Luckily Easter and it’s long weekend meant that Sam and Tom could join us in The Meadow and spend a few days with Gigi and Sandy which was lovely. The weather was pretty good meaning we could hang out on the veranda chatting in the sunshine and then at night enjoy some home cooked food in front of a roaring fire. The boys cooked for us the first night – an Italian Feast – which went down a treat, the limoncello certainly went down well also (I literally never thought I would ever see my Mother in a baseball cap!!!!!) and it was nice to have the house full of noise and laughter again. I felt a bit guilty tucking into my cosy bed thinking of Sam in his swag on the lounge floor but sadly we are a bedroom short when everyone is here. It’s a dilemma for lots of people our age who live alone 90% of the time and then somehow have to expand 2-3 times a year to cope with extended family but we manage for the most part and Sam was a trooper taking one for the team that weekend…

Easter Sunday was fun – boules on the front lawn with drinks in hand followed by a lovely slow cooked lamb lunch and then a bonfire under the stars with us all rugged up listening to music and chatting away. A special time for my boys and my UK girls to remember…..

So our last week was upon us and we had just a few places left to explore – Shoalhaven Heads is a nearby favourite because it has an off-leash beach for Bailey and also the beautiful river which is easy to walk along, followed by a drink in the afternoon sun at the Heads Pub overlooking that beautiful view. We also ventured up to the Southern Highlands for a day stopping off in Moss Vale for coffee and a bimble around the beautiful homewares shops there before heading to Bowral, Somehow within an hour we all had several shopping bags on our arms and decided enough was enough before heading to Dirty Janes and its treasure trove of goodies and lunch at the wonderful Harrys on the Green. It was like stepping into someone’s home, with books from floor to ceiling and chandeliers reflecting the flames of the log fire that was making it very cosy indeed. Lovely food and the obligatory glass of wine left us feeling very happy at our choice of day out and a reminder to me to go over the mountains more often!

All of a sudden it was their last night and after a delicious dinner and the last couple of bottles of Alicante Bouschet from the wine cellar the MOTH took some pics of the three Bradley Girls for posterity and they were packing for their last hurrah in San Fransisco. Five weeks had flown by and we had been just about everywhere within 200kms of our house to share our little piece of Australia with them. Our last morning was spent in Kiama in glorious sunshine exploring this little coastal gem and enjoying a last lunch at Diggies overlooking the sea – fish tacos, prawn rolls and salt and pepper squid all washed down with some pale pink rose before dropping them to the train and their journey to the airport. With huge hugs, a few tears and LOTS of waving we parted ways feeling very lucky that we managed to have this special time together…I hope I get to do the same with my adult kids when I’m in my 80s!!

So my 5 week ‘holiday’ had come to an end and I had no more excuses to avoid the garden! My veggie patch was the first hit on my list. We are still re-invigorating it back to some semblance of functionality after all the rain whilst being sensible about the amount of things we plant. Winter crops in particular can take 2-3 months to ripen and then you get just one cauli or cabbage for your efforts! We are trying to plant the things that we enjoy eating – some faster crops like peas and beans and broccoli and then some of the other longer growing crops like Brussel sprouts, cabbages, leeks and our perennial favourite – garlic! All the seedlings are planted and mulched with our new fave product – Who Flung Dung – a nutrient and probiotic rich compost/mulch which feeds the soil rather than pumping nitrogen rich fertilisers into the soil which are often not able to be absorbed and then wash away via rain into our waterways causing algae bloom and other chemical reactions. Organic fertilisers add to the microbial abundance and diversity in the soil much as a probiotic helps the human microbiome and it makes far more sense to me to be using these products in our little patch than anything else. With our remaining beds (we don’t need 14 beds of veggies!!) I’m planting flowers – mostly wildflowers from seed to attract bees and butterflies and pollinators. I have always wanted to sow a wildflower meadow on part of our land but ‘he who mows’ deemed this impractical and annoying so I feel this is my only alternative! Also a bed full of flowers means less weeds and much more vitality. Everything has a place in this ecosystem of life!

We left The Meadow for a little road trip down the South Coast. Our first stop was about a 3 hour drive south which was just abut our limit as the night before my Sister had a nasty fall and hurt her knee. She tripped over our Chocky Dog who is admittedly rather hard to see lying in the hallway in the dark. She came down really hard on her knee and couldn’t put any weight on it whatsoever. We were a bit worried she may have snapped a ligament or dislocated her kneecap as it swelled up straightaway and things were looking less than good however a drugged-up night’s sleep had her packed and balancing on crutches with a knee brace and ready for the off! Luckily she could stretch out a bit in the back of the car and prop it up on a pillow with an icepack working its magic. By the time we arrived in Narooma for our lunch she was able to manage enough to get to our waterside table and enjoy a fantastic Mexican style lunch washed down with a chilled French rosé and enjoy the ambience. Justin Hemmes has taken over this old fishing shack and imbued it with his usual sense of style – in this instance straw lobster pots hanging from the ceiling and surf posters from the Pacific that dotted the walls, The hero was the view (and the food) and we had a very pleasant couple of hours before heading off to Bermagui for the night where we stayed in the old beach side hotel and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and comfy rooms alongside a spot of shopping in the small boutique shops – 24 hours after leaving home we felt as if we were well and truly on holidays!

We managed to get an appointment with the local physio to appraise Sandy’s knee who gave her a list of dos and do nots as well as some exercises. He massaged all the fluid surrounding it and the pain was worth it as it started to subside a bit. Knowing she hadn’t done anything permanent gave her the courage to use it more and she graduated from crutches to Mum’s stick (who luckily didn’t need it!) All this just in time to board a flight to Hobart and spend 4 nights reconnecting with Mum’s great granddaughters and meeting little India Elizabeth (who was named after Mum) in the flesh. It was so special to have 4 generations together and for Mum and Sandy to get to know the little girls as well as spending some lovely grown-up time with Loz! I stayed in their new house (on Myla’s top bunk) and amazingly there was a lovely Tuscan style hotel just around the corner for Mum and Sandy to stay! We enjoyed a wonderful night out with Loz in Salamanca where we had cocktails followed by a great meal at Peppina and caught up on life. Hobart is a wonderful city with so much to see and do no matter how many times you visit!

We visited the Salamanca Markets where Sandy finally got to try one of their world-famous scallop pies, we watched magicians and classical guitar players, perused the many local artisan stalls and ate yummy food. We visited the Huon Valley and lunched at Willies cider shed, checked out sheep cheeseries and had an amazing morning tea in Cygnet, browsed local antique shops and drank some lovely wines as well as fish and chips on the beach in Kingston while the girls played happily and in the evenings we ate at Lozzy’s place and chatted happily (and noisily according to her MOTH…) until it was time to say goodbye and fly home. We had a fab few days and I was so happy that my girls got to meet Laurens girls at last!

Back in The Meadow we finally got to celebrate the wedding of our close friend’s daughter. She was one of the victims of Covid and the enforced cancellation of weddings in 2020 and missed out on another 2 planned dates before finally making it official this year! It was beautiful, held at Jaspers – a local wedding venue – and for us it was doubly wonderful as we caught up with people we hadn’t seen in over a decade! A truly happy weekend. Congratulations Penny and Greg.

We had a week to play before heading to Sydney to see the other half of the family and the weather was on our side. Glorious early Autumn weather meant blue skies and sunshine during the day and cool evenings perfect for eating and sleeping! We made day trips to Jervis Bay and beautiful Hyams Beach followed by lunch at The Husky Pub, met up with friends at Cambewarra Lookout for amazing scones and homemade jam, had afternoon wines at Two Figs and Mountain Ridge Wineries and had a lovely walk over the cliffs at Kiama Downs to see beautiful Minamurra shimmering in the afternoon sun. Coffees were had in just about every town you can think of and we constantly reviewed the beauty of the multi million dollar beach houses dotted along the coast. We nattered incessantly and we constantly laughed at the different ways we pronounced the same words – who would have thought there would be so many differences between two English speaking countries! All in all every day was GOOD and we just appreciated being together!!

