The practice of writing can enhance the brain’s intake, processing, retaining, and retrieving of information… it promotes the brain’s attentive focus … boosts long-term memory and gives the brain time for reflection. I recognize that I may not be the world’s best writer but I adore this space here that I have created to write simply about life, food, family and all that moves me.

Italy moves me.

I had the complete joy of travelling to Liguria again this October and it was everything it had been before and more.

I look at my calendar and see that being home now for nearly two months has gone in the blink of an eye. Since returning home, it has been a whirlwind. The cooking school is attracting the right kind of people. Really wonderful people who seem to ‘ get ‘ what we do and why we do it and they are coming back for more. It is so busy but oh-so fulfilling.

Since returning home, I have also been struck with glandular fever. Yes sir-eeeee.  The Doctor also called it the ‘slow-down-Nellie’ orange light. Amongst the madness, we have celebrated three gorgeous family birthdays and have put a rather hefty down payment on our soon to be newest family member – ‘Ned’ our new puppy will arrive this week and our lives will change once more. Everyone experiences these whirlwinds and when you are, I wish you strength and the ability to keep laughing. I also wish you perspective.

Perspective is one huge part of what travelling overseas gives me. It allows the light to get in through the cracks. It is life changing and I am forever grateful of what I see, feel, hear and learn. I am particularly grateful for the people I meet and travel with. They become such a very special part of you.

When you are travelling, you have these incredible shared experiences. You feel joy on so many levels and you have removed yourself from your everyday to experience life and people outside of your world and this….to me….is so very important. It is a wonderful thing for my growth and for my heart & mind. It allows you to pull apart what you really love about being you and grow on that, expand on that & celebrate that. I am a big believer in being committed to being the kind of person you love. I try to talk to my daughters about this often. They need to celebrate who they are, what they love about themselves, what makes them unique and who, in turn they love. Stepping outside our boxes allows this to happen.

Searching, asking, stretching and growing.

As I write this, I feel a great sense of love for the 16 very special people who I shared this week with. I have memories to treasure forever of very special shared experiences and by golly did we laugh !!! Thank you for putting your trust in myself, William & Pietro. The fact that many of you are wanting to join us in Sicily in 2017 means ‘we did good’.

I am hopeful the photos here will tell just a little of the story. I hope you can feel a little of what we felt. What we breathed in.

I hope you can be part of the magic in 2017 when we set our sights on Sicily. It promises to be pretty spectacular & a whole lotta fun.

Thank you to you all.

So much love & gratitude,

Nellie

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