So this week should really be retitled Italian lockdown by colour due to the fact that for the first time since the beginning of the UK’s hard lockdown, I managed to have what I think of as a holiday and not a London staycation.  I only started to believe it was going to happen about two days before I left (having had, like many others, various trips cancelled this year).  I felt so fortunate to enjoy the different cuisine and culture, catch-up with my friends who live over there and wake up each morning excited about where my daily walk would take me.

My friends have a dog Bertie, and each morning around 6:30am we would head off for two hours guided somewhat by his nose and also my desire to walk a new route each day.  My friends live in a hill-top Umbrian town near the Tuscan border which has a walled centro historico so not only did I have some gorgeous views to enjoy but also the mix of small town and countryside in which to explore.  Bertie was pretty happy to go anywhere provided we ended each walk at a cafe where I could sit down to enjoy a freshly squeezed orange juice, and he, the majority of a bombolone (an Italian doughnut).  I soon learned that the reason why I was seeing so many Fiats and VWs around the town was because these were its only two dealerships (to the disappointment of my uncle who had been looking forward to some red sporty models - not really practical on rural roads!).  Friends and family however, seemed to enjoy the change and variety of images relating to the daily colour theme.