Arrivederci Italia

The view from the car park in Rocca Calascio. Lorenzo drove us all (except C, dropped off in L'Aquila) to Fiumicino airport in his superb VW 9-seater, dob 1997, and there were hugs all round.

We had arrived with more than enough time to catch our flight; having whizzed through security, two hours were just enough time to stand in queues for sandwiches, coffee, and a bottle of olive oil before queuing for the plane.

I haven't mentioned this up till now, but there was an underlying anxiety to the trip ... G had emailed on Friday evening to say Mystère had gone missing. I emailed back telling her to wedge the magnetic cat flap open in case he'd lost his collar, but hadn't had a reply. Increasingly anxious communications ensued. I was convinced something dreadful had happened to him. But eventually G texted to say that although she hadn't seen him, the pile of cat food had diminished.

When we arrived home at about 9 pm, we got out of the car and were immediately assailed by a loud feline clamour as Mystère recognised our voices. I have never been so glad to see that small black silhouette. He was rather pleased to see us too. He's not normally a demonstrative cat, but a lot of head-bumping and gratuitous purring ensued. He spent the night on the bed, periodically waking up to say, "Hey, you're here! Fancy a head bump?"