BACK TO LIFE .......... BACK TO REALITY !! ..........

Back from our jolly 'ole hols, it's back to the reality of the mundane things in life !! For the next few posts, I shall bore the pants off of you all with loads of photographs of our wonderful holiday in Tuscany.

We began in Viareggio, which is a lovely seaside town with a wonderful beach and a great base for travelling to much of the Tuscan countryside.

The lovely Michael of Spice of Life told me of a wonderful restaurant called La Chiesina, in Viareggio. On his recommendation, we went and had the most wonderful evening........... three times !! It is in what was a little church, has the most wonderful atmosphere and is packed to the rafters. Some had pizza, but I had the most delicious lobster ravioli, amongst other things. Michael is a great traveller and is a mine of information and such a lovely guy. Go over and see him and read about his travels. Thanks so much Michael for the brilliant suggestion of La Chiesina. We all loved it as much as you said we would.



Next, we explored the most beautiful and haunting town of Lucca. Everywhere that you look is a photo opportunity. I have spared you ALL of the hundreds that I took and have just given you a little taster !!

Shutters absolutely everywhere ..........

Iron verandas ..........

Street lamps galore ..........

Beautiful little architectural details ..........

Charming little alleyways ..........

Views to die for ..........

Balconies of flowers ..........

Tiny but beautiful little roof gardens ..........

Well, there is just a tiny taste of our holiday and you can be sure that you will be seeing some more over the coming posts !!!!

I shall be over to see you all just as soon as I've finished the ironing !!!!

ITALIA, QUI VENIAMO ..........

In a few days we will be off on our holidays to Italy!! It is Viareggio and Sienna who are the lucky ones to have our company. From those two bases we can explore the delights of Lucca, San

Gimignano and the Cinque de Terre among the other glorious towns and villages of Tuscany.

.......... a few platefuls of this ..........

.......... some of these ..........

.......... and a few scoopfuls of this .......... all washed down with a few glasses of ..........

THIS !!!!

Just to be sociable, of course !!!!

See you all soon.

LIVE FOR TODAY, PLAN FOR TOMORROW AND PARTY TONIGHT !!!! ..........

After a day of exploring the delights of Rye, it was time for the reason that we had come to Rye in the first place. My sister's friend's, Tina and Nigel were having a joint 60th birthday party. They live in Horsham, but have a cottage by the sea in Rye. The cottage belonged to Nigel's aunt, and he and his brother had spent many happy times there when they were children. When Nigel's aunt died, she left the cottage to Nigel.

Come on in and have a look round ..........

This is the outside ..........

The cottage is just a long, single story building and Tina has 'shabby-chic'd' her way through it !!

.......... with some lovely little touches ..........

The day of the party was the hottest day of the summer and just perfect for the setting .........

They had had tents erected outside, which were decorated with Indian fabrics, wooden elephant tables and black sofa's with brightly coloured cushions ..........

Near the lake was another, similarly decorated tent , where one could get a nice alcoholic beverage !! I had a few of those, just to be sociable !!!! ..........

There were also tables set up, beautifully decorated and ready for guests to partake in a fantastic Indian meal ..........

There were beautiful parasols placed around the cottage, made from rich Indian silk fabrics and fringes of mirrors that sparkled in the sunshine ..........

and large urns, filled with floating candles and rose petals ..........

There was a beautiful sunset and, as day turned into night, there was dancing, more food and drink and a magical time was had by all, until the wee small hours !!

It was the most wonderful setting for what was a fabulous party.