Remember remember the 10th of September...

In Europe September heralds the end of the summer, and while the evenings slowly begin to draw in the days are often drier and warmer than August. In Cayman things are slightly different. September is the zenith of "hurricane season", and the skies are often overcast and humidity is high, leading to hot sticky days and hotter sticker nights. Thankfully we have air conditioning for that.

In any event, rather than stick out September in Cayman we had some dates to keep back in the UK, and so, almost 6 months into our Cayman adventure, we found ourselves boarding a plane and flying back to blighty for what was to prove a hectic, eventful but ultimately fun-packed 2 weeks.

Having taken the overnight BA flight back, we were relieved to land on time and were whisked through Terminal 5, onto the Heathrow express and off to our hotel to drop off our bags to start a whirlwind 2 days in London. Barn had agreed to spend some time marketing and Bonnie was itching to go shopping and meet her new niece (and her mum!) over a coffee, so first stop was our hotel for a shower, shave and change of clothes. Unfortunately when we arrived at the hotel we found our room wasn't yet ready. Fortunately, however, we were staying at Claridges and the staff were fantastically accommodating.

The next two days were a bit of a blur. Bonnie spent the time catching up with friends and family over coffees and cocktails, including the latest addition to the R clan. Barn went off to work.

On Friday afternoon once all our engagements were done we finally had a bit of time to ourselves to draw breath and enjoy our surroundings. We went back to Claridges to freshen up and really had time to appreciate the art-deco finery of the place. The hotel was built in the 1920s and has recently been refurbished to reflect its original beauty. The attention to detail is fantastic, down to the bath taps and plugs, and we took time to make the most of it while we got ready for dinner. As it was the only night we were spending together in London we decided to treat ourselves to something we could not get back in Cayman, and the obvious choice for a perfect "British" menu was Rules. Not only is Rules the oldest restaurant in London, but it does fantastic game, and we enjoyed tucking in to a feast of quail, partridge and pheasant (very pleasant...).

 On the Saturday morning we rose early so that we could take advantage of the fabulous breakfast on offer. We were the first down, and had the ballroom to ourselves, feasting off toast with home made preserves, smoked haddock omelettes and fresh wiltshire cured bacon. Wonderful.

It was important for us to stock up on a good solid breakfast, as we had a 4 hour train ride ahead of us. The reason? We were going to Wales for our first proper engagement of the trip - the wedding of Mr & Mrs N. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky, and as we walked the lawns of the beautiful Gregynog Hall, we were greeted by many old friends who we had not seen since we left the UK. We were very happy that we managed to help the happy couple celebrate their special day.

Although there was a promise of barbeques and treasure hunts on the Sunday, unfortunately we had to get back to London as we had an early start the following day. As we were staying in the docklands, we had agreed to meet some of our South London based friends for a drink in Greenwich, and as the new Emirates Air Line cable car over the Thames was only a stone's throw away, it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up not to use it to cross the river. It is a wonderful idea, and as well as making the commute over the river from the docks quicker and easier, it also affords a fantastic view of the London skyline.

The Monday morning was our first wedding anniversary and, as we mentioned before, we had an early start as we were treating ourselves to a trip back to Norcia, the wonderful Umbrian village in Italy where we had spent part of our honeymoon the previous year. We had enjoyed the setting and the hotel we stayed in so much, that we had promised ourselves we would go back at the first excuse. Thankfully we have not had to wait long, as the combination of our first wedding anniversary and Bonnie's parents 25th wedding anniversary was the perfect excuse to take them there and tag along for the ride.

We flew from Stanstead to Ancona on a surprisingly comfortable Ryanair flight, then picked up a car for the drive up into the Umbrian mountains. The trip was nearly rumbled at the start by an altercation with a hungry ATM, but thankfully Barny managed to work wonders with a pair of tweezers to rescue a trapped bank card. However, after that initial wobble the trip was plain sailing, and even Barny's Italian approach to driving didn't derail spirits.

We arrived at Norcia and checked into our hotel, the Relais and Chateaux Palazzo Seneca, to be greeted like old friends (which in a way I suppose we were, having stayed there the previous year). After taking the grand tour of the beautiful surrounds of the hotel and feasting our eyes on the traditional yet subtly modern furnishings, we took to the streets of Norcia for an explore.

