From (link): Gardening as therapy | Maggie's

Gardening As Therapy 
As well as being enjoyable, gardening can be good for you. Studies have shown that gardening improves general health and can help reduce both stress and anxiety. It can refocus attention when we feel overwhelmed, boost mood and improve balance.

​In terms of exercise, as long as you avoid heavy digging, landscaping etc. and being out in very hot temperatures, gardening can be great low impact exercise for during and after cancer treatment. It can be something to do for anyone convalescing from surgery, between or after treatments  as garden tasks come in all shapes and sizes.
It can be a way of being sociable whilst also having a task to focus on and, as it is enjoyable, it's an activity that is likely to be continued.

Maggie’s centres are generally set in beautiful gardens. We recognise that the space around us (whether inside or out) creates an environment which helps our visitors to find the emotional space they need

If you don’t have your own garden you could try gardening on a small scale using containers and window boxes. There are also a growing number of community groups gardening in social spaces or there may be a gardening for health group near you.

​Gardening can be a great way to relax whilst also getting some exercise.  A few precautions are advised, particularly if you are at the mid point between cycles of chemotherapy. Your immune system will be low and you can be susceptible to infections.

I have visited Florence on several occasions but every time I was unable to gain access to The Medici Chapel because it was always closed!

​Many places in Italy are closed on a Monday and obviously there might be religious holidays or services when the average tourist is barred.  So, for this trip I was determined to see the subject of what formed a great part of my university degree – with a focus on High Renaissance art and architecture. Therefore, I booked tickets for the Chapel and we turned up bright and breezy at 10am on 4th June… and were blown away!  It is a fabulous building housing amazing sculpture.  If you visit the city you must add it to the ‘to do’ list!

Here's the background:

The Museum of the Cappelle Medicee consists of the funeral chapels of the Medici family at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

The Sagrestia Nuova was commissioned by two Medici Popes, Leo X and Clement VII (formerly Cardinal Giulio de' Medici), and the architecture and sculpture was created by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1519-1534).  The Chapel was commissioned to house the tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, and those of their heirs Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, whose death put an end to the Magnificent’s family branch. The funeral monuments were executed by Michelangelo from 1520 to 1534, and completed by Michelangelo's pupils after his departure.  The sculptures include the ideal portraits of the dukes as well as allegorical sculptures…

“The two monumental groups (for the tombs of Lorenzo, duke di Urbino, and Giuliano, duke de Nemours) are each composed of a seated armed figure in a niche with an allegorical figure reclining on either side of the sarcophagus below. The seated figures, representing the two dukes, are not treated as portraits but as types. Lorenzo, whose face is shaded by a helmet, personifies the reflective man; Giuliano, holding the baton of an army commander, portrays the active man. At his feet, recline the figures of "Night" and "Day." "Night," a giantess, is twisting in uneasy slumber; "Day," a Herculean figure, looks wrathfully over his shoulder. Just as imposing but far less violent are the two companion figures reclining between sleep and waking on the sarcophagus of Lorenzo. The male figure is known as "Dusk," and the female figure as "Dawn."
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There is also marble group at the entrance consisting of a "Madonna and Child" and the Medici patron saints Cosmas and Damian. The "Madonna" is a work entirely by Michelangelo's own hand; the saints are the work of pupils after models by the master.

This is copied from Very British Problems on a popular social media site because it is so true!  Those in italics are the comments we made - and we were away less than a week!

​Things British people say at the end of a holiday:

• “I need a holiday to get over the holiday!”
• “I’m looking forward to a proper cup of tea when I get home”
• “I’m going to miss someone cooking me breakfast every day”
• “Can’t wait to sleep in my own bed”
• “Don’t forget to stop off for milk”
• “Hope the cats are alright”​