From Italy to Broadway……

To follow the story from the beginning, click here.

Apologies, guys. I have been in hiding for a little while but I am refreshed, refueled and raring to go once more. I don’t plan on taking such a long time off from the blog again and I’ve recently decided to readjust my priorities a bit. From now on, especially from September, I will be able to focus more on my 60 Postcards project!  I simply CANNOT wait!

Last week I escaped to hang out in stylish Milan (stuck out like a sore thumb – ha) and then in the gorgeous surroundings of Lake Como for a week.  It sounds like I go away a lot, doesn’t it? I suppose with NYC, Sardinia and now this – it is a little bit true. Oh and boy, does my bank account know it. Youch. I’d be tempted to rob a bank if I wouldn’t be so tempted to write about it afterwards. Not so sly.

I had such a great week with Katie (old housemate) and The Gang (Roland, Lou, Fran, Millie and Gill). The kind of week where the focus is no longer about how many hours you can cram in the sun – it was more about embracing the views, pottering around the towns and enjoying the Italian delicacies. One of my highlights were our moments lounging in the apartment in complete silence – reading our books – happy as Larry.  Dancing in Varenna town square with the locals was another. It was Rock Night, of course. Our late night trip by taxi-boat to a lakeside party left us all buzzing with happiness, however, some of the group still felt like they were on a boat days later, haha!

With holidays, comes time to think. With thinking, comes thinking a lot about Mum. It happens less now, but sometimes I still go to my phone on autopilot to send her a photo or an update on my trip. Looking at the views of the lake made me wish she could see it. Looking at the jewellery in the markets made me wish I could buy a necklace for her. If I’m honest, it still hurts that every time I get on a plane home, I know she won’t be here when I get back.

My Mum would have hated our journey back. And it wouldn’t have been the part where we endured sleazyjet delays (groan). She was scared of flying and hadn’t done so for many years. It wasn’t so much the flying, just that she couldn’t get out. Mum suffered from Claustrophobia. We sat in the plane for longer than expected before we took off. Wondering what was going on, we eagerly awaited an update.  I imagine most passengers would wish it had never come. The pilot explained, “We apologise for the delay, our engineers are checking the landing equipment is all in order”. SORRY, WHAT!? Cheers for that. Was there any need for mentioning the ‘LANDING’ bit? Lou and I had a giggle, but felt sorry for any nervous flyers around us. Thankfully, the landing equipment didn’t let us down.

So, as I returned to England, I’ve been excited about writing this one. It is postcard response time. About time too!!

Back in NYC, as I wandered around Broadway, I realised that the Theatres were closed. It wasn’t show time but it was my last day so with my experience of meeting ballet dancer, Steph and my link with Ballet Black, it was only right that I leave a postcard in a Theatre. As I tried to get into the entrance of one, I was stopped (pretty sharp-ish) by a man at the door. Here we go, it was summarise-60 postcards-in-one-sentence time. The man raised an eyebrow at me and directed me to the stage door. I was glad to find that it was open and with little time left, I passed it to the people in the office. I did the speech again, trying not to sound too crazy. It’s a toughie.

I never thought that this one would pay off. And what a wonderful story it came with…….

“Hello Rachael