her 81st birthday. We enjoyed a nice big salady lunch. Leonine and one of Jane’s daughters (although she didn’t say much) were also here for lunch making it a fairly large family affair. The weather was hot and sunny and surprise surprise after lunch we finally got to swim in their outdoor ‘heated’ swimming pool. Isabel had a great time despite Jane trying to make her jump in. It was the first time I had swum outside in England for about twenty years (and that was with being there every August) 

In the evening we were booked into ‘The Tickell’ restaurant for dinner. Isabel was very well behaved and the meal was ok. I had some pork scratchings and apple sauce to start and the duck for main course. 

Back home afterwards and we listened to Jane’s mum tell us all about her two week holiday to China... all evening. 

Day 4 Sunday 

In the morning after breakfast, unlike Phil, we were allowed out of the house. I think Jane wanted him to help her with lunch. We wanted to see a special exhibition at the Fitzwilliam museum. After a half-hour drive we were strolling around the historic streets of this beautiful city. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we enjoyed a couple of hours just wandering. Isabel had her usual ice cream down by the river Cam and we arrived at the museum just as it was opening. 

We had come to see two small bronzes, recently attributed to Michelangelo, the Rothschild bronzes. There were also a couple of watercolor exhibitions on too and some of the permanent exhibits were pretty impressive too. 

We made it back to Phil’s before one o’clock and already there was a bit of an atmosphere. Jane had set up in their very formal dining room and loaded Isabel’s plate up with a lot of food, including parsnips (which Jane herself didn’t like) Isabel managed very valiantly to eat about half of her food, but Jane and her mum, who was already tutting at this point, weren’t very impressed. Jane had made an apple crumble for dessert and without asking put another huge portion in Isabel’s bowl. Isabel didn’t want to eat it and Jane took offense and reluctantly offered her some ice cream instead. Unfortunately she scraped off the crumble and put the ice cream in the same bowl. Isabel politely asked if she could have a new bowl, Jane was shocked at this, and slammed the new bowl of ice cream down on the table and four-year-old Isabel burst into tears. At this point Jane and her mother couldn’t keep in their patience any longer completely exploded and laid into Isabel, telling her off for being impertinent and Annette for spoiling her daughter and Jane’s mum barked that she would regret it when Isabel was older. Unfortunately Phil wasn’t in the room and missed what amounted to two grown women bullying a four-year-old child. It was very ugly. Almost as if Jane was unloading all her pent up feelings that she had every time Isabel did something she didn’t approve of. 

We managed to keep very calm, excused ourselves, packed our things and left as soon as we could. It was a real shame, they had gone to such great lengths to welcome us and cooked some lovely food, but spoilt it with this completely irrational and unnecessary outburst. We had built up such a nice relationship with Jane and Phil over the years and in a split second it had been ruined. I don’t think Isabel did anything wrong and didn’t deserve to be treated like this. We drove back to Worthing a day early, very deflated. 

Day 5 Monday 

And the grey and drizzle had set in. We had a date at the farm with Bernice and kids, near her new house in Ferring. The kids seemed more interested in playing in the park than looking at the animals and Mya more interested in playing with her friends than Isabel. This visit wasn’t turning out too well. 

In the afternoon we were back at Mavis’. Ruth and Elise came round and Elise kept Isabel busy for a few hours. Ruth and Annette cooked dinner and we had a pleasant evening. 

Day 6 Tuesday 

We spent the morning relaxing At Mavis’ and in the afternoon went down the town. While Annette shopped for some essentials I took Isabel and Elise on some rides in the Lido. It was drizzling a bit, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying themselves. 

In the evening we were round Graeme and Bernice’s for dinner. Isabel actually got to play with Mya and Asher and Graeme downloaded some films and tv cartoons for Isabel, so a more successful day. 

Day 7 Wednesday 

The sun finally made an appearance so we took Mavis to Nyman’s gardens. We took some sandwiches and ate them in the cafe, while fighting off the killer wasps. We pushed Mavis round the beautiful gardens in her wheelchair and had a very pleasant afternoon. The house was partly destroyed by a fire and was never restored. As we were leaving we noticed an advert for a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on this Sunday. 

