1 September to 8 September 2009: Laigueglia, Italy

On the Sunday (6/9/09) we decided to give the beach a miss as the wind had really picked up and swimming in the sea had become quite rough, especially for dad. So we drove along the coast to San Remo and Bordighera. Just outside Bordighera we stopped at a lovely seafront restaurant for lunch. It was sunny, warm and beautiful and after lunch Saboohi seized the opportunity to have a quick swim in the sea. The following day was Dad's 83rd Birthday and our last full day at Laigueglia. We spent the day on the beach and thankfully the sea had calmed down so that dad could have a final swim. Unfortunately Dad had no presents to open, only cards from the 3 of us but after supper in the restaurant the entire Garassino family came in with a fantastic Birthday cake singing "Happy Birthday" (see group photo).Despite having already had 2 sweets Dad managed to devour a slice of the delicious gateaux and even had a little bubbly too! Well it was his birthday!

It has been lovely seeing the family again, relaxing in familiar surroundings and reflecting on past memories and absent friends. We bought a lovely potted alpine plant to lay on the grave of Nicola (Antonietta's brother who died in the 90's) and Nonna Delia (Franco's mother who died in 2002) in the cemetery and we smiled at memories of Jack Totney who was a friend and work colleague of dad's and the reason why we came to Laigueglia in the first place. They are forever in our thoughts and our hearts.

1 September to 8 September 2009: Laigueglia, Italy

We have been spending our days in the usual manner, breakfast at 9 and then a short walk down to the beach for a full day of relaxing, swimming, reading and snoozing! We have divided our time between Bagni Antonio and Bagni Roma as we are able to see Antonietta, Manuella and Danilo on the Antonio but the Roma has so many lovely memories as it was always the preferred beach for us and many of our friends in the 80's. Antonietta spends every holiday period down in her beloved Laigueglia now -she's always keen to escape Milan where she has been based since she married Danilo 17 years ago. She was bequethed a studio appartment right on the beach front, when her aunt died and she has made very good use of it since! On the Friday evening (4/9/09) Danilo, Manuella and Antonietta invited Saboohi and I to a country festival out at a village in the hills above Albenga, called Casanove Lerrone. The festival is called the SAGRA and it is a chance for friends and locals of the region to come together, eat good food (prepared in large outdoor BBQ areas)and dance to a live band. There are raffles and games too which makes for a lovely family atmosphere. (see photo of Manuela, Dani and Toni at the SAGRA).

1 September to 8 September 2009: Laigueglia, Italy

Having spent many wonderful holidays in Laigueglia during the 70's and 80's, Saboohi and I and Mum and Dad set off for a week of peace, sunshine and reminiscing in this beautiful little jewel of a village on the Liguria coast. We stayed at the same hotel (Tre Ciuffi), now run by the youngest daughter of the Garassino family, Marilina and her husband Mario Martini. The hotel hasn't changed since we first came here in 1976 and we love it for that. We flew to Genoa and then picked up a rental car to drive to Tre Ciuffi. Boy was it hot! It was the humidity that really struck us as soon as we got off the plane. They have been having temperatures in the 40's this Summer but we are hoping it won't be that hot for the duration of our stay.

25 July 2009: Hardwick Hall

We visited the beautiful home of Bess of Hardwick today. Bess, or the Countess of Shrewsbury as she was in the later part of her life, lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and through a series of well connected marriages and a good business sense she rose to be one of the most powerful women of her time, second only to the Queen. She built Chatsworth House first and then went on to build this splendid and for the time, quite contemporary Hall that was fit to entertain royalty. Her old ancestral home is just a ruin now (run by English Heritage) as many of the materials were taken to build the new Hall, and it sits alongside the magnificant "new" building. The views are spectacular and we had a wonderful day exploring the two buildings and finding out about Bess' extraordinary life.