Hi Folks,

Well that was a week and a half! I felt so groggy for most of the week. I eventually came out of it by going up to the beach house and finishing my novella. I felt so much better once that was done, funny that! Italy was so many things, the images in my head (and still unfortunately in my sons' cameras) will stay with me forever. Some were not so good as is the way when one travels. You don't always see what the brochures show. We had a fabulous ride in a gondola in Venice and ate wonderful food and drank the best champagne (I know you have to call it sparkling wine outside of France) I have tasted. It was called Ferrari and it was truly wonderful as I am not a keen wine drinker. Bubbles are my thing, I even prefer my drinking water with bubbles or gas as they say in Italy. The most memorable part of our journey was the taxi driver who managed to get us to Rome in time for our flights as our ferry from Stromboli had been cancelled without notice. This meant an overnight trip on a very run down ship with malfunctioning toilets and.....well suffice it to say that is one part of the trip I'm not keen recalling! Anyway, we had no hope of making our connection by train as originally planned so this wonderful young man drove us all the way to Rome as if we were his family. He even grabbed us two luggage trolleys before we could give him the Euro coins! We gave him a big tip of course but I left Italy with a big smile on my face as I thought of that lovely young man and his positive outlook and enthusiasm. He truly missed his calling as a Formula One driver! I wish I had taken his name or number down so I could have called him and told him we made it with fifteen minutes to spare. Isn't it great to know that there are still lovely people in the world?

Have a great week!
Cheers,
Melanie x

Hmmm don't know what happened to my last post, I am having trouble getting my jetlagged brain to work. I can't even seem to touch type at the moment, my fingers are going all over the place. I am glad to be home but it was a lot of fun and we saw heaps which I will tell you about as the weeks go on. As on most trips both good and bad things happen but overall we had a fabulous time and  I can't wait to show you some pictures. Polly and Pippi missed us dreadfully but are happy now we're home. Sorry this is short but my eyes are still glazed from jetlag!
Hope you are all well,
Cheers
Melanie

Hi everyone,
Well it is just a couple more sleeps and we are away. I am both excited and apprehensive as I love travelling overseas but I hate leaving my pets behind. Polly is so gorgeous just now, naughty but adorable. I was making up my bed with freshly washed and dried on the line sheets the other day when she came barrelling in and landed right on the top of the bed spraying mud everywhere. She had moved the garden hose my father had left trickling to water a tree and she made some mud pies! It took me at least twenty minutes to get the mud out of her coat and another ten minutes to clean the bath. I wish I had had a video camera running at the time as it was as funny as it was disastrous.
I will try to update you on my travels but it depends on what internet facilities are like. It can vary so much from place to place. I haven't packed yet, I am still thinking about what to take as I know it's quite warm in Europe just now. I won't be able to relax until I am on that plane with a glass of champagne in my hand!
Ciao,
Melanie