Hello everyone! It's good to be back blogging again after spending time away from the computer and enjoying some family time over the Summer, mostly in Italy. Today I'm joining in Five on Friday and sharing five collages to give you an idea of what we did during that time.
The grass had grown long again and needed cutting so we were glad to use the services of someone in the village to cut it with his tractor and cutter. All the grassy land around the house was soon looking much tidier. There was still a lot of tidying up to do around the fruit trees and the grape vines, but our grandson who was on holiday with us, together with his mother, sister and aunt gave a helping hand.
We met up with family and friends who live in the village and also with our nephew and his family who had come over from England to see the parents who had gone back to Italy on their retirement. Above is my sister-in-law's garden overlooking the local abbey and in the middle small photo are our two lovely daughters. Whilst Mr. P and I stayed at home the rest of the family went off on day trips to the beach and to a local water park.
The weather was extremely hot and towards the end of our time away there were lots of wildfires for local communities to contend with. Although our village was not troubled by them the fires did come very close and on one occasion when Mr. P. was taking our family back to catch their flight to the UK the smoke from one fire was blowing across the motorway which meant there was a diversion and delays as the queue of traffic was rerouted onto country roads. Thankfully he'd started out on the journey to the airport in good time.
We were continually drinking mineral water because of the heat. Having a well means that we have a good amount of water stored in tanks, but we don't drink it. A good solution is to go further up into the mountains to get a supply from the running water at a designated fountain. Going up into the mountains and wooded, unspoilt countryside is always a relaxing experience.
On the last evening before our family went home we went to the local town where there's always something going on all the year around. This time there was a concert taking place at the foot of the castle and stalls where local artisans were selling craft work. The high street had been pedestrianised for the week and later on in the evening rally cars lined up for viewing before they took off on another leg of a race around the region.
During our time with us the two grandchildren wanted to spend a day in Rome so one of our daughters stayed with Mr. P. and relaxed in the garden and I took the grandchildren and their mother on a walking tour around the historic centre taking in the sites they wanted to see. We took lots of bottles of iced water and a picnic lunch with us. The shady visitors' centre near the Forum made a welcome place to rest. Later we walked to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps area and had another rest and refreshments at one of the numerous pizzerias nearby. It was worth the effort and the heat to see the grandchildren enjoying our short tour before getting the train home where Mr. P. was waiting for us at the train station and a tasty meal cooked by our other daughter was ready for us to enjoy as we talked about our day in Rome.
I hope you've also had a good Summer. There's still a lot going on now we're back home in the UK until the two local grandchildren go back to school and university. Hopefully I'll catch up with your news very soon.
Wishing you a good day and weekend,
Linda :)