Monthly Archives: September 2017

still no better weather to see us off from the hotel du lac.  we ate one last toast-free and fresh orange juice-free breakfast (our respective grouses) and finished the packing.  lou went off to get the car while i settled … Continue reading →

the promised brighter weather didn’t materialise so there was no sentimental wander through the grounds of villa melzi stopping to take a photo of lou in front of the bamboo or me sitting on a bench by the lake’s edge … Continue reading →

Not all the tourists left by boat.  Quite a few stayed behind to carouse the night away in the many bars and restaurants.  A lake view comes with the downside of being above the town square and colonades full of … Continue reading →

Giacomo popped out of the kitchen with a plate of fresh pineapple and told us we needn’t check out until the afternoon if we wanted.  Obviously no clients due in today.  He showed me the odd fruit I’d ignored yesterday … Continue reading →

We approached the breakfast table with some trepidation this morning and were not wrong.  Fresh pineapple, raspberries, blackberries and prickly pears had joined the roll call of fruit.  Instead of one glass of fresh orange juice we each had a … Continue reading →

Our landlord has a small dog who looks like a dirty white version of Dougal from magic roundabout.  I expected to hear him barking but no.  As we went into the breakfast room he was imitating a heap of dirty … Continue reading →

The car was fetched from the garage and we piled in the suitcases and an assortment of bags.  The peacocks don’t or can’t travel light!  We’d asked the girl on reception the most direct route to the autostrada which was … Continue reading →

Our last full day in Genoa.  A Monday which was to have some bearing on activities.  Firstly we found the breakfast buffet much less crowded. There is a super choice available, even bacon and eggs for the diehards, or die … Continue reading →

Sunday morning was Vivian Meier morning but as we walked through the Palazzo Ducale (it has become my favourite space in Genoa) we found lots of antique stalls and more outside on the piazza. Bliss! The exhibition was just opening … Continue reading →

Another sunny drive from Arles after a much better breakfast buffet than the ibis budget in the same building! The coast road is a series of tunnels and viaducts with views of the sea and deep valleys, cluttered with those … Continue reading →