Working on a farm required all sorts of skills but I didn't expect hair-cutting to be one of them. Ben had asked us to trim his hair and I gamely volunteered! You could just see us under the tree, Ben sitting on a chair quiet and trusting while me and Katie worked magic with the scissors. I was quite pleased with the neat cut for someone who last trimmed and nipped her sister's ears (sorry Cin) - but hey, it was also I who gave Ferne a Cameron-Diaz cut!
Almost every night after dinner and shower, 3 of us would meet by the campfire at our caravan and chatted heartily over a bottle of wine or two. I drank a whole bottle of Lambrusco that night and learnt too much sparkling wine before bed led to hella lot of gas! Haha. But the wine was so cheap (3euros per bottle) and so good, I had to drink as much as I could (kiasu)!
On our day off, Katie and Ben went to work for a logger who'd pay them 8euros per hour for the extra help to clear his forest while I chilled with Maria and Bridgette, both Swiss guests of Iris. I didn't quite fancy the backbreaking work nor have the proper boots for the job, so I just collected firewood with Maria and labelled jars in the lab. Soon it was dusk and they returned looking drained. Ben described a slow-motion near accident when a collapsed tree almost crashed into Katie - guessed it wasn't much fun.
One of the joys of staying at Casa Lanzarotti was that we could explore the nearby villages and towns on our afternoons off. I was fortunate to catch a lift from Natalie and Bridgette (Iris' Swiss friends) while strolling down the hill to buy cigarettes on a hot Wednesday afternoon, and gladly accepted the invitation to join them on their self-drive trip to Varese, a quaint and pretty village in the Liguria region.
The 20-mins car ride was extremely scenic as we witnessed panoramic views of the mountainous landscape on the long narrow and winding roads, which peered perilously into the deep valleys. Known for its different handpainted intricate designs on the facades of houses (especially around the window frames), Varese also housed a centuries-old castello, ancient stone bridge and piazza where the locals gathered to chat and people-watch.
After I popped into a tobacco shop for my ciggies, we got some expresso and rest at a local bar. I particularly enjoyed talking to Natalie who was opinionated and smart, and she also translated for Bridgette during our hearty discussions on our countries' policies, occupations to personal smoking habits! She had been a hardcore smoker but one day fell ill (it's always the case) and gave it up for good. I asked her about her partner Alain who seemed to be a hardcore chainsmoker. 'Doesn't she mind?', I asked. Her reply was so sweet, 'I cannot stop him - he's the man of my life!'
The next evening, Iris gathered everyone for a 'Design-Your-Own-Pizza' cookout at their outdoor wood-oven which was fired up by Gianluca. We could even choose from the white or brown wheat dough that Iris expertly rolled out from a big pot of warm dough. We gleefully took turns to decorate our pizzas with various toppings ranging from fresh mozzarella and olives, to ham, anchovies and zucchini, and peeked at the discs browning and melting in the hot oven. Hmm, dinner was buonissimo and we were all so full after gobbling down a whole pizza each. But still, we couldn't say no to the sweet finale - scoops of fresh homemade jammy berry sorbet. Yum.
Working on a farm required all sorts of skills but I didn't expect hair-cutting to be one of them. Ben had asked us to trim his hair and I gamely volunteered! You could just see us under the tree, Ben sitting on a chair quiet and trusting while me and Katie worked magic with the scissors. I was quite pleased with the neat cut for someone who last trimmed and nipped her sister's ears (sorry Cin) - but hey, it was also I who gave Ferne a Cameron-Diaz cut! 
Almost every night after dinner and shower, 3 of us would meet by the campfire at our caravan and chatted heartily over a bottle of wine or two. I drank a whole bottle of Lambrusco that night and learnt too much sparkling wine before bed led to hella lot of gas! Haha. But the wine was so cheap (3euros per bottle) and so good, I had to drink as much as I could (kiasu)!
On our day off, Katie and Ben went to work for a logger who'd pay them 8euros per hour for the extra help to clear his forest while I chilled with Maria and Bridgette, both Swiss guests of Iris. I didn't quite fancy the backbreaking work nor have the proper boots for the job, so I just collected firewood with Maria and labelled jars in the lab. Soon it was dusk and they returned looking drained. Ben described a slow-motion near accident when a collapsed tree almost crashed into Katie - guessed it wasn't much fun.
One of the joys of staying at Casa Lanzarotti was that we could explore the nearby villages and towns on our afternoons off. I was fortunate to catch a lift from Natalie and Bridgette (Iris' Swiss friends) while strolling down the hill to buy cigarettes on a hot Wednesday afternoon, and gladly accepted the invitation to join them on their self-drive trip to Varese, a quaint and pretty village in the Liguria region. 
The 20-mins car ride was extremely scenic as we witnessed panoramic views of the mountainous landscape on the long narrow and winding roads, which peered perilously into the deep valleys. Known for its different handpainted intricate designs on the facades of houses (especially around the window frames), Varese also housed a centuries-old castello, ancient stone bridge and piazza where the locals gathered to chat and people-watch. 
After I popped into a tobacco shop for my ciggies, we got some expresso and rest at a local bar. I particularly enjoyed talking to Natalie who was opinionated and smart, and she also translated for Bridgette during our hearty discussions on our countries' policies, occupations to personal smoking habits! She had been a hardcore smoker but one day fell ill (it's always the case) and gave it up for good. I asked her about her partner Alain who seemed to be a hardcore chainsmoker. 'Doesn't she mind?', I asked. Her reply was so sweet, 'I cannot stop him - he's the man of my life!'
The next evening, Iris gathered everyone for a 'Design-Your-Own-Pizza' cookout at their outdoor wood-oven which was fired up by Gianluca. We could even choose from the white or brown wheat dough that Iris expertly rolled out from a big pot of warm dough. We gleefully took turns to decorate our pizzas with various toppings ranging from fresh mozzarella and olives, to ham, anchovies and zucchini, and peeked at the discs browning and melting in the hot oven. Hmm, dinner was buonissimo and we were all so full after gobbling down a whole pizza each. But still, we couldn't say no to the sweet finale - scoops of fresh homemade jammy berry sorbet. Yum.
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