It was difficult getting out of bed this morning to get the day under way.As the sun came up we opened the shutters of our room and lay back in bed enjoying the view of from our hotel room high up on the hill above Varese.Eventually though a shower and breakfast beckoned and we went downstairs to partake in what was on offer. Out short stay in Italy was to come to a temporary end today as we head back to St Moritz,Switzerland for a couple of nights.We started out on route #342 heading for Como looking out all the way for a Renault appointed garage as RR was now due for her 20,000km service.Yesterday we had passed three Renault garages on our way into Varese but we thought we wouldn't have had time to have ... read more

Last night we had dinner at a pizza place up the hill from our hotel in the ski village and on the way home down a dark alleyway(that was a shortcut)we passed a house above the road where we could hear a spa pool bubbling away and some low voices talking.With our muscles from the climb up Mt Hochfluh still recovering we would have traded anything to have had 15 minutes in that spa pool to help the recuperation!!!Dreams are free!!!The spa pool at home we certainly miss from time to time when the bed and pillows of the previous night weren't too comfortable!! The plan for today is to drive back up the valley we came down yesterday to Visp near Brig and then head up to Zermatt and the Matterhorn by the Gonergrat cog ... read more

Saturday 26th September Climb every mountain................ We had a lie in this morning and rose to be greeted by fog.Di and Sebastion(hereafter D & S) had the breakfast already laid out for us and we sat down to discuss the options for the day ahead.D & S are keen on buying a new property closer to where they work and they were going to meet up with Sebastion’s friend, who went off last night to climb Mt Pilatus,and talk over the pros and cons of the property.We would tag along and then afterwards Sebastion has a climb in mind for us,if we were up to it.Then depending upon time we could take in the sights of Lucern and either have dinner out or back at their home. While we were having breakfast,Sebastion’s friend phoned to say ... read more

We are starting to notice autumn creeping up on us with the deciduous trees on the other side of the valley from our apartment turning golden yellow. We shall try and find a trail or two in the forest area that surrounds Bad Peterstal and take a walk in the Black Forest. After a leisurely breakfast and doing some more washing(it dries so quickly on our sunny terrace)we drove down the hill and parked RR with the idea of walking up the main road to the information centre to see if they had details and maps of local walks in the Black Forest. Before we started walking we also tried to see if we could log into an internet connection in the town as there was supposed to be a hotspot although we didn't know if ... read more

Tuesday 22nd September From Oy-Mittelberg,Bavaria to Bad Peterstal,The Black Forest It has been an enjoyable two nights here in Oy-Mittelberg,despite the pillows that go with the bed!!and we would have liked to have stayed a bit longer but there are more places to see and today we have a drive of about 240km to the northern part of the Black Forest and an apartment in another small village awaits. Frank and his wife have really done us well with their breakfasts and this morning was no exception when they produced our own large portion of the scrambled egg and speck dish and this after we thought that there wasn’t going to be any as there were no dishes for it set up on the breakfast bar. We won’t need lunch today!! The weather was fine overhead ... read more