Norcia is best known for one thing, and that's food. Not only is it the home of the black truffle (with shops galore stocking truffles of all shapes and sizes), it's also renowned for the various "Norcenerias" dotted around the town, where they make a traditional pork sausage, which has given it's name to an entire genre of cured meats. In fact, if you like your pig and wild boar it's the place for you with every conceivable cut, shape or cure of meat. And then you can wash it down with a bowl of the local lentils which grow on the Monte Siblini plane above the town. Overwhelmed by pig products we were left with no option but to retreat to a bar for a Spritze of Prosecco.

In the evening we settled down to enjoy a gourmet meal in the fantastic restaurant Vespasia which is attached to the hotel, The food was fantastic, and the portions generous, and we went to bed feeling very satisfied. The 15.5% local Montesangretto wine which we had to accompany the meal probably helped a bit as well...

The next day we had booked a cookery class as a surprise for the in-laws, and after breakfast we were escorted down to the kitchen, where we met the head chef Flavio, who showed us how to make 2 different kinds of Gnocchi, and told us all about the local truffles.

As well as being a global centre for truffle and gourmet pork/boar products, the other thing which Norcia is famous for is being the birth place of St Benedict, and the home of the Benedictine order. There is still a monastery in the town, and at 7.40pm every evening the monks still sing Vespers in the 12th Century church in the square. The public are welcomed to sit and join in the contemplation, and we decided to take the opportunity to share the experience. It was a very moving and spiritual experience, held by candlelight in the crypt, with the psalms still being sung in Latin. It was all the more surreal when we were old later in the evening that most of the Monks were not Italian, but in fact came from the USA!

On the Wednesday we decided to take a run out of Norcia and explore the surrounding area. We found ourselves in the beautiful medieval town of Spoletto, which has a fantastic castle and a wonderful aqueduct crossing the valley to feed the town with fresh water. We couldn't linger too long there, though, as we had to be back in time to go Truffle hunting! We were driven out of Norcia and into the hills above the town where the truffles can be found on the roots of plane, oak and juniper trees. There we were introduced to the "cacchiatore", the truffle hunter, and his two beautiful truffle dogs. We thought that we would spend a couple of hours wandering round the fields, and not find much, but to our surprise within minutes of heading out onto the hillside the dogs were barking and digging at the roots of a juniper bush, only to uncover two black truffles. Then then ran on further down the hill, and stopped at tree after tree scrabbling at the roots to uncover more truffles. It was a most remarkable and insightful experience into how these precious gourmet items are found.

The next morning we were up early again as we had to head back to Ancona to catch our return flight to London. We took the opportunity to head down to Wimbledon to see Bonnie's brother and our 4 month old niece, who was born days after we left the UK. It was the first time I had met her and only the second time Bonnie had, and we took her for a walk in the park to give mum and dad a bit of a break.

Unfortunately they were heading off on holiday the next day so we didn't have long with them. And anyway, we had another wedding to get to!

This time it was at Loseley Park near Guilford (yes, the same one as where the ice-cream comes from), and we were privileged to have been invited to help Mr and Mrs D share their big day. It was also an opportunity for us to catch up with some of Barny's Hong Kong friends who we hadn't seen for a while.

Given the strategic location of the wedding venue near Heathrow Airport, we had taken the decision to maximise the rest of our time in the UK by staying nearby and having our family come to see us. We booked ourselves in at a great little gastropub called The Stag on The River near Godalming, and on the Sunday we were joined for a good English Sunday roast by both sets of parents, Bonnie's brothers and Aunty A. As the Goodwood festival of speed was taking place up the road we found we were sharing the place with a group of Belgian classic car enthusiasts, all driving matching Triumph Stags (which we thought was rather appropriate),,,

We had taken the opportunity to stay on at the pub until we had to leave, and had booked a room for Barny's parents too, which meant we got to spend a couple of lovely days with them. We explored Guilford the first afternoon (which was being tidied up after having hosted a leg of the Tour of Britain cycle race), and spend a large part of the next day at the Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Wisley. None of us had been there before, and we were all fascinated by the acres of fruit trees and vast expanses of herb gardens in particular, although it goes without saying that the flowers were also beautiful.

Writing this now, it seems hard to believe that we packed so much into 12 days, and although we were sad to say goodbye to family and friends for another few months, neither of us really felt homesick as we were getting on the plane to return to Cayman. In fact, in many ways we were glad to be heading "home" and returning to "normality".