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



175. Pre-Christmas Crackers & Gemma and Tiz 2

Nov. 23rd

After 120,000 miles the clutch on our trusty Nissan Sunny has finally packed up... three days later and 392 euro poorer, but we have a new clutch and are once again mobile!

Dec 1st

On a wet Wednesday evening in rush hour traffic I crash into a lorry and the car conks out again! Diagnosis; a new fuel pump - which will take two weeks to order from Japan... so two weeks of busses and trains then!

Dec 16th

And our landlady wants to put the rent up from 550 euro to 700 euro! An increase of 30% from January 1st... now all that just cracks me up!

Gemma and Tiz 2

Our good friends Gemma and Tiziano have invited us over tom their lovely home in Prato for the day to help us forget our woes...

Gemma is cooking and we are eating! Outside it's a cold, rainy day, but inside there is lots of warmth, laughs and good cheer to warm the heart! We can forget our housing situation, fortunately we have the new fuel pump, so are mobile again.

We enjoy a very pleasant day in good company and even fit in a game of chess and a few rounds of bridge! A nice appetizer to our Christmas holidays which start on Tuesday...

(Original journal entry 19/12/04)
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