Lazy Sunday afternoon

When August turned to September it’s like some kind of switch was flicked. All of a sudden the weather is warm, but it’s not like being beaten over the head with a  hammer, the way it was in August. It’s warm and gentle and lovely to lie out in. And, without sounding too poncy, the light is all soupy and golden and rich and just different to August sunlight. I don’t know why all the Italians choose this time to go back to work.

My cousin A called me halfway through the morning and said she was planning to drive out to her in-laws’ empty house on the other side of the valley and sunbathe by their swimming pool – was I in? Of course I was.

So after a morning of cleaning the house and pushing a few words around on the computer, I bikini-d up and jumped in her car. Spent the afternoon with her and her sister in law, baking in the sun, cooling off in the pool, talking about work and relationships and other normal women’s stuff. Then afterwards we went to my aunt’s for dinner, where I was force fed tortelli followed by pizza, followed by crudo, coppa bread and cheese, followed by profiteroles (note the absence of veg once again). Afterwards my cousin and I climbed the steep hill to the Chiesa Madonna Del Castello, and listened to a flute and harp recital wending its way across the valley.

There are worse ways to spend Sunday 6th September than this.