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 restaurants for lobster in a sauce with freshly made ravioli. A delightful meal accompanied with a great drop of Red (yes again)!

Then we visited a hill town called Castiglione del Lago. Not a tourist in sight which is so lovely about this time of the year travelling. Of course they are still about just in fewer numbers which allows us (tourists) to imerse ourselves in the day to day goings on a little more than peak tourist season.

Marilyn & Stephen have been living in a village in Italy for 8mths & they have 4mths to go! They retired & fulfilled their dreams of living here in Italy for 12mths. It has exceeded their expectations & they have had a steady steam of visitors to stop the home sickness being a concern.

It was lovely to see them & quite surreal for us to see them walk into Cortona to meet us.

We talked all afternoon & it was one of our best days.

On returning home to Cortona we found out the French trolley dollies are planning a strike this w/e. Stelle is coming to Verona as a birthday treat & then we fly back Mon to Paris. Well we hope so anyway!

There are far worst places to be stranded than beautiful Verona however we do have a booking for accommodation in Paris. So fingers crossed.

We arrived back in Verona this am. We've been exploring this pm & found quite a few delights we hadn't seen in early Oct when we were here.

Back to our fresh pasta shop to get goodies to cook up for dinner. We both said we could live here, Verona has a charm about it with the cobbled streets & marble pavements.

Maybe when we retire many years away we may return for a few months.

The weather has cooled however still pleasant. Today 18, tomorrow 20 which looks similar to home. Paris will be cooler then to warm Dubai & Sydney before home hopefully to our summer!

The photo of the house with gardens may look familiar if you have watched Under The Tuscan Sun. It is Bramasole

& it is in a beautiful spot just down the hill from Cortona where we stayed.