It's a four day weekend!  Yesterday was Immaculate Conception Day or some such foolishness, but it gives me days off so I don't care.  It is pretty funny though when considering how much Italans go on about the separation of Church and State here.  Every Tom, Dick and Harry is a Saint and gets his day, many of them are National Holidays.  Speaking of senseless, last Sunday I voted for the first time here.  It was for the referendum that would have streamlined the government, reducing the number of seats in the two houses and cutting all sorts of other waste. (Italy has about 950 parliamentary members to our 535, with a forth of the population).  It didn't pass.  Why would it?  It makes sense.  I give up.  I'm still on no news mode though snippets do sneak in.  They are all terrifying so I'm going to keep this up as long as I can.

GP and I took MIL out to lunch.  Monday is her Saint's Day (Patron Saints are more celebrated than birthdays), so we went for a drive in the country and to a lovely restaurant in the wine region.  I was gluttonous and ate and drank too much and now feel like crap.  At what age will I achieve self-control I ask you!!??  I spent all day on the sofa reading and doing online crossword puzzles.  I am a bum.  Tomorrow I'll make up for it by being very productive!   My bed is calling me....I must obey....  xxoo me

Ah geesh...someone let him use the phone?  See what happens!  And not even president yet.  This is why I've given up the news.

View of Cerisola

Looking towards the sea

Cerisola has two Roman bridges

Their pride and joy

On our wander

Last weekend GP and I drove and hour and a half to a tiny village called Cerisola in the Maritime Alps to help a friend pick kiwi and persimmons.  Her husband's family is originally from the area and still has property and vacation homes there.  Unfortunately the decrepit great uncle who owns the fruit trees forgot to tell her that he had had them pruned way down last fall and this would be a "no fruit" year.  We took the opportunity to wander around.  The village is mostly empty now with only 80 full-time residents.  It sits on the Mediterranean side of the mountains, tucked into a crevasse shaped valley.  In the summer it's a haven for people escaping the heat on the plains as it's high and gets the sea breezes but winter must be pretty bleak.  All of the residents seem to be ancient and yet they still survive with few modern conveniences.  There are no shops, actually no businesses at all,  little TV or internet reception, and if it snows, the road in and out impassable.  They still grow much of their own food, heat with wood and make their own entertainment.  It's like stepping back in time.  We came home to a wonderful lunch cooked by C's husband and then took a long nap!
                                                                                                   xxoo me