Our final mini trip away was to Sydney to see the great grandsons and we booked a little apartment in Manly, a 2 minute walk to the beach and a great spot to enjoy a couple of days in the big smoke without having the hassles of parking. We caught a ferry into Circular Quay so the tourists could once again see the beautiful Opera House and Bridge and we had a lovely seafood lunch in their shadow. Also in the shadow of an enormous cruise ship which kind of spoiled things but what can you do? They seem to be everywhere that we go – even the smaller places they park offshore and ferry them in so there is no avoiding them. I think it’s their sheer size that gets me more than anything – they literally block out your entire view! Anyway….we had a lovely time seeing the sights and then back to Manly and a twilight drink overlooking the beach with the surfers, runners and dog walkers passing by as the sun set was quintessentially Aussie which the girls loved. A Greek meal at a local restaurant had us feeling like we were in Mykonos and a colourful breakfast at Boathouse got our next day off to a good start.

We headed to Seaforth and had a lovely day with Livvy and the boys, she went to a lot of trouble to give us a beautiful lunch where her Mum joined us and the little boys played happily around us. Gigi got to read a book to Cooper and even play soccer with him – not bad for an 86 year old! I feel now that both Mum and Sandy have properly met all the kids and that they in turn know their British relatives better which makes me very happy! That night we met MY boys at Hugos for a super meal and lots of delicious wine together as well as a lot of laughs which had the wait staff mentioning the ‘energy’ coming from our table – definitely a night to remember! It always amazes me how much you can fit into a couple of days and how much a mini break feels like a holiday! We were officially over half way through their big trip now and we were aware of time ticking by but luckily we still had Easter to look forward to….

What feels like eons ago now we celebrated my birthday and Tom’s new job. All of these things involved lots of yummy food and plenty of glasses raised in various toasts. We had my birthday lunch at Bangalay Dining in Shoalhaven Heads and it was delicious, we are lucky to have this fine dining restaurant nearby and the boys joined us as they were in Huskisson for the weekend for Tom to take part in the Husky Sprint Tri. He and his mates try and do it every year as it keeps them focused on health and fitness after the silly season and gives them 6-8 weeks to buckle down and train. They had a perfect weekend for it and they all got the job done!

We also farewelled families from 2 of the 7 houses in our lane as they start new adventures in Tasmania and Goulburn, it was a BIG night resulting in a couple of sick days being taken the next day and 3 little boys missing the school bus as Mum and Dad slept in!!! A very memorable and fun night was had by all and the next night when I had to leave at 9pm to collect my overseas visitors not one light was on in the lane – a very early night for everyone in the aftermath of The Big Farewell!

I was in Sydney for my monthly bookclub meeting and tacked on an extra day so I could go and see Tom’s new pad in Bondi and after walking the beautiful coastal track from Bondi to Bronte (which made me remember just how beautiful Sydney is) we frocked up and enjoyed a super lunch outdoors at Tottis. There’s a lot of hype about these restaurants but we found it justifiable as they have a great menu, cocktails and that lovely alfresco ambience reminiscent of Noosa. A great Sydney Day Out and a reminder why Bondi commands some of the most expensive real estate in Sydney – it literally feels like you are on holiday there!

After two years of soggy garden beds and therefore a non existent veggie patch I optimistically planted some tomatoes and zucchini this summer and we were rewarded with the most insane tomato crop! They were so sweet, juicy and productive I was literally making passata every 3rd day! We have a freezer overflowing with boxes of the stuff – some with chilli, some with herbs – basically a little hit of summer to enjoy over the winter months. It has been wonderful to have some of our own produce in the garden once again. I aim to plant some garlic, spinach and broccoli in the next few weeks and hope they will do as well as our beautiful heritage tomatoes….

So as it turned out the night after our big Lane farewell I drove to Kiama to collect my Mum and Sister who had flown into Sydney that evening from Singapore. I couldn’t believe we were all together as in the entire 40 years I have been in Australia I have never had both of them here at the same time. It was so lovely to have them here under my roof and I could hardly believe that we were to have the following 5 weeks here together exploring and spending time with the extended family. Mum as the family Matriarch was Great Grandma (Gigi) to my 4 grandies and she hadn’t as yet met the two youngest and my sister hadn’t met any of them as it had been 5 years since her last visit. So primarily it was a family driven holiday but I was determined to show the girls as much of the local sights as I could and of course we had a list to help keep us on track! We are a great family of list makers so this gave us the structure we needed and as it turned out it also gave us a terrific itinerary for their time here. The weather came to the party and despite a few little unforeseen accidents (yes that’s you Sandy Cherry) we had the very best time we could have envisaged….

We made the most of the lovely sunny weather and started off locally – walking the beach and the river at Shoalhaven Heads, showing them our local produce at Nowra Fresh Fish and Meat Market and letting the girls enjoy some much needed sun on their skin after a long British winter. They were like lizards basking in the warmth on the veranda at every opportunity and of course there was a never-ending stream of chat! The MOTH had mentally prepared for this but was still very grateful for our two indoor lounges and wrap around verandas meaning everyone could have their own space! We also had some nice trips away planned. The time seemed to lie endlessly ahead of us and there was no rush, which is the beauty of a longer holiday spent in one place I think 😊

Early morning and the mist hangs like icing over the top of the mountain, the cows languorously wander into the field in single file blithely following the leader without a care in the world. Midday and the heat is throbbing, lying heavily over the house, we escape to the pool and watch the dragonflies hover on their search for a tasty morsel. Late afternoon and its Golden Hour when the sun is low in the sky and everything looks like a painting tinted in yellowy gold, the chickens are wandering around the garden looking for delicacies and run squawking every now and again to catch up with the others as they roam far and wide spreading out like a search party to who knows where and we sip our happy hour drinks on the veranda watching them and pondering how lucky we are to live here – simply and happily for the most part. The city isn’t too far away if we feel the need for more “action” and a trip overseas always makes us feel adventurous and richer for the new experiences yet by the end of it craving home in equal measure!! 

The weather has returned to pre La Nina normal and we have had some beautiful summery weather. The odd hot day or two but mostly just about perfect. We have had some amazing storms though where the sky darkens ominously and an hour later we are left battered with branches scattered around the lawn and another 10-20mls of rain in the gauge saving me from too much hand watering thankfully. We have tomatoes and zucchini growing like crazy in the patch and I’m about to plant some beans and silverbeet and maybe some asian greens to help us through Autumn. A big batch of passata will be made in another week or two as there are literally about 200 tomatoes about to ripen on our bushes! The rest of our garden is looking much better after some love from us and some compost and fertiliser, my pots are enjoying some love thanks to gogo juice and all the microbes found within and my hydrangeas that were on the brink of death are looking decidedly happy at last. The dead trees have been removed and the lawn is starting to grow over the patches already. I feel like we can breathe again and with things about to slow down with the seasons I might just have things back to normal by Spring!!

I made a solo trip to Tassie last month to help out Loz and Berry as they were moving into their very first own home which needed a lot of TLC and Lauren had every day organised with military precision. They had 2 weeks to paint everything, install new carpets, flooring and fitted wardrobes and buy some furniture and appliances as they have been living in furnished houses for the last 10 years as expats! It was a steep learning curve for them but they did a wonderful job completely transforming the old tired green, lavender and yellow rooms into fresh clean white rooms which made everything brighter and became a perfect background for their furnishings. I looked after the little girls when they weren’t at daycare and helped paint, weed the garden (I can never get away from this job it seems!!) and generally helped to get the new place ready for a family when they were! There is something about investing time, money and lots of hard work into a house – it makes you bond with it and it starts to become a home. I am proud of them for saving hard for so long and then getting stuck in to do the hard yards and slowly seeing their vision come to fruition. The girls are the most gorgeous age now, loving getting dressed up (Frozen is huge) singing and dancing, reading books and playing outside with anything watery and in their mud kitchen (so simple and such fun!) They are becoming a real team now and Indi copies EVERYTHING that Myla does so we thank our lucky stars that Myla is a pretty good role model! I absolutely love this little video of her trying to explain to me what Cold Rock Ice-cream is……

I came back and met up with my friend who had been in the UK for the past 3 months and we decided to go out to Merribee to have a look around their gardens and get some inspiration along with our coffee. It proved a very educational visit as we chatted to their in-house horticulturalist about the state of our gardens post the cataclysmic rain we’ve had over the past 2 years. They had also endured a similar fate with lots of their hedges showing dead patches and whole stands of dead trees. Their lavender field had to be completely replanted and this time they decided to plant them on little raised mounds just in case of further heavy rain in the future. She was the person that told me about ‘Who Flung Dung’ and ‘Gogo juice’ and the general importance of soil biology which was fascinating! It was encouraging to me that even the professionals were having problems with their gardens and not to give up.

