Happy happy birthday!

I realised today that I'd missed my blog's first birthday!

What a year it's been.

I've travelled to Europe for the first (but not the last!) time.

I've discovered a love and talent for photography and participated in my first exhibition.

I've adopted a cat.

I've seen some awesome bands.

I've met some lovely new friends.

I've cooked and eaten some yummy food!

Though not 100 percent yet, I've come out the other side from an incredibly intense, debilitating period of depression and grieving that's consumed me for most of the past twelve months. I'm now medication-free and starting to look forward and enjoy living again. It's pretty exciting!

The next year is going to bring some interesting things too, I think. Hopefully this time next year I'll have finally finished my degree. I want to keep developing my photography, and participate in a few more shows, and start getting my name out there. I want to take a holiday to somewhere tropical and warm where I can lie on the beach and drink cocktails from coconuts! I want to keep meeting new people, and listening to new music, and discovering new places to eat.

I want to find that special someone, too, but one of the things that this past year has taught me is that I have to be happy with myself before I can even begin to think about being happy with someone else. I've still got some work to do yet!

Thanks for reading this past year.. here's to the next one!

Liz xoxo

All I Want For Christmas..

...is some snow!!

It's freezing here in southern England, but the skies have been clear all week. Mother Nature better smarten up her act!

I'm actually planning (hoping!) to spend Christmas in Copenhagen with some friends, where I should DEFINITELY see some snow. Depending on flights/whether I can afford it, I'd also like to spend a couple of days in Paris. Flights aren't hideously expensive, and luckily I am on paid leave from work and have a brother who will lend me money if I need it. So tonight will be spent running around the internet trying to find the cheapest flights. Does anyone know anyone who will let me stay with them in Paris??

I've started typing up my travel diary, and I got my photos back today on a CD, so I can start putting that stuff online soon. So that I can keep the spirit of this blog intact, I'm going to start up another one that will strictly be a travel diary. Only thing is.. what do I call it?? Suggestions are very welcome.

Here's a shot of me in Sorrento as day was breaking. The Bay of Naples is just beautiful, no matter what time of year it is! It rained hideously for the full day we were there, but then by the evening the clouds had cleared, and the morning was gorgeous, as you can see in the photo!



xoxox

The Old Country.

So it's goodbye to Italy (for now, at least), and a big hello to the United Kingdom!!

As I type this I'm lying in bed in my brother's flat, snug in a doona and listening to the trains roll past. Poor Dave is hard at work in the kitchen downstairs - he'll finish up at 10pm and I'll go down to the bar to join him for a knock-off pint or two.

That is, if I'm still awake! I awoke this morning at 3am, and was at the airport in Milan to catch my flight to London at 6. Ouch! I'm not at all sleepy though - I napped on the plane and on the buses to and from the airports, and I had a snooze after I arrived here in Potters Bar.

England so far is not really how I expected it to be! The town where my brother is living, Potters Bar, is quite nice, but I was expecting something smaller.. something a bit gentler and more countrified. There are four charity shops in the High Street so I am looking forward to rummaging through those!

Tomorrow I am going to begin work on my Italy tour blog - I'll keep you posted!

For now - goodnight from the Old Country.


xoxo

A Sad Story

On Monday morning, I am catching a plane from Milan to London.

My flight leaves at 06.45.

I have to check-in by 06.05.

The bus journey from the train station to the airport takes one hour.

I am catching a bus at 04.45.

I need to be at the train station at 04.30.

I'm thinking I'll book the taxi to pick me up to take me to the train station at 04.00.

It's going to be a LONG DAY. I think I might just not go to bed the night before.

Zoom-zoom.

1. Come fly with me, come fly, let's fly away...
I forgot to mention yesterday that I booked my flights to London and back! I'll be flying Milan-London in early December, and London-Pisa a month later. So exciting! This whole trip is getting more and more real with each passing day. Only 41 sleeps to go!

I'll be spending a month in London with a very tight budget - anyone got any tips for things to do for free? Obviously I'll be visiting all of the many galleries and museums! I can't wait to visit the British Museum, and in particular I want to visit the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons. I've just finished reading a biography of pioneering 18th-century surgeon John Hunter, and it'd be wonderful to see all of his specimens in the, er, flesh.

Obviously, visits to markets, vintage stores and H&M are a must, too! I'm taking the minimum of luggage with me so I can stock up while I'm away!

2. Speaking of H&M..



I spotted this in a shop in Northcote Plaza this afternoon, and it made me laugh out loud! Here's the real H&M logo...


OK.. it's getting late and I have to get up at 5am tomorrow! I hope everyone's weekends are lovely, and I'll be back on Monday!

xxx

Viva Italia!

There may be a couple of people left in the world who don't know that I'll be travelling to Italy (and the UK) this November. I'll be taking a group of teenagers around the peninsula for the first part of my trip, acting as chaperone, tour guide, translator, mum, big sister and general looker-afterer. Then I'm off to London to spend Christmas with my beloved little brother. Come the New Year, I'll be backtracking to Prato (near Florence) to study Renaissance Italy for a month.

It's under two months now until I zoom off, and I'm veryvery excited. I've never been overseas before (unless you count New Zealand, which, let's face it, nobody ever does) and the thought of a 14-hour flight daunts me a little. I hope the ratbags I'm travelling with will be able to settle down so I can sleep! Maybe I should spike their drinks with valerian or something similar to keep them calm?

Anyway, the main point of my post was - can anyone point me in the direction of some Italian fashion blogs/websites? I have a stack of French, Swedish and Finnish blogs in my feed, but nothing from Italy. If they're Florentine blogs, all the better!

Anyone been to Italy? Where are the best places to shop? Do you have a favourite out-of-the-way Roman vintage store?

I'm supposed to be on a very strict budget while I save for my trip, but I saw these little Prada-esque beauties in Kmart and couldn't resist!


What do you think?