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What a month! So let's start at the beginning... On the first Sunday of every month there is the infamous Arezzo antique market and the September one is always a bit special as it’s held in the park above the city because there is a Palio taking part in the main piazza. I love wandering around the stalls. We rarely buy anything (and this Sunday was no different!) but it's always a fun day out. September also saw Leigh's special birthday and we have only just got over the celebrations to be honest! Our friends hosted a little get together for him and we had such a wonderful time - I think he managed to accumulate 4 birthday cakes in all! We spent his actual birthday at one of our favourite places - the spa pools just outside Siena. This trip out feels like a little one day holiday for us - we always get there as soon as it opens so that we can bag a four poster sunbed which in my world is very luxurious! There was not a soul there when we arrived so it was like having the whole place to ourselves for a while which was lovely. We had a spot of lunch there and a cheeky wine which was a great way to end the afternoon. For the evening we went to a lovely little restaurant in Monterchi, Terazza di Piero, which has recently re-opened, really good food and a perfect way to end the day. After that week we just about got our breath back and our wedding group arrived and what a lovely bunch of people they were. We spoke to the bride and groom-to-be back in December when we were visiting our friends and family in the UK. Popped into the John Lewis cafe (one of my favourite things to do when we are back, little things that I miss!). It was great to catch up with them before their Big Day just to go over a few things as obviously once we were back in Italy it would just be messages and Facetime. I am always a bit fretful when organising a wedding as it is such a special event. So much so that I go over everything about a gazillion times much to Leigh's consternation! You will be pleased to hear everything went off according to plan (as usual!) and the bride and groom were delighted with the day giving us a five star review which we are very happy about of course. We have another bigger wedding in April next year so I am keeping my wedding planner hat on! Oh and what a great surprise we had... A few years back we visited Malaysia and made friends with a really lovely couple who were living out there at the time with their dog, Troy (who, incidentally, I fell in love with). Anyway, they have moved back to Europe and were holidaying in our area here in Italy so we caught up in our local town for a spot of lunch - it was so good to see them after such a long time, they haven't changed a bit. The grass has started growing again so we have spent a good deal of our time mowing and strimming - Leigh is loving the new sit on lawnmower which I must admit I am a bit scared of! I am sure I will love it when I have a proper go once the season is over so watch this space. No cycling this month. I have no idea why - just being lazy although I think the celebrations for Leigh's birthday may have been a factor. Hopefully back on track next month. I think that's it. I'm sure I've missed something but I'll pop it in next month's blog if I think of anything. Have a great weekend. Diana D I A N A xxx     
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August has been a great month (if a tad warm!) and we've had some lovely family groups as it is of course the UK school summer holidays so one of our most popular months and very busy for us organising yoga classes by the Casa Leana pool or wine tastings on our back patio, birthday cakes, pasta and pizza making classes etc. etc.! We have still managed to get out and about and it was my birthday last week so we took ourselves off to one of our favourite towns, Cortona. Overlooking lake Trasimeno, this must surely be one of the loveliest towns in the area. And there are some gorgeous clothes, wine and handbag shops there too so a perfect day out in my world! Our favourite lunch venue with views of the lake was closed so we decided to eat in another great restaurant overlooking the main piazza, it’s a place I‘ve always wanted to try and it didn’t disappoint. In the evening we came back closer to home and had a lovely meal in one of our tried and tested local restaurants, La Civette in Citerna - just a 10 minute journey from Casa Leana - it's set inside the walls of this gorgeous little hilltop village with spectacular views of Monterchi. We've managed to get out on a few more bike rides too so I am feeling quite good about myself. Early morning is the key to exercising in July and August as anything energetic is definitely not on my list any time after 11am other than cooling down with a swim in the pool maybe. Ooh, I forgot to mention the vintage fair in Castiglion Fiorentino, one of best loved events - honestly I just love this. This beautiful quiet hilltop town springs into life for four or five days and the atmosphere is amazing. Lots of dancing and live music all over town with really interesting stalls and pop up shops. Wonderful. The last Wednesday in August sees the end of the summer night markets in our local town of Anghiari. It's always a bit sad but there are lots of other events going on for the rest of season so we're looking forward to those of course. They all sound a bit cheesy to be honest but we love them and again the locals are always so enthusiastic it's difficult not to get carried away and join in the fun! We have the Palenta Festival in Monterchi next month and in October there is the Chestnut Festival in Caprese Michelangelo and of course the annual Intrepida vintage bike race which starts in Anghiari to name but a few! We have been arranging a wedding over the last few months and it's finally happening next month. I am very excited and a little bit nervous at the same time. We met the bride and groom in December last year (while we were back in the UK) to go over the arrangements and I can’t wait to see them again and catch up with their family who are all staying at Casa Leana for the week of the wedding. Watch this space for photos of their Big Day. That’s it for now. Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx        We had some great evenings with friends watching the England football team in the European Championship and getting to the final again was no mean feat but alas another sad outcome for the team (for the non football lovers among you we lost the final AGAIN! At least it wasn't against Italy this time). Roll on the World Cup so we can put ourselves through the agony and ecstasy all over again. Ha ha. To take our mind off the England football tournament disappointment, we have been going into our local town of Anghiari for the wonderful Wednesday night markets which started this month. I love these markets, not sure where all the hundreds of people come from and as usual we seem to be going home when the market is in full swing but we enjoy ourselves nonetheless! Italians tend to come out later I think because of the heat but we have never got into that mindset so tend to eat when it's quiet before the crowds descend and we love people watching of course. It's so nice to see the town fill up and the children enjoying the live music, dancing into the night and various market stalls filled with jewellery and trinkets - little mementos of a magical evening. We are still managing to cycle a bit but we have to get out early (usually around 7am) before the heat kicks in. I love our early morning rides although it is a bit difficult to get up that early but once we're out it is wonderful. The sunflowers are now in full bloom and the scenery is so uplifting I just have to pinch myself sometimes to realise how lucky we are to live in this beautiful place. Our car is going in to be repaired this week, it's been out of service for a while now. I cannot wait to start going out and about a bit further afield. Our local area is stunning but we like having a few day trips each month and although we have been driving the vintage Fiat 500, it doesn't have air conditioning and leaving the sun roof open is just like sitting in a little oven in this weather as you can imagine! On the plus side my knees and Leigh's head have a cracking sun tan now... Ha ha. Oh, I forgot to say... We finally had the mower delivered. It's a lovely machine and we are very excited. It has its own little shed which Leigh built some months ago in readiness for its arrival. I haven't managed to drive the mower yet as I am a little bit frightened of it to be honest! I plan to wait until the season is over otherwise I can envisage myself careering into the vineyard or similar and I don't really want guests to have to witness such antics! Ha ha. Suffice to say Leigh is bombing about on it and I am getting on with other things in the garden. Again, as with the cycling, we are trying to get to Casa Leana at around 7am if we need to clean the pool or mow etc. so that we don't have to work in the heat. Taking a leaf out of the Italian's book for a change! For the first time, a lovely property in Anghiari have been hosting open air cinema events in their grounds, mostly in Italian but there were a couple of films in English so we took ourselves off one evening to watch Wicked Little Letters. Great film, lovely story but the language might not be to everyone's taste! A brilliant night with friends. There are some more similar evenings being held in Sansepolcro, another town close by, such a great addition to the area and hopefully they will continue to take place every summer. I think that's it! Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx        I love June in Tuscany. The weather is beautiful and the sunflowers are beginning to sprout and the mood is upbeat in anticipation of the summer ahead. We had a wonderful time at the Mille Miglia (an annual vintage car race around Italy). One of our favourite events of the year. You don't really have to like cars to enjoy this, the atmosphere has a real party feel to it whichever town or village the parade arrives in! We had a few trips out on the Vespas. We went into one of the local villages (Monterchi) which has windy little roads up to the centre and into the little piazza. A great morning of fun and then lunch in the prettiest of spots. We love it there in this typical piazza surrounded by ancient buildings and jaw dropping views. Ooh.. I've started cycling again. I was a tad concerned that my body might completely freak out but I managed to get up a couple of hills so I'm back to two rides a week so about 50km which is just about my limit these days. The temperature in June is perfect so we're really enjoying getting fit again. Our car is waiting to be fixed so we have been staying local this month but hopefully we will be fully back on the road in the next few weeks so I'm planning a trip to the gorgeous spa pools just outside