Very early this morning Sherlock and I met at the Careggi hospital where we had our blood tests done, the first tests we have had since April. I told her a couple of dumb jokes, so we had a good giggle before it was our turn. The entire process was incredibly fast, very few people in line before us (Italy is on holiday!), so we were at the hospital café having breakfast by 8 a.m. Marvellous! Thrilled at having finished so early, we looked at each other and exclaimed “from now on we will have our summer blood tests done on July 31^st!” Anyway, my test results will be ready in early September, hers in late August (I had more specific tests done, such as vitamin B12, and it takes longer to get those results).

Let’s see. Stefano and I are leaving for our summer holiday in about ten days, so I am busily planning our itinerary. We are driving to Bourgogne (Burgundy), France, where we will spend a couple of weeks. To break up the long (=nine hours) drive from Florence to Saulieu, we are going to stop in Mont Avic, the first natural park of the Valle d’Aosta (=Italy’s smallest region, by the way), where we will be able to enjoy a stunning mixture of mountains, lakes, forests, lakes and valleys (see for instance: http://tinyurl.com/5owxfe). We will spend a few days there, hiking and taking photos. It should be lovely. Ah, and cool!

This morning at the hospital Sherlock presented me with two sets of telescopic trekking poles that should help Stefano and me walk up, and down!, any steep mountain trails. That was so thoughtful of her. What a super friend! Grazie, fantastica Sherlock!!!

From Mont Avic we will then drive to Burgundy. We have rented a small cottage (=gîte) near the Morvan Regional Park (see: http://tinyurl.com/6kd5a4) and about an hour’s drive from the lovely city of Dijon (here is a Washington Post 2006 article titled “A little Dijon on the side”: http://tinyurl.com/zvuj5). Regrettably, there are no puffins in the Morvan Park, but we hope to see heaps of other birds and animals.

Anyway, there is a lot to see and do and eat in Burgundy, and it should also be cooler there than it is here, although I checked today’s temperature in Saulieu and almost fainted when I saw it was about the same as boiling Florence (yikes!)! 

Well, I am not in the proper holiday mode yet…I have classes to prepare for tomorrow and confess to feeling a bit worn-out after having all that blood drawn from my arm this morning…so this is it for today. Take care, everyone!