The Grand Sasso

Our last day in Italy was a bit of a cloudy one (after some very dramatic storms last night) so we obviously thought it would be a good chance to go up a hill and look at the clouds.

The Grand Sasso (or part of it anyway) is the one of the highest peaks in Southern Europe and, as it has good skiing in winter, also has a good cable car you can use in summer. The photo is taken in the alpine garden, looking out over the clouds. To my right, off camera, is the hotel where Mussolini was briefly held prisoner in 1943 (ish) until a daring rescue was staged by German paratroopers on Hitler's orders.

Later we headed back to lower altitudes for a very long, lovely and (in my case) boozy lunch (well, I had toothache). Then back to the joys of air travel and the journey back to France.