Greek tragedy, a trip to London, homemade treats - Spring has arrived! Click HERE for spring 2024 (Matt Smith and new Invaders in London, Ireland), HERE for 2023, HERE for 2022, HERE for 2021, and HERE and HERE for photos from Spring 2020, including our trips to Paris and the Isle of Wight.
For Nick's birthday, we enjoying preparing a UBChef meal, created by Robert Thompson our favourite Isle of Wight chef. We also had German chocolate cake like my grandmother used to make and a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino, bought in Montalcino, Tuscany in 2012.
Some culinary treats at home, including sourdough bread, lemon meringue pie, toad in the hole, and a chocolate football cake. Click HERE to see my other cakes.
Sophie Grigson's focaccia barese, plus sights from Mottisfont Abbey
Firefighters in Boscombe and a former pupil turned butcher
In April, we went to London for a weekend of culture and fun. Our trip started in North London, seeking out one of the seven remaining Invaders we hadn't yet seen. We walked through Portobello Market and Notting Hill.
Scenes from Portobello Market, Notting Hill, The Estorick Collection, and Mark Wallinger's Labyrinth
These are the seven Invaders found on this trip. We will continue the search later in the year in France and Ljubljana!
The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art opened in London in 1998, the same year we met. The Collection is known internationally for its core of Futurist works, as well as figurative art and sculpture dating from 1890 to the 1950s. The painting with colourful faces is called Music and represents synesthesia, seeing colours when listening to music.
The atmospheric painting bottom left shows figures leaving the opera house at night.
We had a lovely lunch at Terra Rossa, which serves authentic food just like we had in Puglia at Christmas, including pasticciotto leccese
After seeing director Daniel Fish's production of "sexy Oklahoma!" in 2023, we were excited to get tickets to see Elektra, starring Academy Award winner Brie Larson, Stockard "Rizzo" Channing, and Patrick Vaill. We loved the production, especially the incredibly syncronised, dissonant Greek chorus. We enjoyed a pre-show gin and tonic on the balcony, as we did when we saw Matt Smith in An Enemy of the People in 2024.
We left our super-comfortable AirBnB in New Cross to take an old fashioned Routemaster bus to Crossness Pumping Station.
Crossness Pumping Station is a former sewage works constructed between 1859 and 1865. It features spectacular ornamental cast ironwork, described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "a masterpiece of engineering – a Victorian cathedral of ironwork".
We were there on a rare steaming day and saw the huge mechanisms doing their thing before trying on creepy hats.
Outside, we had hornside seats to hear the Belvedere Concert Band before moving back into London for more Invader hunting. Stik's 2020 sculpture "Holding Hands" can be found in Hoxton Square, near the black Invader. We found the Snoopy post box topper near Queen Square Gardens. The photo of Kilted Yogi's Finlay Wilson is in celebration of spring.
Trudging hungrily through Shoreditch, we found newly-opened 801 Neapolitan Pizzeria, where we had slow cooked beef on polenta and a sausage and wild broccoli pizza. Fortified, we moved on, in search of more Invaders.
Various sights, including another of Mark Wallinger's Labyrinths, a few of our AirBnB, Chinatown, and The Cut.
On Monday, our last day, we went to the National Gallery in the morning. These are some of my favourite paintings.
Valencian Fishermen by Joaquin Sorolla, Van Gogh, Canaletto's Venice, and another example of "Okay, I give him a shirt".
Caravaggio, bottom left, two Vermeers, Renoir, and dumplins in stock at Culture Grub. A perfect end to our weekend in London!
Friend Juliet and I visited our local National Trust house over the Easter holidays. Pictured are this year's hot cross buns and an almond and pear lattice tart.
Creating pocket pals using AI was all the rage, and Tiny Cow got in on the act.
We visited Alresford over Easter and made rabbit stew and rhubarb ginger rolls.
Back to London on Bank Holiday Weekend, we we discovered Sicily Fest at the Business Design Centre and had a morning of listening to the Italian language and sampling Sicilian food and wine. We'll be going to Sicily for my birthday soon. Watch this space!
Sicilian goodies in London and our wisteria in full, scented bloom
We also found a longboat festival in full swing along the canals of Little Venice. (I have never before been affected by pollen, but good grief! Everyone was coughing and sneezing).
Tiny Cow made a pilgrimage to Primrose Hill and we found street art on the bridge near Chalk Farm.
