Days 8 and 9

Many apologies for not posting any updates since Friday. On Saturday I had a another lazy day of helping Ele with her translation project which I think was translated into English by a couple of oddballs who'd been at the Schnapps a little bit too much. Saturday afternoon was a trip to the local cafe with Ele's brother Giovanni for a coffee and a punt on Totocalcio (their version of the football pools). The coffee was great. It was called a Cafe Jeffrey! Giovanni's mate turned up and labelled us as a couple of Gaylords for drinking coffee from a wine glass.

Saturday evening was a visit to the nearby town of Tolentino. We popped into to see the Church of St Nicolas. About an hour and a half later we emerged with the best wishes of a junior priest who had offered to give us a little tour of the church. The wee man explained the story behind every fresco and when each nook and cranny was built and then renovated. I know everything there is to know about that church. The bloke took us downstairs see the crypt of St Nicolas and then took us to see the main priest and they joked that all this exposure to and their efforts to convert me would make me rebel and become a muslim. Not the sort of humour I would expect! The rest of the evening was spent in the company of Claudia and Ele. We had a few beers and a meal out.

Sunday was another lazy day. In the afternoon I went to watch Atalanta V Milan at a mate of Giovanni's whilst Ele finished off the translation. It was a poor game and was only spark into life when Carlo Ancelotti (Milan trainer) threatened to bring on Pippo Inzaghi (a man born in an offside position). Some clever play from Marco Borriello set up Kaka who half scuffed and half chipped the ball past the Atalanta keeper.

Sunday evening was spent with Gianluca and Michela in the nearby town of Fermo which has a very nice main square. We had some tasty nibbles afterwards in a cafe owned by a mate of Gianluca's.