Livia

We're enjoying having time off at home - it's a rare thing.

And we've been surprisingly tired since our return from Sicily. I think we've done more than we thought, and it takes more time to recover. We're both a bit older than we were !

We brought two physical things back from Sicily - a fridge magnet (!) and Livia, who is currently sitting on our mantlepiece. For the blip she moved to a nearby flowerpot.

Four things about Sicily I did not know :

* the Normans invaded in 1061. We got William the Conquerer in 1066, they got Roger (it took him till 1091 to conquer the whole island, we were more of a walkover)
* Parts of Sicily (Nebrodi) feel more english than England - in the sense of the extensive areas of beautiful oak and beech woodland, and the birdsong to go with it (we'll pass on the very un-english frogs)
* Etna is one live volcano, and it is very big. But not as dangerous as Vesuvius, which sleeps longer but does pyroclastic eruptions. 
* There is loads to see, and huge amount of variety - you've just got to accept that driving in Sicily is a bit - well, Sicilian

Tomorrow is our last day of holiday - transitioning back to the working world