Not feeling that worse for wear, the ladies decide to venture into Firenze (Florence). Mom has a secret parking lot, it looks a tad cloudy, and we are in search of yellow shoes and doll clothing. We are not in the car more than 20 minutes, and a deafening thunderclap jolts us awake. Uttering famous last words, I say "I think we can outRUN it!!!"
That is all it took. Buckets and buckets. The traffic on the highway comes to a crawl, but we persevere. Parking at the lot, walking in the rain to the doll store, where my daughter outfits her new doll Isabella.
Debbie sees a bright red, huge umbrella that she covets. We trudge on, to the Ponte Vecchio, which is totally packed, in the pouring rain. And there, like a sign from the gods, is a street vendor selling the big umbrellas! Who would have thought? Purchase made, we find a place to duck in for lunch.
It's an adorable cafe/deli, where you place your order at the counter, and pour your own wine out of big jugs with spigots. My daughter thinks it's great...the kids special is a plate with 3 helpings of anything in the display case. We snag a window table looking out over the Arno and just relax, watch the rain die down, and play with dolls.
When the rain stops, we head out again, only to have it begin again a block later. We sincerely try to shop, really. At some point Debbie and I look at each other and say "Is this fun?". We head for the taxi stand.
Home again, it turns out it was sunny at Casi di Sotto all day. Go figure. The microclimates here are amazing. Perhaps even more so because the rolling hills hide the weather in the neighboring town. But all in all, it was fun. We bought insect zappers so the children run around outside electrocuting bugs (all but the fireflies, which are a protected species).
The well has had an interesting development. In drilling the new hole relatively close (no permit required that way), the water from the old well has gone down the new hole, where as yet there is no pump. We have water in reserve tanks, but want to conserve just in case, and have philosophical discussions about whether or not a dishwasher or hand-washing uses more water. We end up with a bowl of warm soapy water, no rinsing, and running a load on an economy setting. No worries about the plants, it's begun to sprinkle. At last.
Ciao!
About Carrara, LLC
Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.
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