Hello all my lovely followers. This week is a big week. Firstly I have the very excitingWARRIOR WEDNESDAYs kicking off tomorrow with my 100th post and my 101 post both in the same day. Secondly I am very appreciative to the 308 followers on twitter who have just got me over the "300" mark I had set myself...now I am hoping for 500 followers and readers in the next 5 months....POSSIBLE - Everything is POSSIBLE because as you know - that is my Word for 2011.

So what have you lovely bloggers and tweeps been up to in the wonderful work of the web today? Let me tell you about my day. I started off in Auckland, New Zealand but at lunch time I took a side trip to Tuscany.

It was Spring in Tuscany. Everything was green. The bees were buzzing and the birds were singing. I was exploring the Tuscan countryside. Amazed at every turn what I came across. My appetite was sated by delicious and generous helpings of pasta. The wind picked up a bit so I decided to leave Tuscany for a short while and made my way down south to Sicily. Where Tuscany was as warm and welcoming as a restored terracotta Villa amidst terraced vineyards and Olive groves, so was Sicily brisk and in your face. The traffic was horrendous. I decided to take taxi's for the rest of the time in Sicily. I was concerned about running into the Mafioso but although I was served by a few waiters who looked determined enough to belong to this organisation I did not run into any nefarious Al Pacino look-alikes. But Alas, every vacation has to come to an end and before coming back to my world in Auckland, I took a stroll through my Tuscan paradise. The fields were covered in the violet hues of the incomparable Iris. I plucked fresh almonds to eat. The freshly grown asparagus was a perfect addition to the pasta I made my friends as we sat down and enjoyed the beautiful local wines of Poiliziano's: Le Stanze, Elegia and Ambre. But unfortunately work called me back to Auckland and I came back reluctantly. The sweet tastes, sounds and experiences of Tuscany left behind but bottled in Memory - another lovely bottle of wine with a hint of sweet lemon and the bittersweet taste of Almonds and Olives.

Ah today's journey was truly Bella Tuscany (The Sweet Life in Italy)  a day filled with warmth, life and love Under the Tuscan Sun. My thanks go to the generosity of my Tour Guide for the day: Frances Mayes. Looking forward to returning to your tours soon.

This launches my new weekly Tuesday blog called Travelicious Tuesday. On this day through this blog and your imagination I will take you on trips to wonderful places. For at least the time it takes you to read each Tuesday post, you can leave behind your ordinary lives and join me in the rich experience of Travelicious Tuesdays. Some of these are places I have been and some we will be guided by our Tour Guide of the day.

See you next week. BonVoyage!

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