And to think, this morning started so well… We’ve been in them all; the hotel from The Shining, leaks, no heating, no hot water, no breakfast, no wi-fi…But last night… “Majestic” by name, majestic by nature, back to a time when hotel staff didn’t wear Korn T-shirts and call you; ‘mate.’Lakeside views with a balcony, an endless supply of hot water and a breakfast out of ‘Lifestyles of the rich and famous.’Senor Pestes, we salute you.And on the subject of things PEZ, we hope you like the new format; our piece for Stage 18 was the first time the new ‘wide screen’ pictures were used – we love it and hope you do, too.The stage 18 finish town of Verbania nestles beside Lago Maggiore; we’d heard about the wonderful statue which is the centre piece of the memorial to the local men who died in the 1914-18 war when Italy fought with the Allies against Austria.‘Dove’ magazine describes it thus; “not a fallen soldier in a heroic or military pose, but a young, sad widow, kneeling above the plaque listing the names of the fallen, with one hand dropping a few flower petals, and, in her arms, a child too young to realise the tragedy that has struck, sucking his finger with innocence.The bronze, by the genius Paolo Troubetzkoy, stands not on a high pedestal but at eye level.”Very beautiful, very moving.And there was a street mercato in Verbania; the sales girl on the pastry/cheese/salami stand was brilliant and we...
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