Apologies for letting the blog updates lapse for the last few weeks. The keyboard has been focused on other words lately, but we have continued to pack in weekend adventures and I will now attempt to summarize nearly three weeks of fun in one post. A new record. We have certainly been lots of places. And done lots of things. My last post had us heading home from Pompeii in awe of the ruins of that city. The following weekend, my dad stopped by. He happened to be in England on a book-tour of sorts, meeting with schools in this sister city of his hometown of Sandwich on the Cape. It was our first chance to show a guest what our life has been like these last few months. So we laundered his clothes and hung them out to wilt and headed into the village for an espresso, attempting to run over a pheasant with the car along the way. Nothing like a day in the life of Tuscan country living. We went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant. It is also the only restaurant and so has little competition for the title, but it is wonderful and small and old and Augusto, the owner, now knows us by name. On Saturday morning, we got up early and headed for the coast and an overnight in Cinque Terre, certain that he would enjoy a proper walk along the seashore amid fishing vessels and quint villages. Cinque Terre is one of Italy's gems. A car-free stretch of Ligurian coast, where five tiny villages cling to the cliff sides, connected only by a wandering gravel path for the ambitious, and a local train, for the exhausted. We got to experience both. We hiked. We explored. We climbed down a jury-rigged ladder to a rocky beach where we laid in the sun while the girls swam in the chilly surf. We ate gelato and drank Italian beers in little cafes. And then we checked into a pair of tiny, back-alley rooms in Riomaggiore for the night and headed out in search of the pesto dishes for which the region is famous.
On Sunday, after finding what Kellie would describe as one of the top two beaches in the history of sea glass hunting, we pointed the car back toward home by way of Florence. We walked the Ponte Vecchio, admired the fake David, toured the Duomo and haggled in the markets for a leather murse for dad. (To those not in the Euro-fashion "know" a murse is a man-purse, an non-gender-specific accessory ideal for carting about your iPad, passport, and other essential items.) They continue to be the rage here. I told him that if he in fact purchased one, he also needed to buy some leather Converse all-stars and a pair of snappy colored capris and start wearing his hair in a ponytail to complete the look. He started looking for a shoe store.
We arrived home exhausted but satisfied that we had filled our weekend to the metaphorical brim. On Monday, as the girls and I got back to work, he and Kel wandered the surrounding countryside on hikes. And then on Tuesday morning, I ran him back to the airport for his return to London. It was a quick trip but we packed a lot in and the girls loved having their Cod here for a few days of fun and English speaking company.
At this point, the weekdays tend to blur into a routine of work and school. Things like a garbage run become an adventure as we headed out of the country toward civilization. Inevitably though, we decide to do so around 12:45 when it becomes a mad dash to get to the market before they close for the afternoon. The weather has started to turn thoroughly toward fall. Nights are cold and days creep into the low 60s. We have yet to turn on the heat, opting instead for sweaters and a seat close to the stove in the mornings where baking bread gives off the primary heat in the house until the mid-day sun rakes through the windows. I fear Kellie will want to head home, buy a rural homestead and start growing kale and slaughtering her own chickens. Around us, autumn has taken hold of the vineyards, which are now relieved of their harvest and left to turn toward the burnt umbers and yellows that have turned the hillside golden in the setting sun.
tHANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, YOUR DISCREPTIONS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED, AS ARE YOUR PICTURES. wHAT AN ADVENTURE....yOU HAVE BEEN MUST THOUGHTFUL IN KEEPING US INFORMED..wINTER IS APPROACHING...HI WINDS, SHORT STORMS OF HEAVY RAINS, BUT IN BETWEEN SOME NICE FALL, SUNNY DAYS. G
This post has some wonderful photos. I appreciate the darker tones and can feel the change in the air by seeing the mist and low clouds over the golden tones. After a beautiful fall here, we are enjoying our first snow of the year, not much accumulation but very cold. Ciao
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This is the official Coe family blog for our Tuscan adventures.