Mountains and Lakes

Back home at last, after a busy schedule outlined in the last blog. The best laid plans are often disrupted and our odyssey into Italy and back through France's Provence was no exception. However, the holiday was great and family bonds were reinforced, as they should be.

The crossing of the alps was the first casualty of my route plan. I turned into the wrong valley while cruising along the autoroute on a warm, sunny afternoon and we couldn't be bothered to retrace once I realised the error. So we went through the Fréjus tunnel instead of climbing over the 'Little St Bernard' pass.  It was just as well. We reached our destination just as it was getting dark. The drive over the top would have set us back further in time, making the final 100 kilometres to Simon's house near Lake Maggiore a bit tricky as we were a two-car convoy with Michel following me on his first visit to Italy. The dense scattering of villages and lanes full of local traffic on steep

hillsides once we'd left the motorway was not the easiest place to try to follow another car in the dark.

Our three-day stay included a day trip on one of the passenger boats which cruise around the southern end of the lake like buses; the ticket was inclusive of stops anywhere around the circuit which included Laveno where we embarked, and the islands of Isola Madre and Isola Pescatori, both of which we visited.

Isola Madre consists entirely of a garden with a 16th century villa in the middle of it which belonged to the Barromeo family, all of which can be seen between passenger boat visits. The picture shows a view from the gardens. I've put a set of these pictures here on 'flickr'

After another superb celebratory dinner, arranged by Simon which took place in a sort of grocer's/butcher's shop which doubled as a restaurant after hours, it was time to leave for the next planned stop on our itinerary - Siena.

So far so good, if not quite as predicted....

Mapmaker

The Days Grow Short

October is well under way and we have a busy schedule ahead. The weather is still kind with warm sun and no rain to speak of. I took this picture this morning from the garden. I was just too late to capture the earlier wisps of mist rising vertically from the water surface like party ribbons, something we see often at this time of year. Promise of a warm day again.

The schedule should run like this: 

Drive to Limoges airport tomorrow, Wednesday to pick-up Roz and Bob who have come all the way from California via the UK. Dinner at the Fouillade in the evening with Chris and Sophie added to the ensemble.

Lunch on Thursday with the 'Entre Deux' crowd, plus Roz, Bob, Nadine and Michel - that makes Fourteen of us. Special occasion, Fleur's birthday on Sunday but we'll be in Italy by then so not all friends here will be able to attend, hence early celebration.

Friday morning, we're off to Italy to Lake Maggiore with Roz, Bob, Nadine, Michel, Fleur and Marina in two cars, to visit Roz's brother and family via the alpine pass alongside Mont Blanc - the 'Little St Bernard' (height 2,188 metres).  I'm keeping an eye on the webcams up there at La Rosiére, a ski resort just below the pass on the French side) but there shouldn't be a problem at this time of year.

Another celebration, Italian style, on Sunday, then the two Californians leave for Venice while the rest of us head for Siena where we have an apartment reserved for the rest of the week, thanks to a friend of Marina.

The return journey is planned (for me, Fleur, Nadine, Michel and Marina) to be via the Mediterranean route with a night or two at St Rémy de Provence, a watering hole we've visited several times before. We should find our way home after that.

Not a bad schedule for October. Well, you only live once and winter is-a -comin', in more ways than one, if the current financial crisis is anything to go by.

Later blogs  - hope to show how it all turned out.....

Mapmaker