The following weekend was The Berry Show, back for the first time in 3 years and a very welcome addition to this little country towns calander. It is a mini version of The Easter Show in Sydney and there is lots for the locals to get involved in – cattle showing, horse jumping, rounding up cattle and sheep shearing to name a few. There was the ever popular wood chop, a petting corner, a poultry shed full of the most exotic and amazing looking and sounding birds and of course Side Show Alley. Sam bought the boys down for the weekend and Cooper got to go to his first ever fair – going on the dodgems with Dad and loving bumping everyone! The mirror maze, laughing clowns, fairy floss, fluoro slushies and tractors galore all made for a good day for the little boys and then all hot, sweaty and sticky we went home for a swim and an outdoor dinner on a perfect summer’s evening. The huge new park in Berry continues to be on our must-do list when the boys are here and Cooper is getting braver every time – climbing high up to the big kids slide and loving the human hamster wheel and flying fox. Ollie is more into snacks and watching everyone but it won’t be too long before he’s up there too! A ride on our local model railway which opens on the 1st Sunday of the month topped off our fun filled weekend and they both slept, happily exhausted, all the way back to Sydney!

So here we are, Christmas is but a distant memory and 2023 is well on it’s way. I’m getting very excited as my Mum and Sister arrive here mid March and I am excited to show them a bit of the south coast and Tassie that they haven’t seen before. They are getting excited to see the grandkids and great grandkids and hopefully some sunshine after a long few months of winter in the UK and as usual we will just relish being with each other and enjoying the simple everyday things which is actually what you miss most when you are away from people you love. Bring it on!!!!!

Well after all the usual build up and crossing off the days until the Big Guy in the Red Suit comes, it’s all over – leaving a recycling bin full of wrapping paper and an extra kilo or two around our middles! Luckily our very variable weather behaved itself and gave us a traditional Aussie Christmas with plenty of sunshine and an opportunity to enjoy the pool, the beach and to eat outside on the veranda. The evenings were warm enough to sit outside under the fairy lights or have a glass of wine around the bonfire at sunset and after a dodgy few years it felt like things were finally returning to normal. Mince pies were made, the ham was glazed (thanks TC) and the prawns, oysters and ocean trout were all enjoyed, The MOTH became an accomplished oyster shucker after our Xmas order arrived still in their shells prompting a quick drive to a friend’s house to borrow a shucking knife and a quick lesson on “how to” which proved successful. This year we had our prawns and special sauce in brioche sliders and everything was so delicious we decided to pace ourselves throughout the afternoon eating in stages rather than in one giant overload!

This was our ‘quiet’ year when the Tassie crew have Xmas with their side of the family so we were just a grown up foursome for Xmas Day which was rather nice especially as we knew the little boys were joining us on Boxing Day for four days of fun in the sun. They had a ball and especially loved running through the sprinkler and enjoyed the Slip and Slide so much we now have a patch of dead lawn there!! Gerroa was a perfect beach location for them to run through the shallow parts of the river that join the ocean and having Daddy, Papa AND Uncle Tom to play with was the icing on the cake! A trip to The Shoalhaven Zoo where Cooper got to cuddle a baby rabbit and pat a wallaby as well as seeing lions and monkeys was a hit and the big new Boongaree Nature Park in Berry was a fun way to while away a few hours too. Their favourite part of the day however was their icecream on the steps after dinner – simple fun that has been enjoyed throughout the generations! They were so knackered after running around outside all day they fell asleep as soon as their little heads hit the pillow! A lovely few days creating memories in The Meadow.

Our Garden….what can I say? She is a pleasure and a pain in equal quantities!! We are finally getting into areas we haven’t been able to access for almost 2 years due to the excess rain and some parts look more like the Amazon than The Meadow. The grass runners are as tall as me in some parts and have intertwined themselves amongst the plants seeking the sun and hiding from the weeders a.k.a me. Every morning I do a different section collecting a huge garden cart full of weeds and runners but it is a needle in a haystack to be honest. If there were a dozen of me maybe it would make a more obvious dent but alas ’tis only me and I’ll just have to persist. There have been a few little bonuses – a garlic crop for the first time since 2020 and the parrots left me enough plums to make some jam for the first time in 8 years!!! We finally have tomatoes and lettuce growing in the patch and we are in the process of reinvigorating the soil in there, turning it, weeding it, feeding it and mulching it as all the nutrients have been washed away over the past few years and we really need to start afresh. Even my old stone troughs have been cleaned out and refilled for a whole load of new herbs. So many of our established trees and shrubs are really struggling after all the rain. A few trees are totally dead, others have shed all their leaves despite it being summer. The most common theory is that the deeper roots all drowned and died leaving only the shallow roots closer to the surface which of course are now pretty dry leaving the trees parched – talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire! My hydrangeas have all suffered too – spindly with brown leaves and half dead flowers instead of the lush vibrant flowers that we usually have at this time of year. I’ve had to cut them all back by half, fertilise and mulch them and hope for the best…..fingers crossed…..

This resonated with me as it’s so true! For instance, who deemed dandelions to be weeds? Who is to say that agapanthus look prettier than onion weed in full flower? Before the invention of lawns, people praised the golden blossoms and lion-toothed leaves of the dandelion as a bounty of food, medicine and magic. Gardeners often weeded out the grass to make room for the dandelions. But somewhere in the twentieth century, humans decided that the dandelion was a weed. By definition a weed is a plant that is growing somewhere that it is not wanted but I think our main dislike of them is mostly down to the fact that they are the ultimate survivors and continuously pop up in the worst places just to drive us batty. Also, much as we LOVE meadows of wildflowers, most of us have a desire for a garden design that is planned and much more manicured and we sometimes pay big bucks for just that instead of letting things go wild and free!

When I was at Bunnings (for what felt like the 24th time this week) I saw a pineapple plant for sale. As a Brit I still find this kind of thing so exotic! A little pinch me moment that I live in a country on the other side of the world from where I was born with beautiful tropical plants and birds and wildlife! It made me think how very similar, yet different Aussies are from Brits – we have so much shared history and culture but we both have a distinct sense of humour that is quite different. I saw these phrases that mean absolutely nothing to people in other countries but often perfectly sum up a situation for Aussies better than anything else could! If you know you know!!

It’s been two months since we arrived back in Australia to one very happy (and slightly chubby) Labrador! She had enjoyed a wonderful time in our absence pulling at everyone’s heartstrings with those big puppy dog eyes and wrangling treats galore from our dog sitters! Nicknamed Dyson for her propensity to vacuum up any crumbs that may find their way to the floor she made the most of their kindness/weakness and had a great old time. Of course, that made me the wicked witch on my return as I had to curtail all treats and trim down her dinner to a size that she was NOT happy with in order to lose those 2 extra kilos! We are almost there now I think although nothing lasts long enough on our floor to enable the 2 second rule as The Dyson literally gets there within one second!

We have caught up with all the grandkids since our return, it has been that time of year when the daycare centres throw open their doors for Grandparents Day, Christmas concerts and in Myla’s case a Graduation Ceremony! All except 2 of her class are going to big school next year so they had a little ceremony where they dressed up in caps and gowns and received a graduation certificate from the teachers. They all LOVED it and she was very happy to go up on the stage. She isn’t going to school next year but she is leaving that centre as they are moving house to another area in February, so she was kindly included in the celebrations. Very cute.

