Strange weather after the unrelenting scorching sun of the last couple of months. A nice breeze but rumbles of distant thunder. By this evening lightning in the distance hinted at storms but as yet nothing has arrived. The garden is a little overgrown but the rabid mosquitos make it impossible to be out there unless fully covered. Even hanging out the washing needs a liberal dose of Autan, although they seem to feel that is a personal challenge when I venture out.
Anyway, today I finished painting the risers on the staircase and moved on to the skirting in the hallway and landings; just the living room and kitchen left. Jamie has fitted the cupboard under the sink in the utility room. He has great plans for the retro mirror I insisted on buying at the secondhand store. It has a dimmer knob on the bottom which the electrician said did not comply with modern wiring regs. Jamie came up with the idea of wiring in a tiny circuit that will play music when turned on. I think that final touch will suit it perfectly; with the tinted mirrors and ‘dressing room’ bulbs, we have the hippest utility room in town. Pictures of all the bathroom mirrors that now adorn the walls after lengthy debate:
On a more mundane note, we are not sure about whether to stack the dryer on top of the washing machine to save space or to leave it free standing. We are seriously short of storage space and so everything is piled up at the moment. The tops of the machines are probably more useful for washing baskets and other paraphernalia than more floor space.
We missed the Palio, but the flags are still flying around the town and tonight our section (terziere) is having a celebratory supper.
First though it’s time for an aperitivo so we dropped into Saltapicchio wine bar after walking Daisy this evening. Not many people around as maybe they are expecting it to rain so we had a glass of sparkly wine and some of their excellent antipasti. Tonight there was steak tartare on toast with onion pickle, tuna paté, salami, lasagna and slivers of cucumber in olive oil.
Our section (terziere) called Borgo Dentro, which means ‘Town Centre’, has a wonderful clubhouse/taverna inside an old palazzo. Access is down a flight of steps and into a series of enormous cavernous rooms with vaulted ceilings. Each section has such a clubhouse and all appear to also have incredibly well equipped stainless steel kitchens to supply the hundreds of meals that feed the town during its celebrations. Service is always prompt, efficient, the food hot and tasty and great value. Even the wine is produced for and probably by, local producers with affiliations to each section. First course choice was the tagliatelle with venison ragu and then the flame grilled chicken with spinach and Jamie had grilled sausages with beans and oven roasted potatoes. Instead of dessert we shared a glass of sweet vin santo with dunking biscuits.
We now have a list of restaurants and shops and their particular opening hours and rest days which we will endeavour to keep updated. Everyone takes turns and it is useful to know who will be shut when trying to decide what to eat.
Sunflowers and Saffron 