Summer Time!

I can't believe these photos were only taken a few weeks ago! This week it has been cloudy, grey and wet. I really believe I am back in the UK! Although there it is sunny at the moment, surprisingly.

In the last few weeks we have been trying to visit places we haven't got around to in the 10 months we have been here - hence the photos taken in Siena! Sorry Cristina, next time I will call you!! We were there about 6 hours, enough time for lunch, a visit to the Cathedral and then a leisurely (!) walk back to the railway station. We caught the bus there but really didn't enjoy it so the 20 minute walk to the railway station wasn't a problem, plus the trains run more regularly than the buses ( and they are cheaper!). I had forgotten how small Siena is but that meant we had time to do the things we wanted. We returned with 2 Palio flags which now hang from our mezzanine balcony! We bought Dragon - it's pink and the dragon is female (she has boobs!) - and Tortoise, which is blue and yellow. They look very smart hanging down and give the dining room a mediaeval air, honest ;)!

The weirdest thing that happened is Siena is in the picture below.My daughter insisted that when we arrived we would see Polar bears. As you can see from this window display, she was right!!

One of the things my son wanted to do was visit I Gigli, the out of town shopping centre near Campi Bisenzio in Florence. As it was raining, again, on Monday it seemed like a good time to go. While we were in there we could hear the thunder, by the time we left it was sunny! While we were there we had lunch at an Irish, Spanish, Mexican Pub, like you do in Italy!! We had burgers and hot dogs with fries, not sure which of these countries they were supposed to be from but they tasted good and I did at least have a Sangria :). As you can see below there was a little stage near the restaurant. Wallflower that she is, my daughter could not resist getting up to give us a show! I just know she is going to sing and dance her way through her life as much as she can, whether for a living or not, as long as she is happy!

The longest part of the day was getting the bus there and back, as it is August they are not as frequent and they tend to run late anyway. Our favourite part was Leroy Merlin, bizarre I know. We haven't been in before. My son was drooling over all the power tools and chain saws and my daughter wanted all the wall stickers, I bought a new mop! For those in the UK it is like B&Q or Do-It-All. As I had been led to believe such things didn't exist here I was really surprised at the range of products. It was great ;))! We also hired a trolley with a little car on the front and my daughter rode around the mall in that. It gave Alexander and I a much more peaceful shop. Plus people leapt out of the way when they saw this contraption coming!

The rest of the week has been quiet, a friend came over, we have had a little illness and of course it has rained! Now I am making the last few preparations for our trip to Spain and the UK. I'm hoping to be back in time for the lantern festival for children on the 7th September. Bye until then!