Weather was a bit cloudy early on as we started our first day in the Italian Lakes Region. There was an optional tour of the palace at Isola Bella, a little island in the lake, it wasn't my cup of tea so after brekky Mumsie joined the others for the short boat ride and I took a walk along the waterfront into the little town of Stresa. Some very impressive looking hotels dominated the shores of Lake Maggiore - everyone of them very old - but still impressive a...

Our transfer to Charles De Gaulle Airport demanded a pickup 4 hours before our EasyJet flight to Milan - goodness knows why because the ride took only 45 minutes and we were so ridiculously early that the bag drop wasn't even open! Our driver, a young Frenchwoman, was a terrible driver - on and off the accelerator every few seconds - and it was quite a relief to actually survive the frantic Paris traffic and get to the airport! We waited for a lengthy period ...