Off on my hols - - - YIPPEEEEEE !

[asbean]

I'm off to Italy for just over a week, staying the long weekend with my cousin in Toscana and catch up with friends there, then up north to Milano till the 1st then back.  Good flights from Bournemouth, thanks to Ryanair.

Am hoping to do a bit of Christmas shopping, but I think it's going to be a social whirl,I'll be coming back for a rest, which is just as well, because work is really drying up now and I'll have nothing better to do than to rest and work on the plot.  Winter digging???  We shall see.

I'll be on dodgy dial-up and no mobile signal till Monday - I'll have to cope somehow.

Behave yourselves (if that's possible, some of you - you know who I mean) see you all in November!

xx Asbean

[asbean]

[OllieC]

Have a fab time, and make sure you don't behave yourself!!!

O x

[betula]

Send us a postcard ;D

[asbean]

I'll do my best - I'll take lots of pics, and when I get to Milan I can bluetooth them to my friend's computer.

Ollie - chance would be a fine thing - I thought about misbehaving, but decided against it this time.   :o :o :o

[Lauren S]

Oh have a wonderful time  ;D

[manicscousers]

green with envy , have a great time, think about us back here in the cold  ;D

[asbean]

Forum-wise I haven't been away!  Found my cousin is now on broadband (It took Telecom a year to connect her phone when she moved) and I was able to use her brand new toy - a Mac notebook.  Must admit, the only bit about it I liked was the keyboard. 

Tuscany was fantastic, as always.  The weather was perfect, very warm autumnal days.  Took the dog for long walks (eek, a reluctant chihuahua  >:(), it was lovely walking round the market, especially the fruit and veg stalls.  And seeing the little plots of land with veg growing, and loads of polytunnels.

When I got to Milan the weather broke, unfortunately, but it didn't get cold, just wetter.  The friend I was staying with lent me a laptop, so I was able to keep in touch with everyone and did all my texting via Skype Out to avoid the mobile overseas charges.  I've lost my italian sim card, unfortunately, and didn't stay long enough to warrant the effort of getting another.

I learnt a lesson - don't have overweight luggage with Ryanair - they charged me 45 euro for 5 kg!  All the presents I was given were heavy, and I bought loads of food too.

I felt amazingly free of that feeling of being "watched" - there are relatively few CCTV cameras in Italy, although they are on the way.  Amazing how insidious the surveillance has become in the UK.

Took a few pics on my phone, will post a couple.

[asbean]

Here are some pics:

View from behind my cousin's house near Cortona:
[attachment=1]

Fish and chips Italian style - take your pick and your selection is sold by total weight
[attachment=2]

A huge student demo in Milan - notice the scaffold covering on the left - they paint it to look like the building underneath
[attachment=3]

[Hyacinth]

Wonderful pix, bean, and bringing back wonderful memories for me. Just what I needed on a grey dull damp day 8)

A friend here brought me back the Ultimate Food Parcel from Italy recently....a whole zampone :-* Gorged on it for one week - and spent the next sucking all the goodness out of the toenails ::)

(err, for peeps wot don't know...I'm talking stuffed pig's trotter here...) ;)

[asbean]

My moth is watering  :P :P :P :P :P

Cortona is just north of Umbria, so there is plenty of porchetta around.  Best herby pork around, especially if it's home cooked.

Incidentally, I had supper one evening with some Italian friends who eat simply but always very well.  It was fish that evening.  I was thinking as I was cutting up the three-year-old's half-octopus into manageable pieces - how many kids that age in England are sitting down to having octopus for their supper?  It was simply delicious.

We followed the meal with a glass of homemade limoncello cream - homemade of course.  My son has asked for the recipe and I'll post it on the recipes board if/when I get it.

[OllieC]

Haha, I have a mental image of you dragging along a truculent doggie... I can actually picture the look on your face!

Glad you had a relaxing time!

O

[Paulines7]

Glad you enjoyed your trip Asbean.  Is it still very expensive in Italy?  I went there almost fifty years ago and couldn't believe the prices.   :o

[honeybee]

A great read asbean, thanks for the posts and pics.

Tuscany is on my 'promise' list, thats the promise list to myself that I keep in my head  ;D

Glad to hear you are having such a lovely time.

[asbean]

Pauline - expensive is only relative to how much we pay here.  When I first went to live in Italy I used to fill the car every trip with all the consumables I would need for several months (even loo paper!).  A few years later I was filling up the other way, everything was MUCH cheaper there.  Now I just buy stuff I can't get from my usual supplier http://www.nifeislife.com/default.php.

They are complaining about the rising cost of living, and yes, it is getting more expensive, but is still cheaper than here.  The exchange rate doesn't help.

But here you couldn't travel over 250 miles by train for £36 - and that includes 3 hours on the fast Eurostar.