weddings large and small....

So tomorrow's the big day. We've had wall to wall coverage of the build up, relentless speculation about 'the dress' and lots of footage of Charles and Di's wedding. Inevitably, the weather forecast's not great. But tomorrow it will finally be over. They're describing tonight as a 'royal sleepover' because so many people are camping along the route. There are 12,000 journalists from all over the world, ready to report every last detail to an estimated audience of 2 billion.

More importantly, we have our own family wedding on Sunday. As a result, I'm more focussed on what the weather will be like on Sunday, rather than tomorrow, and how our happy couple's event goes, rather than Wills and Kate's. Ours is a more modest affair. But the same level of emotional intensity has been invested. We are converging from our own four corners to celebrate and support. Family members have travelled from Australia to be here and gifts and good wishes have arrived from relatives in America. And we'll be making our way up and down the motorways and biways of Britain to be there for our own big event.

So, all our love to S+S. Have a wonderful day and a wonderful life. And we'll be there cheering....

(thanks to Sue from Greengarland for the lovely heart and herb wreaths)

firenze update...

Well, Florence was its usual wonderful self. The bustling chaos that surrounds the Duomo, the fabulousness of the architecture, the temptations of the market...

Here's the San Lorenzo market, full of leather jackets, bags, scarves, clothes, hats, gloves, masks and a hundred other things you didn't know you wanted...

And here's the wonderful indoor food market, full of enticing smells and sights... this stall has the most amazing selection of hams, salamis and other mouth-watering goodies....

 

and then there are other, less enticing ones, for squeamish people like me.... ducks with their heads on....

whole sheep's heads....

but the Florentines don't like waste and make sure they get the best from everything they buy and eat.

We puffed and panted our way up 414 steps, right to the top of the Campanile. Here's the view across the city, out past the dome of the Duomo....

across the rooftops to the Palazzo Vecchio...

where we later went to see Damien Hirst's celebrated diamond skull, For the love of God.... (which we weren't allowed to take photos of...)

And then over the Arno and up the hill for a picnic of ciabatta, prosciutto and mozzarella, sitting on a bench outside the monastery where you can look down on the city, as people have done for centuries....

Then back to Grom for ice cream, where the queue never seemed to be less than 30 people....this is an aerial view taken from our hotel bedroom window where we kept watch, waiting for the queue to go down so we could run downstairs before anyone else came.... I must have eaten half my body weight in ice cream.... totally sublime.....

and finally back to the Arno at dusk, standing on the Ponte Vecchio, watching the swifts and bats soaring and diving between the arches of the bridge, catching supper....

Waking up each morning to the sound of the bells and to this amazing view of the Duomo, right outside the bedroom window, opening up the shutters and not quite being able to believe that this was right there, so close you could almost touch it....

And so, Firenze, until the next time....

Arrivederci....

next stop Florence...

Last weekend was busy. Whiteladies started grey on Saturday morning but grew steadily brighter and was glorious by closing time.

Sunday at Tobacco Factory was typical April weather - sunshine interspersed with sudden showers. Me and the baskets had to retreat under our awning to avoid the blustery wind and rain. But 5 minutes after the rain stopped, the sun came out and it turned into a glorious spring day. Sunday was Mother's Day so there was a children's choir at the market, entertaining parents and market customers. I bought two blue lupins and a white oriental poppy from the plant stall and nibbled on macarons from the cake seller - the coffee ones are sublime! The flower stall was doing great business.

 

More importantly, only a week until we go to Florence. Can't wait. Haven't been to Florence for 3 years and it feels long overdue. The itinerary will be the same as usual. We fly into Pisa, catch the bus or train to Florence (whichever comes first) and then walk to our hotel (next to the Duomo). On arrival, the first thing we do is go down to the Arno and along to the Ponte Vecchio. Then we go to the San Lorenzo market to see what's new. Supper at our favourite bar (Yellow) or trattoria (Baldovino) and back for ice cream from the shop by our hotel (Grom).

One day while we're there, we'll climb the hill to the monastery overlooking the city in order to admire the view. We'll sit on the steps and watch the light shifting across the city. And the rest of the time we'll sit and wander and people watch.

What more could anyone want....?