French Escape

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...

  Back in France after a month in England escaping the heat, humidity and hordes in Menton in August.  I visited and enjoyed three very different counties.  Cambridgeshire,   Somerset,   and Yorkshire.   https://www.hansomrestaurant.co.uk Many things had altered since I had last visited Somerset and North Yorkshire, but in spite of all the physical changes, so much felt the same. The towns that we visited had High Streets populated with the store and restaurant chains that you find the world over but somehow they remained totally English. We went  to places with memories of childhood holidays and areas neither of us knew. I spent many miles in the car navigating with a 2017 AA atlas and an out of date satnav and often, if the screen were to be believed, we were driving over fields. I caught up with family and friends, (apologies to those I missed this time), met my newest great-nephew and discovered that  for all the difficulties and troubles that...