Ispra, Lombardy, Italy

Clare lives on the top floor of this block. 

Jessica and I flew to Italy, to her new home in Ispra, Lombardy. For the time being, Clare lives in a rather small apartment, in a block belonging to the European Commission, although she plans to find somewhere larger soon, so she can have friends and family to stay.

 The farm behind the complex

The complex is surounded by forest and farmland, with paths winding in and out of the trees. At the moment, the trees are bare, but in summer they will look spectacular.

 We went for a walk in the forest

We are obviously in an earthquake zone, as we have had two this week; one of 5.1 and the other of 5.3. I am assured that the apartment block has been built to earthquake-proof standards, but it is still rather scary when the whole building sways from side to side during a shake, and you are stuck on the top floor!

Jessica was delighted to find there is a playground with swings and slides

We saw this wonderful sky-blue-pink sunset from Clare's balcony window.

Jessica had her tenth birthday this week,
and we surprised her with a cake and candles.

Jessica was delighted with her cake.