Day 33, 34, 35, 36: I've fallen behind

My perfect streak of blog entries is ruined!

Here is a quick summary:

Day 33 (friday): had a final ice cream at Massimo's and left for the hills

Day 34 (Saturday): really hot day, why horse riding again still painful but managed to trot better. Went to a superbike show in Carpi, called carpi night show. It was amazing! I liked the freestyle event best where they ride up a ramp and perform moves in the air. One of the three freestylers - Kevin Ferrari did a back flip! On a motorbike! I also got his autograph and one of the others too but I don't remember his name. We got back at like two in the morning!!

Apologies for the swear word! 

Day 35 (Sunday): trains were running so managed to get to church, they had friends round for dinner which was fun I played monopoly with their kids old fashioned set with Italian lira. 

Day 36 (today - Monday): First day of the first week in the hills. Bea isn't currently on speaking terms with me after a fun filled meal yesterday evening so I spent the day doing English with Fede. She currently only communicates to me with glares or a quick yes/no. Alessandra says it's normal and not to worry about it. I went on a bike ride with Fede but my legs and butt gave in two minutes into it, I couldn't sit on the seat because I was so achey from horse riding. We watched Cars 2 in English much to bea's disgust. Actually quite a nice movie. The weather wasn't so good today, very cold. I had an afternoon nap. 

Probably from now on I will just do a weekly update/summary. Probably I shall try and upload it every Saturday. As I have no wifi and am needing to conserve my 3G I may have to skimp on pictures! 

Day 27: Stormy

This morning the weather was glorious. The sun was so warm and it was a beautiful clear sky. However by lunch time the weather soon adjusted to that prescribed by the weather forecast. Storms and rain.

The thunder is so loud sometimes that you jump when you hear it because the contrast between that and the silence is scary. The lightning is also blindingly bright even with the sun to compare it too. Also the rain is cold and heavy and miserable. 

This morning when we took Bea to her horse riding lesson I had a lesson too. The horse I rode was called Anastasia she is actually a pony and the starter horse they use for people who are new to the school. I haven't ridden a horse for so long. I had to brush her down and the her saddle was put on and I walked her into the covered arena. I remembered how to and managed to mount her first time. Left foot in the stirrup, grip the front if the saddle and swing across. Walking I had I problem with, trotting proved a little more difficult. I sort of remembered how to do it but it was a struggle. So many things to remember. Shorten the reins, sit far forward on the saddle, arms centred together and out and heels down. Then propel yourself up and down in time with the horse using your legs. My legs are so sore. So actually is my butt I didn't completely succeed in the up down movement which resulted in a lot of clashing between me and the horse. Namely me bouncing up and down all over the place. I'm so out of practice. However when I began counting one-two one-two under my breath it became easier to do and I think I had a pretty good session considering I haven't had a lesson for several years! Being on a horse is so much fun. I'm having another lesson next week and hopefully for the continuation of my stay. Fingers crossed I will be able to trot confidently and perhaps gallop by the end! 

Shortly after we got back it stared to storm. Whilst riding the weather had den very fair and pleasant. We waited for Fede and Stefano to come back from the mechanics where they had gone to pick up Fede's motorbike and then had dinner. For dinner part of it was melon (the small orange one) in slices with pig meat called copa. It actually went very nicely together I was surprised. 

After dinner, we looked at photos on their laptop of different holidays throughout their childhood. Then watched TV. As the weather is so bad we can't go out. 

We all napped in the afternoon. I was so tired. After that the weather seemed to improve, so we drove into Santa Maria della Versa to pick up so bits. On the way back I got to drive! I thought it would be hard wth everything flipped over but it was fine I only struggled in the way of hitting the windscreen wipers when I needed the indicators. It was so nice to drive again!! 

When we got back, me Fede Bea and Stefano went on a walk as it was not raining whilst Alessadra stayed to prepare the pizza for tea. 

Before tea me and Bea went through horse riding terms in English and Italian. I had to look a few up because I couldn't remember them. 

Then pizza and fanta for tea! I've lost count of the amount of pizza I've had while being here but it is wonderful stuff. 

Bea and Stefano watch another horror movie on TV so I escaped the room while I wait for dinner. 

After dinner we watched a thriller on TV. It was a little confusing but I liked it. Then we watched the football match. 

Buonanotte. 

Day 13: Relax, take it e-easy

Mika is quite popular over here his songs are on the radio a lot which are great because I really like them. Today it was Grace Kelly. It's in all the supermarkets too.

Lied in until 9am today I was up so late last night. Watching a program on Italian TV that didn't finish until midnight!! 

Had apricot pastries for breakfast they were very sweet and tasty. 

After breakfast we took Bea to her horse riding lesson. Normally she rides Cisco but he had a sore leg so she was on Loulou instead. Loulou seemed okay but was a very small horse. Hopefully Cisco will be rideable next week. 

After we got, I continued reading the book thief. I got through quite a bit I like it a lot more the more I read it. It's a very good book. I was reading in the living room but then the boys came in to watch motorcross on the TV and it was hard to concentrate. 

We had lunch skewer kebab things. They were nice but had cubes of fat skewered on them which I found bizarre and couldn't eat they were too slimy. 

After lunch I sat outside to continue reading the book their. I fell asleep but luckily it wasn't very sunny just warm so I avoided sunburn. However I got woken up because the house next door were spraying their grapes with pesticides and Alessandra called me to come in as it is poisonous. It smells horrible and they did it last week as well. 

After they had stopped, me and Fede went on a bike ride again. He always rides so fast so we get back really quick.

When we got back Stefano took me Fede and Bea out in the car for a drive to see the surroundings. We went up a very steep gravel hill I thought the car might begin to roll backwards because it was hard to get up. Luckily we didn't. There were some nice views at the top though. 

We picked up pizza for tea from a pizzaria. They make the base differently, it's very thin almost like pancake and very crunchy. It was okay but I prefer the thicker bases. You can get one called 'Americano' which has chips and bacon on. I had Margherita. 

Buonanotte. 

Day 6: Caldo - (Hot)

It was even warmer today when I woke up. Heat is nice, but when you are sweating as you walk it becomes very unpleasant!

The weekend days are the chill out days. Alessandra and Stefano were working on repairing/modernising various bits of the house. They plan to run a section of it into a rental flat for tourists to stay in. 

In the morning I went with Bea to her horse riding lesson, she normally rides a horse called Cisco (Francisco) but today it was Parcifal (Percival). Interestingly they don't have canter in Italian. They just walk, trot and gallop - I guess they would consider a canter to be a very fast gallop. 

When we got back I played basketball with Fede luckily the court was in the shade today so it wasn't so hot. 

I also studied some Italian, the alphabet and the cardinal and ordinal numbers. I get so confused with Spanish and French! Whilst I was studying the builders who were working on the house found a ramarro (green lizard) in the garden it looked plastic. 

After lunch, me, Bea and Fede went on a bike ride to the middle of Rovescala (the village) and back again. There were so many hills we got so hot from riding the bikes. 

When we got back we went straight in the pool for a while to cool off. We had races and contests to see who could do a handstand the longest it was fun. We also climbed up the steps and jumped in. After the pool me and Bea sun bathed for a bit. I think I may have caught the sun on my face it begins to feel sore, my arms have tanned up though which is nice! 

For tea we had pizza!! The mozzarella is so much nicer in Italy than the plasticy stuff in England. After dinner we drove into Stradella to get ice creams. We walked through Stradella eating them, even at 9/10pm the shops are still open! And even in the evening the weather is still very warm, at night too it is warm which can make it difficult to sleep. 

Ciao.