San Giovanni Val D'Arno pics
We had panini in a little cafe in a side street with the dog sitting beside us. In France, the dog would have been offered water before our order was taken, but this is not the practice in Italy. A quick shop at the Co-op where we'd parked the car and we headed home.
We arrived back at the Lilac apartment with only half an hour to prepare for the tennants of the Castello Bisticci (the Lemon Terrace is the top floor, inhabited by Don and Cathy from Michigan, the middle floor by Theresa and Barry from Newcastle, Australia, and the tiny studio on the ground floor by Judy from Seattle.) Pre-dinner drinks and snacks began at 5.30 on our shady terrace. When the sun began to set and the wind go up, I fed the dog and settled her down in her corner by the wood burning stove. We all moved across to the Lemon terrace for Pizza, more drinks followed by tea and a selection of wonderful Italian 'pastries'. The party finally broke up close to midnight.
Which is why there was a very late breakfast at Casa Hesadevil this morning. I'd just finished my final cuppa when the Angelus bells rang out from the churches of Troghi and Cellai in the valley below.