As we wing our way home we reflect on 5,500k worth of France, Italy, Switzerland and a touch of Britain, 17 beautifully appointed, quaint lodgings, countless incredible vistas…ah! Has indeed been a huge six weeks…
Fun and laughter, giggles and snorts, headaches and sore feet, aching backs and tears. So many happy tears – over candles lit for passed ones, breathtaking sights, historical tragedies, frustration with hotel communication breakdowns…and those special tears, you know the ones you have from laughing too hard?…just before wetting your pants?…
Quirky situations – a shower recess so small that dropping soap meant poking ones butt out the door to retrieve, another resembling a space capsule that washed places you hadn’t thought shower nozzles were designed for, a loo in a cupboard, another under the sink, opera singing dogs, steps so steep ascent demanding all fours, a wonderful host waving an enormous British flag to herald the entrance, a delicate lace doily serving as a curtain.
Touching memories such as the dear little French man who happily assisted with automatic petrol pumps and an unexpected health emergency, private tour guides who went way beyond expectation, wait staff with wry senses of humour, Dicky stepping up with the most beautiful gestures…just when he was due a fork stab in the eye.
Breathtaking moments – the immediacy of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower suddenly bursting into sparkles, sleeping in a Medieval tower, viewing a magnificent panorama from a roof top attic, a woodpecker tapping on our windows, the sheer brilliance of Pompeii’s origins.
Scary moments – streets so narrow, folding the car mirrors in a must; a maniac Italian reversing at 40k, swerving to avoid those behind simply to stop and chat with a parked friend, oblivious to building traffic mayhem.
So many memorable imprints fueling inspiration and desire to plan the next journey…
Thank you for coming along with us, for your comments and for your encouragement…we hope you’ve enjoyed the journey!
A fond farewell from Cast and Crew:
• Richard (Dicky) Seville Lyons the III – Intrepid, fearless driver
• Fifi de Murgatroid Lyons – Lodgings extraordinaire
• Giovanni (Ducky) de la Rhodes – Tour guide champion
• Donnutella (Bella) de la Rhodes – Fresh Produce specialist
and
• Penelope (Pixie) Bogsworth Winterbottom – Blog Queen
Honorable mention to:
• Rupert Smythe Farquharson and Hortense Higginbottom Farquharson – my gracious and graceful hosts in Cambridge.
Pixies choice but lacking that private lounge. The Lotus, Casino, the armadillo like esplanade theatre, Helix Bridge, the Merlion, the Singapore Flyer taller than London’s eye, and a harbor full of massive containers waiting to purge.
Sadly, Dicky says Paris doesn’t compare to Rome and London and of course he’s right in a sense…each city proudly displays it’s own unique charms, specific and historical originations and cultural variations…and therefore can’t possibly be compared to another. Fifi suspects Dicky has fallen under the city’s spell however, as he gifted her with one of the much coveted Hermes bangles at the top of the Eiffel Tower…collective sigh…
We’ve left just enough leather on the soles of our shoes to take an evening cruise down the Seine to enjoy the city’s illumination as a rich crimson gold sunset falls. And beautiful it is…but it’s the flirtation of the Eiffel tower’s hourly twinkling that brings a tear to our eyes on this our last evening in this charming city.
