Life and Boredom

LL

Well LL here I am enjoying the New England weather and countryside on our ranch in New Hampshire. As always a time to reflect on life  - yours and mine, in particular.

There are things I have seen and experienced that I doubt you ever will - all since we parted, mainly. This might not have been, had you behaved and not succumbed to your impetuousness and poor decision making. The latter two by your own admission.

I doubt you will ever make it to Hawai'i, experience standing on the shore at Waikiki, Oahu and watch the sunset. Wake up in your own home on the North Shore (Oahu) to just the sound of the sea, sight of the sand and the noise of the surf.

Neither will you make it to the Great Barrier Reef and snorkel among the myriad corals and colorful fish. The sight is a great experience. I don't see you walking to and then climbing the Franz Josef Glacier on South Island New Zealand either.

Exploring Hong Kong and taking the Star Ferry to Victoria Island, watching old men play Mah Jong in Kowloon Gardens or see Singapore at night, are probably not in your view. A Singapore Sling sipped under the fans (and the ground nuts under your feet) of Raffles Long Bar.

Have your breath taken away by the cherry and plum blossom in Hirosaki City, Japan. Feel insignificant among the redwoods of Northern California or be 'blown away' by the sheer scale of the Grand Canyon, to say nothing of the majesty of the Rockies. Be sprayed by the water from Multnomah Falls, Oregon or watch Old Faithful spout in Yellowstone Park.

Sip a great wine on the boulevards of Paris or quaff an Aperol spritz in Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence or Amalfi. Take in the beauty of Lake Como.

Enjoy great seafood in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands and 'knock back' a stein in Germany. Milwaukee Ice Beer by the pool in Florida. Great crabs and lobsters in Massachusetts. Little known but superb wines in Oregon.

I could continue.

Then there's the life you chose instead. In this period of reflection as I day dream briefly in the sun of New England and take in the aromas of the countryside, I think back to when you once said that you didn't do 'boring'. Neither do I, as is borne out by the above. Never have, never will. But your life, now that's one I would not want to live. Mainly consisting of weekend meals and brief vacations to the same places, interspersed by being a 'soccer widow'. Well, compared to my life, that sounds like a real bundle of fun - I don't think!

So when you look back on your decision, I'm sure you will have great regrets or had them most likely. I was never going anywhere until the actions you took.

However, I now have one proviso. Looking at your recent photos you and he seem to have grown to look like each other - she ain't heavy, she's just real chunky. You have let yourself go well and truly, but then I guess you have adopted his bad eating habits. I recall when you checked the number of calories on every packet. You must have given that up long ago. Then everything started heading south and outwards :))

I'll tell you about the computer one day and how things could be read, if you can understand the technicalities. Also about the other matter where you thought you had pinned me down. On the other hand maybe not as that's a State secret.

So long pardner :)

Couples

LL

Seems like couples grow like each other the longer they are together.

If recent images are anything to go by, you're are heading in the direction of your partner. It would be kind to say chunky, I guess. That was a hell of a row in that bar with MC man and you singing in the background. Same place again. I suppose some people like returning to the same destinations over and over and over again. Not for me/us. There's a whole world out there to explore and enjoy. Cancel September's jaunt and head somewhere new.

We have moved on from our apartment in Venice, via Bologna and a few other places, to here in Florence. This year's trip is turning out to be an Italian affair, but I wouldn't want to disappoint your expectations. Having been to Spain and now Italy, we will in due course be in France - Carcassonne and Paris - and some other northern European destinations, including the UK - helps having our own plane.

Talking of the latter and in particular business, which I rarely talk about in these blogs, Brexit has opened up a whole load of opportunities for our companies, especially given the exchange rate. We are looking at acquiring a number of UK businesses over the coming months. Due diligence is being undertaken as I write. Wide range of opportunities in a variety of industries and service companies in which we are engaged.Those $m's keep piling up :)

Your life from here looks the same as if one was looking down the wrong end of a telescope, small and distant.. Add to that the repetitive nature of your vacations and weekends and I would say you missed the opportunity of a lifetime through your behavior and indecision. Yes, I keep on harping on about it because you were such a fool. You had it all on a plate - I agree you didn't know that at the time - and passed it up because you wouldn't commit. You expressed regrets afterwards, but a little too late.

I'm sure you 'enjoy' where you go, time after time, in your own way. Rather like you kept returning to Calella de Palafrugell.

It was only when we were together that you traveled a little further afield and with some variety. I'm still doing it - you are not. Enjoy the sun - I expect that you may only be seeing it once more this year at these temperatures.

 Arriverderci from Florence and the Ponti Vecchio below...

Italy and Beyond

LL

Sunless uplands and the backwaters of a northern country for you, while I bathe in the heat of an Italian summer and all that brings. Good food, good wine and naturally the very best of company.

We have been in and around Verona, now in Venice with our next stop being Bologna, briefly. Weather is set fair at 30-33C. Shorts and polo shirts for me and our place and pool just outside Verona (20 minutes in the Bentley), not bad vision is it. It's no vision it is reality and a reality you missed out on because you couldn't wait, couldn't take a chance and had to be 'satisfied' at whatever cost. You paid a big price for your impulses and urges.

Incidentally you probably wonder why my photo doesn't appear in social media. Easy, anonymity is important to both of us, given our wealth. That is the reason you have never seen Ash....and you never have. All I'll say is she's tall, blonde and very fit (if you get my meaning)...and 20 years my junior.

You once said, as I have oft repeated, 'you are very lucky finding Ash and living in New Hampshire'. Spot on!. That is, apart from the fact that we live mainly elsewhere now. I don't consider my good fortune, luck, although meeting Ash after you and a 'few' others, was pure luck. You had that part right, but the rest wrong.

Here's a bit of Italy and a few other venues we have visited to keep you informed/jealous/envious/aware of what a fool you were.

Stairs to Dante's Inferno ;-)

Not many faces in the photos but here's one above that you may recall. Enjoying a lemon sorbetto (vodka included) with his wife in Italy That's after lunch and an Aperol Spritz ;))

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Enough of Europe. Her are a few from the US of A. From Wyoming to Washington DC. From the Canadian border to Utah. Mountains look great don't they

If you look carefully you'll see a rattlesnake - motto, always wear boots!

Buona Sera