A long day closes

A day of rushing around in between showers collecting in our chattels (the word actually comes from 'cattle' but came to mean any moveable property). Up to The Boss' office where our things slumbered through the baking heat of late July and August. Two car loads carried down the historic and not altogether even stone stairs. The IKEA chairs from our first sojourn lashed into the open tailgate. Then everything walked through our garden (garden!) of olive trees and seared grass.

It is so nice to rediscover oneself in one's possessions. The flat that seemed rather austere suddenly begins to feel like home. And that process of instalment takes place much faster the second time compared to our arrival back in March at the Monteloro Airbnb. We know the ropes and know our way to IKEA.

After a brief rest we motored down to the car rental to return one car and then on to IKEA for rugs, trays, carpet, cups, plates and anything that might help us protect the sacred marble and (unashamedly modern) wooden floors.

Italians historically have tended to buy houses for life, which is very different from the UK, where people tend to move through a number of houses as owner-occupiers (or at least they used to) over their lives, trading up and trading down as they went. So maybe a house is just not as symbolically precious in the UK as in Italy - if it goes wrong you get another, you move on.

Anyway, IKEA was crowded and €400 later we had a car full of stuff that furthered our feeling of taking possession of what is, after all, a splendid apartment.

Later as the light fell and mosquitoes danced we sat at the top point of the garden and looked out over Florence. At 600ft we are above the worst of the cloying heat, pollution, noise and tourist and night-time economy bustle that threatens to choke the daily life out of Florence. And we catch the cooling breezes.

In the night the thunder came crashing in and a period of steady rain for the parched land is forecast.