Sunday 20 February 2011: Laigueglia Revisited

A wet and grey day today but our spirits were not dampened. Paola had suggested that we drive down to Laigueglia to spend the day remembering the past, seeing our old haunts and enjoying the beauty and serenity of this truly magical and beautiful village by the sea. We have both spent many happy family holidays in this Ligurian seaside village and it holds very many joyful memories for us. We walked along the promenade, the pier and then down through the ancient cobbled pedestrian heart of the village, Via Dante. What I love about Laigueglia is that it has hardly changed at all and so the ghosts of our past are as vivid today as they have ever been. Unfortunately the Pensione Marialina where Paola and her family used to stay has now been converted into appartments so it was sad that she was no longer able to go in and see it how it used to be. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called the Pinguin (means someone who is finicky apparently)and then called in to Tre Ciuffi Hotel (where I have always stayed when visiting Laigueglia)to see the Garassino family. What a treat it was to see them all and they were all here too. Antonietta, Danilo and Manuela were all down from Milan, Franco, Giovanna, Mario and Marilina were there and Massimo even came round to say "Hi". They are like my second family and so it was very special to see them and to introduce Paola and Paolo to them too at long last. A truly wonderful and memorable day! (photos show Paola and I on the pier and Antonietta, Manuela, Marilina and Giovanna at the door to Tre Ciuffi Hotel).

Saturday 19 February 2011: Turin, Italy

A couple of weeks ago I received a message via Facebook from a very dear friend of mine that I hadn't seen or heard from in over 25 years. Paola and I first met whilst on holiday in Laigueglia,Italy when she was just 14 years old and I was 16. I didn't speak any Italian at that time and Paola had only just started to learn English at School so we found a common language in French and started to get to know each other. Our friendship grew and we kept in regular contact with each other via letters and postcards and when we could we met up for our Summer Holidays in Laigueglia. For some reason at the end of the 1980's we lost touch with each other but thankfully modern technology has now brought us back together again. I was so thrilled to hear from Paola that I quickly arranged to come over to Turin so that we could catch up on our lost years. So yesterday I arrived in Turin and have the pleasure now of spending 3 whole days with Paola and her partner Paolo. It was beautiful sunshine when we awoke this morning, a perfect day for walking around Turin and doing a bit of sightseeing. We visited Turin's Egyptian Museum first. I didn't realise that Turin was home to the best Egyptian collection of artefacts outside of Cairo and I was really impressed both by the collection and the museum itself which has a long history of its own. Today we also visited Turin Cathedral San Giovanni Battista to see the Holy Shroud (the cloth that Christ's body was believed to have been wrapped in when it was brought down from the cross. I came to this Cathedral 33 years ago with my dad, when we were visiting Paola here in Turin, so it brought back some lovely memories. The Shroud has been moved now though to a more secure place in the Church to help to preserve and protect it. Whatever your faith or beliefs it is a fascinating artefact with a history that has intrigued and challenged mankind for many centuries now. The photo attached shows Paola and I enjoying a coffee in the Cafe Reale which sits beside the Cathedral - you can't beat Italian coffee. This was a great day, spent reminiscing, sightseeing and of course lots of eating and drinking.

Christmas Day 2010: Oxwich Bay

The weather has been so wintery leading up to Christmas that we were both worried that we wouldn't actually make it through to Wales for our 4 day stay at The Oxwich Bay Hotel. Our luck was in though and our drive from London to The Gower was smooth and uneventful. On Christmas Day we awoke to a brilliant blue sky, it was crisp and cold outside but absolutely beautiful. After a hearty Welsh breakfast sitting by the open fire in the hotel we set off for our walk along the beach and covered the full length of Oxwich Bay. This is the first white christmas that I can remember for many years and to celebrate I brought Saboohi a sledge which I thought would satisfy her insatiable thirst for thrills and fun activity. After a 2.5 hour walk we returned to the Hotel for a 7 course Christmas Day meal - with all the trimmings. This is the kind of Christmas I really love, enjoying beautiful new scenery, relaxing and letting someone else do the cooking. We should go away every year!