We spent a busy week in Hobart with Lauren and the girls. It wasn’t the best timing as we all had (or got) various sicknesses while we were there – those daycare germs are THE WORST and manifest so much more strongly in adults than in the kiddies. Despite this we had some lovely outings and tapped into the Xmas vibe with visits to a gorgeous Christmas Shop in Richmond and the making of Xmas cookies as well as watching the big Christmas Parade in Hobart with the Big Guy in the red suit front and centre and commanding all the attention. A wine tasting at ‘Domaine A’ thanks to Loz was a great way for us to have a little adult time together but really the best part was just hanging out with the family, feeding the local ducks and cuddling the little girls all warm and pink cheeked when they woke up in the mornings. I will go back in January to lend a hand while they madly paint and prepare their new house for moving day! The current ridiculous price of domestic airfares precludes us from booking too many trips – we could fly to Bali and back for less than a flight to Hobart at the moment!

While we were there we received a text from our neighbours telling us about a ferocious wind that came through and blew down our beautiful wisteria. It must have been a super strong wind as it also blew down a brick pillar that connected to the wisteria and wrenched off some bricks surrounding our pizza oven. We have now trimmed it back to the original trunk and decided not to reinstate the pillar etc just in case. Luckily for us it seems to have survived with just a few dead branches that had woven their way through the main plant.

I got a second bite of the cherry when Loz flew to Sydney to introduce India to her old school friends before she was too big! She had a couple of nights catching up with them and I had one night with her before having a girl’s day out visiting The Aquarium. It was a really great set up with the fish and sharks swimming all around and above you for a truly immersive experience. The tiny neon jellyfish nearly stole the show for me and the little King and Gentoo penguins were super cute too. Indi had a lovely time – her favourites were the brightly coloured shoals of silvery fish that twisted and turned in unison like advanced synchronised swimmers.

A quick weekend trip to Forster to celebrate our good friend’s 70th birthday was lovely and we saw many people we haven’t seen in years. Forster still has that small holiday town vibe and I love that not too much has changed as we have so many memories from holidaying here over the years. Smugglers caravan park when the kids were small and eventually beach houses as they got older and brought friends with them. My father-in-law lived here for many years which was terrific as our friends did too and we used to have big get togethers for young and old which let’s face it is THE perfect holiday scenario! A little bit of Pop will always be here for me…

Last weekend we had the little boys come and stay with us which was perfect timing both with the fickle weather – which finally gave us a couple of warm sunny days to use the pool and visit the beach – and also with the Berry Christmas Parade providing us with some entertainment. The road gets shut off to traffic and hundreds of people line the streets to witness the parade with their classic cars, fire engines, local clubs and of course Santa in his sleigh. I loved the Posties on their bikes complete with elf hats, because let’s face it they ARE Santa’s little helpers delivering all those cards and parcels to people big and small!! This was the first visit that Ollie has been physically running around and he loved visiting the chickens and finally being big enough to use the cubby house! Cooper loved helping me water the garden and had the best time with Papa in the pool learning to use a kickboard – one very happy and tired little boy that day! We will see them again just after Xmas which will be fun.

In the meantime, we are back to our normal programming with many chores to be completed in the garden, but we are gradually chipping away at it. Weeding of course is a daily/weekly/monthly/annual job but we are also sprucing up our neglected veggie patch. It is looking very sad after 2 years of rain which washed away most of the pebbles as well as killing 90% of our veggies so it is time to start again. The MOTH is patiently sanding back, repainting and rescreening the fence surrounding the patch and I have quite a task ahead of me to reinvigorate the beds inside. I have to dig out all the soil in each bed (hopefully getting rid of the weeds that refuse to be killed) and building raised beds to be filled with beautiful new soil followed by another 5 tons of pebbles for the paths which we will put on top of thick black plastic which we are hoping will discourage those pesky weeds from popping up. We also have to get rid of 2 x dead hedges and re-plant which is tedious and expensive but necessary and then there are the decks and the outside furniture to re oil and the outbuildings to gurney – certainly never a dull moment around here! Even though we only have 2 acres it is a bit like the Harbour Bridge in that once we finish our to-do list it is time to start over at the beginning again – no boring retirement here folks! So as 2022 comes to an end we are hopeful that the rain has finally decided to leave us alone and we can look forward to 2023 with some optimism! My UK family are coming in March which will be fantastic and something special to look forward to. In the meantime I wish you all a very Merry Christmas doing whatever makes you happy – whether it be big noisy family gatherings or small intimate get togethers with your nearest and dearest; seafood around the pool or on the beach in the South or a roast with all the trimmings around the fire with lights twinkling in the North – there is no bad way to celebrate the season!! See you in the New Year xx

How can a 2 hour 40 minute plane flight change things so much? We left Venice on a stormy 31 degree day and landed to a chilly 19 degrees and a decidedly Autumnal feel in the air. Everyone spoke English (well sort of) and there was a familiarity and sense of solidarity that came from being back in the UK. We picked up our hire car at the airport and headed off to adventure. This is where things came a little unstuck. No internet meant no GPS and despite advice that “you can’t go wrong – just follow the A90” we did actually go wrong and got completely lost. The A90 goes on forever and splits off in various places so not as easy as we first thought. Add to the fact it was getting dark and we were REALLY eager to just get there. We stopped people the old fashioned way to ask for directions and eventually found our street. Pulling over at a bit of an awkward angle to try and see the numbers meant we had to reverse out into the traffic and this is when things got silly. We couldn’t find reverse. Literally. The MOTH had specifically requested a manual for his driving holiday and as he often hires one in Oz I wasn’t concerned. Until now. We tried pushing the gearstick down and lifting it up. For at least 15 minutes. I nipped into a gym and harangued the poor bloke at the desk to look the car up on google to see how it worked but no luck. In the end we switched on our phone and our overseas charges and rang the hire company who explained there was a little knob at the top of the stick that came up separately from the rest and BINGO we were in business. Needless to say by the time we checked in we were completely wrung out and desperately needed dinner and wine! We looked for a pub but they all seemed to be full of large groups of guys on a mission so we took refuge in a local bistro and filled up on carbs until all was well with our world again. A quick trip to Tesco to get an internet bundle for our phone made us feel much more relaxed for tomorrow’s drive out of Edinburgh and we slept like babies.

Little did we know the bundle hadn’t actually been activated and we would run out of mobile data within hours and even after various top ups it never did work leaving us at the whim of public wifi and sporadic connectivity for 12 days. We had thought before leaving Australia that it would be good to disconnect from our phones a bit but it turns out we really needed it for almost everything and I will most definitely ALWAYS buy a local sim from now on when overseas for any length of time. Luckily the NC500 road is well signed and you can’t go too wrong once you’re out of Edinburgh. Our first stop was Culloden – where the final battle of the Jacobite uprising in 1745 went horribly wrong and 1500 men were killed in an hour at the hands of the British. Drummossie Moor looks relatively tame nowadays but was a total bog on that fateful day and the best laid plans of the Jacobites were foiled. There are some ancient clan stones depicting mass burial graves of Camerons and Campbells etc and it really brought home how hard things must have been there back in the day and just how tough The Scots were. A very interesting and moving afternoon for my very own Cameron man.

From there we drove up the coast to Dornoch and our lovely hotel for the night – Links House – located on the doorstep of the Royal Dornoch Golf Club. The hotel was hosting a large group of golf mad Americans whose plans were turned upside down with the death of Queen Elizabeth and her planned funeral. This meant everything was shut – either for the day or for a few days depending on the Royal connections. For us it meant we couldn’t visit the Glenmorangie Distillery or Dornoch Castle as planned but we couldn’t have chosen a nicer place to be to watch the funeral on TV. Our car had a flat battery so whilst waiting for the cavalry we holed up in their library soaking up all the pomp and pageantry of what was a very special moment in British history. For me it was a gift as I was finally in the right time zone to feel properly immersed. The whole day was so well executed from the solemnity of a lone bagpiper to the splendour of the gun salutes ricocheting around the country. The whole day was timed to 80 on the metronome apparently – a beat to march to and one I continued to hear in my head for a few days afterwards. The local shops all had little tributes to Her Maj in their windows with many references to Paddington Bear, marmalade, corgis, horses and various other quirky meaningful things which I found very sweet and rather comforting.

