Castiglione della Pescaia. Thurdsay 24th September, 2009.

What a paradise this is. I love looking out our window and watching people strolling by. Locals ride past on rusty old bikes yelling out their greetings to people they know. It has an easiness, a seaside pace here and is just lovely. Our nearby clock tower chimes randomly. The clock is stuck on eight o‘clock and it chimes at eight twice a day and then at fifteen minutes past, during dinner a few nights ago we counted 67 chimes, so in true Italian style it does as it pleases in the most delightful way.

We ate pizza by the slice on our way to the beach this afternoon. We spent hours strolling along the sand in the clear blue shallows. AJ decided to go for a swim fully clothed and had the time of his life for what seemed like ages. JR and I waited on the shore delighting in watching him and his childlike freedom and innocence, glimpses of this are few and far between these days.
AJ was checking out a fellow swimmer who was with what we presume was her Aunt and Mother. She was the most beautiful young girl we had ever seen. Her long, dark hair fell down her back in soft waves, her skin was dark olive and she had a little bit of meat on her bones softening her face to make it round and youthful. As she came out of the water she was stung by something and hobbled to her beach towel close by ours. She held her beautiful face in her hands and sobbed her little heart out, it was sad to see. AJ was talking about how beautiful she was and went to buy her an ice-cream to cheer her up. It worked a treat and her face lit up in a broad smile. (Trust us to treat a medical emergency with food!) A little later he went and sat beside her and began to get to know her. JR and I were sitting quite close by, I became all choked up with emotion at the sight of my boy growing up and approaching a girl he liked, JR and I were both so proud of him. He returned after a while with a smile plastered across his face. He laughed saying, “Guess how old she is?” She was 19, needless to say he extracted himself from the conversation soon after. He was back in the water when she left and the lovely thing was, she made sure she waved goodbye to him from the shore. He was so happy and it was nice to be there to share such a funny, tender moment.

We all left the beach happy; AJ was walking six foot tall. We found our new favourite gelateria in Castiglione which I am sure we will return to with regularity, it seems everyone else has discovered it too as it is always busy.

JR went out for magic hour and while he was away, I took AJ for a much needed hair cut. I was a little worried about explaining how we wanted his hair cut but with the help of some very ooh la la Italian fashion magazines, we were able to communicate our wishes. The guy did a great job and AJ was so happy with the result, it is nice to be able to see his face again. Not bad for fifteen euro.

I asked the girl at the shop below our window where she eats out and she recommended a little restaurant outside the tourist strip called Celso, it was a goodie with great service but I think that the close by Dal Buchaniere remains our sentimental favourite. The owner is gorgeous and the whole family work there, it has a nice feel to it and the food is exceptional.

JR and I walked home through the streets of Castiglione hand in hand, we were happy. AJ hugged us both as he was going to bed and said, “Thanks for this year guys, it’s great”. And that is what it is all about.