I have already sent this on 5.11.16, but it didn't publish so here we go again! 'Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.' ( Ernest Hemmingway) I don't think our year would have been possible if the above was not true and I have to say that I am very proud of what we have achieved this year and have realised that not many couples would even attempt a year together -24/7. It's quite remarkable when you have been married for a long while, what challenges a...

''But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned I don't know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly, you are a 5 year old again, you can't read anything, you only have the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross the street without endangerig your life. Your whole exista...

We are now very close to leaving Italy after a stay of approximately six weeks and it is astonishing how quickly you slip into lifestyles and customs which become an expectation in a very short period of time. Many of these are so pleasant that they will be missed greatly once we have left but as I have said before there are a few that I will be happy to leave behind although, I think, the former greatly outweigh the latter. The first thing you become aware of ...

It's hard to believe that almost six weeks have passed since the last blog. I thought I would give 'the readers' a break from our adventures while we returned home; however I now question my decision as so much has happened that I fear that this blog will be too long, so forgive me if it is! You will need to either settle with a glass or two or more than one cup of coffee. It seemed to take a while to settle into writing a blog; however I have found my inspiratio...