With our car back on track we headed North to Thurso and the beautiful Forss House. En route we stopped in Wick to have a tour around the Pulteney whisky distillery which was fascinating and even though I was sure I hated whisky, the tasting surprised me and as it turns out I am actually a fan of the whiskies that are aged in sherry casks! We also learned that a bottle of whisky bottled 20 years ago is no older than when it was bottled – they can only develop and age when they are in barrels so keeping a bottle for years does not change it like a wine does.

We had the obligatory stop at John O’Groats for a photo and we swerved by the Castle of Mey which used to be the holiday home of The Queen Mother – still shut due to the funeral – arriving in Thurso to a beautiful bedroom and extraordinary bathroom complete with a freestanding copper bath! Lots of fishing tack and flies and a crazy clock wall on the stairs all helped contribute to this hotel’s country charms. The gardens were lovely and breakfast was fit for a King. The Full Scottish is something I literally couldn’t deal with – replete with haggis, black pudding, sausage, bacon, eggs, mushies, beans, potatoes, toast and tea it was just too much (the MOTH had a valiant attempt of course) but I really loved the local Scottish salmon and also the traditional Scottish porridge drizzled with honey. We had to whittle our meals down to 2 a day and breakfast and dinner became the pattern over the next week keeping things a bit more manageable and a remote chance that our jeans might still fit us at the end of our holiday.

The next segment of our road trip was spectacular. The wilder west side of the highlands is truly magnificent. The sort of views that incur a swift intake of breath when you round a corner and see it stretching endlessly in front of you in every direction. Every loch was surrounded by green hills, purple heather and orange gorse and the blue skies did nothing to detract from it. Sheep dotted the land and occasionally tumbled onto the roadside as they searched for some juicy morsels. Goodness knows how they ever round them up as they straggle far and wide over the countryside which in bad weather would be very harsh country I imagine. We stayed tonight in one of our favourite places of the trip – The Scourie Hotel. Initial impressions of the village weren’t the best. The local pub had shut two weeks previously and there was literally nothing there except a small village shop where we bought a packet of crisps and spent 2 hours in our car reading until the hotel opened!!! Many other travellers were in the same position and we were just super lucky that we were booked into the hotel which was the only place within cooeee to get dinner that night! Our room was delightful and the hotel so cosy with wood fires burning and groups of avid trout fishermen walking in with their waders and their day’s catch – all discussing the merits of their day and full of conversation…a very convivial atmosphere and a delicious dinner to boot!

We decided to have a night in an old fashioned hunting lodge. Shieldaig lodge in Gaerloch was gorgeous – set in a 26000 acre estate tucked away down a meandering road adjoining the bay it had a tranquility that comes from having been there since the early 19th century. This means it also has decidedly dodgy wifi and some dubious plumbing but the views from the beautiful bay windows made it all worthwhile! They also have a falconry and archery section at The Estate with a mixture of owls, buzzards, falcons, hawks and eagles to hang out with. We had booked a time to fly some of these majestic creatures but realised if we wanted to make it to The Cameron Museum in time we couldn’t do both so sadly the falconry got cancelled but there was a real sense of old school timelessness at this hotel which made us very relaxed.

The next day we headed off to Fort William and Cameron Country. One of the main reasons for this road trip was to discover The Cameron Museum and find out some more of the history of our family which originates from the area. The MOTH apparently felt an affinity immediately and had a sense of belonging, so it was worth it! The museum was a long way up into the hills situated just 15 miles north-east of Fort William, this is the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan Cameron, whose members have lived in the Lochaber area for around 700 years. Achnacarry Castle, the ancestral home of the chiefs of Clan Cameron, was crucial to the allied campaign against the Axis powers during WW2. The castle was used to train elite commandos from Britain and the US as well as France, the Netherlands, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Belgium from 1942 to 1945. More than 25,000 men passed through Achnacarry from when the commando centre opened in 1942 and until it closed in 1946. Many Commandos still see Achnacarry as a spiritual home; just as it always is for those, from any corner of the earth, who proudly bear the name Cameron.

The MOTH also felt an affinity with the local pub and the Friday night dart competition where he “had to rest his knee” while I went off to explore part of the 100 km long Caledonian Canal which connects the Scottish East coast at Inverness to the west coast in Corpach near Fort William.  There are 29 locks, four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal. It was quite a busy little place and made for a very pleasant walk in the afternoon sunshine. The darts competition was going off when I returned and a couple of burgers, some chippies and a few wines later we left feeling almost like locals!

On the recommendation of a fellow guest in Corpach we drove about 10kms out of town to the Glenfinnan Viaduct to witness the passing of the steam train more famously known as The Hogwarts Express. People came like rats out of a sewer to see this now classic experience and it was really special! It’s located in a beautiful little corner overlooking the top of Loch Shiel and it definitely brings out the child within you as we all waved like 5 year olds as the train puffed past us proudly tooting its horn!

Then after all the planning and driving, the NC500 was done and dusted and we were back to the big cities with a night in Glasgow and two in Edinburgh to finish off our trip to Scotland. The amazing scenery, majestic views, friendly locals, fabulous old hotels and gorgeous local produce had come and gone and now we were back to looking for street addresses, parking meters and keypad entries to hotel rooms. Glasgow was gritty but vibrant and we spent an afternoon at The Pot Still – an amazing whisky bar in the centre of town with over 800 whiskies available and kilt wearing barmen to boot! The MOTH finally bought a puffer jacket just in time as it was COLD in Edinburgh with an icy wind that chilled your bones and as we were walking everywhere we needed all the help we could get. The open top bus tour tested our spirit and even though it was a great way to explore the city we were SO desperate to get off and find somewhere warm to eat by the end of it!! We found some ancient pubs with walls so thick no wifi or air-conditioning could penetrate it and the whole pub could barely hold more than 6 small tables making for a very competitive lunch hour getting people through the doors! The local Cullen Skink proved to be a perfect lunch dish – a type of smoked fish chowder that hit the spot on a cold day and bangers in onion gravy served in a giant yorkshire pud had its merits too! Cammo had lots of fun in all the kilt shops trying the Cameron tartan and finding out the fascinating etiquette involved with everything kilts! They take an awful lot of material weighing about 7kgs and costing around $1000 to make and send to Australia. There are whole shops dedicated to all the accessories required for a casual/formal or clan kilt – sporrans, kilt pins, socks with flashes, garters, belts and buckles, vests, jackets, brogues and even a sgian-dubh which is a small knife that is worn in the sock when wearing a Scottish kilt. All of these come in casual or formal, hunting and sporting types meaning the options are endless! Thus far he has resisted getting one but a mere whisper of a Scottish type wedding would have him ordering one in a flash!

Edinburgh was a terrific city with lots to recommend it – plenty of history and all very accessible. We could walk everywhere from where we were staying in the West End. The Royal Mile, although touristy was gorgeous, and I could just imagine how solemn the recent procession would have been through these streets as the Royal Family followed the coffin of the Queen through Edinburgh from Holyrood House to St Giles Cathedral where she laid at rest for 24 hours whilst her family stood vigil – a very moving event. It was bustling again by the time we arrived of course and the tourists were definitely back in force. Goodness knows what it must be like here in July and August – crazy!! It was here that we parted – the MOTH to return to The Meadow and I hopped on a train down to South Wales where my sister and Mum picked me up amid much shrieking and hugging and over the top exuberance – it had been 3 years since we had all last been together so this was going to be a very special week catching up on life! We hardly stopped talking for the first day – somehow speaking and listening simultaneously as only girls can and it was so lovely to be back in a home situation with a washing machine, non stop cups of tea and yummy homemade meals punctuated by trips to the local shops, a fabulous Michelin starred restaurant (The Beach House at Oxwich Bay) walks along the prom on a sunny afternoon, a night at the movies followed by an Indian meal and many, many conversations whilst snuggled up on the lounge with a glass of wine! Good times indeed. A trip to Warwickshire to visit extended family was lovely as was getting together with my Great Niece and Nephew who have grown up SO much since I last saw them – time really does fly! Family get togethers are precious and should ALWAYS be included at every possible opportunity. After a fantastic week of being spoilt by my sister and with my cup full I packed up for the last time and headed to London and the long flight home. Luckily they are planning a trip out to Oz in March so the goodbye was slightly less awful than it may have been although I never ever get used to it! Thank goodness for technology keeping us so connected. After 7 weeks I was ready to return to real life and my little white house in The Meadow.

