The engine hatch/sunbed on our boat was broken, and had been repaired badly previously, so I had no choice but to replace it completely. I managed to salvage the vinyl and the foam for the headrest, everything else is new. I'm glad I decided to do it myself, as it was a massive job (over 100 hours) and quite expensive just in materials. I will wait for the boat to come back from the boatyard to install it, so it doesn't get dirty
04.03.2026
Today we did another wonderful hike, on the outskirts of our 'district' as the start point was 50min away from home by car. The roads going in to Merea were tiny, but we got there in the end. The hike was very good, with some glorious views over valleys and ocean as we are so often blessed with, and the weather was very nice for early March with 18 degrees
27.02.2026
When I cut back the Thuja hedge last year, I uncovered 26 rocks of various sizes. I have now split and removed 23 of them. I had to admit defeat on the three largest, and have instead incorporated them into the garden and planted an olive tree in-between. I'm currently levelling out the area, which will be mostly lawn in the future, perhaps with some additional trees
18.02.2026
Yesterday we did a brilliant hike from Pompeiana to Castellaro. Although only 9.5 km it was quite challenging as the tracks were small, full of loose rocks and very overgrown in places. The views more than made up for it though. You can basically see the ocean all the way and the forest section was so nice and quite. Amazingly, we were lucky enough to find a deer skull complete with both antlers!
14.02.2026
I can't believe it's been 8 years since we were last in Rome, how time flies. We decided on 10 days this time, and because we can be flexible I found reasonably train tickets and Airbnb accommodation close to Termini station. The weather was mostly good, although it did rain on the first and last day. We visited so many places (and I took over 700 pictures) that I've decided to split them in multiple posts, this being the first
14.02.2026
One thing that we hadn't explored before is actually right next to Termini and includes Terme di Diocleziano (roman baths), which gives access to two beautiful courtyards: Chiostro di Michelangelo and Chiostro Piccolo della Certosa. Part of the same complex is the later built church Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri and the Aula Ottagona which was used as a planetarium in recent times
14.02.2026
Rome has so many palaces full of paintings and sculptures. Our favourite is certainly the famous Galleria Borghese, with Michelangelo's amazing marble statues. This time we also visited Palazzo Altemps and Villa Farnesina which were both beautiful, while we found Palazzo Barberini and Galleria Corsini a bit less interesting as they are full of dark paintings, which isn't really our style (no offence to Caravaggio lovers)
14.02.2026
From my first visit to Rome in 1985 with my late beloved grandmother, I vividly remember being told about the "secret" escape route for the popes on the wall between Basilica di San Pietro and Castel Sant'Angelo. The Passetto di Borgo has been closed for visitors from 1995-2025, but now the 800m long passage has been renovated and is available to visit on a guided tour, which was an amazing and surreal experience
14.02.2026
Hidden underground is Domus Aurea, emperor Nero's Golden Villa, which had a massive lake where Colosseum is today! Nero, who obviously wasn't very popular, had the enormous complex build after the fire in 64 AD which destroyed most of Rome, but didn't see it completed as he died in 68 AD, and after that it was forgotten for thousands of years. Difficult to imagine (and photograph) it's still an incredible site to visit
14.02.2026
We did two day trips out of Rome by train. To Pompei - which needs no introduction - and to Ostia Antica, Rome's antique harbour city, which to me offer almost the same as Pompei but is much closer to Rome and much less crowded. Both provide really interesting insights into life in Roman times, enhanced we find by the excellent audio guides on offer at both places. We spend a full day at each site, same as in 2018!
