Cheddar Gorge makes for a fantastic walk. The views are good, although I was expecting the gorge to be a little bigger; maybe I was hoping for a mini-Grand Canyon…

Beneath the rock is more impressive. The caves are full of history and make for some great photos (although I’d advise people to get there first thing in the morning; the hoards of overweight tourists with their ice-creams and sweets don’t really add much to the creepy, dark environment). The Wookey Cave is even better, although you’re not free to wander around like in the Cheddar Caves.

Apart from the obligatory cider-drinking and cheese-tasting, there’s also time to visit Wells and even have a walk around Glastonbury. It’s not festival time but the city centre has an air of celebration – albeit most of them are homeless people drinking and smoking drugs on the streets. Saying that, the Tor is lovely and the 360 degree view from the top is spectacular and it gives a much better example of what the atmosphere would be like at Glastonbury Festival.

On the way back to London, I stop by Stonehenge. It’s an interesting tour, especially as it lasts about an hour and the ‘facts’ are thrown at you thick and fast: ‘We think that this was the sacrificial altar… we think that the stones were moved on rollers… we think, we think….’

I’d love to return for sunrise/sunset, as the colours must be gorgeous, but this time I settle for some silhouette shots and some, er… inventive ones…

It therefore came as a nice surprise that the weather was glorious! I spent the weekend drinking wine, walking along the beach in Wittering and bouncing up and down on a trampoline.

There was also time to travel west into Portsmouth. I’ve been before, but only on business and I can’t say I was that impressed, although I never did make it to the harbour. What a pleasant surprise! There’s plenty to see, from bars to shops and it all feels a bit like a fairground. Dominating the entire port is the huge Spinnaker Tower, which has the largest glass floor in Europe for those who dare stand on it!

Unfortunately the only thing I didn’t get to do was learn how to surf. With the strong currents, I was advised to stay out of the (seemingly calm) water. I guess the Beach Boys soundtrack will have to stay in its case until next time…

Firstly, it’s fantastic news that my mother has had her first ’successful’ eye operation in over a year – finally there has been an improvement in her vision. It has been a stressful and tiring past 12 months for her but finally we feel as if progress has been made. Fingers are crossed that this is a change in luck. My mother is staying in London with me for the next few days to recover from the surgery, returning home on Friday. I’m sure that before we know it, my eagle-eyed mother will be driving home, somersaulting into the sea and catching sharks for dinner.

I can’t really do an email update without mentioning the recent events in London. It’s obviously a bizarre time to live here; a friend of mine was caught in the bus blast and apart from the stitches and bruising, he’s not handling things very well due to the things he saw immediately after the explosion. Another friend got off one of the tube trains two stops before it exploded.

Nonetheless, London is still my favourite city. I’ve had more time recently to find new spots, restaurants, pubs etc. I’ve even gone inside Tower Bridge to see how it all works (I was particularly excited that the bridge was being raised whilst I was on the crossing above it, only to find that from that spot, you can’t actually see the bridge…)

The best London thing I’ve done recently was actually a birthday present from Emma: We went to see ‘We Will Rock You’ – the absolutely amazing Queen/Ben Elton musical. I’ve been rather concerned about the quality of musicals I’ve seen in London (apart from ‘My Fair Lady’, we’ve seen some pretty awful ones). However, We Will Rock You was cracking from start to finish; I couldn’t recommend it enough.

Despite my re-born enthusiasm for the capital, this doesn’t mean I’ve missed out on holidays! Emma and I had two small trips; one to Paris and another to Dublin. There’s not too much I can say about Paris – it’s a great city. Their passion for hosting the Olympics was unbelievable; everywhere we turned there was something to advertise it (oh well..!)

Dublin, on the other hand, was one of the most boring places I’ve ever visited. It had nice restaurants and pubs (of course), as well as the great Guinness factory, but there was absolutely nothing else! It’s supposed to be the capital city and I swear there are more tourist things to do in Knaresborough! As always, photos are on www.carlobezoari.com.