Back to Life, Back to Reality......

Happy New Year one and all.

Did you have a lovely Xmas?  Did you get what you wished for?  Does it seem ages ago now?  It does to me.

Some weeks before the big day, Mr J and P had an argument, whereupon I declared that I didn't want anything for Xmas.  Well, Mr J and P virtually took me at my word (grrr).  That'll teach me.  To be fair, he did get me:  a DVD I wanted, a book (by someone I'm not massively keen on), a cd that we'd agreed that I would buy for him as we both wanted it so now we have two, this cool travel card holder:



and a pair of lime green wellies.  He claims to have bought me a vintage drying up cloth but squirrelled it away so well that to this day he's not been able to find it (grrrr).

Anyway, enough of this nonsense.  The highlight of the Xmas break for me was our holiday in Italy.  We stayed in an appartment near Sorrento (near Naples in the south).  It was sunny every day and the temperatures were in double figures.  What more could a body ask for?  Take a look at the view from our window; the island is Capri:

Thought you might like to see the kettle in our appartment.  Yes, I did say "kettle".  Have a look:

I knew you wouldn't be disappointed.  How fab is that?

We saw the outstanding Pompei:

Climbed the still active Vesuvius (last erupted in 1944).  Yes, that's steam coming out of the crater.

Explored the wonderfully bustling and chaotic Naples.  Here it is complete with mounds of rubbish:

If you want to know why Naples has had a rubbish problem for many years click here.

Lines of washing festooning the streets in the centre of Naples:

This is not a brilliant photo, but I was trying to capture the hoards of people who descend on this one street in December where every single shop and stall sells nativity figures for one's crib.  It's a big thing in Naples.

A little known fact.  Outside one of the bars in Naples, is a shrine dedicated to that footballer chappy, Diego Maradona.  The shrine consists of, among other things, a strand of his hair and a tiny casket containing genuine Maradona tears!  I didn't bother taking a photo, particularly as the bar requests that people buy a coffee before taking a photo!  Well, really....

We also visited, what was described in the Lonely Planet guide, as Italy's largest vintage clothing market. Unfortunately, because it is winter, there were masses of fur coats and snow suits in evidence and very little else, oh, apart from ties - oddly.  We even managed to find the only charity shop on the Amalfi Coast (do correct me if I'm wrong), in Amalfi itself, which didn't prove fruitful - full of unpurchaseable tat even by my tat buying standards.

Before I go, I would like to thank the very lovely Andrea from Fin and Gabs whose giveaway I won recently.

Aren't those cards gorgeous?  They've got wooden ornaments too.  And Andrea made them all by herself.  Blimey, there are some seriously talented bloggers out there.

One last thing, I don't normally bother with New Year Resolutions, but this year I resolve to be more organised (I'm terribly scatty and very forgetful) and to learn to play the piano!  I read in The Guardian that if you become proficient in any instrument, "you should improve your dexterity, intellectual capacity and resistance to age-related dementia."  Well, I'm off to tickle the old ivories, dear readers.  Stay tuned!  (Sorry, that was bad.  Very bad.).