Siena among other things that Leigh is not aware of at the moment. Ha ha. All of our guests have been amazing as usual, visiting Arezzo, Siena, Rome etc. Alot of them have been spending time around the pool of course and a few birthday and anniversary celebrations with our neighbour doing the honours, cooking wise, almost every week so far. We had a lovely American group return for the third time for a two week stay. First week just the adults and the rest of the family arrived the following week. Lovely people. My favourite part of this month was having our family out. We took a trip to Lake Trasimeno, had an ice cream and pizza (or two!), a day trip to Arezzo - the toy shop was a big hit of course, lots of lovely food and park fun. I miss them already! Grass is green, garden is looking good. We seem to be keeping on top of it and we are hoping to get a new lawnmower next month. Rock n roll! I think that's it. Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx       May has been a great month here as usual. Glorious weather and the poppies are out. Sadly we didn’t manage to get to the steam train in Siena mentioned in April’s blog - it doesn’t run all year round and we missed the window so I think we will have to do it in September now. We got the Vespa’s out and my little cinquecento, it always feels like the summer is here when we do that! I’m so much more confident on my Vespa these days (only taken ten years!) and I’ve been going out for coffee and lunches with friends and getting there on my little trusty steed! It feels very Italian I must say. Our guests have all been lovely and have written some great reviews so we are very happy about that of course. We have some regular guests coming next month all the way from America so we’re really looking forward to seeing them again and we had another returnee group staying this month. It’s so good to see guests returning year in year out, it really makes all our efforts worthwhile. A couple of our groups took advantage of our new offers, one family spent an evening with the lovely Claudia from the world famous San Fabiano vineyard in Arezzo and another group had an afternoon with the mums and kids making pasta with Alberto, a local chef. (The dads went into the local village for a few beers!). All the activities took place in the gorgeous kitchen at Casa Leana with some great feedback. We took off to Perugia mid month to watch an individual time trial stage of the Giro d’Italia. It’s one of our regular annual trips out. Being in Perugia we took the tram up to the top of town which is a little adventure in itself in my world. We also found a gorgeous restaurant where we had coffee and cake at around 11am and liked it so much, we decided to stay for lunch. With the fabulous views and a bit of people watching, it was a perfect afternoon in the sunshine! We love cycling events and we’re hoping to go to the first stage of the Tour de France next month which bizarrely starts in Florence (I know!). In other news we’re thinking about getting a sit on lawn mower which I am very excited about. You may recall from previous blogs that I usually do quite a bit of the mowing at Casa Leana so lawn mowers are always of interest to me. Sad but true! Watch this space to see if my dream becomes a reality ha ha. It’s the Euros next month so that will most probably be Leigh watching football matches most of the time and analyzing England’s performances! Last time this happened England got to the final and it was against Italy and Italy won! It was emotional as you can imagine and took a little while to get over the disappointment. That's it for this month. Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx       A bit of a late start to the blog this year. One of the main reasons being that we stayed in the UK for slightly longer as it was my son's special birthday so obviously a party was the order of the day. In fact several parties! We had a wonderful time during our off season, not only the celebrations for my son's birthday, a visit to London with lunch at the Savoy (no less!), seeing friends and family in the UK and Ireland but we also managed to get away for some winter sun. So, we got back to Italy in March, feeling super chilled. With only a few weeks to go before our first group arrived it was all hands on deck to get the house and gardens ready. We had completed quite a few projects at Casa Leana before we left for the UK but there were a couple still to do and that pesky garden, as we all know, keeps us on our toes! One of our projects this winter was to replace two shower doors. It sounds like a simple job I know but we're in Italy so things never seem to go as easily as one would wish. First of all we were told that the shower doors were'nt quite ready for installation (I have a funny feeling the doors weren't ordered even though we had booked this work to be done way back in July 23!). The shiplap surrounds had already been removed so there was no going back and we were a tad concerned the new doors might not arrive in time for the start of the season! Anyway, the doors finally arrived which was great and the workmen came and started to remove the old doors and in doing so broke some of our tiles so downed tools until the tiles could be replaced. To cut a very long story short, the tiler took a few days to arrive, the guys installing the doors returned later than expected and the carpenter, who put back all the surrounds to complete the job, finished the work only a few days