Daily Archives: August 8, 2023

Going nowhere quickly

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It’s Monday midday and I’m writing this from the fast lane of the main motorway between Genoa and Florence. I’m able to do this because the traffic has stopped due to an accident ahead. I’m not sure when we will move – already we have sat here for 30 mins.

We’ve experienced this before and know that after 20 mins or so everyone will simply get out of their cars, have a drink, eat lunch and talk about what the delay might be.

Time passes …

We have now waited 40 mins and the line of traffic tails back a kilometre or two behind us. A couple of lads from the highway company have turned up with bottles of water for us all and while they are handing these out the traffic starts to move again.

There is much delight and running around as hatchbacks are closed, kids are wrangled from the side of the road, meals are curtailed and people return to their assigned seating positions.

Colazione – “breakfast” doesn’t do it justice in Italy

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – well it certainly is in Italy.

In most hotels it consists of a massive buffet featuring everything from pastries through to fruits, fruit juices, cheeses, cold meats, multiple types of bread, eggs whatever way you want – including cold hard boiled eggs, bacon, did I mention cold meats, and all washed down with multiple cups of cappuccino.

There is a massive staff that constantly keep things replenished and who can also cater to special requests – like “cappuccino decafinato con latte di Mandorla” – which is Jeans current coffee of choice.

Our favourite hotel in Camogli is no different with a room that seats around 100 people serving breakfast from 7am to the very civilised time of 11am.

We are well acclimatised to Italian time now as we barely make it in before 11am and today we were the last in the room with everyone very politely packing up around us.

Elegant, even at breakfast
The ubiquitous breakfast buffet
Jean’s breakfast hit – cold hard boiled eggs