They say; ‘A change is as good as a rest’ – well indeed it is beneath a bright Italian sky…

Two weeks spent adding the finishing touches to the Villa – such a joy after so much unrelenting works and in such heat as we have experienced. It was not a chore to recoat the Living room –albeit in a brighter colour than previous, to ensure the new bathroom windows were fully finished off and finally to add the final structure to the garden in the shape of a pergola – to take the grape vine. Wine may be a future product of another holiday…

Inspite of much time being spent at base we did manage an excursion up into the mountains – finally making it up to Campo Felice; where we saw the last vestiges of the snow. But it was an enjoyable drive up to where the Gods may have once dwelt. The experience was only scared by the all too common place destruction wrought by the of ‘the act of God’ on April 6th 2009 – the earthquake which but all destroyed our beautiful Capital City of L’Aquila (The Eagle).

Of course it’s always nice to catch up with old friends – thought we didn’t seem to afford much time for such on this occasion. Mark’s sisters and respective partners soon arrived after us and we spend a few evenings with them.

Easter is the major festival & maybe quite right too – it would be hard not to have attended a shrine to focus on the events of the time of year. It’s always a pleasure to get to grips with the mundane in a culture – even it’s highlights. Mass was at the Oratory Church up in Bominaco  at 11am – the thought of processing round the Village at dawn left one a little cold. I was informed that the Bishop was in attendance as well as the local priest and a great throng… whilst we slept!

No holiday in Italy is complete unless a good deal of time is spent eating and preferably in a restaurant – never a displeasure! Diets do not exist in Italy – indeed many a young Italian exclaims the horrors of wedlock and the expected expansion of a waistline; I am told indicative of a good wife! So a good few albergos were on the list. The finest of which was of course a favourite La Corte some twenty minutes drive into the beautiful countryside.

Wine is also a feature of La Dolce Vita and I am glad to say we can sample such at it’s finest having now ‘laid down’ wines in years past.  Few things could better a 2002 bottle of good wine & especially Italian!

A real sample of domesticity was calling on Chiara who was engaged with her husband and mother-in-law ‘ripping’ apart not one but two paschal lambs. Most of which was destined for the freezer. I coped fairly well for a city boy – but found the eyes not so inviting an experience!. As you might expect not much was to be wasted & various verbal recipes ensued with promises of future meals etc. I do recall having sampled Chiara’s Paschal lamb a on a previous year – having arrived unannounced!

An ritual excursion out to the coastal city of Pescara saw us spending much time with Mr Obi & Le Roy Merlan – large DIY chains with various bits on the list & other chance delights / additions for the Villa. We also like to shop in the French Supermarket there – Auchan; where you can but French butter. Italian butter is not to our tastes – everything else but!

Of course all good things must come to an end sometime & a careful choice of flights ensured an uneventful and speedy return journey via the ‘eternal city’ on a Sunday! No ordinary Sunday – but one which marked the Canonisation with a mortal with whom I shook hands all those years previous on a second visit to Rome

CB

So I thought to help celebrate Shrove Tuesday, I’d put up  a pancake recipe.

So, plans where (apparently) set this weekend to start on the new pond. Instead we went for full on Tree pruning instead. Chris seemed to have a good time swinging in the tree like a massive chimp. The pruning is good in that we now don’t have to worry about the telephone line being taken out by the wind. It also meant I had the job of recycling all the pruning for fire wood.

Anyway, back to the Slow cooked Beef in Red Wine… still waiting to see how this turns out but it’s looking good and smell nice! Essentially I browned off the following then threw in the slow cooker, so here is the recipe:

Slow cooked Beef in Red Wine:

• Stewing Beef
• 1x Tablespoon of Olive Oil
• 2″ Piece of Chorizo
• 2x Red Onions
• 1 Red Pepper
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 Teaspoon English Mustard Powder
• 2x Tablespoons Plain Flour
• Beef Stock
• 10 Juniper Berries
• 2x Teaspoons Wild Thyme
• 1x Tablespoon Tomato Purée
• 1/2 Red Wine

Think I’m gona make some Sweet Potato Wedges to go with…

OK, Chris needed more clarity such as measurements. So I’ve updated the plan.

I think my gardening instructions are pretty informative. Quality information graphics. We have a weekend gardening plan.