17.01.2026
As always, I'm doing a bit of work in the garden over winter. This year I have removed a couple of trees - the pine tree close to the pool was getting to big. I have also planted a few new things: Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum), Strawberry tree (Arbutus Unedo), Washington Orange (Citrus Sinensis) and an olive tree (Olive Leccino) with bigger olives. And of course, the never-ending work removing the rocks from the back garden continues
13.01.2026
I have been working in the garden lately, but Sunday we went for a hike around Diano San Pietro - Diano Borello. All the towns around there are called "Diano something", and we had only been to Diano Marino, which as the name suggest is on the coast. We took the Panda, as it's a little too far from home to go on the scooter. It was a nice varied hike (13km) and the weather was very pleasant for January (13deg)
13.01.2026
This hike from Cantalupo to Borgo Sant'Agata and Artallo we actually did just before New Years, but I forgot to upload the pictures. It's another repeat, this time of a route we first did in March 2022, but it is a really lovely hike through very varied landscapes and cities, so worth doing again. As a bonus it's not too far away, as parking the scooter in these small towns is obviously much easier than finding a sport for the car
09.01.2026
In Italy Christmas last until 6th January, so there was time for us to go and see the small Christmas market in Torino. On the way we stopped in Mondovi to see the hot air balloon festival, which was quite spectacular but very cold when standing and waiting for them to start. On the way home we stopped to see the hunting castle in Stupinigi where we hadn't been since 2015. It's quite an impressive building, but the main attraction is obviously the central hall which is absolutely stunning
24.12.2025
Merry Christmas everyone! Bibi is back from Denmark and we had our Christmas dinner with Maria last night, so I thought I would post a random collection of pictures from this month. All pretty traditional as you can see, and of course quite a lot of eating and drinking going on (and I don't even have pictures of the glogg we made)
10.12.2025
We both bought second-hand electric bikes on-line, saving 50% off list prices. Bibi's is a 2022 KTM Macina Style 710 and mine is a 2022 Haibike AllMtn3. They both have the powerful Bosch Performance CX motor and Bibi's has a 750wh Bosch battery, while mine is 625wh. These are really nice, comfortable and powerful bikes, so now we can go anywhere we like no matter how steep the roads are and some around here are really steep
06.12.2025
Revisiting a hike we have done twice before - this time with a slight variation - we did 10km around Civezza and Torre Paponi today. The first time we did this hike back in 2020 a dog followed us halfway around, and today the same stupid dog tired again. Amazingly, we saw a roe deer again today, crossing the road just in front of us before quickly running away. And as you can see, Bibi remembered to bring carrots for the donkeys!
29.11.2025
For us, the hiking season started yesterday with a 10km hike around Boscomare. I was lucky enough to glimpse a deer, which is a rare occasion and Bibi didn't see it as I was in front. But 30min later I was even luckier, as I found a deer antler, only the second I have ever found! Anyway, it was great to be out in the beautiful autumn weather again and we had a lovely day
24.11.2025
For my birthday, we decided to take a weekend in Torino. Since the weather was cold and clear we went up to Superga to enjoy the view on Saturday. The train station at the top had been beautifully renovated, so that was nice. Sunday was the day for the Torino Marathon. We went to Parco Valentino and passed the Fiat Museum on the way, so we spend an hour in there
11.11.2025
The annual olive festival in Imperia - Olioliva Imperia - celebrated it's 25 anniversary this year. The stalls sell more than just olives - as you can see from the pictures - and we always try to go because it's a nice day out and not much else happens in Imperia!
30.10.2025
For the final week we borrowed Lars and Helles super cosy - and arc-typical danish - holiday house in Kettrup and overlapped with them for the first weekend. But first we made a detour to Stauning Whisky, which I always wanted to visit since I like single malts. We spend the week walking in the beautiful nature. The west coast of Jutland is so spectacular and unique, it's like nothing else we have seen anywhere in the world. We did also go to Skagen, Hirtshals and Bulbjerg
30.10.2025
The second week of our autumn holiday in Denmark we were on Fyen, where we stayed mostly with Nicolaj, Sofie, Aksel, Anker and Lasse in Kerteminde. They just moved into her parents house, so obviously we had to go see where Gudrun and Lasse now lives, which is very close by. We also visited our friends Jorgen and Solveig in Vissenbjerg, who we hadn't seen in a long time, Leif and Anette in Odense, who visited us in Italy in September and of course my Mum and Dad in Barlose
30.10.2025
The first week of our holiday in Denmark, we stayed with Mikkel and Elisabeth in Copenhagen. Our nations capital has changed significantly since I lived there 30 years ago and there is so much to see. Monday and Tuesday we walked central Copenhagen. Wednesday we went to see Carlsbergbyen and Frederiksberg, and Thursday we explored Nordhavn. We spend the nights with Mikkel and Eli and also had dinner with her parents Grete og Morten