Thursday, October 20, 2011

Here there and everywhere

When Ricardo the Magnificent died, I thought my life was over; there would be no more travel, no more fun, no more good food, no more meeting interesting people, no more singing and no more money. I'm glad (and slightly guilty) to say that this has not been the case.
Somehow good things keep on coming.
I've posted before about my wonderful friends Brad & Tamara who live in Rome. Tamara is a cushion addict like me; ............this cushion is one I prepared earlier for her, sitting on her beautiful turquoise chair.When she came to visit me recently, she designed 6 or 7 cushions for me to make and she convinced me that it would cost almost as much to bring the cushions to Rome myself ...
as it would to post them to Italy. (I didn't need much convincing). So without further ado, for one night only, I went to Rome.
It was the most beautiful day as I waited at Stansted airport for my flight.and though it looks like it was raining as I came in on the bus, it was warm and perfect weather...about 10C degrees warmer than here in Norfolk.
Going for one day was never going to be enough time but it meant that I really REALLY took in everything around me as if it was my last day on earth.
Here I am making like a fountain on the capitoline hill.
Everywhere you look there are amazing views.
and spectacular works of art.
I'd been recomended to go and eat at a Restaurant called La Botticella; the reviews of it sounded too good to be true but indeed it lived up to our expectations easily. The true Italian experience, with washing hanging in the lane above our heads. The owner is cook, maitre d', waitress, dishwasher & singer of opera. We ate Zuchini blooms stuffed with bocconcini and anchovies, dipped in batter & deep fried followed by a selection of 3 different pastas then Tira misu. We were fit to burst. Luckily it was a fair walk home taking in the life of the streets, still packed at 10 at night.
In other news to hand, my friends Tony & Marianne Backhouse (the ones who recommended the restaurant in Rome) came to visit and Tony graced us with a workshop in singing a'cappela. He's bloody good at what he does. See if you can catch the spirit in this video of him putting us through our paces at East Harling Church