Monthly Archives: November 2009

addictive reading

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Robyn | 3 Comments

Every now and then you stumble across a book you can’t put down. When you were 10 it was something, anything by Judy Blume, then you moved on to adolescence and the wonder of Rupert Campbell-Black, Horses and riding boots. kept you completely engrossed. In the 2000′s it was Harry Potter, and his adventures with dragons, and battles against evil magic. Well I am madly addicted to yet another book, another saga.

One that lets you forget the hours, that keeps you turning, reading just one more page.

And I am embarrassed to say it is the Twilight series that has got me staying on a Saturday night. I am addicted to teenager Vampires and Werewolves. Go figure! The lead fella just seems oh so dashing and as I start the 4th and final book (the other three were dispatched on the Italian jaunt) I am completely sucked in.

Will they or won’t they? Who dies who doesn’t? Werewolf or Vampire?

Must dash there is a book to be read.

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Posted in Living in London

Tagged harry potter, jilly cooper, judy blume, Stephanie Meyer, twilight

massage

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Robyn | 1 Comment

I think it was the driving last week that rendered my neck unable to flex very much right and not at all left. And in fact it was probably not the driving alone but the number of pillows to which I rested my head. The up shot being a massage last night to solve the stiffness. You will all be pleased to hear, I am certain, that I can now flex and bend, twist and turn my neck again – well until I get to work and realise how much work is to be done! No doubt my shoulders will spring up to my ears in no time!

So while the massage was effective it has to be said that it was equally weird. The fellow who does it is a middle aged man from India – he is raved about on the internet so at no time did I feel unsafe but goodness it was funny. He has his massage table set up in the basement of the health food shop, where there is a bare neon light, a fan heater and 3 rather grim chairs. And the most enormous stack of mags in the corner – all of which have an article about him in. Well that is what he says and I wasn’t about to challenge him. So while I don’t like the massage places that make you feel in some way inferior a little less rust on the light fitting may not be a bad idea!

We have a little conversation to start with and he explained the process. Popped out and let me get changed. The first step was the brushing. I am not adverse to a bit of exfoliation but this guy uses a horse brush! And in fact I now have my very own to use at home (part of the deal). Apparently it stimulates the lymph – I think it just scratches your nerve endings. None the less once fully scratched, the massage began. And my goodness there was a lot of huffing and puffing. I mean a LOT. So while I acknowledge I am not slight and waif like, I am also not a 6foot rugby player! However the funniest moment was when he jumped onto the bed, stood over me and then pummeled my back. Together with the huffing and puffing it was a little …. odd …..

It all finished with an Indian head massage. Which involved scratching, rubbing, massaging my scalp with coconut oil. I was mighty pleased that I hadn’t washed my hair.

The outcome of his efforts was a well oiled cervical spine and upper thoracic, but also a well oiled head which made me quite the strangest looking woman on the tube at 7.30pm on a Saturday night. And that is no mean feat!

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Posted in Living in London

Tagged indian head massage, life, massage, travel

driving italy

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Robyn | 1 Comment

Italians are just a little bit bonkers on the roads.

This will not come as a surprise to many but it did to me. It is not so much that the are angry, raged drivers but they drive really, really, really fast and come within an inch of your bumper to let you know that – well – that doing the speed limit is just a tad too slow.

Wise or not, I was the driver for a week or so on our jaunt from Venice-Spoleto-Orvieto-Casperia-Siena-Florence. The wisdom of the decision to have me as the driver was interesting…. I drive once a year and mainly on the left side of the road! But hey we had a laugh and I only crossed to the wrong side. Of course it was ever so unlucky that it was under the wise eyes of the Caberneri! Excellent.

We did invest in a GPS – when you a hire a car you no longer get a handy map – so it is either trust the signs (sometimes a leap when your language skills don’t extend beyond, hello, goodbye and please) or get a little black box that tells you when to turn left, right or go straight on in a calm, clear voice.

You can choose who you would like as a voice – you can have English Tim or Irish Sean for instance. In the most part Sean was a certain help. Well .. with a few notable exception. He went through a period of extreme optimism he thought that our Fiat Punto had some how morphed into a 4-wheel drive and would be able to drive into a gully with super steep sides, through a creek and up the other side , there were also the right hand turns that were in fact the tightest of hairpin turns and the one way street that would have preferred us to be facing in the other direction!

None the less it would seem we survived. the car was not scratched and we did see some gorgeous and beautiful places.

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Posted in Living in London

Tagged gps, hire car, Holiday, italy, life, london, tom tom, travel

italian food

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Robyn | Leave a comment

One of the major themes of the last 2 weeks has been food. And boy did we explore this aspect of Italian life. It is a complete mystery to me how the women manage to stay so thin!

I mean…. espresso….. pasta…..gelato…risotto…. pizza…. not to mention Tiramisu, panacotta and did I mention the pasta! My jeans are definitely going to be super tight, may have to stick to dresses for the next few weeks while I pound the pavements for a little bit.

We managed to travel from Venice to Rome and each place we stayed had a specialty of which they were very proud. Although possibly the greatest foody excess was in Casperia. Casperia is a hill village made up of cobbled streets, no cars (although I think there were Donkeys at some point in their 1000 year history) and is just as mystical as the name suggests. And it was here that we did a cooking course and met some truly hospital people. – one day at Gusto Burgo and one at the place we were staying La Torretta . We learn’t how to make multitudes of pasta, panacotta, Tiramisu … among multitudes of other high calorie, high carbohydrate dishes…. What surprised me is that really the ingredients are so simple just combined in a way that makes them irresistible. I can completely understand how it is that people become so impassioned by the Italian view on food.

After two weeks though it has been lovely to have a piece of Vegemite toast and a dsah a coffee from breaky this morning.

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Posted in Living in London

Tagged cooking course in italy, food, italy, la torretta, life, travel

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Robyn | 1 Comment

So – it has been an age since I have blogged. Mainly because I have been swanning about Italy for the past 2 weeks. I am back – slightly tanned and ever so slightly more weighty than when I left and am now going to try and catch you up on the life and times of me!

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Posted in Living in London

Tagged Holiday, italy, life, travel

halloween

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Robyn | Leave a comment

Last night was the 31st October, and boy what a scene it was on the streets of London. The tube was full to the brim with vampires, witches, fake blood…. but here is the curious thing. Are all female ghosts, witches, spacemen short-skirt wearing, fish net stocking clad people? It is like Halloween is the chance to wear your skirt up to your knickers, your top so low there is not a lot left to anyone’s imagination! You don’t see the same in the fellas – no tops off – they seem to relish in lots of make up and props.