We've happily swung back into our daily routine since our expedition to Sicily. Our daily yoga sessions are coming along a treat, and we are both enjoying it. We've been catching up with friends and acquaintances on a regular basis. Last evening we invited the English couple who bought the apartment immediately below us for apero. We've been getting together for the last 3 years or so, whenever we are in residence at the same time. They tend to come for about 3 weeks every spring and autumn, but are aiming to spend more time here from now on.
The weather has definitely cooled down but is still a very comfortable 23 odd degrees during the day. The forecast rain almost never arrives, though we did have a brief shower yesterday - the first we have seen this year.
The market this morning (Saturday) seemed unusually busy. Everyone was out wandering around, enjoying the sun and socialising. The square below us has been quieter than usual because two of the three restaurants are closed while the owners take a post-summer break. The remaining restaurant was very busy today. It was lovely hearing the chatter of diners plus some local buskers - a guitarist and cellist.
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| People out and about on Saturday morning |
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| The soft dappled light is lovely in our square at lunchtime. |
Saturday evening was the night of the big match - the All Blacks vs South Africa in the RWC final. Our Aussie friends had invited us to an easy meal at their place pre-match. They also have a bigger TV screen than us. It was a good fun evening, despite the debacle of the match.
On Sunday evening we had English friends around for apero. We've seen very little of them so far this year, and they're heading back to England in just a week's time. We caught up on a lot of gossip and it's rather scary to hear all the news of the declining health of many of our friends and acquaintances here. We now know of six couples who are selling up because of poor health and two others who are looking to downsize or live on one level only because they can't manage stairs anymore! We are among the youngest in our sphere of friends here, but it is definitely sobering.
John and I are keeping up our daily walks, without the HIIT (high-intensity) sessions. We're enjoying our yoga. The days seem much slower now, and we're doing a lot of reading. John is keen to keep improving his Italian and I've continued to pursue my interest in linguistics and the historical development of different languages.
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| We had a surprise encounter with these sheep on our walk today. |
Having been yet again disappointed by French coffee after enjoying the good Italian coffees of Sicily, I looked it up on Google. There seems to be almost universal acceptance that French coffee is poor. Bitter and weak are the two words that come up frequently. It has always seemed very odd that just 10km away from us over the Spanish border, the coffees are almost always excellent. I've always suspected that French coffee makers are a bit miserable with the amount of coffee, but research shows there are historical reasons for the difference.
France used to get all its coffee beans from their Caribbean and other overseas territories. It turns out that the French territories grew the robusta variety, not the arabica variety that most fresh coffee is now made from. Robusta is high in caffeine, more bitter, and lacks the richness of arabica. It's mostly used for instant coffee. Because the French grew up with robusta-based coffee, that's the flavour they stick with, and the rest of us just have to put up with it. Also, in France many of the cafes are supplied by a limited number of major suppliers who provide the machines for free, and then of course all the coffee they use, which is of course is still at least partially the cheaper robusta. The change to better coffee is very slow; French people are known for sticking for what they are used to!
We actually had a decent rainstorm last night. Short, but a proper storm with wild winds, lightning and thunder. Still not enough to make a difference to the drought which is now more than a year long. We very much miss the tinkle of the fountain below us, and we will be surprised if it gets going before we leave.
