Geo: 43.579, 11.2922Woke up to rain today so I spent most of the morning snoozing on the couch. We needed to go to town (Greve) to arrange postage for shopping back to Perth so decided to grab a quick takeaway lunch and come back to the villa. G would do some study and I would nap. After sorting the postage, we spotted a hot guy so followed him. (That's not weird). He led us downstairs to a hidden Enoteca Falorni. We were soon distracted by the wines for tasting and the food platters. No idea where the guy went! Ended up spending a few hours there and a few euros. Mid afternoon we drove back up the hill to home and both had a Nanna nap. It was our last night in Chianti so we had ... read more

Geo: 43.5851, 11.3154Franco had mentioned there were markets at Panzano so we took off early, about 11.00am. We are getting used to the roads so found the drive to be quite nice.  The markets were huge and we then enjoyed a lovely pasta lunch with sparkling rose.From Panzano we drove onto Castellina in Chianti, a beautiful village with shops to browse and gelato to enjoy.We arrived back at the villa late afternoon and as we brought so much wine decided to stay in for dinner and drinks. Prosecco and rose was accompanied by proscuitto, melon, cheese, olives, pesto, bread, balsamic and oil. Such a great night. G kept mentioning "gee that wine is going down really easily".We have a few neighbours and have named them all. (Not their real names). Isabella and Phillipe from France who ... read more

Geo: 41.909, 12.4778Woke early this morning ready to take in the sights of Rome. After breakfast in bed at our bed and breakfast we sprinted to the shops, lining up those we want to return to at the end of the trip. Quite a few. We made our way to our hire car depot to make sure all was ok for tomorrow's pick up. We stumbled upon Harry's Bar, well known for visiting celebrities, particularly in the 60s with Frank Sinatra, Gina Lolabridga. Surely we'd find George there as his wedding to that foreign girl is coming up soon in Lake Como. We scoped the place out but no sighting, although I reckon he was in a private dining room there with Brad for sure.We ordered our first Aperol Spritz for the trip and sat back ... read more

Geo: -31.9554, 115.859After a half day of packing for me and three weeks packing for G, we have an afternoon flight out of Perth, 10 hours headed to Dubai. BORING. I had thought it would be great, watch some movies, read my new book, have a few G+Ts, lovely. No I didn't watch a movie, I played some Candy Crush, tried some yoga positions to find a sleep solution (fail) and felt ill. So glad to have a break overnight in Dubai to get to bed. Best of all it was a balmy 36 degrees (at midnight) when we landed. I nearly threw up in the Lexus transfer car (no G nurofen never bothers me on an empty stomach!). Was so good to get to bed and see G tucked up with her Polar Bear, yes ... read more

Geo: 25.2573, 55.3592The holiday is over. I left Sue at the Rome airport - she had a five hour wait for her flight to London. Yuck. Then a flight to Singapore with a four hour wait. Thankfully my suitcase only weighed 23kg. Bummer I could have done so much more shopping.My flight to Dubai was good. Brand new 380 with an empty seat next to me. It's only a five hour or so flight so that's the easy bit. My painting was stowed in the flight staff quarters so I was very happy with that. I'm now sitting at Dubai with a four hour wait. Bored. Soon I'll be home and back in the old routine again - not fair. It has all gone so quickly.... read more