Wednesday 11 December 2013

A SKY ON FIRE

Sometimes I get to party in the kinds of places which feature in my books.
Sunday was just such a day.
There were twelve of us singing carols around the piano.  A table groaning with food.  
And views from the upper terrace of the sun setting over the London skyline, which were completely breathtaking.
Like this.  
A sky on fire.  (If you look closely, you can see the faint outline of the Eye).



And here's the view from downstairs.  Me posing with a bauble to get a suitable seasonal shot. "Beside the lake, beneath the trees" - or should that be: Beside the tree, above the river?

Monday 2 December 2013

POSSIBLY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY IN THE WORLD...

So which city would get your vote for the above title?
Would it be Paris? * 
London? 
Sydney?
All the above (and plenty of others) are possibilities.  Beauty after all, lies in the eye of the beholder and if you've had the most amazing time of your life in New York - then you're always going to look adoringly on that place.

For me, it has to be Venice - mainly because it's a city which defies logic.  It's a masterpiece - a triumph of beauty over practicality.  It's a dream of a place.  Where traffic jams make you smile…


And restaurants serve exquisite food like this:


Here's the view from the hotel terrace…



And here I am in the sumptuous lobby of the gorgeous Gritti Palace Hotel where I was staying with two of my dearest friends….



In other news - my book has changed radically.  I've scrapped what I'd written (17,000 words - boo, hoo!) because it wasn't working.  But then this morning I sat down to write the new version and the story just took off.  
I think - hope - that we have lift-off!
How was your weekend?

*cue for Jessica Hart to plug Paris book!