Benvenuti to all my lovely Loyal and New Followers
Farty Barty on a favourite perch over the orange trees. Foto P Finnigan
Many of you will already be aware that our darling Farty Barty the cat, was gently put to sleep last Friday morning after his kidneys had failed. This all came about very fast and I write this with a heavy heart. The little lad now has a lovely spot in our garden underneath the climbing Jasmin. But he will always be remembered as the little wild thing who arrived at our door eight years ago and stayed. Amazingly, on Saturday morning as I sat sadly drinking coffee in Bar Solferino, I found myself inspired to write and managed a whole chapter of ‘The Italian Connection’ which includes Barty. So he is now immortalised as an important loveable character in my current book.
My view from the end of the long wooden table at la Dispensa in Fiano. Foto J Finnigan
Now, it’s very easy to go into a miserable state at times like this, but living here in our little bit of Chianti amongst all our lovely Italian friends, it seems somehow easier to go out for morning coffee and meet and greet everyone. So on Sunday morning I returned to Fiano and the new ‘La Dispensa’ caffè bar and alimentare. I was delighted to find it busy and bustling with shoppers in for their bread and sunday joint, whilst chatting with friends over coffee. The local character Alessandro was there too, we previously nicknamed him Signore Rotund for obvious reasons, and he enthusiastically shook my hand our not having seen each other for over six months. So the life is back in the village and has a centre for everyone to go. I watched and smiled at the comings and goings from the far end of a long wooden table, and caught up with the local news in the paper.
Fancy Dress in Empoli. La Nazione.
Meanwhile, the weekend was busy with Festas as it is the official start of the holiday season. In Empoli, a local town, the Festa attracts hundreds of locals and visitors alike, who adore parading around in fancy dress. However, this also means that sixty percent of small businesses including restaurants are now likely to be closed until the end of August, whilst the italians head off for the coast or the mountains to escape the heat! Typically, I could not buy any credit for my phone at the usual place and had to drive to another tobbacchi to get some! But hey ho, we prepare for this, the tourists do not and wander around like lost souls in a ghost town.
Well, I hope you will excuse me. I want to stroll around the garden with a glass of wine after heavy overnight rain, breath in the heavenly smell of the damp grass and plants, and visit Barty.
Have a great week.
Salute June x
PS visit my author site at http://www.amazon.com/author/junefinnigan
‘My Father, The Assassin’. Book one in the series.
‘The Bolivian Connection’ Book two in the series.
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