Ciao! Yep, you guessed it - I've been to Italy. At the grand old age of, erm, 21, I finally got to the country that has fascinated me ever since I saw Helena Bonham-Carter in A Room With A View as a teenager - and it didn't disappoint. I stayed in the small city of Trieste, near the borders of Croatia and Slovenia, with my mate Lisa and her Italian Stallion (ahem!) Simone. It was beautiful, with two castles, a Roman ampitheatre and the largest public square on a sea front in Europe. And, after a two hour train journey, I found myself in Venice too and, whilst I was very impressed by San Marco piazza, it was the tiny streets and meandering canals that blew me away. The food and drink wasn't half bad either - I had some of the best seafood I've ever tasted, amazing pizza and glelato, and discovered Faranghina wine and the local tipple, Aperol Spritz. Nom.... So, this week, I thought I'd share with you lovely people my favourite pics from my foray. I hope you like... So, back here in the UK, I'm feeling refreshed and inspired - if a little bit anxious about my impending move to Walthamstow - and becoming a home owner for the first time. Gulp! Now I just need the vendor's solicitor to get his butt in gear so I can move in before my current landlord chucks me out...
Anyway, I'd love to stay and talk, but I have to go on Freecycle to find some packing boxes to move all my tut. It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks... Arrivederci! P.S. Read more about my travels (this time in the UK) on my Underground Overground blog here!
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Evening all! Well, I hope you have been enjoying the glorious weather today. Yesterday I had to put the heating on but am presently sat in bed with the back door open! Ah, the weather here in the UK... Although like most Brits I can't help but talk about it, right now I'm more interested in what the weather is doing in Italy - and Croatia for that matter. You see, I have spent the last two days planning trips to both countries. I fly to Trieste in Italy next Friday, and yesterday suddenly realised I needed to get organised. So the last 24 hours have been a mad scramble to order insurance, book taxis and pick up my Euros. So now, other than sorting out what to take, I'm ready to roll. Hurrah! But it doesn't stop there. After collecting my currency and choosing a guidebook (I am incapable of going ANYWHERE without one!) I met Laura and Leila on the sunny Southbank to plan our trip to Croatia in June. After some last minute soul searching we settled on Spilt and within the hour had our flights sorted and a beautiful apartment in the historical centre booked! Woo hoo! I'm pleased to say that the holiday came in at under £300 each - which is a good job as, on Friday, I spoke to my solicitor who told me that the local authority search for the flat I want to buy has come through, and advised that we would be exchanging contracts soon - which meant that it was time to transfer the funds for my deposit and think about giving notice on my current abode! Well, you can imagine the flurry of activity this provoked - and the anxiety caused as I saw 70% of my life savings sashay out of my ISA. So far though I have 5 friends confirmed that they will help out with the move (thanks guys!) so, assuming all the i's are dotted etc, I should be in my new flat in, well, less than a month's time. Gulp... So yes, I've been making a few plans the last couple of days. And whilst I agree with the current mantra that we should like in "the now", I'm also really looking forward to the future - and am relishing getting ready for what lies ahead. And on that note, I wish you all a buona notte! Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. I've been trying to recuperate after a rather busy week. Out of Hours opened on Tuesday with a little private view for some of my chums. Much wine and pizza was consumed and I sold two pieces! WOO HOO! Now I just have to do it all over again this week, but perhaps with a little less of the vino... So apart from cleaning my flat and a spot of DIY (very proud of myself for unblocking my sink all on my own - knitting needles really do have multiple uses) today I'm going to read through novel numero uno again in the first time in, well, about 18 months. I'm investigating getting it professionally edited and published as an ebook, but want to go through it again myself first to check I'm still happy to put it out there... So that's pretty much me. It's been a whirlwind of a week, and work and the flat buying saga haven't exactly been letting up whilst I've been muddling on with my creative pursuits. Someone tweeted me the other day when