Turning Into Butterflies

I kept a travel log of our three month tour of Greece

 

I’m sitting in an IKEA car park on the border with Slovenia. Nothing exotic in that, you might think? But I’m waiting on Jackie, who has gone to the hairdresser to be shorn because of the hot, sunny weather. It’s a mark of our growing confidence and comfort with La Vie Europienne on the move. Hence the title – the transformation is almost complete. We left France two days ago. We stopped for lunch in Macon, an atmospheric wine town on the river Saone. A flying visit, although we have been many times before. The autoroute to Geneva was quiet for a change, though there seemed to be hordes of Dusters and Porches. French ’Sunday’ drivers are the diametric opposite of their slow progress Brit neighbours.
We passed by the South of Geneva and on to Chamonix. Beyond Chamonix, close to the Col de Montets, we stopped above the town of Argentiere. Now very close to the Swiss border – open the wine Jackie…
Next morning we climbed the mountain to the Grand St Bernard; the ascent a metaphor for the aforementioned metamorphosis. There… that’s the philosophy out of the way. On the other side we headed for the AutoStrada. Did you notice that? The segue into Italiano? Anyway, back to the philosophy. When Aristotle coined the phrase ‘Divine Comedy’, he must have had in mind the Italian Autostrada. The incidence of comedy, tragedy, and downright pericolo (danger) was awesome. Italians need adrenalin. As if espresso wasn’t enough of a rush, they throw themselves into the most incredible manoeuvres, at speed. Hair-raising yes, but also laughable from a safe distance if you can find it… On the other side of Milan, we stopped in the suburban town of Seriate. Free parking with water and services. We sat on a crossroads – quiet overnight but growing noisy after dawn. Back on Dante’s infernal motorway, we sped past Bergamo; Lake Garda; Verona; Mantua, and eventually Venice. We’ve been to each before, so with our purpose being to tour Greece, we sadly moved on. We spent the night in this IKEA car park just short of Trieste. Jackie’s back now, looking strangely like my mother-in-law…Oh well – I was forewarned.
Now it’s on to Split and a day or two sitting by the beach – time of course to brush up on my Aristotle…

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Omecronon12

I’ve been there … at IKEA I mean … :). A fine journal (?) to me. Makes me wanna pack and leave. Intricate philosophy interwoven in a refined way I think. Slovenia’s been on my “list” of places to visit for a long time. Now I want to go there even more. Time will tell …

Better brush my teeth.

Cheers!!
(I think that salutation is customary :))

mitch

Good travelogue – any chance of paragraphs to make it easier on the eye? Cheers!