The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo



60. UK Christmas




After 5 days of lie-ins mixed with frantic last minute shopping all of a sudden we're on a plane bound for the UK.

We pick up our trusty Ford Focus at Gatwick airport and head down to Worthing.

We've come partly to see Annette's sister Ruth's new sprog Elise, who is only 4 months old, but it's also a chance to see family that we haven't seen for months or since we left England over a year ago...






As well as seeing our families it's a chance to indulge in all those things we can't do in Italy... so bacon and eggs for breakfast, listening to my old favourites, Mark and Lard on the radio, the Fast Show, Only fools and horses and Blackadder on tv. Bowling with my sister and the girls and stocking up on books, dvds and newspapers to take back with us. England is surprisingly a little warmer than Tuscany, but of course it rains every day... We drive up to Cambridge to see Annette's brother Phil and enjoy a nice fishy lunch at Loch Fyne.


Happy Christmas!

See you in 2003!

(Original journal entry 30/12/02)
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