before our first group arrived! Urgh. I said to Leigh "we are never going to get any more third party work like that done again". I seem to remember saying that exact same sentence many times over the years! We've also had one of our sofas re-covered and our local upholsterer has done a wonderful job, on time as well! We ordered new scatter cushions too so this work has completely transformed the main lounge here at Casa Leana. I love love love it. We've been avidly watching a programme called Salvage Hunters and I must admit I am addicted! We have always loved visiting antique markets and bric-a-brac shops looking for bargains and there are a few really good ones around here. I nearly injured myself last week trying to get past tables and chairs to have a look at a picture that I could see from a distance! I eventually squeezed past an upturned chest of drawers and got to my hidden treasure which we ended up buying. I'm not sure Drew and Tee from Salvage Hunters would approve but we like it and it now has pride of place in the Casa Leana lounge. We've been gardening of course. Oh, I forgot to say, we also got some garden furniture from one of the bric-a-brac shops (I told you I was addicted!). We spent a couple of days out in sunshine rubbing it down, bringing it back to its former glory. This lovely set has now found its place at the bottom tier of the CL garden overlooking the vineyard and we really love it. Although the furniture is so heavy, we both had to carry one end of each piece individually to get it down there! I tell you that table and chairs is never ever moving again. Our first two weeks of guests this year have had a wonderful time. One group had been before so knew what to expect although apparently they didn't replicate anything from their last visit as there is so much to do here. They found a newly opened rafting place about half an hour away from CL which is apparently excellent so I contacted the company and we've got all the information for future groups. Our second group were celebrating a special birthday so we ordered a cake for them and booked an olive oil and wine tasting, a meal cooked by our local nonna and a yoga session. They gave us the most amazing five star review, such a lovely group. Not because of the five star review (of course!). The garden here at CL is our pride and joy but entails oodles of work. Having said that, it is so worth the effort. It looks beautiful at this time of year even though I do say so myself! We've just spent the morning mowing the lawns and doing a bit of strimming so it basically looks like it's had a nice haircut. We went to the antiques market in Arezzo (first Sunday of the month) recently and had such a lovely time. Weather was gorgeous and it really felt like summer was upon us. We had lunch and a glass of wine in the piazza. Simple pleasures but one of my favourite things to do on a Sunday or any day actually! We never bought anything but the city buzz was wonderful as always. We have a few things planned this month and next. Many years ago we went on a steam train just outside Siena, it was a magical experience and we are planning on doing it again this year. There is one trip that includes a wine tasting - that definitely piqued my interest as you can imagine so watch this space for piccies and info. Well, I think that's it. I'm sure I've missed off something but I will add it to the next blog. Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx         Our last group left on Saturday and it's been another record breaking year for Casa Leana, we are so very lucky! All the garden furniture has been brought in. The pool hasn't been closed yet as we're going to have to empty it this year and have a few maintenance jobs done. Leigh is planning on cutting down a couple of dead trees so although it's the end of the holiday season, we still have some bits and pieces to do in and around the house and gardens. It is a bit like the Forth Bridge but we love every moment, even after 14 years! We're having our massive corner sofa re-upholstered (the one in the main top floor lounge at CL). For this we've chosen dark brown with blue patterned cushions and our lovely seamstress has already started work - I am really looking forward to seeing the finished article before the 2024 season begins. I bought that sofa when we were back in the UK where I had a relatively small lounge. I remember the delivery men turning up to my house in the UK and saying “did you not measure your lounge?!”. There was a long conversation about whether it would be too big for the space (let’s just say, it was very cosy!). I think I must’ve known that one day we would have that great big lounge at Casa Leana where it is a perfect fit. We've also ordered two new sets of curtains for the kitchen shelves and we've replaced the chairs in there too so a bit of a refresh and update with a slightly more modern feel (I hope!). We've also got a huge mirror which is proving a bit difficult to move but we've found the perfect spot for it in the middle floor lounge. Pictures to follow of all the updates as soon as we've put them in place. I don't think I'll be touching the super heavy mirror - that is definitely a "Leigh Job"! Our most exciting news is that we have another wedding to organise! One of our guests has charged us with planning their wedding next year in Anghiari. We love doing this - we've had a couple of weddings to plan over the years and it is one of our favourite things to do. We have already