PRINCES, FOXES AND DRAGONS

Predictably, because I wanted someone to get married on Monday so Alessandro could see a prince and a princess under the dragon, they are coming out of the commune now, holding hands and catching rice on their heads. Hang on, the husband looks like the father… maybe I cannot see right… will have to ask the dragon. Going down in a mo anyway to catch up with Marzia who is doing her mosaics exhibition but who refuses to let me do another one since I did my bird last year (am very sad that there will never be a little mongoose to go with it…).


Ale where the bride and groom are now standing, below the dragon.

Digressing. So the Fox-Principis dashed over from Ancona to spend a couple of days with us. In a mad attempt to tire Ale who had spent all morning trying to devise ways to kill himself (base-jumping from the living room window parachuteless, ingesting the cupboard key faster then Copperfield, putting wet fingers in the plug – oh no, that was Juju – the baby who never cried) we walked all the way up to Santa Margherita, with Luigi carrying the kids, the pram, the backpack, Kate and I. Then we played in the park where Kate had to be bullied off the swings by a 5-year old who had been waiting for her turn for hours.

Dinner at La Grotta passed in a flash with no baby-phone incidents and then it was already time to visit Castiglione del Lago’s castle, where Ale tried to absail down the walls without a rope before having lunch with Cristian.

Thankfully, the kids stayed alive and did not even get squashed by a Giardini lorry. So I hope they will all come back soon and stay for longer as I know there are plenty more castles to visit and dragons to seek out!



Manicure? Fox girls relaxing at a cafe in Castiglione del Lago.


Spaceship Luigi with Commander in Chief Ale by Lake Trasimeno.


Where bad kids are made into meat balls.


Green and soggy, that was Cortona after they left.

CONDENSATION

First I dashed over to Cesena for a couple of days – one that turned into two as I could not refuse a meal with mio cugino Luca – to catch up with Robi and Nath on their way back from Croatia. We walked down memory lane, reminiscing about places we had not seen for ages and eventually re-discovering Bertinoro and Cervia. Since, it has been a bonus to have Pasini Wine on the table and tons of piadina in the freezer!
Did you hear me scream when I finally realised that Robi and Nathalie got engaged in Venice – with the intention of getting married somewhere down the line rather than just for the ring!!


The triplets are going to University... how OLD am I???

I got back just in time to catch up with Cris and the vet from Milan. Whilst they were rolling around in dung and analysing diarrhoea, we girls dashed to the outlet where Christina became the happiest person on earth with a sales pair of Puma shoes for only 10 Euro. Needless to say that they did not have my size, otherwise we would have been competing for the retail queen award.

In the meantime, whilst our guard was down, Izzinia from Portugal and her man Bjorn from Copenhagen turned up in Cortona. We dashed back in time for some local fare at the Trattoria Toscana followed by doses of all the liquors we have in-house.


The following morning.

A bath towel was what I nearly wore to go to my friend Bianca's wedding. She arrived one hour late. If I had have been the groom, I might have been getting a bit sweaty by then. The Madonna del Bagno church performed the miracle it is famed for, and no one honked.


Bianca and her husband from Cortona, Luca.


Fernanda is the one who comes to gym wearing gold high-healed sandals and manages to run around without falling!

CASTLES, KNIGHTS, VINO AND CHEESE

Somewhere along the line, I was destined to be stunned by the beauties of Tuscany - and the people beside me stuffed with ohh and ahhh and exclamation marks. On Sunday evening we went to a jazz concert in Castello di Sorbello, a privately-owned castled at the top of a hill, at the other side of the mountains. The weather was grey so we wondered who would be there, only to find a field full of cars and jam-packed minibuses going up and down. At the top of the cypress-lined drive, stood a gigantic structure, full of free wine, cheese and cold-cuts, swinging to the sounds of Glenn Miller. Complaints? None at all!

STICK AND CARROT APPROACH

When Cristian said we needed to go to Viterbo on Saturday to meet up with two sales reps, he added on the end that we could visit the town, la Citta dei Papi, where many popes are buried. He did not mention however that we would also visit Civita, “the town that is dying”. Viterbo was nice but not amazing, and it was totally empty. Views of Lake Bolsena from Montefiascone on the other hand came as a surprise and anticipated the beauty of Civita that was to follow. Perched on the top of crumbling calanques, it’s an astounding little town about to drop into nothingness. I liked it so much, I actually bought a postcard! Check out this chaps website to get a better idea.

FERRAGOSTO

No pictures, but we did spent the 15th of August in Switzerland...

EXPERTISE: MINI-BREAKS

Latest adventure: 5 Terre - Ligura
Fun: 120%
Weather: Mixed
Food: Intoxicating - literally
Highlight: Walking between Levanto and Monterosso, via Punto Mesco, in the pouring rain without being hit by lightening or slipping off the cliff. Second best: Mohito and Caipiriniah on the beach!
Participants: Undisclosed.


... ma che voglia di arrivare quando ci sei tu...


Doing business from Vernazza.


Monterosso - Vernazza - Corniglia - Manarola - Riomaggiore

PAMPER ME PLEASE, I AM THE GODMOTHER!

My blood pressure was flying as I nearly missed the plane again... Geneva welcomed me with open arms and as soon as Cynthia arrived, the pampering began. One stop in Collex to drop the bag, hug the mother, steel the car and off we were, heading for Rue Pestalozzi and a champagne brunch. I nearly fainted when I discovered the main action for the day revolved around having my feet refelexologised but recovered quickly in aromatherapy vapours and the soothing sound of the lake. More more more, please, at my age, my feet quite like being prodded!
Bains des Paquis - ahh - shame I cannot move into a cabin there on a more permanent basis. The rest of the weekend revolved around cramming in as many friends as possible and christening fab Loulou who spent most of the ceremony playing and trying to scare Xavier, the godfather. Alyssa has become a fish and I am now taking Cris over to check the whole situation out!


The church in Duillier where Laurine was Christened - check out www.pasini.ch for more pics and details (my memory card was full...)


Birthday Brunch time, the best way to start the mini-break!


Ducks, Dole Blanche, Relax and lots and lots of chatting!


In style, Cynthia painting at the Bains.

WHERE WERE WE?

Back to square one, Rocio and Piero never made it up to Santa Margherita and I am now sure they will never visit again because they know that if they set foot in Cortona, they will immediately be dragged up the hill ;-)
Rocio, my birthday sister, and Piero, the brave husband to be, come back, its not that difficult!
They fled after Pienza and made it to the Isola del Giglio. Did they make it back to Este on the moped? Who knows?
In the meantime, I am sipping mate like a true indios, only I am lacking the straw so getting it all over the place...


Rocio and Piero at the well behind Montepulciano, before the hike up to the Piazza.


Pienza overlooks the Val d'Orcia - we collapsed on a bench in the heat.

AT IT AGAIN

Somewhere down the line, I think I forgot to mention that before the Robbie Williams Concert (yes, it is fast becoming an obsession!), Cynthia and the boys got handed some free goodies. Chewing gum? Crisps? A free can of beer? NO. Lacta something. Breastfeeding solutions? A closer examination of the packet revealed that they were FANNY WIPES. For heavens sake, this country has totally lost the plot.

Clearly part of the "must haves" - even before a concert...


But who cares when he is around?! Pic courtesy of Sabrina Bove!