So my first 24 hours at Podere Macchione has been super busy and so much fun, still hard to believe I am here.
When I arrived last night, my room was just finished being built. They had just put the bed together, painted, put in the shelving, completed the bathroom etc. Apparently, they were all very excited I took so long to arrive from Rome, it gave everyone time to complete the room.
I’m loving the fur babies in the house. Ringo is an 8-month-old very friendly dog who can open door handles, which I’m yet to capture on film. I have to lock my door from the inside otherwise he lets himself into to my room and hangs out on my bed. Then there are the cats who are used to my room being their room so they sit on the window sill and stare at me or are always waiting outside my door.
Today was International Women’s Day all around the world and in Italy it’s referred to as La Festa della Donna and women are given bunches of mimosa flowers. When we went into town this morning gorgeous Cally bought bunches of Mimosa for all the women in the house (including little Emmi who is 4 years old).
Busy, busy day starting with the unwelcome 1-4am jet lag party. When it was light, Cally and I headed to the local village to run some errands - bank, the food markets for local produce as there are now 12 people to feed for every meal so it’s a lot of daily shopping and cooking. We decided on 3 giants pizzas for lunch (which of course are only 8 euros per huge pizza) #ilovetuscany
We got back just in time to see a GIANT truck arriving to deliver 60 trees and 400 plants. They all came from an area called Pistoia which we visited in 2019 and the highway in lived for miles with every tree and plant you’ve ever seen. Nick and & Cally down there a few weeks ago to choose what they wanted and today they arrived.
The next 90 minutes took 11 of us to unload all the plants and trees from the truck. Some of the larger trees weighed over 100 kilos so took 4 people to carry. No trolleys or equipment needed, just a lot of sweaty, dirty hard work and I loved every minute. Next week we start planting them all, once we work out where they are all going to go!
In the afternoon I went running more errands near Siena, went to the health food shop, took Max (who’s 12) to football, and also had to buy a jacket and shoes as I bought over completely inappropriate clothing options! My white pumas are not going to work up here, I got good solid work boots!
I’m loving the vibe in the house. Cally, Nick, and their amazing kids (Max 12 and Emmi 4) are just the best and so happy to be spending time with them all again. Then there are the workaday team, all of who are travelling the world moving from job to job as needed. I am at least 20 years older than them and am enjoying the daily conversations around the dinner table. We have people from Denmark, Germany, France, Greece, Slovakia & Israel right now and it’s going to change all the time. Tonight we had a covid conversation about lockdowns, how each country handled it, vaccinations, politics, and more.
I said I’d make a pavlova one night but am open to other suggestions to showcase some Aussie food and snacks. We are eating food from all over the world each day spending on who’s on cooking duty!
Exhausted yet exhilarated, content yet wanting to make the most of every second, missing the family back home yet enjoying the alone time.
