.:the one with the ice cream:.

"friends" reference means it is the dreaded ironing day and that good old tv series keeps me company... but we are celebrating the first 'gelato artigianale' of the year... (can I hear a hooray?!) the ice cream shops here close during winter season and open again for the hotter months... In our neighbourhood there are 4 good ones... the nearest one is in the "piazza"(yeah, totally picturing tom hanks' speech on his big bad bookstore... ^^ girly movies rlz, nice way to give your brain a holiday...) and that is where we introduced the pea to the wonders of italian ice cream... you are wondering about her reaction, right? sorry to disappoint you, but she loves ice cream just like her mother, which would be not that much... too cold... says her, say me... 

it was fun just the same, loads of flavours to choose from, small children smearing ice cream on their parents' clean clothes, rally jeeps passing by preparing for the annual competition that takes place on the hills behind our house... (it is a long race around europe/africa and they drop by here when it is spring... the sound of their engines at midnight makes for a lovely lullaby... ;) 

another first for the pea was the bike ride... on her first summer she was too small to ride a bike, then there were the cold months, and we moved to rio (this mamma is not crazy enough to get her daughter up on a bike in rio, thank you very much)... so it is no wonder that I've been waiting for her first bike ride since our return... I've been asking my husband to set up her chair on my bike for a month now, and what does he do? sets it up on his bike instead... talk about trust... on the bright side, I guess our daughter continually calling me while riding got her opinion on the subject clear enough... ^^ he is getting it changed tomorrow... 

so, all in all, one year away and things haven't changed a bit...same good, same old... next up will be the 'sagras' with their fireworks, popular music and typical cuisine... the crickets have already returned, and so have the aspargus, artichokes and, in a short time, so will the cherries... yummy... the first berries of the summer season... talk about enjoying the moment, even if the season has its drawbacks it means hot weather is just around the corner... sure, time flies by fast enough and then before we realize it, we will be submerged in the best stark fashion, sporting heavy coats, freezing our butts and trudging in the snow... "winter is coming", just not today and I'll make the best of everyday until it returns... =)

hope you guys have a great weekend!