As August draws to a close, that feeling of being in in limbo will start to fade. Hot, humid, closed shops and restaurants, Italians away at the coast or up in the mountains, little or no rain and nobody around who you really would like to talk to. So effectively we take a step back too, taking a sort of holiday as we stay at home, but mostly wanting to do anything that leaves a sense of achievement behind, but it’s too damn hot! The brain stays half asleep and afternoon naps are a must.
But thankfully, we have still managed to make it into our local village of Fiano for coffee at La Dispensa, which is also our local grocery store. At least they have remained open and we are grateful for that. Each morning Luna the dog sits ,sometimes impatiently, with her owner as he drinks coffee outside the door. We like to sit inside at the big table and meet and greet friends and other locals as they come and go. Quite a few northern European tourists are still here and they visit the shop too. Hardly any Americans or English as before the pandemic, but there are plenty of weddings going on in local Villas and Wineries.
Fruit and veg is plentiful and after some heavy rainstorms the gardens and plots are looking much healthier. In the markets beautiful displays of home grown Zucchini (courgette)flowers are available and down in Certaldo our famous Red Onion.
There is currently the Cipolla di Certaldo in Sagra festival going on and you should visit Certaldo Alto to savour all the wonderful recipes using the onion. The Festa ends on 4 September.
Meanwhile, back at Paolo’s C’era Una Volta Ristorante in Lucardo, the simplest dishes can be the best. Off the menu was some fresh melon, so I combined this with some young pecorino cheese. This then still left room for Tagliatelle with finely chopped mixed vegetables in a light stock sauce. Yummy.
There were plenty of tourists there too, but we keep out of the way at our regular corner table. It not that my man and I are unsociable, we are still very vigilent regarding Covid.
So, what next. Today is Sunday and my man has been outside gardening. Looks like it’s nice enough to take an aperitivo outside before lunch. That will be the first in August due to the intense heat; it’s still warm but considerably cooler. I’ll be able to look at all the flowering shrubs without wilting from the heat! Hurrah!
Have a great week and I’ll see you in September. Oh and do drop me a line june.finnigan0@gmail.com or visit my website at http://www.junefinnigan.website
Salute June x
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