Occasional Observations

Too hot outside?
We're on the Italian Riviera a few km from the French border. It's 25 degrees C at 7.30pm and the British campers are eating inside their tents, which are firmly zipped up. The Italians are outside in groups, chatting and enjoying a bottle of wine. The Germans, and the Dutch, too. Austrians? Haven't seen any at this site; doesn't mean there ain't any, but their cars are relatively scarce on the roads, too.

So what drives the British indoors? Is it that the weather in the UK usually doesn't accommodate al fresco dining? We will be eating out tomorrow evening and will check whether the inside tables are occupied, and if so, by whom.

Post vacation note: never did check...

A place in the sun?
The sun was shining on a Saturday afternoon and for some 20 km along the Ligurian coast, there was not a single parking place to be had. It's the first weekend in September; if it's this packed now, goodness only knows what it was like at the heart of the high season.

Off the grid
Refreshing to be off the grid - albeit checking SMS twice daily. Communication is real time and one to one or one to group; no cc-ing for info or forwarding. Yes, there are messages out there on the mailserver, they will still be there when there are not so many distractions.

Sand Vs Stones
From the beach in Alassio: Why sandy beaches won the PR war vs pebbles escapes me. And seawater - uurgh. Call me a neo-inlander but I'll take a pebbly beach at a frecashwater resort, thanks. Lago di Garda is up there in the rankings.

From the shore of Lake Garda: That said, Garda's shores are noticably dirtier than the Italian Riviera beaches. It's a week later and now mid-September and the night-time air temperature is 10-plus degrees cooler.

Defragged
Have now been offline for 10 days and it's been bliss. I think I'd fallen victim to what's being called fragging: a mad blitzing between devices, flipping from handheld to lappie to cell, not to mention alt-tabbing frenetically through messages. Post-holiday resolution: Be calmer.

# posted by Nesjo : 10:57