Our primary goal in visiting London was to see Stephen Sondheim’s last musical, Here We Are, which was created with David Ives and inspired by two surrealist films of Luis Buñuel, The Exterminating Angel and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. The show exceeded our expectations, especially the music-filled first half, which was hilarious. The National Theatre spent a lot of money on the production, including a starry cast that included Jane Krakowski, Rory Kinnear, Martha Plimpton, and hunky Richard Fleeshman, whom we saw in Company in 2019. .
A sunny walk from Boscombe to Bournemouth
The Russell Cotes Museum is filled with things to discover on each visit.
Like the Riviera
A return to the Watercress Festival. Click HERE to see last year's. We go every year and bring home bags of fresh watercress, asparagus, and strawberries. I made asparagus soup and watercress and cheese scones afterwards.
Tiny Coiwn enjoyed the sights and sounds of the festival and the steam train journey.
After Inspector Montalbano lured us to Sicily in 2018, it has become one of our favourite destinations. I was lucky enough to visit the island twice this year, the first time for my birthday in May and the second, a school trip in July. We were based in Lentini, just south of Catania. This map shows places we visited. Click HERE for our last visit in 2023.
Sunday coincided with this exciting festival. After dangling young men in a gorge to collect laurel leaves, the citizens of Troia process through the streets, where they present the laurel branches to a statue of the Madonna. Note the horse being led along by the silver car.
Dressed in finery and looking handsome. The horses weren't bad, either.
There was a big delay getting past this point, so we had lots of opportunity to take photos while waiting.
Some horsemen distributed rings of local bread to the crowd. Nick got a piece to share.
Tight trousers and a cinema dedicated to Andrea Camilleri, creator of the Montalbano series
Tiny Cow meets photographer Robert Capa, arguably the greatest war photographer and innovator of photojournalism of all time.
Horsemen arrive in the main square, where stands the Parrocchia Maria Santissima Assunta
The riders approach the statue of Mary, lay their laurels, make the sign of the cross, and depart.
Showing their stuff in the piazza. I found a piano-themed bench.
The local museum had plenty to look at, from Greek and Roman antiquities to Titian's portrait of Pope John Paul, who had four, count them, four illegitimate daughters.
Leaving Troina, we found this view across a field to snow-capped Etna, which would erupt a week later.
Trip Advisor led us to Cesarò, a sleepy town whose hotel provided us with a splended lunch. Afterwards, we drove to Bronte, home of the world's best pistachios.
I expected more pistachio action in Bronte, but we did buy the treats above at the town's best pasticceria. Also shown are the hipster pharmacist and a grove of pistachio trees, j ust outside town.
The hipster pharmacist and others were watching two workers try to attach bunting to a pole. Lots of chin scratching and advice given.
The Ponte dei Saraceni is an ancient stone and brick bridge, presumably originally built by the Ancient Romans, over the river Simeto in Adrano. Upstream, the water has made grooves into the volcanic lava.
Monday was market day in Melilli. Say that three times fast.
Sortino is famed for this calzone-like pizza. A customer from the stationery shop led us all the way from this church to a bakery, where we could buy the local delicacy.
The positioning of Buccheri's Chiesa Sant'Antonio Abate, founded in 1212, provided excellent views and mildly strenuous walking opportunities.
We bought some panini and had lunch in a shaded piazza before leaving Bucchari.
Vizzini had a splendid majolica staircase.
We walked a long, long way to The Cunziria, outside Vizzini. It was used as a filming location for the 1983 film adaptation of "Cavalleria Rusticana" directed by Franco Zeffirelli. He built this amphitheatre because he couldn't find an ancient one that suited his purposes.
Our house was surrounded by orange groves, so we had freshly-squeezed orange juice whenever we wanted. On Tuesday, we headed North to Messina. Expectations were low, but it was a wonderful town, full of things to see, such as the Guttoso painting, above, left.
Sometimes, we had to work to find art. The Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea "Lucio Barbera was upstairs in an office building. There was some kind of youth dance competition going on, but we had the gallery to ourselves.
Messina's cathedral and sights from the area
The bell tower of the Cathedral of Messina contains the biggest and most complex mechanical and astronomical clock in the world. Designed by the firm Ungerer of Strasbourg, it was inaugurated in 1933. At noon - we were there especially - a complex system of counterweights, leverages and gears determines the movement of the gilded bronze statues located in the façade. They are related to the civil and religious traditions of the city.
