Lazing around at Jan and Wenche’s laid-back Masseria Coccioli. It’s been amazing to get some sunshine and swim after all the months of lockdown and the cold summer up until I left.
There’s plenty of space around to roam with Lottie, but it’s too hot to go far and I have to keep her on the lead because otherwise she gets covered with burrs. It’s her third year here so I’m starting to let her free to roam round the grounds.
The Masseria is a pretty mask-free zone as life is lived outside. It’s a real relief after the walk-to-wall masks elsewhere in Italy. People even wear them when alone in their cars or walking 50 metres from others.
By contrast, in situations where masks are really needed, people have them dangling from one ear, pulled down below their chins or worn jauntily round their arms. Scarily, people who otherwise wear their masks all the time actually take them off to have a good old sneeze or cough!
I picked Jack up from Fiumicino airport six days ago. We’ve been keeping our distance and both wearing masks when driving together in the car (eight hours in total from Rome). He flew from Seville, where there are few cases of virus, but numbers are spiralling elsewhere in Spain.
Before setting out to Puglia, I had a week in Capena to get the house ready for the German family who are there at the moment. They’re my first and only Casa Galilei guests since lockdown. I hadn’t been to the house for eight months so was worried about what I’d find. The Internet was working fine, but the dishwasher (on its last legs anyway) needed replacing. The Sky box had packed up, but a trip to the Sky shop netted me a new, free, upgraded replacement.
The house was looking great as Billy the Macedonian builder had painted it, treated all the beams and put in new skirtings while I was away. Tina the cleaner had done a great job of cleaning up after him too. Another plus was that the house didn’t need airing as it’s been such a dry year in Italy. Mostly, all I had to do was settle in and enjoy myself.
During the week in Capena, I got on with some welcome work and Liz came to stay for a few days from Milan. We masked up in the car and kept our distance in the house, but otherwise we’re able to interact much as normal while outside.
I also finally got to meet my charming Argentinian guests Hugo and Ana who’ve been staying in Casa Marconi since the beginning of March. They came intending to stay a month, little knowing they’d still be there in August.
Jack and I broke the long trip from Rome to Puglia with a night in Caggiano to see Geoff, Lucia and family. It’s become a tradition to buy our olive oil from Lucia’s Mum.
I love Caggiano. It’s in the hills south of Naples, parallel with Salerno on the coast. The climate is a bit cooler and the air feels really fresh. There’s a lot of farming and even a local range of little hardworking trucks, including the Rambo. They’re usually red but I fell in love with this turquoise one.
Wonder how long it took to stack up the logs on this truck (this one’s an Iveco).
Here’s a few more photos taken around Capena.
2022 and all that 