For me the autumn is a time for family. For example, last year in this time I was with my loved ones in my home country(Japan) for my cousin's wedding(see my column vol.16 Home Truths). My boyfriend and I went to Japan with both of our mothers and we had a wonderful time there.

After so many parties during the summer time, all of us are going back home to spend quiet days with our family and doing very normal things together, like a having a peaceful breakfast. It's also a great idea and such a nice feeling to go to a country house without no reason and to purely spend quality time during a weekend. And we go because we feel like going there - no party, no special event to go or to organize. Well, this is my concept of a relaxed weekend at the countryside. No internet, no phone calls, waking up with a bell of the tower and the cathedral - but in reality the weekend turned out a little bit differently..

So my boyfriend woke me up with a very loud voice "Wake up, wake up! There is a parade in town you're going to miss it all!!! And we have to buy fresh bread too!" It was 10am on a Sunday and to be honest I didn't mind missing a parade (with all my respect for the town) and he could have gone to buy the fresh bread for all of us, was my first thought.. And I can stay inside, where there's warm with my dog. We are actually in Mondovi, North Italy, where all the good Italian wine comes from and here in October it's much colder than even the coldest day in the history of Marbella.

My boyfriend and his mother came back with fresh food - bread, cheese, vegetables! I felt like a princess, just waking up and everything being ready for me. But then he said "We are going for walk now ONLY FOR 5 minutes before breakfast! I want to show you something!"  I don't know why I said yes, but I did because I had no clue that this only 5-minute-walk is going to be a ONE HOUR one. But in the end I saw the pride in his eyes when he showed me around the town, where he and his family have been spending their weekends through generations.

Breakfast

Like in Spain, the old town on top of a mountain is a beautiful sight at a distance, but to actually walk on these streets is a bit more difficult, especially if you are not fit enough, which is my case. It is rather different from our 15 minute walk in Puerto Banus port, before we usually catch the first coffee in the morning. A walk on a countryside calls for more power and is a good exercise with a great view as a bonus. Who needs to go to a gym! Anyway I have never loved my Nike shoes that much in my life. 

By the time we arrived back to the house I felt like I've already finished my entire day. The people who know my boyfriend personally, will understand perfectly what I am facing here - so it was definitely not the end of his morning! Now he wanted to pick grapes with me helping him. I thought "Ok, piking a few grapes sounds exciting and very interesting thing to do for a city girl", but little did I know I ended up picking 4 cases of grapes. Don't get me wrong, I'm a quite sporty person, I ride my horses and love nature. I just didn't expect my relaxed weekend to be a farming day. My idea of was to observe and appreciate the nature, but my boyfriend's country life is all about participation and sporty activities in the nature!

Picking grapes

My friends in Tokyo and Marbella didn't believe this, but I did all this before breakfast. You have no idea how much I enjoyed my breakfast then - I felt like Rocky!

Mondovi has a magic power to make Marbella party girl to become a strong country woman and even the 17-year-old dog Uberto was much more active there! Most importantly, being in a 18th century country house makes you feel warm and protected, especially when you see all the photos of the family who lived there. I found a faded photo on the wall of my boyfriend, where he was a little boy, smiling and looking very happy. Seeing how they take care of the house gave me a special feeling. I wish this house remains a place where all the family will gather and love and happiness will grow through the years..

8th of October 2011 is considered now one of the happiest day in my life!

Love,

Saeko Hamada