French Escape

  Tangier, positioned at the gateway to the Mediterranean  has been fought over and controlled by many different counties over the centuries. It's a city of trade with a reputation for intrigue.  Sightseeing :- As all visitors should, we wandered through the medina  many times but only visited the central food market  once (you need a strong stomach for the sights in the meat market and the smells in the fish market );  we climbed to the Kasbah palace ( Dar el Makhzen ) and almost bought a carpet on the way down; visited the American legation , originally residence of the American ambassador it now houses a fascinating museum (including a collection of miniature soldiers, forever at war with each other) and a cultural centre; we called in at the    Cafe de Paris —there was no alcohol, no lunch and not  a double agent in sight! We ate at Villa  Mabrouka—a house that had  belonged  to  Yves Saint Laurent , and more recent...

What a fabulous city! The four hour train journey taking us from Ventimiglia to Torino passed quickly in spite of the rather uninspiring scenery and pouring rain (which blotted out any possibility of a view of the mountains as we arrived). Our little group of five old(ish) ladies were deposited at the imposing Torino Porto Nuova railway station in the centre of the city. The rain had stopped by the next morning but I certainly noticed the difference in temperature and missed the Mediterranean sunshine we'd left behind in Menton .   We got our bearings and an overall impression of the city from the top of a bus. A very positive impression of a planned, cared for city with  wide streets , tall elegant  buildings , miles of arcades lined with shops, cafes and restaurants offering temptations of all kinds; museums, open spaces, parks and squares . Something for everyone. Food and drink is an essential part of any trip and the restaurants we visited offered delicious ...

During a brief stay in the mountains of Piedmont, I woke each morning with words and ideas whirling round my mind begging to be recorded  The trip was at the end of a wonderful but very busy summer with no space in my head for anything creative,  Walking along the Tanaro river to the sound of the water, amongst butterflies, birds and bees, my mind cleared and when I got back to my laptop a thousand words appeared on the page. A thousand words nearer my finished novel. We were in Ormea, a town in the province of Cuneo, quiet, friendly and cautiously welcoming. I suspect that in the summer it is much busier with cyclists and walkers exploring the area.  Mid September the hotel San Carlo was full of motorcyclists whizzing through and fishermen taking a more contemplative break.  Via Roma off the main square in Ormea is cobbled and lined with wheel smoothed cart tracks and is bordered by multiple minuscule shops .  The food, pharmacy and clothes shops I understood b...