20 September - 23 September

Friday 20 September

Nic and Bella were up early for a run, with the weather was still warm and clear. John and I went on one of our circuit walks with Bella after breakfast. It was fun to show her the convent we had wondered about buying a few years ago, plus many of other places we have described to her over the years. Even though she visited 4 years ago, we didn't get a chance to spend much time in and around Ceret.

Of course we had to treat our grandchildren, so we took them to the local patisserie and let them choose a colourful delight. The adults had to follow suit. We've introduced Bella and family to a number of our friends here, enjoying a wine at Le Comptoir at 6pm, before the kiddies got too desperate for dinner - pizza.

Happy trio

This isn't as easy as I thought it would be

The weekend was pretty low-key. The Rugby World Cup started on Friday afternoon, with the highlight match being the All Blacks vs South Africa at midday on Saturday. Unfortunately it was pouring with rain on Saturday morning, so a wander around the market was not a good option. Irrespective of that, we braved the deluge to buy some veges for dinner, and for Bella to get an idea of the local market. Many of the stalls weren't there, but it was actually quite fun. Rosie and Violet both enjoyed being in charge of the umbrellas, hence we arrived back home rather wet!

On Sunday Bella and Nic took the opportunity for an early morning run again. The weather was bright and sunny, so we had a few walks around about, including the playground.

Violet, not running for once.

A highlight for Rosie and Violet was when we discovered that the travelling circus, which was set down in one of the car parks, was up and operating in the afternoon. We treated the girls to a ride, which resulted in huge smiles all round.

It was so nice having a lot of time with B&N to just kick back and chat. Of course a lot of it centred on the pros and cons of buying the villa in Tuscany. John had spent a lot of time drafting up some plans for renovating both the buildings on site, plus installing a pool. We played a number of games with the kids, and, given the rather confined space in our apartment, all went very smoothly. I broke the most things - two wine glasses during the weekend BUT accidentally (e.g. washing the dishes) NOT because I'd had too much to drink! A few bottles of rosé were dispatched over the weekend.

Monday 23 September

All good things must come to an end. Our daughter and family were due to fly home. Another quick run, breakfast, bags packed and there was time to share a last, and terrible, cup of coffee at Cafe de France, then it was time for them to climb in the car and head to Barcelona airport. It was very sad saying goodbye to them all. Big cuddles all round. However, we had all had a simply magnificent holiday and time together. Our week at the villa in Tuscany, three days in Rapallo, then six days in Ceret. We couldn't ask for much more. B&N have been thrilled with how their month-long trip has gone, with the kids being great fun to travel with. Hats off to them all.

Packed up ready to head back to Melbourne

For the remainder of the day John and I were feeling rather bereft. Being suddenly back to just the two of us, it was very quiet and the place seemed very empty. We did a heap of washing and cleaned the place, though the sticky finger marks on the windows are yet to be tackled. Rosie drew us some lovely pictures on their last day and they are now proudly stuck to the front of our fridge.