HOW NOT TO SURPRISE SOMEONE! & Discovering Who Ate Our Melons

Good morning, we're back in Tuscany.We got back yesterday afternoon.Immediately picked all the little cherry tomatoes that need to be picked and we have a little bit of bad news from the vegetable garden.Giovanni called us while we were away and told us that something had gotten in and eaten the melons and look they really really had a good go at it.What a shame because that could have been a really nice melon.Something got in, probably a badger or porcupines or maybe pine martens.

I don't know, but in the end it managed to get through.At least they are not two different animals.One tried to get in but couldn't and the other one is smaller and got in.

So anyway, out of six melons, we only have two left and we've put them under boxes with bricks on, hoping that they won't get eaten and we can try them ourselves at some point.Onions are ready to be dug up.I've already dug up a few because I ran out of onions in the kitchen, so I've been using them, but they're going to have to wait because this morning, once I had breakfast and got dressed, I'm going to drive to Austria and surprise Elisabeth.And I've got to go.because she's only there for another three or four days.So I've got to go today.

I'm hoping there's not going to be any traffic.It's about a five and a half, six hour drive.If there's no traffic.I checked it the other day and it was nine hours.So I'm hoping that the road's going to be clear.Um, but yeah, I'm going to go and surprise her.

Luckily she's near the Italian border.I don't come this time.No, Carla's not going to come.

Yes, we decided that she goes by herself, so she can have as much fun as she wants, as she wants, do all the plans and do all the things, and then we'll see each other here.

I mean, I've been gone about two or three days, okay?

Every day you want, love.It seems like I'm sending you away, it's not like that.I want her to have her experience on her own, without In some way I could stress her because...

Because he's very stressful.

I thought I should put one of the two wildlife cameras in the garden because I want to see which animal is going to steal and eat our melons.I don't know, now I'm going to move it and then we'll see if it can catch the culprit.

just arrived uh where elizabeth steg in austria it's taken me seven hours to get here the traffic was so bad but look at this the lake and that hotel so she's hopefully there i've got no idea and luckily there's a massive free car park here so i've put a disguise on just in case because i want to surprise her i don't want her to see me before i see her so i've hidden my hair i've got weird sunglasses on which i haven't seen before because these are my driving sunglasses I mean, she could be in her room, she could be eating, she could have gone out, she might not be here.And of course, I am having a little doubts as well, because I feel like I'm gate crashing her family holiday, but I'm sure she'll be fine with it.I know all my family.They'll be fine.They'll be fine.It is beautiful.

The lake's enormous.She's over here somewhere.She could be over there eating.Not in the restaurant.Let me see if I can find her.entrance to the hotel.

There's nobody on reception.I don't know what to do.I thought that was a person standing there.It's a bloody mannequin.Maybe this isn't reception.

I don't know.

Okay, I've just found a very nice man who's given me their room number, so it's not really any point having a disguise on anymore.So, find them.She's not out on the lakefront there.There's a beach out here.She's not out there.She's not eating.

They must have gone out for dinner.I'm going to have dinner.I might have to call Pepe.back in Positano and get him to find Pepe.Okay so I've spoken to Pepe.Elizabeth is not around.

She's gone to a festival.I don't know how long she'll be there for.I have meanwhile found myself somewhere to stay and I'm sitting down and I'm getting some food because I haven't eaten much all day and I will then maybe pop back into town because I'm a little bit further out now.So I'll pop back to where she is and see if I can find her, see if she's come back.if not i know that she'll be down for a swim tomorrow morning around about 7 30 so if i don't find her tonight i'll find her tomorrow morning right i'm back for round two let's see if we can find her see if she's back yet they're still not back so i am now sitting on a back bench right outside thehotel so i can see all the entrances of the hotel so i will see them when they arrive or i will at least hear them because normally quite noisy so i am just going to sit here and read my kindle until they get back the cars have just pulled up entrance to the hotel

Elizabeth has brought me out on her family day trip the whole family's here and she's brought me up the mountain we're at this tower which is very very tall and if you can see carefully in the middle there is a slide there is a silver tube that is a slide and you can slide all the way down like a helter -skelter and of course we're gonna do it So it's completely doable for me.It's 441 steps to the top, which is just a few steps left if I was walking home from our house up to the road.And the view as you're walking up, stunning.Look at that.I think we're nearly at the top.Another bit to go, but after it's going to walk back down.

