Junefinnigan's Weblog

Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World

Well, things are definitely improving for our local restuarants, agriturismos and Hotels.  It is a slow process, but tourists are now making bookings and some are already here in near empty accommodation.  We met two nice Swiss guys at lunch last Thursday, who were the only guests at a large Castello near San Casciano!  Also a young family from Denmark staying at a local agriturismo.  And, yesterday our fellow diners were all from Holland.  One lone traveller was a long distance cyclist who had biked all the way from Holland on a recognised cycle route and was heading for Rome!  He had set out on 15th June and had just under 300 kilometres to go, phew, very impressive!  We were glad to hear that he had organised a bus ride from Rome, to take him back home with his bike on board.  I would love to do a trip like that, but I would need to be one hell of a lot fitter and it could be a little perilous on the Italian roads!  No offence to Italian drivers……but.

Now, one thing that has been missing over the last four months is entertainment and the Italians so love cinema.  So I was delighted to see that Certaldo Alto, which is the historical walled centre of our local town, is starting Cinema D’Estate from 9th July starting at 9.30 in the evenings in Palazzo Pretorio.  What a beautiful setting for some great films.  You can park down in Certaldo and get the funicular train up the hill, which runs until midnight or drive around the back of Certaldo Alto and park there.  You’ll also find some lovely places to eat and drink there too!  Picture from Facebook.  For more information and to buy tickets visit The website

Back in our lovely little bit of Chianti countryside, the phantom digger has returned.  We have whittled the evidence down to being a badger.  It has very strong claws and is able to move some biggish stones and bricks lining one of the flower beds.  The badgers here are pretty big, we only got a close up once!  This one also has an attraction for the bottom of one of our acacia trees, having already destroyed all our Iris tubers.  There’s not a lot we can do about this really, just tidy up the mess it leaves behind.  During the four months of lock-down the wildlife became much more invasive!  But we don’t really mind, it’s lovely to see animals and birds that were previously very shy.

Well, I have to say, it’s far too hot for me now.  The sun is scorching so if you are coming this week, slap on the protection!  We can hear the faint splashing of bodies in a nearby pool, so tourists are out and about in the sun!  This morning at our favourite alimentare and bar in Fiano, La Dispensa, we actually stopped for coffee seated at the one inside table.  It was quite busy, including tourists buying meats and if you are veggie, like us, you’ll find lots of fresh vegetables and cheeses too.  We were glad to see everyone still wearing masks and keeping a safe distance.

Back at my desk, I can hear the Ciccada’s making one hell of a din outside my window!  But I like it; it is the true sound of Tuscany in the summer, along with the squeaky tractors and the noise does not interupt my creative writing.  In fact, as soon as I finish this blog, I must get down to some more serious progress on   ‘Assassin’s List’, book four in the ‘Continuing Adventures of Joanna Wilde’.  I try and reserve Monday’s and Fridays for writing, however work related tasks are also becoming pressing.  But we don’t mind, life eeez good, life eeez now!  Nothing beats a long working holiday in Tuscany!  Foto Cicada Orni

OK, time to get this blog off to you. I’m sure there is a whole lot more going on outside that I haven’t told you about, but the heat is getting to me, so tune in for lots more news next week!  And, do let me know if you are coming to Tuscany this summer, you will be made very welcome by all our lovely Tuscan friends!

Oh and do visit my author site at My Site and/or drop me a line at june.finnigan@virgin.net

Have a good week

Salute June x