In the evening we were round at Rita’s for our usual non-dinner. However we have a nice evening. Isabel played well with her cousin Will and we got to see their Mexico holiday snaps. 

Day 8 Thursday 

After lunch we were out with my mum, who had Cassie’s daughter Megan with her. We headed out to West beach in Littlehampton. The weather clears as we visited Rope Walk and even had a paddle in the very cold sea. 

In the evening mum made her legendary lasagna and Isabel and Megan played nicely. 

Day 9 Friday 

We were out with my dad. Unfortunately the weather had turned nasty again. However he treated us to a yummy lunch at the Oystercatcher pub in Littlehampton. Afterwards we took Isabel to the Flying Fortress a huge indoor play area, which she loved. Perfect for a Winter’s day, or summers in England. 

In the evening Felicity had invited us round, not for dinner. We had a few nibbles and I got to play some football with Stan and Pete in the garden. 

Day 10 Saturday 

We were up nice and early to check out the car boot sale on Broadwater green. There weren’t many sellers there as it had been raining all night. Isabel had been invited to a tea party at Mya’s and I went to see my brother Carl in Chichester. He wasn’t as lively as last year and didn’t seem to be having a lot of stimulation. Annette and Isabel had a great time at the party. 

Day 11 Sunday 

Again we were up early for the car boot sale at the Roundstone farm, which like yesterday proved fruitless. In the evening mum agreed to have Isabel so we could go to the Twelfth Night performance back at Nyman’s. It was freezing. Annette was wearing two jumpers, Mavis’s winter coat and a blanket. English Summer evenings... 

we brought a picnic and enjoyed the play. 

Day 12 Monday 

This year my auntie Fiorella arranged the family barbecue on the Monday. It was a 3.30pm start and most of my extended family as usual came along. Notable absences, as ever my brother, Alan and family and Holly. Michael was spot on with the food the kids had a whale of a time and it was nice to catch up with everyone. 

Day 13 Tuesday

For our last full day we went to Hollycombe Steam Collection in Liphook, with Annette’s family. Mavis, Ruth, joe and Elise. Bernice, Mya and Asher. Stan, Pete and Lily. It was a bit overcast but didn’t rain. We made the one-hour drive and had our picnic lunch in the car park. Essentially it was an antique fairground with rides dating back to 1870. I wasn’t sure how safe they were but we all survived. 

The kids really enjoyed themselves. Some rides were a bit hair raising, but no tears. We finished up with a ride on the steam train and ubiquitous ice creams. 

The drive through Storringtin, Pulborough and Midhurst is stunning and a fitting end to this mixed-bag of a visit to the UK. 

Day 14 Wednesday 

Just the usual packing, race round Sainsbury and drive back up to Gatwick for our flight back home to Italy. 

Our first few days back home were spent washing and recovering. We went to our local outdoor pool at Baccaiano to cool down as the temperature was still 35 degrees. After a few wet days we decided to go camping for three nights. The sun was back out and the forecast food.

Camping 

Day 1 Wednesday 

We were all packed up and drove down to Scarlino to our favorite campsite, il Fontino. We arrived in time to check-in, unpack the tent and go for my legendary pre-lunch swim. We then enjoyed our sandwiches by the outdoor pool. Unfortunately Isabel had grazed her knee while on her scooter, so we had bought some waterproof plaster. After lunch we drove out to Punta Ala and there was now a third car park. We spent a nice time on the beach. Isabel didn’t go in the sea but enjoyed playing in the warm sand. Eventually we tore ourselves away and drove back to the campsite. We showered, changed and headed out to Giuncarico for our dinner date at ‘Sapori dei Borgi.’ There were some children having an end of summer pizza with no parents in sight and lots of shouting and screaming. We managed to change tables and got stuck into our seafood delights. 

