Hi Everyone,
It is twenty days since our group of 16 flew into Paris to be greeted with cold miserably drizzling weather. Luckily this weather only lasted two days and since then we have been blessed with beautiful sunny days and temperatures mainly in the low twenties- perfect for travelling and sightseeing.
Today we arrived in enchanting Verona following four nights in a magnificent 15th century Villa nestled in Tuscan hills. The couple who run the villa (Kirsten and Frederick) could not have been more hospitable. Check it out – www.villarigacci.it . I can thoroughly recommend this great find which is well situated, not too far from Florence or Siena and surrounded by pines and olive groves. It even has its own little chapel complete with confessional. Could be handy!! We took the train to Florence one day and drove into Siena for a walking tour of that historic city on another. On our last day there, we leisurely meandered around the hilltop villages of central Tuscany and feasted on delicious pork rolls in Pienza; - some of you will no doubt remember these scrumptious delights but this time we bought a bottle of apple sauce to top off the treat!
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| Autumn in France |
How very lucky we were to catch the stunning autumn colours in France at their very best, particularly around the craggy gorge where we stayed in the ancient cliff-hanger village of Rocamadour and in the magnificent Gorges du tarn in the Midi-Pyrénées.
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| Looking down on Rocamadour |
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| Rocamadour |
A major attraction in the Midi-Pyrénées is the Millau Bridge or Viaduct. After stopping at the panoramic viewing point and information centre where we could see the structure and valley, we drove across this exceptional bridge in the heart of France. According to the data ‘the Viaduct spans a total distance of 2460m over the Tarn River and holds the world record as the tallest bridge with its highest pylon towering 343m above the valley’. It is indeed an elegant and sleek work of art that has not only shortened the route from Paris to the Mediterranean coast but has made it more cost effective. For those interested in engineering feats you simply must Google Millau Bridge.
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| Driving the Millau Bridge |
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| Gorges du tarn |
The Cinque Terre, Portofino are always exciting places to visit. This visit Portofino was hosting a Fiat Car rally. Quite a bonus for the rev-heads on the tour.
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| Interlude staff relaxing in a Chinque Terre village |
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| Cinque Terre Village |
We had two full days to relax in the beautiful and elegant Bellagio on Lake Como. Our hotel on the lakefront had supurb views. Cobbled streets, impeccable homes and glorious villas add to the enchantment of the elegant lakeside town.
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| Hotel Metropole Bellagio |
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| A Villa on Lake Como |
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| Taking a spin on Lake Como |
Our visit to the Peugeot and Citroen plant in Poissy (about 35 km out of Paris) held a couple of surprises. Firstly, this plant only manufactures to order and I would estimate that production is running at about half the normal rate, if not less; a sign of the world economic state according to our gracious French escort Patrick. Indeed a bit of a jolt. For me the other surprise was just how many massive mechanical robots have replaced humans on the production line since my last visit. When asked about this, Patrick claimed ‘not many people were put off because of the robots’ however he would not reveal just how many ‘not many’ is! Still, the Paris Motor Show did not show signs of economic stress displaying amazing prototypes and expensive motors in huge exhibition halls with plenty of glitz and razzamatazz, delighting the hordes of motor enthusiasts who happily paid the 12 Euro entrance fee (approx $24 AUS) Tomorrow is a free day. Yippee! Most of the group is going to Venice by fast train.
The weather forecast remains in our favour. Of course now we are heading north so expecting cooler days particularly in Swiss Alps.
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| On arrival in Launterbrunnen |
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| Same view the next morning |
Everything is just soooooooo expensive over here and everyone is trying to ignore the economic doom & gloom. We figure there is nothing we can do about it so enjoy spending the money we probably no longer have! Anyway we hear that Kevin 747 is fixing everything back home and for the world, so why worry?
Until next time, keep smiling, Jeanette 25.10 2008
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