Arriving at Parma train station we were relaxed – we knew this station well and had no qualms we would soon be pulling into Verona station and onto our next adventure…..how wrong could we be?

Little did we know that this was the chosen day for a countrywide rail strike and that chaos would be the word of the day! As train after train became cancelled up on the board we struck up some conversations with young students who were all trying to get to Bologna as we were and thankfully they had both the internet and spoke English! As it turns out no one knew what the hell was happening and therefore we just had to wait until a train finally arrived and we all piled on. Bologna was an hour closer to Verona at least and had more amenities but it was completely packed with people languishing on the platforms – some sleeping on their luggage and very long queues to speak to “officials” We joined one and was told that we may have a chance of a train to Verona at 6pm – 4 hours away! What can you do except wait and have faith….You can imagine how many people were attempting to board that train when it finally came! We managed to get one seat between us and swapped every 30 minutes until FINALLY we pulled into Verona station and made our way to the taxi rank which snaked around the train terminal like a giant python – now what we asked? Apparently the Italian Music Awards were being held in the Arena at Verona this weekend and the place was heaving with people – an hours wait for a cab and we finally arrived at the Piazza Erbe and to our accommodation. Just in the nick of time as it turned out as the key code was to expire in the following 30 minutes! We dumped our luggage, changed and went in search of a much needed pizza and a bottle of wine. What do you know – we finally ate like locals at 9.30pm!! It was heaven and a certain person was even happier when he found out our apartment was right next to a wonderful gelateria….

From our veranda we looked out at the bell tower of Verona – you can see it from everywhere in the town and was a handy navigational tool for us when exploring! The brickwork and plaster is characteristic of Verona as were the huge, beautiful blush pink marble pavers that constituted the main walkways – so pretty. Our apartment is where The Scaglieri used to live when they ruled Verona from 1262 to 1387. It’s a lovely building with the most beautiful terrazzo floors and thankfully a lift! You could barely squish 2 people into it but we were very grateful for it! We were the large windows to the left of the building as you look at it on the 2nd floor and we loved being in the middle of all the action (especially as they had double glazing to block out any unwanted noise) – perfect for 4 nights.

When we woke up the next morning in our gorgeous classic apartment we could see what a great position we were in. Situated in the Piazza dei Signori we were just enough off the main drag to feel smug whilst only being a 5 minute walk from everything. The first thing we did was to check out the market that had mushroomed overnight on our doorstep. Touristy gifts as well as fresh food including these amazing fruit pots. They were bursting with sweet ripe fruit and a perfect start to the day with an espresso on our veranda. A few minutes’ walk away we had shops, restaurants, outdoor cafes and the infamous Juliet’s Balcony. Our friends Kathy and Ralph from Oz were also here for a few nights, and we had arranged to meet up for dinner as they were just around the corner. They had booked an apartment overlooking Juliet’s balcony and had no idea how popular this place would be with the public – it is literally pulsating with people from 7.30am – 7.30pm every day! Considering there is no proof that this had anything whatsoever to do with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet it is quite incredible. Apparently around 500 people a year write to Juliet asking her advice??? There is a dedicated staff of people behind the scenes who reply – a real life advice column apparently. Anyway, it is a lovely little courtyard once it is shut to the public and we enjoyed a bottle of rose on the steps pondering how some things become so famous while others don’t!

The next day we went exploring on foot which is ALWAYS the best way to discover things and found ourselves over the river and catching the cable car to the hilltop fortress overlooking Verona. It has the most magic views for miles and really shows how the city grew from the inside out towards the river which completely encompasses it making it easy to defend back in the day. The terracotta rooftops and the myriad spires made for an awe inspiring view and as we looked around in the sunshine we felt so lucky to be here on this holiday after what the last two years had dished up to the world. Hundreds if not thousands of other people had thought the same thing as it turned out and Verona was BUSY! Despite this you could still turn down any little alley and find a cute little restaurant or a quiet seat to take in the scenery away from the madding crowd and the food options were fantastic!

The local markets were bristling with fresh produce – bunches of fat white asparagus nestling next to vibrant bouquets of fiery chillies and baskets of wild mushrooms of all shapes and sizes – equated to some super tasty dishes in the kitchen and we were in our element! After four days of wining, dining and shopping we were ready to get back on the road and to discover new places again, in fact our next destination was the main reason we were here in this part of Italy.

In 2020 for my 60th birthday we bought 2 x tickets to see Andrea Bocelli in concert in Marostica, a hill top town in the mountains of Venezia. I have always loved him and the thought of hearing him live in such a wonderful atmospheric location had been the clincher to spend the money and go for it! Of course, we all know what happened then and each year the concert was “postponed” to the following year until this year the world felt normal enough to resume and here we were! We bumped into many other people from all over the world who had the same story and the excitement was tangible as we arrived in town to see the entire Piazza full of staging and seating for the following night’s concert, Our B&B was a 5 minute walk from town so we were very lucky as we didn’t have to worry about how to get to and from the concert at least. We spent the day in nearby Bassano del Grappa, the town credited for inventing grappa – the after dinner spirit loved throughout Italy. It was a cute little town which we enjoyed exploring and after yet another great lunch we went home to get ready for the night’s entertainment. Our friends Kathy and Ralph had also come to Bassano in the hope they could pick up some last minute tickets to the show (it was their wedding anniversary after all) and miraculously (and at a not to be disclosed dollar amount) scooped up a couple of front row tickets! Happiness prevailed and we all had the BEST night soaking up the beautiful music and the sheer soul of the entire experience. A night never to be forgotten.

The next day we caught the train from Bassano to Venice – a mere 1.5 hours away – where absolutely nothing can prepare you for getting off a train which has been travelling through the countryside to alight on a platform overlooking the Grand Canal!!! It’s as if you’ve arrived in a parallel universe or a James Bond movie set!!

Within minutes of catching our vaporetto – a public water bus – we were getting off at Rialto and walking the 5 minutes to our airbnb apartment smack in the middle of Venice. It was small but comfy and airconditioned which was great as it was hot here! Throngs of people moved down the narrow lanes like salmon going upstream all heading to St Marks Square and all the amazing historical buildings of Venice. For me the magic was more to be found down tiny offshoot alleyways some as narrow as just 2 people and around every corner there were canals of varying sizes. This photo sums up the magic of Venice to me despite its innate touristy-ness. Venice is a crumbling yet majestic city completely unique in every way. It’s noisy, hectic in some parts and totally serene and tranquil in others. When the heat and the many steps and bridges became too much for my injured companion, we would find a table in the shade and sip on an icy aperol spritz or frosty beer and spend an hour people watching until we had the strength to continue on our way!

We joined the snaking line to catch a ferry to Murano and Burano islands about a 40 minute journey from the centre of Venice. It was a gloriously sunny day and the gelato sellers were doing a roaring trade as boat after boat was filled to capacity and we had another 30 minutes to wait for the next one. We nearly gave up at one point but were so glad we didn’t as we had the loveliest day poking around these creative enclaves. We watched the glassblowers doing their thing in Murano and I was as gobsmacked this trip as I was as a teenager when I was last in Venice and came to see beautiful things being created out of a blob of molten silica! The colours were amazing and I would have loved to buy something but The Meadow is not the place for anything breakable and these pieces also deserve to be “presented” correctly and not tucked away out of sight so sadly we passed on any purchases. Instead, we headed to Burano and lunch! Such a pretty little place with its colourful small houses and traditional lace making shops. Music played, the sun shone and the ice tinkled in our wine glasses – this was our last full day in Italy and we spent it well.

