if you click on the link....

you'll see how I feel today

having been abandoned in favour of scottish rapids and canoes by Paul I chose to eat cheese at the great british cheese festival (yum), go shoe shopping and drink lots of vodka with the girls. my feet are absolutely killing me - not due to new shoes but due to being old and not being able to take the pace anymore. but hey, it was fun. Only down side it now I have no-one to distract me from housework, pants :-(

phew

dresses viewed... and I'm still attached. Phew - that was a close one!
Saw Hugh Fernley Wotsit last night at the literature festival. Never been big-time into him but Sarah, Rob and Mad were going so I thought I'd tag along. Aside from being delighted by the freebies from the local health food shop (I'm a sucker for a marketing ploy) I really enjoyed it. He was very entertaining, intelligent and down to earth. He spoke with real conviction about what he believed in but didn't come across as pretentious or holier-than-thou. His arguments for organic and lcoal produce were very logical and by far the most refreshing thing was that he seems to accept that he's not going to change the world with a revoultion, more like he is hopeful for change by evolution. Anyway, he convinced me, so I shall be thinking much more about what/how I buy and eat food from now on.

ouch

must have slept funny last night as my neck is killing me and I am walking about like I have a broom handle up my a**e. ouch.

good job I'm working from home as driving wouldn't be much fun and I'd just get the piss taken out of me anyway. Problem is I actually have LOADS of work to do, otherwise I could lie on the sofa, watch Trisha and feel sorry for myself. Still, at least it's friday and oooooh, I get to go wedding dress shopping tomorrow, haven't done that for .... mmm.... at least 6 months! Still, hopefully I won't be in the middle of splitting up with my bloke this time, it doesn't really put you in the best frame of mind, (at least I hope I'm not in the middle of splitting up with my bloke.... perhaps I should never count my chickens......)

fab day

well all went really well, it was a great day. the rain was a bit cruel, which was stressful in trying to get into the chruch gracefully AND dry - well one had to go.... My over-riding memory will be of Karen realising she had lost an earring about an hour before we were due at the church, and thinking that she may have hoovered it up the previous day, thus deciding to empty the contents of the hoover onto the kitchen floor and sift through it, wearing her tiara.
The service was really good, and quite funny as the vicar messed around with the order of service, at times mistakenly, and at other times on purpose to allow various people to gather their emotions... there were a lot of tears (good ones!!)

the recption venue was brilliant, the speeches very funny and also full of tears (bless 'em, craig's lot are an emotional team!), the band played brilliant music and the alcohol flowed freely. they had avoided a wedding cake and produced lots of fairy cakes which people could decorate. A dangerous concept when the only options that spring to mind after copious amount of alcohol are rude words and pictures....

Finally, SOMEHOW (????) the car ended up full of balloons and confetti and wrapped in clingfilm.... strange things happen at night eh.....

here comes the bride...

no not me you idiots.... it's karen and craig's wedding tomorrow so once again I shall be trussed up like a prize turkey to provide amusement for various wedding guests...

Nah actually the outfit's ok and I'm actually quite looking forward to it all. Just need to keep Ms Henderson chilled out this evening and persuade her not to go clubbing on Broad Street till the small hours......

Omnes viae Romam ducunt

Ok so I’m back in the swing of things, trying to come back to work with a positive attitude rather than be manically depressed that I’m stuck in High Wycombe as opposed to wandering round the delights of Italy’s capital city. Not easy but I’m determined to give it a go.

Last week really was brilliant, the sights of Rome were just breathtaking, and the sheer history facing you sometimes blew my mind. Perhaps now I can have some empathy for an American faced with sites such as Hadrian’s wall and Shakespeare’s cottage. Standing looking at the Colesseum, and also the historical Forum area, the magnitude of it all was quite hard to comprehend at times. The best bit for me was definitely this historical part of Rome, although the rest of it was pretty amazing too. Siena was also lovely, and a bit more relaxing which was needed after 4 days of exploring Rome.

Bits of Rome that weren’t so great -

- The transport systems which were erratic to say the least, they closed the Metro early 2 nights in a row for no apparent reason!

- The mob of demonstrators (possibly to do with the problems in the government) who prevented us getting to the station on our bus – causing us to have a mercy dash in a taxi to catch the train to Siena, making it just in time!


Best bits –

- The eternal “pizza or pasta tonight?” debate… yum

- The Gladiators which hung around outside the Colesseum, smoking and having their photo taken with tourists – now there’s a job.

- Large amounts of red wine

- Seeing the Pope! – we’re top buddies now, I’m sure he waved straight at me….

- Seeing a dog with a floppy sun hat which bounced around as he ran about.

- Watching Paul trying to persuade an impatient Japanese guy not to enter the automatic toilet until after the door had shut and it self-cleaned by spraying water all around the cubicle. I wanted him to let him go in, it would have been bloody hilarious!

- Watching rain coming in the hole in the roof of the Pantheon

- Reading over an American's shoulder at their Rome guide book which had a chapter called "All Roads Lead through Rome" , now is that a language thing or is it the US-centric version of the old saying which basically means all roads go via Rome but end up in Washington DC, as it clearly is the centre of the universe??


We didn’t make it to the Sistene chapel (went to say hi to the Pope instead) but at least that gives us an excuse to go back again, which I really hope I get to do. It was by far the best city I’ve ever visited. But for now, I need to think about the next holiday…… hmmmm. Prague anyone?

ps....

did I miss anything juicy?

we're back!

wow what a fab holiday! Rome is amazing, the sights were mind-blowing and the food and company pretty damn good too. will update soon bu for now I need to wash those smelly socks......