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Sicily blooms …

While we struggle to save our gardens from drowning, Sicily starts to prepare for this weekend’s Infiorata di Noto which transforms Noto’s main street, the Corrado Nicolaci, into a flowered carpet of petal filled mosaic-style pictures.

The final effect, which is similar to a stained glass window, is created by artists who outline scenes with a special organic soil then fill them in with specially prepared flower petals and seeds.   Let’s hope it doesn’t rain ….

Visit soloSicily for holiday ideas around Noto and other baroque towns in SE Sicily.

Villa Cordevigo

Romancing the Bard

Could Shakespeare really have been Sicilian?  And when we’re listening to da Mosto’s dulcet tones, do we even care?

OK, so some of the details in the first of Francesco da Mosto’s two-part BBC2 series, Shakespeare in Italy (Thursday 3 and 10 May, 9.00 pm), were slightly far-fetched but the credibility factor was completely overshadowed by views and scenes from some of northern Italy’s most glorious towns and cities and da Mosto’s unnerving ability to bring out everything that’s good about his native country.  This was just one stop short of actually being there.

See it all for yourself on an ExpertoItaly two-centre trip to Verona and Venice, with a stop in Padua.

Read more in the The Times and Sunday Times .

baby

Hush little baby …

Vote for Babycalm in the Barclays ‘Take One Small Step’ competition and get entered into a draw for a short-break at the Sands Resort Hotel in Cornwall – the perfect option for a hassle-free family holiday!

Babycalm offers baby calming solutions for new parents through a unique blend of early parenting classes, literature and babycare products to empower new parents to enjoy the first few months with their newborn baby.

Click here for link to Babycalm website

mountain-bound

Hit the slopes driving

Self-drive ski … how much do you really save by driving to France?  Actually, quite a bit if you’re hitting the slopes in peak school holiday weeks and planning to self-cater.  By the time you’ve factored in the cost of flights and transfers and the value of packing a box or 2 of food, there are some big savings to be made.

More to the point, can you squeeze in some extra skiing?  By setting off on a Friday and arriving in resort on Saturday morning, then departing on the following Saturday early evening for a Sunday arrival in the UK, you can enjoy 2 glorious crowd-free Saturdays on the slopes while everyone else is trying to catch a plane.  Visit www.WakeupinFrance.co.uk for more self-drive ski holiday ideas.