 | Lady Layard’s Journal Go to a Date Search the Journal |
|
Previous Entry
|
Following Entry
| |
26 September 1869 — Villa Careggi, Florence | |
Sunday. 26th [September 1869]. Wrote letters all the morning and abt ½ past 1 Boxall came to fetch us to go to Fiesole to dine with the Spences’ at their villa. We were to dine at ½ past 3. Made acquaintance with Mrs Spence who seemed a very nice person. They showed us over the house & in the little chapel the lovely monument to Spence’s first wife. There were 2 Italian gentlemen, Spence’s 2 sons besides ourselves & it was settled we were to dine out of doors on the terrace. Presently Mr & Mrs Spottiswoode arrived & Spence begged them to stay & dine—all this so delayed things that we did not get to dinner till ½ past 5. In the middle of dinner someone observed the sun was just setting at the other side of the house so Spence suggested we should go & see it so we all rushed to the other side to see it & then returned & finished our meal! When it was really over we went & sat on the covered verandah where there is a splendid view over Florence & the plains stretching to the Apenines & the evening was quite lovely with the remains of the glow of sunset. Here we had coffee, the gentlemen smoked & Spence played occasional snatches on the organ. It was getting late & having to be home for the Sloanes’ ½ past 9 tea we had to leave, Spence making us first write our names down in a book. | |
|
Previous Entry
|
Following Entry
| |