I said I'd just paid a solicitor several hundred pounds to do things I didn't really understand, advising me that it was essentially to do not a lot as slowly as possible. Simon, you have a point... I'm just happy to say that it's the vendor's solicitor who is causing the delay, not mine. Unfortunately this means there isn't much I can do about it... Laters! Happy Sunday! Okay, I know, the weather is lousy (a trip to the corner shop for coffee and milk has put to bed plans for a nice walk this afternoon) but January is nearly over which means that spring is one step closer - hurray! Okay, I admit, I have reasons for my new-found optimism. Firstly, an offer I put in on a lovely little one bed flat in Walthamstow was accepted on Friday, which means that I am about to spunk 90% of my life savings in one go and get myself into horrendous debt for the next 25 years - yippee! Seriously though, I'm well chuffed. Don't worry, I am well aware that it could all go belly up before completion but I'm one step closer to fulfilling one of my biggest life goals. And that's not all. The owner of the City Pride pub, Luigi, has agreed for me to hold a little exhibition in his function room - cool, eh? Again, I'm not getting too excited until it actually happens, but hopefully from 18th February for two weeks, Tuesday to Friday, you'll be able to pop along and have a gander at my stuff - oh, and Luigi is going to be offering a discount on his authentic Italian food for anyone visiting the show. I know I for one will be taking advantage of his hospitality... get the dates in your diary. But before I leave you all too it to go chase my mortgage broker and design my exhibition poster, I leave you with a final thought. Yesterday I finished Miranda Hart's book, Is It Just Me? Okay, I admit it Miranda, it took me a while to warm to your style, but it has been a while since reading about yoga and motherhood has made me laugh out loud on the tube. And, as for the last chapter on Dreams, the lady has it spot on. You see, Ms Hart always wanted to be a comedy actress, but it wasn't until her mid twenties that she even dared admit it to herself. And, love her or hate her, you have to admit the girl's done good. And she never would have if she hadn't taken that deep breath and put herself out there. Which, come the 18th February, I shall be doing once more, this time with my art. Wish me luck. Oh, and if you come along and decide that you hate it, I won't be offended if you forget to tell me... Evening all! Well, it’s Sunday evening and I’ve been busy doing nothing – well, trying to, anyway. You see, my New Year’s Resolution is to do less so today, rather than running around like a mad woman, I’ve been pottering at home. Okay, so the pottering included cleaning, ironing and beginning my de-clutter, but it was quite restful by my standards... read more in my Anglo Info blog. Oh, and let me know if you take on my new mantra too! Anyway, back to my day. Yep, you read that correctly – I am de-cluttering. Those of you who have visited my flat are probably rolling your eyes and muttering “about bloody time” – you see, another mantra of mine is “love me, love my tut” – but I’m not getting rid of it all by any means, just streamlining. A bit. Yes yes, I’ve read all the magazine articles and heard about Feng Shui and know that having a home clear of clobber is supposed to be good for the mind, body and soul, but my stuff is part of me. A majority of my nick-knacks are presents or bits I have picked up on my travels, and my books are full of inspiration and ideas that I wouldn’t want to lose. Okay, so I don’t really need to buy CDs anymore or get my photos printed out, but, despite my new Smart telly (which so far I have managed to use without difficulty thank you very much!), I am still something of a technophobe and can’t quite get my head around the concept of keeping all my bits and pieces on the “cloud” - or whatever you call it. So there you go – my excuse for not extending my “less is more” mantra to my belongings. A friend who is much better at these things than me is Lisa – who was sporting the “Clean Queen” pinny I made her for Christmas whilst she did her housework yesterday. Look out for the photo which I will add to my “crafts” page in due course.
Well, that’s all from me folks – I’m off to watch a DVD and paint my nails. Mmm, I could get used to this new lifestyle... |
THE JUICEHere you will find my latest news, including what I have been up to and what I have been writing (and making). Hopefully you'll like what I have to say - and perhaps I will motivate you to get creative too... Archives
August 2015
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