And apparently we come out where that little church is right there.Isn't that pretty?You're staying down there.Yeah.And I'm staying by that lake there.

years thing.

Yeah.Okay.Now walking back down from the tower.How do you feel now?

Now I'm fine.

I was literally shocked.I thought you were going to have a heart attack.

I never expected you to be here.But I'm so happy because Niki knows it was my dream.to show her, but also Jackie and Mariana, where I come from, the area and everything.So I really enjoyed that you are here.

It's lovely, it's so nice here.It's beautiful.

Yeah, it's very different to Italy, although we are at the border.It's only 35 minutes from here to the border of Tarvisio.And yeah, it's a beautiful area with mountains and lakes.yeah really really beautiful definitely worth coming in the summer though yeah yeah and i just wanted to add it was not only me with the heart attack if you watched the video you can hear Lainey screaming like crazy yeah yeah larissa saw me coming yeah she was like yeah and i was like and she froze it was a beautiful surprise you know there are not many people who make you feel emotional this was one of the moments i'm glad i came yeah it's definitely even even for just this morning it's been worth it yes and my family you're part of my familyMy mom knows you.

You are.And your mom said that to me this morning as well.Anyway, we're going to spend a few days here now.I'm going to swim in a lake.I'm going to try and not be scared of all the fish.

That's another thing to do.Get over my fear.You will just join the family mood.Yay.

Okay, just starting to rain.It's really, really dark over there.There's forecast thunderstorms for the afternoon, but we're going to go for a swim.I need to get over my fear of jumping into a lake where there might be fishies and Loch Ness monsters and things.Most importantly, I have my waterproof sandals on so that I don't have to feel the slimy lake bottom under my feet, which is something I'm not very keen on.The next morning I'm walking down into town to meet Elizabeth and her family and I found this little pathway that leads into town and it is so fishy.

It's beautiful here.There's the most amazing hydrangeas.

Wait, you need to see these.

A babbling brook which should take me out right in front of the hotel where Elizabeth is staying.Pretty field over here.Anyhow, I'm really glad I came even though the journey was horrendous and I've got to do it again going back.It looks like it's going to be even worse going back.because there's all sorts of road closures and roadworks along the way.It's going to take me about seven hours instead of five, but I think it's worth it because it's just so lovely here.

So different, very green and not too hot.Carlo's suffering in the heat.I've been speaking to him.He's really suffering.I think he wishes he came now, but I did say to him, come.And he said, no, you need to go and do this by yourself.

You need to go off and have an adventure.I said, okay, fine.I'll go by myself.But now I wish he was here.I feel bad not being able to share this with him.He'd love it here.

Have to bring him back next year.morning we've driven up into the mountains I have no idea where we are I need to look at a map but we're going up to a big dam we're in a national park now so there's all these beautiful waterfalls we're now standing on top of the dam wall big dropThere's a viewing platform here, but you can see right through the floor.There's this little case of don't look down as you're walking on it.

We're back from the dam.

This is the hotel beach, by the way.It's a lovely grassy area with a lovely big shady tree, lots of sun loungers, places to jump off.And there's Elizabeth all the way out there.We're going to go for a swim.We're going to go for a swim.We're going to go straight out there.

Come with us.Up we go.We're going that way.We're going as far as we can.Well, maybe not.Today we swam for 35 minutes in a straight line.

I think we were past the middle of a lake, but we got to a point where we could see all the way down to the church that we were at yesterday when we hiked down from the slide tower.and then we came all the way back again so we did an hour swimming yesterday we're not going to do that much today because it's a bit choppier it's a bit more hard work but it is beautiful big fish

This is the situation.Mickey is swimming very hard.Mom is on the other side.Then we have someone who hopes that someone will wait for him back there.A mini fish.Big fish.

So my grandma made a joke that she was practically afraid that the swimmers, that is, those who swim, So the hotel's there behind us.

That's where we've come from.And we've just come out where the boats end.What it's like in the lake.Temperature of the water is perfect.And I'm going to leave you here.Is my battery running out?