confirmed the date with the local authorities and the translator. Next week we're planning to book the restaurants and bars for pre and post wedding drinks and food. Very exciting. No bike rides this month as Leigh's mum was here and some friends were over too so not much time for exercising - we just ate and drank too much again! Oops. Apart from our normal haunts, we had a couple of lovely walks and a visit to Assisi which was lovely. Assisi is only a 50 minute drive from Casa Leana and it is so beautiful. We had a spot of lunch there and a little bit of retail therapy before heading off to Perugia airport to drop our friend off. The usual annual October events have been taking place, we didn't manage get to all them but we went to two of our favourites - L'Intrepida and The Chestnut Festival in Caprese Michelangelo. There was even more going on this year with a (very loud!) band seemingly following us around the village! Such a fun morning out with a traditional pork and stuffing roll with crackling for lunch, yum. We are now officially winding down (apart from getting through the never ending list of jobs in the garden) and looking forward to the festive season. As I said before it's been another amazing year full of fun and happy holidaymakers. We are eternally grateful to them and all the friendly locals who make this part of the world such an amazing place to visit! Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx       What a month! First of all it was Leigh's birthday so we set off to our new favourite place - the spa pools just outside Siena. If you've read my blog before you'll know all about these gorgeous pools. Suffice to say it was a lovely day and it will most probably be our last visit there this year as autumn is upon us although I must say it doesn't feel very autumnal at the moment, it's been gloriously sunny and warm all month. We had some old friends over for a few days so that was a bit like a very long party with lots of shopping and Prosecco. Not that I'm complaining! One of them I hadn't seen for over 20 years, I moved to Tuscany and she moved to the Cotswolds so we lost touch. We had a great catch up but very exhausting to say the least! Maria, my old friend, had never been to Tuscany before so it was lovely showing off this beautiful part of the world. Obviously one of the trips had to be a wine tasting so we spent an afternoon with the lovely Claudia at our favourite vineyard in Arezzo, Tenute San Fabiano. Just a half hour drive from CL. Our great friends moved away this month. We are so sad to see them leave Tuscany and we've spent quite a few goodbye lunches and dinners with them and others who live here. Their very famous annual sports day will be missed. We have promised to keep the tradition going but it just won't be the same without these very special people. Having said that, as mentioned in my August blog, Leigh is the reigning games day champion so I am not sure he will be keen to lose that accolade! Ha ha. We're moving towards the end of the season so as usual are looking for things to update and improve at Casa Leana. We're going to re-cover the lounge sofa (riveting I know!). We've found the most amazing seamstress who has done some great work for us in the past. I love finding great tradespeople, it really helps when you run a little business like ours as you can imagine. Oh my goodness, I nearly forgot! I found a leather jacket that I absolutely love. In fact I found two would you believe? The first one I bought a few weeks ago in a leather shop that we never knew existed. It's in the backroads of Sansepolcro so only a few minutes drive from Casa Leana. Crazy. I bought the second one on a return trip, discounted by €110 - what a bargain! It's a different design to the first purchase but equally as beautiful. I feel very spoiled! The shop specializes in all leather items and prices are great too so anyone visiting Casa Leana should definitely take a look. We are attempting to wind down, Leigh's mum is due to come for a holiday on Sunday so that's a sure sign that we are nearing the end of the season. Having said that there are still lawns to be mowed, plants to be watered, the pool to be cleaned etc. so not quite there yet! Our last few groups are having a wonderful time as usual, enjoying the autumn sunshine and the Casa Leana heated pool is a bonus as always. We've also noticed that a lot of guests are doing some of our "10 favourite things to do" as outlined in the welcome pack that we send out before guests arrive. I really love seeing our guests enjoying all the wonderful things this place has to offer. The usual annual autumn events will be starting next month, the Chestnut Festivals, Chocolate Festivals and of course the annual bike ride, L'Intrepida, will be happening which is something we always enjoy following in our little Fiat 500. Not to mention grape and olive harvesting time. I've volunteered us to help the local farmer with the olive harvest again, I love doing that! So we're both looking forward to another busy month. I think that's it for now. Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx    |
Welcome to my blog...
Just a little insight into our lives here. After eleven years of living in Tuscany I thought it was about time to have a go at blogging when one of my lovely friends said she had received (what she thought!) was an extremely funny text from me, hmmm.. How difficult can it be?!
D I A N A xxx
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