Memories

A couple of days ago there was nothing to do.  I thought about all the things we could do and  I could think of absolutely nothing.  Then it hit me.  I went to the buffet and pulled out an oversized photo album of our Italian holiday in 2008, we look at it from time to time.  It takes little imagination to take the 2D photos and turn them into 3D memories.  It is a holiday to remember forever.  Merv was well and I just need to close my eyes and we are back in Venice.  The magical city on water.  I recounted to friends it was like; "stepping into a storybook."  Steeped in history, the masks we bought still hang as a reminder in our entrance way.  We cruised on MSC on both the east and west of Italy stopping at amazing ports, some of them:  Olympia, Santorini, Corfu, Majorca, Barcelona, Marseilles.  We have completed eight cruises over the years and cruising itself is such a buzz but to add Italy into the picture is mesmerising.  Our photos of Florence don't picture the train ride from Venice and the picturesque countryside complete with country style houses, pencil thin pine trees and fields of gold-cloaked sunflowers.  Walking along the streets of Florence we almost expected to

Santorini 2008

encounter the Medici family.  Australia is so new,  Florence reeks of history at every turn.  We ate pizza and sipped local wine alfresco at the piazza.  We were awed by the great masters at the Uffizi gallery and went back to view Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.  We created our own memories sitting on our quaint balcony overlooking the Arno River on a balmy afternoon enjoying local raspberries, cheese, crackers and wine.  Florence is where we discovered Limoncello in a tiny crowded restaurant.  We continued to Montebello, Rome, Pompeii, Naples and Sorrento.  Every place brings back magical memories. 
These memories give me strength and joy when the days seem dark and disappointing.