well I am now back in Chicago, in the rain :( Phoenix was so amazing I didnt want to leave!

On Sunday I had a lovely lie in and then a swim in the pool before working on my assignment while sitting in the sun.

In the afternoon I took a 3 hr horse ride through the hills of North Phoenix. It was absolutely fantastic. I had to learn how to ride in a western saddle - getting on and off is so much harder! We rode for 3 hours on tiny windy trails built into the side of the hills, winding through the Saguaro Cactus. We also saw all kinds of different cactus and flowers all of which were starting to bloom as it had rained a few weeks earlier. It was so beautiful, but after 3 hours I was very sore!

Thankfully Tom had fired up the hot tub so I was able to cool off in the pool and sooth my sore muscles in the hot tub. We then went out to the Spotted Donkey for dinner which was really nice.

Monday was another lazy start with a swim in a beautiful pool in beautiful sunshine, yet another beautiful day! We had intended to go to the botanical gardens but first we went and picked up Stephanies Mother Linda Beard and met up with her nephew Felix and his wife Paddy and their son and his friend. We had such great chat over lunch that we ended up just sitting around their hotel pool.