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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's wife Sarah provided a behind-the-scenes look at the G8 on Wednesday as she blogged about the "good food and good company" at the so-called spouses' summit.
"Landed in Italy, and Gordon is whisked off to the summit. I spend the first day in Rome and join the programme for the First Ladies and PMs' wives," one breezy entry began.
Updated every hour from Italy, the blog details the wives' audience with Pope Benedict XVI -- although it was a case of deja vu for Sarah.
"In February, Gordon took me and our boys to a private audience with the Holy Father where we were touched by his kindness and concern for the developing world," she wrote.
The wives, including Brown's friend Michelle Obama whom she got to know at the G20 summit in London in April, are then treated to a "wonderful lunch" hosted by the mayor of Rome's wife featuring the chef's signature "ravioli carbonara".
"Thanks to the good food and good company, I have to skip the museum tour as I am now running a bit late for the next event," she admitted.
The prime minister's wife, a 45-year-old former public relations boss, also found time to update readers on "excitement" at the British embassy in Rome about the resident beehives and their "imminent harvest of honey".
The G8 summit in L'Aquila brings together leaders from the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