Day 2 Thursday 

After a quiet night in the tent we went for breakfast and spent the morning by the outdoor swimming pool. We had brought some food in our coolbox, so after lunch we drove back out to Punta Ala for some more beach fun. Isabel’s knee was a little better and she had a dip in the sea.

In the evening we decided to drive into Castiglione della Pescaia and they were having their ‘notte bianca’ festival. There was a reggae band playing near our restaurant. We were back at ‘il Ritrovino’ for the third time and my cacciucco was awesome. Afterwards Isabel wants to buy every toy in the shop and we end up in the park where she played on the big wooden ship. 

Day 3 Friday 

And it was more of the same, as we bumped into work colleague, Julia at the campsite. After breakfast and morning by the pool including aqua gym, we had lunch. The children’s entertainment wasn’t as good as last year. In the afternoon we were back at Punta Ala for another stint on the beach, followed by aperitivo. We were back at the campsite for showers and change and this evening headed out to the pretty town of Massa Marritima. We had booked a table at a very fancy restaurant. Too fancy in fact with prices to match, so we decided to look for somewhere else. Isabel again wanted to buy every toy in the shop, so we cut our losses, had a quick pizza and drove back to the campsite. 

Day 4 Saturday 

Our last day on the coast. We had breakfast and installed ourselves by the pool. I packed up the tent and joined the girls for more aqua gym and then lunch. We spent a few more hours by the pool before heading home. A mixed experience really. 

September 

We were back to work on the Monday, but at the weekend attended our only ‘A Veglia sulle Aie’ event at Podere Arcagnolo with neighbors, Jessica and Elena. There was live music and the kids got to feed their Cinta Senese pigs. 

The weather was still white hot, so we decided to pay a visit to one of our favorite towns, Lerici. We made the two-hour drive and miraculously on a Sunday afternoon managed to find a car parking space. We walked down to the packed beach and found a couple of inches to put our towels down. We ate our picnic lunch and enjoys pleasant afternoon soaking up the warm September sun. In the early evening we walked into the pretty town and discovered a new ‘gastronomia’ take away bar called ‘Siamo Fritti’ or ‘We are Fried’. There were some free bar stools and tables inside so we gorged ourselves on some wonderful seafood, fish and chips, Italian style. Afterwards we played hide’n seek in the town with Isabel, before heading home. 

Cue wine festivals. First up as usual was Greve and we all came with a picnic. The weather was still hot. I grabbed a glass and Annette and I take turns to sample some of Chianti’s finest red. 

The following week I drove up to Panzano on my own for Vino so Vino. The expensive bottles had gone back under the table but I managed to wrestle them up. 

To finish with I was also on my own for this year’s Vino é Piacere up at Villa Castiglione again and enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon. 

October

We went on a day trip out to the pretty Garfagnana for only our second visit to Borgo a Mozzano to see a certain bridge. It was about a two-hour drive away, but today it was bright and sunny. We arrived and ate our picnic lunch and then went for a stroll over the peculiar hump-backed bridge. We drove on to the fairly uninspiring town of Bagni di Lucca where we stopped for a Cappuccino and ice cream for Isabel. 

The new Autumn exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi was entitled ‘Divine Beauty’ and featured some masterpieces by Van Gogh and Chagall. I came for a visit in between lessons. 

A somewhat controversial art exhibition in Florence was that of American artist, Jeff Koons. He of the chrome balloon dogs. He had several ‘sculptures’ on display around Florence, most notably, in Piazza Signoria. I went to have a laugh at the bizzarre golden copy of Bernini’s famous marble sculpture of Hades and Persephone. 

October was just as warm as September and we enjoyed spending time in our garden and going for some walks in our local vineyards. Isabel also went to a puppet show in Baccaiano featuring one of her favorite cartoons, the Russian, Masha and the bear. 

November 

The olive harvest finished and Isabel had a go picking some olives with her class at school. One of the advantages of attending a school in the Italian countryside. We also made a drive out to San Polo in Chianti to taste and buy some very special award winning oil at Pruneti. We also brought a picnic which we enjoyed in our old stomping ground of Spedaletto. 

December