How about a year in Italy?: Shane is in Spain for 8 days

Shane lives his dream and heads to Spain to ride part of the Vuelta on the 13th August. We drive him to Rome and successfully find our way back to Monte Castello di Vibio for a week of slow food, and looooots of TV for the kiddies.

8 days of near 40 degree temperatures get absorbed swimming, making gnocchi with Helena next door, the boys sneaking over to Helena's house to watch tv, and hanging out with Isla and her dad Ken in the pool, and a trip to Citta della Domenica, a rundown fun park from 30 years ago that looks like it has had no money spent on it since it was opened.

MAKING GNOCCHI

I pull the boys away from the TV to sort cherry tomatoes for the tomato sugo for lunch that will go with the gnocchi.

Helena's friend, Gemma, comes over to help us do the gnocchi.

The boys get busy rolling the dough

Sam's a master with a knife

The finishing touches so that the sauce sticks to the gnocchi better

Dressing the gnocchi

Dessert...sugar melon from the garden

WHAT ELSE DO WE DO?

During moments of boredom I flick through one of Helena's cookbooks, very famous book with very famous painting on the cover

We go on a couple of car trips, mainly to the supermarket, one of the two playgrounds in a 30km radius of our town, and into Todi trying to get some clothes for my little niece, where I take a wrong turn and end up driving through the historical part of the town which is meant only for locals, end up having to navigate the narrow streets past throngs of pedestrians....we get out of the town and go straight home, empty handed.

Jetpack, game downloaded onto iPhone. a lifesaver for me and the boys.

Boys getting bored and taking photos of the kitchen with my phone....about 5 minutes later the phone drops and I lose viber for 4 days = mummy very unhappy