Going nutty for Nutella

Three days into the proper work schedule of Torre Amena (Red Tower) and I will give you a little indication of what my days and nights consist of. Firstly, we help with the mucking out, grooming, feeding and stable tidying of the horses. That's pretty simple but does involve getting up before the sun which is a bit unnatural in my eyes, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I just like complaining! And anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person. But the cool morning air does help to give me a quick wake-up call once I step out.

The horses are a bit flighty but nothing unexpected from semi-young competition horses. They're all quite big, esp Edwi who I reckon is over 17 hands. The dogs, 5 in total, are adorable. All really sweet, particularly Ariel who is the 'helpers' dog... she follows whoever is visiting on the farm helping out, sleeps in front of our cottage door and always stays watching us work. Cute!!

Dinnertime, and in fact any other meal-related event, usually involves chocolate which is totally fine with me. But sometimes even I have to say no (not often) because of choccy overload!! They esp like Nutella... and choc and bread... But having just eaten lunch before writing this I need to stop talking about food or I'll feel sick. But it's Italy, they like you to eat well! Although I am chided often for my method of eating, esp spaghetti which I cut with a knife once. Mistake!

What else?? Oh yeah, we started picking olives yesterday but only got half a day in before it started to rain. Today is another story, beautifully sunny but windy as hell. It's ok in the olive grove as it's pretty sheltered but I'm about to have my first ride on the horses so who knows if it will spook at the wind and I go flying! Guess we can only wait n see! I'm just glad I've been asked to ride, I was getting such itchy feet...