Mayday on Ischia, the bigger island that shares the Bay of Naples with the death-inducing Capri and sundry other rocks, for a long weekend. Stunning, simply stunning. Bad weather on day 1 didn’t matter much, as we spent most of it up to our necks in hot water at one of the many thermal baths. The...

Many of the more upmarket bars do a little free-for-the-taking spread of an evening, lest one drink without something to nibble. I was hungrier than that. But it was late in the day, and the selection of sandwiches was not great. I lit on one of -- surprise -- mozarella, prosciutto and tomato, and o...

So that’s how things were this morning; horrible. Dank, sweaty and stinky.

Beneath it all, though, screws had been screwed and bones had knitted.

And so today, after only 2½ hours wait beyond a pre-booked appointment, they snipped off the bandage, wiggled the wrist and fingers a bit, and m...

7:43 am. I am standing at the bar, doing a cappuccino and cornetto. In walks the milk delivery man. Short, wiry, sparse sandy hair and blue eyes. Not very Italian, if you get my drift. He's lugging two crates full of milk. His truck is parked outside. Double parked, obviously. He drops the crat...

Walked home on air last night, my shoe a definite half size too big, my feet pink and shiny and soft. I had a Chinese pedicure and foot massage.

You’ll think I’m some kind of retard, reaching well into middle age and remaining a pedicure virgin, but there it is. Can’t go into all the details, most...