Week in Virgoletta

Arrived late Sunday afternoon and oh joy, the sofa and matress had been delivered. Spent the rest of the day unpacking and assembling all the furniture. Great to be in the apartment. The main street of Virgoletta was in the process of being repaved and the couple of times we got to relax on the terrace in the sun there was a concrete mixer in going full force. Still it was good to look out and see all the comings and goings beneath the terrace - one of the plus points of being at the entrance to the village

Monday 18th - main activity after breakfast was heading off on my bike to do some local food shopping. First stop, Bagnone market - only very small. Cycled into Villafranca and stocked up on some meat, bread & veg. Afternoon was more tidying and assembling of furniture and then drive to Aulla to hardware store (Brico) and supermarket for more essentials - wine & beer. Dinner was gallo (rooster, so I found out later) with tomato sauce - actually quite tasty.

Tuesday 19th - Had a bit of a sleep in first, then went to the cellar to get the bike for another outing. The door closed while I was in the cellar and to my surprise there was no door handle inside and also no phone signal! I was a bit stuck, however eventually managed to get a passer-by to let me out. Went for another ride down to Villafranca, some more shopping (a door handle!) and a coffee and pastry at Bar Nello. Only 1.70€ - a bargain.

Wednesday 20th - Skiing in Cerreto Laghi - about 1 hour from the apartment. Got there late morning and in hindsite would have been better to either start much earlier for a whole day skiing or later and just get half day from 12:30. There were 2 main chairlifts working and the runs were good intermediate level.

Thursday 21st - George and I went into Aulla looking for mirrors and outside chairs. Not a lot of luck, although George found a good shoe/handbag shop. In the afternoon did a big food shop in Aulla supermarket for wine, oil and other bits to bring home. Met a lady and genteman who spoke english and had just bought a house in the village. She is a journalist for Italian Vanity Fair.

Friday 22nd - First stop Sarzana to get outside chairs and mirror - success this time! Also picked by a Sony 20GB MP3 player, on special for 39€. Tried to get kettle fixed however had to go to service shop in La Spezia - it was closed. Lunch of a sandwich and then wander around clothes market. Jayne not feeling well so went into Bagnone to get some medical supplies. Tried the local takeaway Pizza place - "Non Solo Pizza" - excellent!! Packed up ready to come home