Spring Bank Holiday

Ah the Spring Bank Holiday. Not to be confused with the Early May Bank Holiday, or the 2 Bank Holidays falling to either side of Easter. It may seem like we're constantly enjoying public ('bank') holidays here. It's true. Unfortunately, now it's over for the rest of the year, save the last Monday in August and Christmas Day. That's right... no 4th of July long weekend, no Thanksgiving 4 days off, no Labor Day. The sad truth is: In the UK, we have fewer public holidays than the US. They just all seem to fall in April & May!

Never to miss taking advantage of a day off, we turned our 3 day weekend (coinciding with Memorial Day in the US) into a 4-day weekend, taking off for Florence on Thursday night and staying through to Monday evening. This had to be the best 4 day escape ever. Case in point: At one time about mid-day Saturday, I tried to think about what I had on the following week at work. And I couldn't think of a damned thing. Pretty different from the nagging thoughts that follow me around on a typical weekend!

It didn't hurt to be pampered by our Italian friends & family. A breakfast spread with homemade marmalade and fresh espresso each morning ready when we came downstairs. A feast Friday night was prepared by Paola Marchi and started off with a sinful cinta senese pate and didn't finish until after the pasta, meat, crostata, and grappa were all sampled to the point of gluttony. The following day we enjoyed a lingering lunch at cousin Joanne's full of a variety of antipasti and salads (and wine & prosecco, certo), and a few hours post a dinner at Elisa M's, starting with in-season baccelli (fava) beans and peccorino, and continued on with pasta, meat, and zuppa inglese ('English soup'!) provided by Elisa P (or was it Mama Paladini? The mystery remains...). The hospitality was unparalleled, except by my other visits to Florence.

(An aside: After complaining that they wouldn't let me wash even one dish, Jason assured me that there would be plenty I could wash when we got back home. Unfortunately he was right, although the desire to do the dishes isn't nearly as strong when you're in your own kitchen!)

Of course, it wasn't all about the food, just nearly. We also got out to see some sights as Jason & I day tripped to Lucca, a little walled-in medieval town about a 90 mins ride from Florence. We had a guide tour of the Santa Croce cathedral by il mio papa italiano Carlo Marchi, kindly translated by Elisa & Francesco, seeing not only the 'original statue of Liberty' and Michaelangelo & others' tombs, but also getting a refresher lesson on the importance of Giotto's works on perspective. We traveled to the countryside with both Elisa M & Elisa P and their fabulous boyfriends, Francesco & Stefano, enjoying a gorgeous lazy summer day, taking in the Tuscan landscape and a few tastes of the local wines. (n.b. We brought back a bottle of Poggio Amorelli chianti 2006 and it is delicious! If you see it try it!) Jason & I also spent some time being tourists in Florence, which consisted primarily of comparing & contrasting a handful of churches and walking on the shady (Francesco: not shadowy) side of the road. So between the sight-seeing, gorging ourselves, and having a fun time communicating with friends new & old l(yes, zucchini = zucchini, no joke!!), it was about as spectacular as long weekend could be.

We've made 2 albums -- one with sights, one with some extra candids -- are up! To whet your appetite, here are a few favourites:

San Frediano, Lucca

Wandering in Tuscany

Baptistery, il Duomo & the belltower, Florence