Hello everyone It was a good idea to book a window seat for my afternoon flight here- flying over the Alps and then down the coast of Italy I could see Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples with Capri and then over Sicily – there was Mount Etna. And in the arrivals hall massive hugs from my lovely Richard and Catherine – just what I have been waiting for these past 7 months. Their apartment in Sliema is a penthouse on 6th floor with 2 terraces at the front and back – so great views over the rooftops to the harbour and across to Valletta. They live on a main street in Sliema and you can walk in a few minutes to the end of the Point to a nice new shopping mall or walk to ... read more

We have had 2 wonderful days with sunny blue skies, also lovely and warm. So driving about 20 minutes from our house is Tyresta National Park and with the help of Sally Satnav we took a country road out to the coastline. Boots on we set off for a pretty good hike through meadows, forest trails and eventually to a small still lake...then back again to have a sumptuous picnic sitting on rocks overlooking the sea...and some boats in a marina. Then yesterday we were up early and taking the metro into the city to get down to the Quay and take a boat trip out into the archilpelago. Stockholm has 30,000 ( I think I read that somewhere) small islands in the archilpelago. WE picked this particular cruise the Stromma Kanal cruise as it cuts ... read more

Hej folks ( that's me speaking swedish) Here I am with the lovely Lesey in a typical red wooden swedish house ( another house-swap) - perched up on a rocky hill surrounded by great tall trees and 10 mins walk to the nearest bit of lake. And to top it all when the swedish family arrived at my house the dismal english ( and swedish) weather changed and we have had sunny and hot days- with only a few rainstorms a couple of nights. The house is on the southern side of Stockholm and we can be on the metro and into the city in about 20 mins. Each time I come to Stockholm I love it - it is such a beautiful city on many islands , lovely architecture with so much greenery in parks ... read more

There has been so much to see here and La Bandita is a good base to explore Tuscan hill towns and also the bigger cities of Siena and Florence. And so it was to Florence we drove yesterday...having decided that would be easier than gettng a train there which would have meant driving to another big city and parking there - so a bit of research on-line about parking places and a vague memory of the city from my previous visit as well as trusty old Sally - and we headed for Piazzale Michelangelo .... perfect free parking and the view from there is the classic view over the Arno . Yes it was hot but the narrow street give some shade and we were lucky to see a Hop on Bus immediatley which would take ... read more

No - I am not in Amsterdam now -just to confuse you I am in Italy this week . But I have been able to get Suzanne's photos she took at the Keukenhof Gardens when we were there in April - and they are so beautiful. So if its a rainy day or a grey day let this beauty lighten your day. More blog to come on Italy later. Love XXX... read more