We navigated the town's tram system to get to the Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare di Messina and were rewarded with fantastic artwork.
Bottom, right, looks like one of those seaside photo opportunities. Bottom, left, what can I say?
Our main objective for visiting Messina was to see these two paintings by Caravaggio: Adoration of the Shepherds (painted in Messina in 1609, a year before the artist's death) and Raising of Lazarus. Like many of our lucky finds, we had this room and its two enormous canvases all to ourselves.
I thought the religious figure, top left, looked like Jude Law's Young Pope. I liked the self-portrait of the artist in white. Bottom left is a view of the Fontana di Nettuno taken from the tram.
Scilla's Strait of Messina, overlooking mainland Calabria, the toe of Italy.
On our fifth time in Sicily, we finally made it to Taormina. The hoards of tourists and difficult bus ride to the top left us cold, but we finally got to see its Art Nouveau train station and magnificent ancient theatre, with its view of Etna.
Mount Etna erupting the following week must have provided spectacular views from Taormina.
Our unforgettable day on Carlo and Jessie's ancient organic farm ranks among the top experiences we've ever had.
After sending us to the wrong address, Carlo welcomed us apologietically and we set about collecting vegetables from the garden. An ancient burial chamber is the storeroom for their grain, preserves, oil, and liqueurs. British-born Jessie sang a local work song as she separated out stones from the wheat we used to make pasta.
We walked through a field to discover a kitchen oasis beside the river. The furniture was made and painted by Jessie. There were hand-painted sinks, an oven, a grill, a large American-style refrigerator, water cooler, everything
We made scores of Sicilian dishes. Favourites included potato polpette, bread soaked in olive oil and pressed into toasted sesame seeds, grilled sausages, and cannoli.
I had the advantage at ravioli making, using Carlo's grandmother's wooden moulds. What a setting!
The family-style meal at a long table with Nonno at the end was the stuff of dreams. We played a game where anyone who raised their glass when it wasn't an official toast - and there were a LOT of toasts - had to perform a forfeit, such as singing a song, telling a joke, or reciting a poem. Few got caught out; nevertheless, several people had a go at entertaining. Nick borrowed a guitar and got the whole group singing along. it was magical.
As the wine flowed, guests became more adventurous. Latvian Dad tried out the balance board, Carlo balanced a flower on his nose, and the American Chander Bing lookalike said before stripping off and jumping into the river, "I'm not wearing any underwear".
Cheers for Nick's singing, smiling Nonno, the ancient Roman Ruins, and other sights from the farm
The dogs were interested in helping.
Thursday was my birthday and we chose to spend it in Caltagirone, home of beautiful ceramics, majolica tiles, and what we call "Katie Heads".
There is a flower festival held in Caltagirone in early May, and the famous staircase was still covered with this year's potted plants.
My birthday coincided with the 800th anniversary of the town's saint. and we found lots of street art in the Borgo Sant'Agostino area.
Having a Sicilian cannolo is a real birthday treat!
We found lots of Art Nouveau buildings in the town, including the post office.
After buying a hand-painted plate at Ceramica Artistica Ludici Di Iudici, we crossed the ceramic clad Ponte San Francesco.
On our way home, we stopped in the hexagonal Grammichele. It was lunchtime, so not much to see. We admired the main piazza and statues and headed home for a birthday supper, including a cassata we found in Messina, where the woman gave us the appropriate candles and number for the cake.
Avola is a nice seaside town and home of the famous Nero d'Avola wine, as well as almonds.
We toured the small, historic theatre in Avola, having the whole place to ourselves.
I don't know why we didn't drive, but we made a long, hot walk to the Museum of Almonds, where we learned about the local history of harvesting and processing. They had a token almond tree and some Nero d'Avola vines in the garden, shown above.
We found a place that did pizza for lunch before exploring the ruins of the tuna factory, where windsurfers flourished.
It's like these ragazzi could fly!
The Sinatra Gate in Ispica featured in an episode of Inspector Montalbano.
The church featured things weird and wonderful. We bought some delicious pork steaks and sausages at a town bakery, waiting until it opened in the afternoon, before going back to our house.
Enjoying Spritzes and a view of Etna on our last day in Sicily. I returned to Sicily in July and we've made plans to go back for Christmas in 2026.
Last pool shot, the Caltagirone plate, our Wolf, and interesting foods we made back at home.
