Joe's Birthday

Joe with his birthday cake

Me and Joe at the Mai Thai

Calum and Lola at the Mai Thai

Beautiful college grounds

Me and Joe outside the Fitzwilliam Museum

Lola, Joe and Calum outside the Fitzwilliam Museum

Early Morning Presents
Joe's birthday was in August but somehow the time has flown and I've only just got round to writing about it.

Because we were going out for the day, Joe had to get up early to open his card and presents, but he didn't mind.

He was thrilled with everything but especially loved the very cool Fox bag and new i-Pod shuffle I bought him as he had no idea.

A Trip Cambridge
Joe loves Cambridge as much as the children and I do so that's where he chose to spend the day

A Howard Hodgkin Retrospective
In the morning we went to see the Howard Hodgkin exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum.

It was an amazing exhibition and we all marvelled at his use of colour and texture and the emotions it made us feel. It was very powerful.

The paint was so thick, it looked like ice cream and made you want to touch it (we didn't, of course).

Apparently Howard Hodgkin had a say in how the pictures were displayed and the backgrounds they were set against. It meant that each picture was seen exactly as he wanted it to be.

And it really worked. His personal touch made all the difference.

College Views
After visiting the exhibition, we walked round some of the colleges. The beautiful architecture and immaculately kept grounds never fail to impress.

Lunch at the Mai Thai
After that it was lunch at the Mai Thai on Parker's Piece, one of our favourite restaurants in Cambridge.

As usual, the food was fab.

Cake and Champagne
After a busy time looking round and doing lots of shopping (during which I 'accidentally' bought a pair of shoes), we travelled home for chmpagne and birthday cake.

We sang 'Happy Birthday' and made Joe blow out the candles.

It was a fantastic day and, most importantly, Joe had a really lovely time.

Romantic Rome

Me in our room with our complimentary bottle of Prosecco

Our beautiful hotel - Hotel Dei Mellini

The amazing Pantheon ceiling

Me enjoying a beer by the Colosseum

Me on the Spanish Steps

Dario the artist at the Piazza Navona

Joe in front of St Peter's Basilica

Night view of the Vatican

View over Rome from the Botanical Gardens

20 years and counting!
Joe and I recently celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Whichever way you look at it, 20 years is a long time - nearly half our lives!

Marriage is a very uncertain thing these days and it's unusual for people to stay together for so long.

So we decided that we should celebrate in style - and that's exactly what we did!

Viva Roma
Joe and I love everything about Italy - the people, the food, the culture, oh and the fashion and shopping!

I'd already been to Rome 25 years' before but Joe had never seen the city and was very keen to go.

We were originally going to go to Vienna, where I lived for a year when I was a student, but an incompetent travel agent and a fully booked Conran-designed hotel (the one I'd set my heart on) put paid to that.

So Rome was meant to be.

From the minute we arrived, we had the most amazing time.

This was our first time away from the children abroad since they were born, so it felt like being single again. Of course, we missed them, but we spoke to them every evening to tell them what we'd been up to - which was loads!

A second honeymoon
I can definitely say that it was like a second honeymoon.

We drank lots of champagne (there was a bottle of Prosecco waiting for us in our room when we arrived and we also took our own!).

We did loads of sightseeing but also went out for romantic dinners and talked about everything under the sun.

Holiday Highlights
It's hard to say what the highlights were as there were so many to choose from but the main ones are listed below:

• walking into the lobby of the beautiful Hotel Dei Mellini where we stayed
  
• seeing the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican
• the early morning light over the River Tiber
• the Ferrari Shop!
• sitting on the Spanish Steps people-watching
• the ceiling at the Pantheon
• seeing two very glamorous Italian weddings
• the Roman Forum
• drinking cold beer by the Colosseum
• our waitress, Helena, who came from the Ukraine
• Dario the artist, who sold us a painting of the Trevi Fountain
• the Piazza Navona with its artists and colourful illegal street traders
• the cobbled back streets with their designer shops
  
• St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican
• view of the Vatican at night
• stunning views of Rome from high on a hill at the Botanical Gardens
• the breakfasts at the hotel!

Three Coins in a Fountain
Tradition has it that if you throw three coins over your right shoulder into the Trevi fountain, you'll definitely return.

I did it 25 years' ago and it worked.

Joe and I did it this time, just to make sure.

Lola's already told us we have to go back with her as she's the only one in the family who hasn't been (Calum went with his Latin club).

Sounds like a good idea to me!

Proud Parent Moment

The high achievers!

Every parent feels proud when their children do well and I'm no exception.

So I want to say huge congratulations to both Calum and Lola for their recent successes.

A Grade Student

Calum managed to get A grades in all of his 11 GCSEs, 5 of them A*s!

Joe and I are delighted that all his hard work paid off.

Top Class

Not to be outdone, in the same week Calum received his GCSE results, Lola got a letter from school telling her she's won her form prize.

She will be presented with it on Speech Day tomorrow.

Oh, and she also passed her latest ballet exam with yet another distinction.

Proud parent moments don't come any better!