The great thing about living in Europe is that within a few hours drive you are in a different country with a different language, culture etc. As we live in the east of Holland it takes us even less time to enter Germany and thus my “I’m on vacation’ feeling sets in almost straight away. For the first time in years and years it’s just the two of us in the car. No whining kids in the backseat, no questions about how long before we stop, no fighting, no crying and no car sickness. Bliss.The first day we drive as far as Wassen in Switzerland where we arrive around 7.30 in the evening. Swiss hospitality, a room with a view that takes my breath away and great food. Before we even started this trip we decided not to use the Gotthard tunnel, but the take the road that leads to the pass. Good choice, as we later find out that there is a huge line of cars waiting to get into the tunnel with more then 3 hours delay. We whistle all the way to the top.
The Italian border at Chiasso is another hurdle that we take in our stride. The last stretch as usual takes the longest. As we arrive in Colle di Val d’Elsa late in the afternoon we first get hit by the heath and secondly by the friendly hotel and its staff. Time to take a long shower, change and take a good look around the place where we will spend the next 7 days. Already the pace is slow, the wine a must and the centre square exactly as I imagined it would be. Groups of males watching the girls who are watching the males watch them. We lean back, enjoy our wine and watch the show. Our vacation has begun
