#3: Italian Surfing and August in Italy
Ciao Nonni!
We are well and truly experiencing the phenomenon that is August in Italy. Three of our four most frequently visited cafes are now closed until the end of the month. In a turn of good fortune though, the macelleria which has been closed since we arrived has now reopened! It is less than 100m from our front door (at the entrance to the Piazza San Francesco) and it is amazing.
We went in last night to ask for some mince, but we were not hopeful as we couldn't see any in the display cabinet. Little did we know that mince is ground to order! The butcher showed us the huge chunks of pork and beef he was proposing to mix together for us, and then when he was sure we were content he started to grind it for us.
A few minutes later we had the most delicious-looking mince in our hands (along with a few bonus slices of the thinnest and most delicious mortadella for the walk home) and half an hour after that it was in the pan for dinner. Delicious!
The other great discovery of the week was the small fruit and vegetable market that runs every Wednesday night in the same Piazza San Francesco. We'd just run out of honey (one of Raffy's staple foods) and lo and behold there was a honey stall there. The man let Raffy try each of the honey varieties in turn until she chose the one she liked the most. She was very serious about choosing the right one, and was absolutely chuffed to be in charge!
I also found some delicious plums, and I had one on the way home. The taste took me back instantly to the plum tree at Florence Avenue!
Our trip on the weekend to the beach club was a great success. The morning started dubiously, with the first real rain we'd had since we arrived. But we decided to go anyway, and by the time we arrived shortly after lunch it was becoming fine. The beach club was very relaxed and the water was much clearer than what we'd seen in Forte Dei Marmi. We ended up spending about five hours on the sand - and the bambini had so much fun. Leo was in his element. He is definitely a beach baby!
Incredibly, there was also some surf! I'd heard rumours of waves along the coastline near Viareggio, but was very dubious. It wasn't Bells Beach by any stretch, but you could definitely catch waves if you had a board.
Amusingly, there were a few guys there with surfboards and I eagerly watched them to see how they'd go out in the waves. However, the surfboards seemed to be more like props - as they all paraded along the shore with them but not actually ever getting into the water! Maybe this impressed the Europeans on the beach, but as an Australian who grew up surfing it was almost too funny to endure.
Leo is on the cusp of walking. No doubt he could if he wanted to, but he's in that final stage of thinking he still needs to hold onto something. There is a good chance that by my next letter he will have taken his first steps.
Raffy is also now learning to ride a proper bike, after we bought her one last Sunday. She is loving it! All of this physical activity means that they've both been so tired that we've actually been getting some slightly longer sleeps recently which is a real bonus.
I hope all is well in Melbourne. Lots of love and baci.
Kate
