Un Giorno Rilassante

Patio with a view

Here I am, starting way early, only a very few hours after posting the last edition. And wow. This is gorgeous. We're still in Abruzzo, known for being unknown. We're spending tonight at my cousin's house, up in the hills, a short distance outside a town called Colonnella. The sun is setting, George Michael is crooning in the background, the silhouette of the mountains in the distance is getting stronger as the sunset haze dissipates. I can hear a vague faint white noise way over to the left which could be the sea but I don't see how. The odd car passing between the fields about 400m in front of me is completely inaudible. [I just asked Nigel about the noise to the left, and we went for a walk across the empty field across the road, alongside the neighbour's olive trees, so he could show me the autostrada, a kilometer or two away down the hill.] A sickle moon is now straight in front of me, with Venus marking the halfway point between the verandah roof and the mountain tops.

Abruzzo

Our train out of Pescara this morning left at 10 and was due in to our destination, Alba Adriatica, 45 minutes later. It ran 7 minutes late, and when we arrived my cousin and his wife were waiting for us. It's been 30 years since we've seen each other, but it's been a lovely day.  They live near a town, but definitely  in the country and it's delightful. Their house is quite new, finished less than five years ago, with the comfortable and elegant features of both NZ and Italian design (eg, vaulted brick ceilings, but also open plan kitchen-to-living/dining areas. And no fewer than five outdoor relaxing areas, not including the pool.

A Colonnella piazza

We drove through Colonnella first, with a stop at a friend's shop to buy stuff for lunch, and then the rest of the day has been sitting, chatting, relaxing, eating, drinking, sleeping, drinking, relaxing, eating. I went for a bit of a swim, but although the water looked inviting, it wasn't quite as warm as the equatorial hotel/resort pools to which I have become accustomed, and it was a bit of a shock. But sitting in one of those blow-up pool lounger thingies, lying back with just your bum and feet in the water, that worked for me. That was very pleasant.

After we all had a bit of an afternoon snooze, I started writing the above, and very soon it was time for more wine and snacks. Later, Nigel took Stephen and me out for a drive to see the old town and the sights of Colonnella, At about 8.20 we went out for dinner at the seafood restaurant of some more friends of Nigel and Kay's, and we've just got back home from there.

So, a very short episode today, but there you have it. There's only so much one can write about a day like this. Short story shorter: It was lovely.

Abruzzo