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!

Saboohi's 40th Birthday

A full itinery was planned for this special day starting with a frantic drive down to the Devon coast. It was meant to be a leisurely drive but we were told by the Burgh Island Hotel that in order to ensure that the causeway would still be open for us to cross over to the island, we needed to be there by 13.40. Saboohi relished the opportunity to push my little Porsche to it's limit and she certainly did that with constant speeds over 100 mph. We arrived at Bigbury-on-Sea in brilliant sunshine and the island shone like a jewel in the sea as we drove down to the beach - absolutely beautiful. A landrover was sent to pick us up and take us across to the island as the sea was still out and the causeway was full of walkers, kite flyers and dogs. We had lunch in the ancient Pilchards Inn which is the only other building on the island other than the Hotel and Church and then booked into our room. We were staying in The Beach House, the best room in the Hotel that is set into the side of the cliff on the island and looks out across the sea to Bigbury. In the 1920's and 30's it was the favourite haunt of Agatha Christie (she wrote 2 books here)and Edward and Mrs Simpson. It is a proper house and has seperate bedroom, kitchen, living area and shower room and bathroom. A fantastic hideaway. We had a bottle of champagne awaiting our arrival and then I had a massage and manicure booked for Saboohi at 17.00 in the Hotel. Before the massage however Saboohi wanted to try out the Hotel's Mermaid Pool. It is a natural lagoon that forms part of the island and boy was it cold. Saboohi threw herself in but it was just too cold for me. At the Burgh Island Hotel everyone dresses up for Dinner, evening dresses for the ladies and bow ties and evening suits for the gentlemen. It is so rare to dress up these days that it was a real treat and Saboohi looked beautiful in a long dark blue evening dress and plenty of bling! We started with a VERY strong Singapore Sling in the bar which blended very nicely with the bottle of Bollinger! The dinner was, needless to say, delicious. I had ordered a Birthday Cake for Saboohi (see photo) which was brought in by the Chef with a firework on top and accompanied by a number of waiting staff singing Happy Birthday! To finish off this very special day we went out onto the hotel terrace to light 5 Chinese Lanterns, one for each of Saboohi's 10 years and a final lantern for Saboohi to make a wish. A magical end to a memorable day. Happy Birthday Saboohi! Here's to the next 40. xx

14 August 2010: Beatrix Potter and John Ruskin

No walks arranged for our last day today, instead we visited the homes of two of The Lakes' most famous ancestors. Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm wasn't at all what I expected location wise as I expected it to stand alone on a hill but instead it was surrounded by other small houses and cottages. It was lovely inside though and full of her personal belongings and nik naks as well as some of her "grown up" landscape paintings of her beloved Lakes. The house was quite a good size too much larger than Dove Cottage just down the road.

John Ruskin was also a famous poet and painter, a man before his time who had aspirations for humanity that he was unable to see in his own lifetime, like state education for everyone and the NHS. His home Brantwood sits on the lakeside overlooking Conniston Water and is truly beautiful both inside and out. Saboohi fell in love with it and would move in tomorrow if she could. Today the weather was warm and sunny and the lake was glistening, looking its best. A perfect final view to take away with us as we headed off on our 6 hour drive home. We will be back.

13 August 2010: Conniston and The Tarns

Our walk today took us on a 7 mile circular route above Lake Conniston and over to Tarn Hows and The Tarns another fantastic offering from our 1001 British Walks folder! The weather was kind today and the scenery really gorgeous - the picture here is of our view looking down over Conniston. Our walk took us across lush green meadows, up steep but deserted country lanes, on rocky paths tracking fast flowing becks and waterfalls and circumnavigating still and clear tarns. Saboohi decided to take an impromptu dip in Yew Tree Tarn (mad woman) she said it was cool and very refreshing after the 5 hour walk but I wasn't tempted! Maybe another day.

12 August 2010: A wet day in The Lakes

At last a few days away in the beautiful Lake District for Saboohi, Lilia and myself. We rented a National Trust property, an appartment called Bank Wood in the west wing of the old sandstone Acorn House (see photo). This is NT at its best, they have renovated the wings of this building to provide income from 4 appartments so that they can eventually repair the rest of the house. We were very pleased to be donating to such a good cause! We visited Dove Cottage today the simple and small home of the great poet William Wordsworth. Apparantly 14 people lived in this tiny cottage at one stage during his ownership, they must have been sleeping in shifts. We also learnt the origin of the saying "daylight robbery" here, a phrase that was coined when they introduced a tax on glass windows and people had to brick them up to save themselves money!

We set off on one of our 1001 walks of Britain today, starting at Pooley Bridge and then up and over the moors around Ullswater. RAF jets were flying low above us throughout the walk and the famous Lake District rain soaked us to the skin. Lilia had a ball! After the walk we called in to watch the Rydal Sheep dog and Hound trials, it was wet and muddy but it was placed in the most gloriously green valley,such a pretty spot. The highlight of our visit was a hound race called the "dog dash". A pack of hounds following a aniseed scented trail around the lakeland hills ad the first hound back to the valley won. The noise was terrific, from owners as well as the hounds, such excitement and with such a stunning backdrop it was the highlight of my day.