Sat 23rd: After meeting Kirsty and Luca, went back to Kirstys house for gnocchi and pesto, folloed by aubergine fritters and cakes from Lucas patiserrie - yum (not a bad welcome - thanks guys!). Her house is lovely, really big with marble floors, and we actually have a proper bed with real pillows and duvet - and she has a bath tub! Also Baileys, her crazy cat, is adorable. Sat up til 1am just chatting, fab to see Kirsty and Luca seems a sweetie.

Sun 24th: Had a lazy morning and had a bath each :-) and Dan put some shelves up with Luca while me and Kirsty went food shopping (beats paying for a room!). Kirsty won a giant easter egg (3.5kg of chocolate - jealous Ed?!) so we went to collect that from a local bar. A few of their friends came over for dinner and we ate ravioli with meat sauce and pizza and cake from Lucas shop. Very chilled out evening and we went to sleep at 1.30 again and poor Luca works at 4am each morn.

Mon 25th: Went to Chiavari with Kirsty today in her Panda - what a fab car, its so old and basic and doesn't even have a handbrake!! Had a look in Lucas shop, its amazing. His very sweet old aunty showed us round the actual bakery and then gave us some freshly cooked focaccia, mmm. Kirsty wrapped us up some focaccia al fromaggio and we went to have a walk. She actually gave us another ladys pizza by accident but it was nice anyway! Had a walk round Lavagna (next town on) and had a look at the river between the 2 towns. Lots of fish, saw mullet, chub and even 2 carp!! Got train back and got a bit lost finding the ice cream bar to meet the other two, but thankfully we were v early so sat and had posh ice cream for an hr! The toilet in there was a hole in the floor - a new experience for me!! The tap was odd too, had a foot pump on the floor. Luca and Kirsty took us out for dinner in a place called St. Margherita and we had meat dishes - Dan had beef in breadcrumbs and I had beef in lemon sauce, v tasty. After food we went driving along the coast to Portofino, very beautiful there, so quaint and peaceful. Posh too, saw D&G and Louis Vuitton shops as well as nice boutiques.

Tues 26th: Dan v excited by fish yesterday so he decided to fish for them (the mullet) today! No luck though, all the ducks kept stealing his bait! Went to Lucas shop in the morning and got to meet all his family - they are typically Italian (little, wrinkly with no teeth!) but very friendly and seemed pleased to meet us. Kirsty took us back to her house before going to work and we spent the afternoon indoors chilling out and watching a DVD.

Wed 27th: Kirstys day off so we spent it with her. Got out of the house v late but got train to Cinque terra (5 lands) which is 5 lovely fishing villages in the cliffs which are connected by a coastal path. Weather not great but we had a good walk anyway, very beautiful. Met Luca at Sesti Levante and went for dinner at a typical Genovesian restaurant. Had pesto minestone soup which was not my favourite and Dan had spaghetti with mussel sauce and then stuffed squid which was bloody delicious!! Met 2 friends afterwards and went to a couple of local bars before going home. Picked Kirstys car up from town and I drove it home!!! So much fun, what an experience!

Thurs 28th: Went to the aquarium in Genoa today, meant to be the biggest in Europe. Was quite impressive, they had turtles and dolphins which were amazing! They also had seals and penguins too, as well as some fish, obviously. Met up with Junia as she lives there and she showed us some of the sights, inc the cathedral with an English bomb in and Columbus' house. When we got back we went for a pizza near Kirsty. They were massive - about 24in across!! Kirsty and I shared and Dan munched his way through a good 3/4 of one!! We all had pud too which was lovely and got to bed at a respectable 11.30pm for once! Dan drove the Panda back tonight!

Fri 29th Feb: Went food shopping this morning with Kirsty to buy dinner - Dan and I cooked English food for Luca (brave man). We decided on steak pie with mash and veg, followed by apple crumble. Didn't start cooking the meat early enough though so finished pudding at 11.15!! Luca enjoyed it though, we're giving him a lesson in crumble making!! Also went shopping for a special copper pan today that you cook farinata in (a flat bread made with chick pea flour and water, v good) but we put it on hold and then the shop shut too early.

Sat 1st: Had a very wasted day today, chilled indoors till 3, then when finally in town looked at bus times and they were every 2 hours! We were going out that eve and this didn't leave enough time for me to do my hair so basically got on bus straight away, only to find we had no keys! So we ended up driving the panda up the hill. Went to an amazing restaurant that is basically someones house. They produce everything they cook on their land, even the meat, so what we had to eat was what they had grown. You don't get a menu, they just cook what they have in season - so cool. Very filling though, so much food. We had a tapas style starter of about 10 different dishes, pitta style bread with pesto, followed by ravioli with meat sauce, then veal and potatoes (yum), and finally dessert!! We also had coffee and Lemoncino to finish! All the wine is home made too. Went for drinks in Sestri Levante, and rolled in at 3.30am!!

Sun 2nd: Got up at 10 to call our Mummys, feeling v tired and slightly worse for ware! We gave Luca his crumble lesson and then went for a drive into the hills. On a full belly with a hangover, this is not recommended! Would have been fab views though, but it was too cloudy to see (we were in the clouds!). Went to Zoagli and walked along a coastal path avoiding the waves!! Then went home to just chill indoors. Fell into bed at 9, bliss.

Mon 3rd: Went to Sestri nice and early today and wandered about. V quiet as everywhere abroad is on Mondays. Had lovely ice cream and lasagne. Went into botanical gardens in Chiavari and had yummy focaccia from Lucas shop. Have been sitting on this computer for bloody ages updating this and trying to sort out our next steps. Not sure what tonight will bring... I also have to mention that not only is Dan growing a beard (quite successfully - jealous boys?) he is also drinking red wine and tried an expresso yesterday. Clearly I'm driving him mad!!