The next day could NOT be more different after a huge storm ripped through Venice the night before – just as we were finishing dinner in our local square – and sent everyone scurrying indoors grabbing plates and glasses and whatever they could put their hands on whilst the lightening thunder and rain conducted their own symphony. It was short and very sharp and by the time we finally left the rain was just a gentle patter which continued most of the night. By morning and leaving time the wind was up and the weather was the worst we’d seen since arriving in Italy. Of course we had decided to be a bit extravagant and had ordered a water taxi to take us directly to the airport thus avoiding getting on and off ferries/trains/taxis. This had been arranged on a beautiful sunny day and we had visions of our own James Bond moment as we left Venice witnessing it’s beauty for the last time. The reality was nothing like this. The waves broke over the top of the boat as we swayed from side to side in the big seas. We had to be seated very specifically to balance the boat in the conditions and the 30 minute trip was one to be endured rather than enjoyed. Our Captain was wonderful though as apparently it was right on the cusp of conditions making it impossible to go the distance safely!! Both the best and the worst trip to an airport ever. As we checked in for our flight to Edinburgh, we wondered what the next stage of our adventure would bring……

After a relaxing 6 hour train journey from Zurich we arrived at Santa Margherita Ligure station and emerged into a wonderful exuberant Italian scene with people talking and laughing loudly accompanied by many, many hand gestures and we smiled to each other as it was impossible to not get swept up into the Italian-ness of it all! A short taxi ride later we were trundling our luggage across the cobblestones of the piazzetta in Portofino. The gelato coloured houses, beautiful yachts and colourful fishing boats together with the chiming of the church bells was like a living breathing postcard and we were even happier once we found our little apartment which was located literally 30 metres from the water! Small but perfectly formed we had everything we needed and immediately felt very relaxed. That night there was only one option for our first dinner in Italy – pizza!!! As expected it was fabulous and we toasted ourselves and our choice to come here, we felt very lucky to be experiencing this little part of the Italian Riviera.

The lane to our apartment led directly off the square and the church above us rang the bells with great gusto (luckily they didn’t begin their hourly peal until 8am!) Every little corner revealed small details of life in Italy and the rich colours made me want to reach for a paintbrush!

Portofino itself is actually tiny (and also eye wateringly expensive with an Aperol costing about 15 euros a pop as opposed to 6-8 everywhere else) so we decided to explore the bigger local town of Santa Margherita with the local 782 bus leaving every half hour and navigating the narrow hairpin bends with ease. The weather was gorgeous – hot and sunny – and we were happy to get off the bus and walk along the coastal path soaking up the shimmery blue water, the colourful umbrellas and if you got a bit hot and bothered you could make use of the little bars that were dotted along the beach. Claiming his knee was playing up the MOTH made the most of the opportunity of course and we spent a lovely hour or two people and yacht watching whilst we sipped on our spritzes! There is plenty to occupy you for a day or two in SM and you can easily visit Portofino for the day or catch a boat further around the coast to Cinque Terra or the Amalfi Coast.

Then home to read, snooze or in my case walk to the hill overlooking Portofino to see its true beauty from above before changing for the evening aperitivo and dinner by the harbour. One evening an opera singer was ‘busking’ and on another there was an outdoor showing of an old black and white Rock Hudson movie in the square. Watching the Passeggiata and the to-ing and fro-ing of the superyachts and their guests was pure entertainment. With boats registered in Madeira, Monaco and other exotic locations it really was a gathering of the rich and famous – Mustique, a 55m yacht with a 1:1 ratio of staff to guests had a film crew aboard following their every move – I’ll keep an eye out for a possible doco on Netflix in the near future! One of the simplest yet most memorable meals from our whole trip was had here – linguine with chilli cherry tomatoes and burrata – something I can try to replicate at home. Somehow it won’t be the same without those bells ringing out though….

So after a lovely last evening eating seafood and sipping on negronis we packed up ready to go to Parma and start our visit to the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy which was going to have to be pretty darn good to come close to matching Portofino…..

Back to the train station we go and as per the last 4 stations there is a lift out of action meaning carting my 21kg suitcase up flights of stairs – (I’m never travelling with more than 15kgs ever again I swear) before we hop on our train to Parma and watch the world going by for about 3 hours as the coast slowly recedes, and we start passing through small towns and farmland. We get into trouble on the train as in Italy face masks are still required on public transport and we didn’t have one on. It seems crazy that you can be mingling cheek by jowl with hundreds of other tourists in a town and then have to mask up on a somewhat empty train???? Anyway we found a couple of crumpled up ones at the bottom of our bag and that seemed to make the Inspector a bit happier despite there being a lot of hand gestures and raised voices before he finally left us alone…..oops!

Arriving in Parma we were whisked off in a cab to the old town where we had booked into a charming B&B called Al Battistero d’Oro tucked away behind heavy wooden doors opposite the Baptistry. Patrizia the delightful owner and hostess extraordinaire greeted us and showed us around her house which I just loved. Huge windows in the sitting room were thrown open to the afternoon sunshine which shone onto the plush lounges and Persian rugs mixed with antiques and family treasures that made the room feel so lovely. Our bedroom was cool and comfortable with shutters that made everything inky black and completely silent at night despite being “in town” and we fell in love with the place on the spot!

Parma is small enough to walk around but big enough to have full days of exploration. We spent our first day looking around some of the amazing buildings including the Pilotta which encompasses several museums and galleries and is well worth spending a good chunk of time in. On the first floor of the Pilotta is the entrance to the Farnese Theatre. It occupies a large room that was originally intended as an armoury. This wooden masterpiece was later transformed into a theatre between 1617 and 1618 by architect Giovan Battista Aleotii.  This room is massive, made solely of wood, and is simply stunning!

It also houses The National Gallery with its fair share of paintings of The Madonna and Child/angelic cherubs and heavenly bodies/crucifixions and portraits of guys in puffy pants and shirred collars but also many other interesting things including a lovely little painting by Leonardo de Vinci circa 1492 “head of a woman” and some HUGE marble statues….Who says size doesn’t matter???

We had plenty of time in Parma to just relax and soak in the local atmosphere and as it is one of THE food towns of Italy we enjoyed all that comes with that title! The delis were like an Aladdin’s Cave packed from floor to ceiling with amazing products and smelling like heaven! Every corner brought new treasures and I’m not sure if we were lucky or unlucky that we couldn’t bring things back to Australia (or risk featuring on the next episode of Border Force!) as we loved nearly everything in the shop! Dinners were spent in laneways lit by candles where we tried local delicacies and one night as we were walking home we came across the unusual sight of one thousand people eating dinner in the street! The Cena dei Mille or dinner of the thousand was a charity dinner to thank the health workers for all they did during Covid and featured the food of three Michelin starred chefs to raise funds for Emporio Solidale Parma – a non for profit organisation to combat increasing poverty in the region and let me tell you it was quite a sight to behold (imagine all the planning, the cooking, the cleaning up and the anxiety over the weather!!!!)

We hopped on the train to Bologna for the day and spent hours wandering around the city checking out the Unilatero with it’s fantastic street stalls of the freshest bounciest food and had a yummy lunch whilst watching the most eclectic people wandering by. It is a huge University town and was quite the place to people watch! It was an interesting city, but I far preferred Parma where you could truly feel the pace and rhythm of the local life and get a sense of what it would be like to live an Italian lifestyle.

Our favourite day was when we decided to do a food tour. We visited local artisan producers of Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma and Balsamico Tradizionale in Emilia Romagna and the whole day was fantastic. It was so very interesting to hear their stories undertaken with such passion and patience in producing truly local products that have become famous throughout the world! We were the first Aussies back apparently which they thought was special and a sign that life is slowly returning to pre covid conditions at last.

