I is for... Italy

After a very lazy Saturday (I finished one book, read another in it entirety and then started another...) I felt that we should actually leave the house today so this morning we went on a bit of a jaunt around the area that we're looking at buying a house in - driving around Barton Broad (including the village of Irstead) and then up through Smallborough/Dilham and on towards North Walsham. The more we explore Norfolk, the more I realise that we are so very lucky to live where we do. It is a really beautiful, and surprisingly rural, part of England and I am so glad that we're coming to know it better this year. Sadly, dogs are not allowed on the Norfolk Wildlife boardwalk at Barton Broad (we probably should have checked first!) so we didn't get to see the view across the Broad but as they were getting very hot and bothered, in spite of lots of water, perhaps that was just as well.

This week's alphabet weekend theme was I is for Italy. Sadly, Mr B did not actually whisk me away to Italy for the weekend (although he assures me that he looked into it!) but after getting back from exploring and dog walking, we went out for a very pleasant Italian lunch together, enjoyed ice creams and then watched the director's cut (at 2:47!) of Cinema Paradiso. This is a lovely Italian film from1989, that neither of us had seen before, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and a Special Jury Prize at Cannes.

I'm already dreading my letter J for next weekend. The only time we can really do anything is Friday night or possibly during the day on Saturday. Jam making...? Eating Jelly...?