Travel
Arrived in Menton later than expected due to delays on the TGV network. Plus a Mediterranean storm brewed up out of nowhere (ie not forecast) around Cannes and Antibes on the route from Marseille. But great to be here on holiday for nearly a week. Hotel we get on with and good food options in the town.
Saluzzo in the province of Cuneo in Piemonte, is the main town at the foot of Monviso (3841 m.) which dominates the Valley of the River Po in Northwest Italy.
Monviso / Monte Viso (3841 m.)
- Monviso & the Sources of the River Po
- Saluzzo terracotta
- Brenner−Garda−Saluzzo
- Savoy, journey across forgotten borders
Shafts of sunlight above Le Monêtier-les-Bains (1540 m.) in the upper part of the Serre Chevalier valley. Col du Galibier (2642 m.) and Lautaret (2057 m.) just up the road from here so many motorbikes on the road down to Briançon and the valley of the Durance.
Last time I drive Terry’s 206. It’s a 1600 cc W-reg Peugeot from May 2000. It’s not quite a Classic but is a car from another era: dial-up modems, Tony Blair and the Millennium Bug.
I love the direct feel of the controls when driving, you push the pedal and the 1587 cc four-cylinder engine responds; there’s electronic ignition but no ECU managing the emissions and mitigating the response. No ABS or traction control. Slight power-assist on the steering but a very positive feel nonetheless and it steers true, not under or over.
Photo-journal of my day trip to Ventnor and Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.
This was a day trip as there was a sunny day (rare so far this summer) and I’ve never been to the Isle of Wight. I spent slightly more time on the island than in trains but the travel is a lot of the story of my day.
Impressions? In just a phrase, Shanklin reminded me of Key West. Less tropical and very English but I reminisced amongst the outdoor living and white-painted wooden house fronts, lush gardens and the wind-blown Cabbage Palms. And the people: families on a beach holiday, young couples, senior couples and the beach bums sleeping who knows where.
