Where do you source? The Oceans or the Mountains? For me, I’ll follow the sun.
The day prior to flying into Milan from Copenhagen there was still debate as to where our travels would take us. Our decision became solely based on following the sunshine. Most of Europe in the mountains was getting drenched from Milan into Austria and Germany, torrential downpours not just a light sprinkling. The Mediterranean, Italian Rivera remained mostly sunny, at a cost.
As we were reminded of this year sea level and sunshine can be lovely but loud and busy. Most people who know Italians can tell you that south of Milan they love a bit of chaos, loud scooters & voices, and drama. Our heritage growing up with Sunday spaghetti dinners and lots of hand gesture grants us permission and authority to judge. We witnessed an animated (some might say passionate) 10-minute conversation between two waitresses about where to sit 3 German tourists because of the bright setting sun and reserved tables. Surely, this was not the first time this predicament presented itself but it warranted lots of back and forth dialogue and a bit of furry. This behavior is known to be accepted, part of the charm. Another thing that is accepted is tourist areas the Coperto is added to the bill, a per person fee. It is simply a different way of pricing menu items instead of including the management fees in the pricing of the individual dishes. Sometimes up to 5 Euros even for lunch so that 2 bowls of spaghetti Bolognese in Portofino even before the summer crowed can rack up the $$$. Well, at least there are no complaints about the food or the view.
Three evenings and we were prepared and longing for calm of the mountains, traveling within a few hours from sea-level to just below the highest point in Europe Mont Blanc-Chamonix France. Although the French have been know for their own cultural attitudes in big cities like Paris, the Laissez-faire – let it go attitude is more apparent elsewhere. Although lots of worker migrate from other locals to have the opportunity to experience these amazing mountains on their free days. Even in a tourist mecca you can always be alone in the mountains surrounded by natural beauty. Hiking and nature is calming and loved by all in our wide age range and the train to the base of a glacier on the other side of Mont Blanc from our last visit was breathtaking. The pinnacle was in a cloud literally, we stepped of the train in the heavens so our stay was brief before descent. No complains from our trio for the weather was forecast for rain most of our days in Chamonix but instead of following the sun it followed us!
Living Wherever We Are 