Buying La Torretta - Day 2 Tuesday

Tuesday morning was a bit of 'free time' as we did not have to be at the Notary's office until 3.30pm - and we did not really feel like we were on holiday. So, after a slightly more leisurely breakfast, we did nip up to La Torretta, keeping our eyes peeled for the current owners, in case they also dropped by! We did not really want to meet them before the big day. We didn't have keys, so we stuck to checking out the space - as you can see from the photos. The land to this side actually falls away more than I remembered, which will give us a great aspect for the pool, and give the land a bit of structure

From the other side, you can see how open it is to the small road to the side. This road is a tiny lane, just servicing the 3 or 4 houses up here, and you can't see it at all from the house because of the dip. It allows you to 'borrow' the view of the field of olive trees on the other side of the lane, as well, so that it feels like it is part of the garden. We will need to fence in the land, as if you have a pool it is a legal requirement that there is protection from random people running in and drowning themselves - so your choice is either to have the pool enclosed or the land. We will plant a second row of trees in front of the ones you can see o provide a screen from the farmhouse behind and to mark out the right of way where the white gravel is.

At 3.00 we met the other sellers in the cafe (a bit stilted as you might imagine) along with the agent. Then, off to the offices, a bit late because the notary's car broke down.

Suffice it to say that the experience of sitting opposite the seller whilst the contract is read out word for word in Italian and then in English is rather unusual to the English way of doing it. I had a liking for the seriousness of the occasion.

And, by 5.50pm - at last we owned La Torretta.

Comments

miles 30.46; Bike miles 0; Units 27

A good running week. I planned for 4 runs, however only 3 resulted as the Saturday run fell to the combined demons of ice, cold and shopping (!). I thought I might be able to nip in a cheeky 3 or 4 miles after we had returned from the delights of the first batch of Christmas shopping (oh, and buying a new telly...so it was not all bad) but it was not to be. And a rather nice bottle of La Tour du Mons 2000 (Cru Bourgeois Margaux) called too.. This week, I managed a hill session in the cold on Wednesday, which did not tax me too much, a steady 7 on Friday, and then a challenging and hilly 18 on Sunday. This was a great run in the cold air - just splendid to be out there when it is so quiet and cold. Just really wonderful. The temperature hovered between -1 and +1, no snow in sight, and a bit of occasional ice. Just really good. I was reflecting as I ran on one significant change in my attitude since running - and that is my approach to artificial fibres. Before running, it had to be c

Miles 33.84; Units 27

Exercise-wise, a back end loaded week. I had to miss three training days through pressure of work. Sometimes that's not such a bad thing, as it gives you a chance to recover. All too often, we runners can run ourselves into the ground, if we are not careful. However, after two days you start to feel the lack of exercise, and imagine that you are ballooning up in weight. This of course is not true, though that is little comfort. This may also be a personal thing, however I usually find that when I take more than one day off, a number of niggles emerge - in this case a touch of plantar fasciitis (for you non-runners, a pain like a drawing pin being lodged in your heel - see the gloriously Heath-Robinson picture of the necessary stretching to help the recovery). Maybe the body is just seizing the day and bringing the bad stuff out that it has kept under check whilst you are exercising - clearly 3 days is enough for it to think "oh good, we seem to have stopped all this mad runn

miles 21.08; Bike Miles 1; Units 20 excluding Saturday which was far too many!

"a happy weekend is one with more miles on my shoes than my car tyres" Another week of just two runs - but both good quality, including some tough hills. So I am not unhappy with that - would have been good to crack 30 miles this week, though! The Sunday run was out with the running club, as before from St Catherine's in Winchester. It was crisp, dry, and everything that makes a wintry run truly great. You do just feel absolutely alive after that. It also included a rather random piece of pathway that was covered in cows, which needed shooing off the path..slightly worrying. It was along the water meadows at St. Cross - always feels very medieval at that spot, as if you could be seeing a scene that a monk would have encountered 500 years ago. There is something about these old towns that embody and then exude the years of history. I have included a photo of these meadows at St. Cross because I find it truly enigmatic, evocative...and frankly all a bit Cadfael, if you reme

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