Well I got around to unpacking our boxes. Actually I just went through them checking for damage as I can’t really unpack until the work is done. There were many things broken. Some of them were my favorites. Oh well.

I did find some things we can use right now. For instance our cat tree!! The instant we brought it into the house the cats were ON IT! I am sure they remembered it and were happy to see it. Since then they play and sleep constantly on it. Happy days!

I also found the — da dum — bathroom scale. Oh joy! So I brought it over to the apartment and in due time I weighed myself. And… I have not gained weight! Hard to imagine but there it is. And it makes me happy.

Yesterday we met up with some people that my sister virtually introduced us to. They are from the Northern Virginia area and have purchased a place in Montepulciano in Tuscany. We have visited the town a couple of times on previous vacations here but only in passing and only to eat outside the walls. This time we went up into this hill town which is famous for the Vino Nobile de Montepulciano red wines. It took only about an hour and fifteen minutes to get there from our house.

Very pretty town. Lots of shops. We went early and toured the churches and some of the squares. One thing I noticed as well. The town is crawling with tourists. I heard more American voices than since we left the States. I would not want to live there.

Lunch was fun. The food good. The conversation flowed. We went to see their apartment which they had completely renovated. Very pretty. They are right on the wall and have a view that goes for miles all the way to and past Lago Trasimeno. They have both a terrace and a garden. Lucky them. They made the two basement cantine into two bedrooms and two baths. Upstairs is a big open plan kitchen, living area and dining room.

We said farewell for now. They plan to come for about 12 weeks a year. She is not yet retired. They leave for the States tomorrow. On the way home we stopped at the Poliziano winery. It is a beautiful property, but they all are gorgeous over there. We got a couple of cases of the MUCH more expensive wine that we have in Umbria. And in my opinion no better than ours I might add.

Soon it will be olive harvest time. I am looking forward to that.