At the Parmigiano Reggiano factory everything is made by hand. Each cheese weighs about 50kg and is made within an hour or two of the cows being milked. It is a very physical job and must be done every day. The ONLY added ingredient is salt and then they are aged on the shelves of the cheese rooms where they are stamped with the information telling when and where the milk came from and then they are all individually turned every few days and washed and salted fortnightly until they are ready to go out into the world as one of the most beloved cheeses in the world – parmigiano!

Once the hind legs of the local pigs have been trimmed into the familiar shape they are stamped with the name and date of the producer and they begin the drying process in a cold-room. The next drying stage is in a slightly warmer room where in summer they open all the windows for the sea breeze to enhance the characteristics of the prosciutto. A special paste of pork fat, salt and pepper is rubbed in thoroughly all over the leg which helps to seal the flavour in and the bugs out! They are finally hung to age until ready for consumption – anything between 12 and 36 months for prosciutto di Parma.

We thought the balsamic producer would be the most boring but it was actually fascinating! The balsamic we know from supermarket shelves is an industrial version of the nectar that is Balsamico Traditzionale. It is luxuriously sweet and thick in texture, with a color that approaches ebony black. Its bouquet is one of the most intense imaginable and its concentration is so intense that just a few drops can transform a dish.

Balsamico Tradizionale is produced in and around two cities of Emilia-Romagna: Modena and Reggio-Emilia. It differs from nearly all other vinegars in that it is not made from wine or another fermented juice; it is made according to an ancient local recipe, from the juice of fresh, crushed grapes cooked down to a fraction of its original volume. It then starts its life of ageing in old wine barrels where the yeast absorbed in the wood helps the fermentation process. They are then transferred into a series of smaller barrels made of different woods which impart different flavours – oak, chestnut, acacia, ash, cherry, mulberry and juniper. It is finally aged in small casks for at least 12 years—and often for 25 to 30 years or more. It is an incredibly costly process, requiring a half ton of grapes to produce a gallon of 25-year-old Balsamico. It is no wonder that this amazing product commands huge money, luckily one small bottle can last you a very long time!

So after a fabulous 5 days of eating drinking and exploring we bid Patrizia a fond farewell and we were off to Verona…..

This picture was taken minutes before things became a little fraught. We had been enjoying a relaxed morning ahead of our calculated leaving time to get to the train – the first stage of our long trip to Geneva – and thought a little leaving photo would be nice. By the time we finally got into the car and was pulling out of the drive we suddenly realised we only had the very minimum amount of time necessary to drive to Kiama to catch our train and thus in turn our plane. Tension was rife as we all questioned what the hell had happened but we pulled up just in time to get on the train despite the ticket machine not printing one of our tickets and having to pay for yet another one – no time to get a refund! Slightly frazzled we collapsed onto our seats and began our 32 hour trip! Being knackered prior to a long trip is actually a good thing I think as you are more inclined to sleep on the plane and we did manage a few good hours before landing at Heathrow where due to cancellation of our original flight we had to wait 7 hours for a plane to fly us for a mere 2 hours! On landing in beautiful 30 degree temps my lovely sister-in-law whizzed us off to her gorgeous house in St Prex for a slap-up dinner outdoors by the pool and amidst much animated conversation and aperol spritz we really felt our holiday had begun.

NO jet lag was allowed as the very next morning she had planned a belated surprise for the MOTHs 70th and with instructions to pack an overnight bag we were whisked off at 7am to a mystery location high up in the mountains. She had arranged for tickets to the European Masters Golf Championships at Crans-Montana with a game prior on the adjacent course. My injured companion was so sad that he couldn’t participate – such bad timing that he had injured his knee 2 weeks prior to our trip – but he manned the golf cart and we enjoyed the scenery and a lovely lunch before everything went very dark and a huge storm raged over the mountain. The temperature plummeted as the rain fell scattering everyone into the champagne tents (hello!) and to the merchandising areas where the jumpers were snapped up in a jiffy despite their exorbitant price and we waited and waited for play to resume but sadly in vain as they decided the electrical storm made it too dangerous to continue.

So we were driven across the valley to the opposite mountain where we were treated to a night in this lovely little hotel with amazing views and typical Swiss decor…it was delightful. It is at the base of the 4 valleys ski lift which takes you up to Verbier in the winter but was full of flowers and birdsong on our visit. We could even hear the tinkle of the cowbells at the top of the mountain and we felt completely transported!

The reason we were here was to visit some dear friends of my sister and brother-in-law who we had met previously when they spent Xmas Day with us in Australia! It had been a long time in between drinks but we took up where we had left off and had a fabulous evening at their beautiful little chalet up at 2000 feet. The air was so crisp and clean and they cooked us a beautiful meal of locally sourced meat and foraged mushrooms as we chatted about all that had passed over the last 30 years! They live a simple life up there living with a few chosen pieces from the past and with very little consumerism but lacked for nothing as far as we could see…a really unique environment that’s for sure. The next day we joined them in the sunshine for a game of petanque with a sensational view before another locally sourced lunch with raclette and dried meats from local farms all washed down with some delicious wines – what’s not to love! They were so very generous to have us and it is one of our favourite memories of our trip.

Another night was spent with our old friend Duncan who lives in Villars where the MOTH had worked all those years ago. He has a gorgeous old chalet with all the traditional carvings and cute shuttered windows that when flung open look out across the valley to the mountains opposite (N.B. there are ALWAYS mountains to look at in Switzerland!) We had drinks at a great bar underneath a sheer mountain cliff used by crazy mountain climbers to train and we were serenaded by the beautiful Swiss cows with their huge cowbells around their necks who wandered the nearby fields – I just needed Heidi to complete the picture of complete and utter Swissness!

We caught up on all the adventures he had been having since we last met which were many as Duncan is a VERY adventurous guy. He keeps venomous snakes, loves to paraglide, traipses around the world more than anyone I know and also happens to have a light airplane that he loves to fly. He invited the MOTH to join him on a scenic flight over the lake and around the mountains which was instantly agreed to. His partner and I came to the airfield to watch them take off and someone was very excited on his return to tell me that he had been granted permission to take the controls by himself for a while and the whole flight had been a huge buzz of excitement. What a weekend!

A couple of relaxing days followed with walks into the local village for coffee and a day out on the lake on their boat with a scrumptious picnic and icy cold wine. We went out into the middle of Lac Leman and felt like we had the entire lake to ourselves as we bobbed gently, listening to music and generally feeling all was well with our world. The MOTH had a slight miscalculation on returning to the marina and exiting the boat resulting in a broken toe and a slashed shin to go with his torn knee ligament! Poor bugger …talk about the universe telling you to slow down a bit!!

Our final few days in Suisse were spent in Interlaken and Michel decided to take us there via the scenic route. He had remembered the cutest little restaurant off the beaten track in the mountains where we ended up enjoying a fabulous fondue. This made the MOTH so happy as he has fond memories of them from when he lived in Switzerland as a young man. The farm where the restaurant was located made their own cheese and it was great to wander around the back and see the huge copper pot and muslin cloths used to make it daily. Talk about paddock to plate!!

Interlaken is a lovely town situated on the river Aarne which is a glacial river of the most beautiful colour and it is in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss alps with names like The Eiger and The Jungfrau making it famous. We drove to the cute mountain town of Grindewald where we caught the train up to Kleine Scheidegg at 2061 metres where the air was like liquid gold and oh so clean. The Swiss really love hiking and it was amazing to see people – some well into their late 80s – trailing like ants up the mountains above us, one Grandma was even pushing a baby in a stroller!! It made us feel rather sloth like but next time we’re back and injury free we will attempt some of these picturesque walks for sure.

We were continuing our trip by train as the many photos we had seen of hugely busy airports had well and truly scared us off and even though things had improved a lot we have always loved trains and far prefer it as you can see the countryside as you pass through and no long security queues to deal with either!! So after a fabulous week we said a fond farewell at Interlaken station and began stage two of our holiday to Italy. Our first stop is Portofino….