Sunday morning and we start on room number 1 construction. Soon to be a bathroom. The sparks soon start flying as we have to grind down metal to create the inner metal framework for the new inner structure. The bathroom soon takes shape as does the Master bedroom which will have an a walk-in dressing room to the side. Both the bedroom and bathroom will have large skylights to allow in as much of the Breton sunlight we can grab.

It’s starting to get exciting again!!!

With all this… Chris still managed to put some seeds and shallots (French essential) in the garden.

I’m off to Brittany for the weekend soon. Looking forward to a luxurious weekend of pampering as we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary. The likelihood of ever being pampered is highly unlikely, but I can always hope! I imagine the weekend will actually pan out as follows:

1. Cut the grass (which will probably already be at triffid proportions).
2. Put some seeds in (hopefully for some summer time veg).
3. Plan a menu (that will probably involve Veal / Duck or something once fluffy and cute).

The mutan breton grass will probably be as tall as this!

Hopefully we will (if Chris books it) have an evening in: L’Eventail des Saveurs Découverte
I’m hoping that we are going to also get some serious walking in, but you can never quite tell what Breton weather is going to be like in February… well every really. You can pretty much guarantee that it’s going to rain at some stage in the day.

Anyway… flying over is going to make a massive difference, while Chris picks me up from the airport. Another ‘hint’ could be that we eat in St Malo or Dinard close to the airport, then bomb it back to the Cottage after that. Either way, hopefully we will make the most of it as I won’t be back in Brittany until the Summer.

As it’s a beautiful February day, thought we would take the MG out for her monthly run. Top down, hats on, lift off!

Would much sooner be heading towards Cannes (or Nice) I’m not bothered really… than sitting here at my Mac on a cold wet, windy and generally depressing night trying to crack wordpress!? Looking forward to being there again in June for an extended break, though not driving down this time.
Last time we headed south, I flew into Rennes. Chris picked me up in the Beamer as he had been staying in the Brittany-Cottage, so it was fairly civilised. We then headed south from A to C:

• A. Rennes
• B. Rodez
• C. Nice

After Nice we headed for Porto Fino for a night of luxury with the European Jet-set (we where obviously on a tight budget so a bit more European Easyjet for us). Porto Fino was a major surprise for me. I hadn’t even really heard of it to be honest. Chris had obviously and wanted it to be a massive surprise which it was. The light and the slightly decaying grandeur of the place and the fact the place looked like a James Bond set certainly help the place win my heart.

Anyway, better put the Lamb stew on to heat and the jackets in the oven.

Now counting the days down… to starting work!  But with  just now 2 weeks to go! Always a bit of a gamble Feb – with the weather! I shall hopefully get lots of work done in my ‘Den’ next door; before Mark comes out to join me for the second weekend. I will of course be distracted by some friends occasionally! Lots of lovely flowering bulbs in the garden too to admire.

New York. What can I really say about it that hasn’t been said. I kinda knew I would love it, but not as much as I did. It definitely went straight into my top 5 World Cities, currently placed in 3rd. I’m not sure any where will ever top Paris and Rome.

This has got me thinking… what are my top 5 favourite Cities? It’s a pretty touch one… but I think:

1. Paris
2. Rome
3. New York
4. Bangkok
5. Barcelona

Anyway I’m getting off the point of this post, Our trip from NY to Charlottesville VA (Via Philadelphia).

We started our journey from upper state New York, Rye to be precise, where we had spent a cool weekend being looked after by Pat and Mike. We where really treated by the whole family (THANKS Pat!). After being dropped off at Stanford train station we boarded the train heading for Grand Central for quick train change heading for Philly.

Santa Cruz Road Trip.. This our most spectacular find of a beach!

Our Adventures in South Africa… even though it was a few years ago now, I still have vivid memories of our time in Cape Town and the surrounding areas all the way round to the lagoon at Knysna.

We are hoping to be back in Africa on Safari next year, visiting either Namibia, Tanzania or South Africa. So Cape Town will definitely be back on the cards!

WATCH THIS SPACE!

DC quickly became one of our favourite Cities. Fortunately we love Galleries and Museums so we where in our element. Will get round to post some images of the Smithsonian which is totally mind blowing in amount of treasures it holds, from the mists of antiquity to the truly cutting edge of Space exploration. Chris spent the day with the video camera stuck to his face.

The afternoon monsoon has just finished and…