Saturday morning was exciting as we met Estelle at Verona train station. She looks well & was very excited to make it due to the strikes by the French airlines. We hear on the news here in Italy Qantas is also on strike. We did lots if walking with Stelle showing her this beautiful city with all it's history. She loved it! It is so different to Paris & Stelle found it very strange listening to the Italians speak. It was strange for us teaching Stelle th...

We met up with Marilyn & Steve who came to Cortona to pick us up & take us driving around lake Trasimeno which is in Umbria,we had been able to see the lake in the distance from Cortona. Unfortunately there was a low fog which stayed around for most of the day. That said there was a mistic beauty about the lake with the fog & the autumn trees which are a sight to see across the country. We stopped at one of Marilyn & Steve's favourite restauran...

We arrived by train Tuesday afternoon in Cortona. Quite funny that we did the research about which station to get off at, emailed the hotel who told us which was best as it would have taxis. Got off in what seemed like the middle of nowhere & not a taxi in site. No one appeared to speak English however eventually a bus came & took us to the other option for the train station. We stood there waiting a while for a bus which was quite amusing. Cortona is v...

Saturday we awoke to see the seas calm, the sun out & waited nervously to find out the ferry would be sailing. Liz & Paul would understand our apprehension as the alternative of standing on buses for a couple of hours hanging on for dear life winding around the amalfi coast was not a pleasant option. We sailed mid morning & it was the clearest day, we could see Capri which previously we hadn't seen. We sailed into Salerno raced to the train station ...

We have enjoyed a quiet relaxing day today. Whilst the weather remained warm the seas are rough which has allowed us to watch the locals as they scramble to secure boats in the bay, remove deck chairs from the beach & continue to wind down ready to put this town to sleep for the winter months ahead. Many places close at the end of October, some have already closed. The unseasonal warm weather has apparently been a bonus for the businesses which are still ope...