Yesterday, Saturday 22nd December while Castor lounged in Spain we had lunch in Italy. Took the toll motorway to Nice, pay to travel on a road, doesn't sound like me, but what a view, the A8 from Cannes to Nice must be one of the best in the world, on one side you have the Alps covered in snow on the other side the sun glistens over the azure blue of the Mediterranean, from this view you really start to appreciate the meaning of the word "AlpMaritime"

From Nice we picked up our friends in Villefranche and took the lower corniche along the coast past Monaco and Menton before arriving in Italy. The sun was shinning and the sky was blue, every turn in the road served up a view to die for, ten minutes driving along this road and you can understand why so many of the rich and famous throughout the world have homes here.

We were heading for a restaurant in a little medieval village perched on a hillside called Apricale, there are no roads inside the village only cobbled walk ways and steps rising between the houses and under archways. Arriving was like walking back in time, even the smell of burning logs and cold damp stone intensified the medieval feeling. Being so high up made the air a little chilly and the brisk walk increased our appetite. An unobstructed view across the valley from our restaurant window showed a forest where over the centuries generations of farmers had cut into the hillside to form terraces to grow their crops. There was nothing we could see from this view that reassured us we weren't dreaming and this wasn't the 16th century, only the smart restaurant kept our sense of reality. A small framed newspaper clipping on the wall proclaimed Michael Winner the film producer and currently restaurant critic had visited and written a raving revue. He wasn't alone in his prognosis, the beef melted in the mouth and the local red wine was light and fruity.

We passed the afternoon walking off our excesses and then took the drive back to our friends home in Villefranche-sur-mer. As the light faded I chose the higher corniche for the return journey to take advantage of the view of the night illuminations on the Côte D'Azure, even the cliff faces close to Nice were illuminated.

It certainly was a day to mark down in that little book of favorite memories.

It's also a day to wish everyone daft enough or bored enough to read our ramblings a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year and if like me you are a sailor, Bon vent.