Rain!

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Geo: 46.1445, 8.72654

OK – it poured rain. Not what we know, because it wasn't cyclonic rain, but just absolutely pouring down, heavy rain, and we were lost in the clouds. This, at least, settled the question as to whether to have people to the postponed birthday party for Nonno – it was not a day that anyone would voluntarily venture out into! We decided to have an extremely quiet day – the kids didn't leave the house – and we had a very quiet morning doing school work and reading.

After lunch with Nonno and Nonna, Steven and I headed to Locarno, as Steven wanted to recharge our internet access account, and we had a wander around the arcades in the piazza – but all the shops were closed because it was Sunday. We'd negotiated with Nonno and Nonna that they would stay the night with the kids, and we would stay at Porto Ronco, so that neither party had to drive up or down the mountain again. It was lovely. Martina has done a lovely job with the renovation of the apartments, which are right on the lake – we could hear the water splashing beneath us and the sound of the boats arriving and leaving from the pier next door. We headed out in the pouring rain for dinner (after a visit from Zia Natalina) to the Ristorante Posta al Lago, where we had a lovely romantic dinner – I finally got to try my white asparagus (nice, but it's all about the sauce!)and had fantastic lasagna, and Steven had octopus salad and then spaghetti vongole (with little clams) which he loved too! Not cheap, though – and we nearly fell over when the bill for my Gin and tonic was $15! No more aperitifs for me!

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