Margrit's breakfast setting was exquisite with thin folded cheese, cheese designed like pieces of broccoli, fine rhubarb jam, and other foods decorated with flowers, basil and mint. The four white sentinels joined us for breakfast along with the sun tempered by the invigorating Swiss chill. As we ventured out once more, the two ducks quacked and the two dogs barked. Up into the hills once more - what a hill!. We passed a young woman [...]

Marcel had brought a huge long table and two benches outside this church onto an equally huge area and had our breakfast laid out for us. I think Ermanno had said it would be a nice place to have it - at 7 degrees it wasn't. But the fact that he had actually done it had us laughing and applauding along the 1200 metre walk to breakfast. This was also the distance to our shower, [...]

A howling wind, hard and heavy rain had sort of overdone my prayer for cool weather. But we had the right gear except for my soft, kind shoes that just let any water come in, unless it comes in the form of showers. Corrie had 'wet weather' shoes but they were just as generous a host as mine. We left this large town enormously popular with Indians (they even have their own village here) and [...]

A light low ceiling of cloud barely kept the sun hidden as it attempted to break free at any time. The cloud kept its cool and hovered over us as we climbed - very long but gently sloped. I never thought I would call hills like this gentle but it's all relative. Walking up here above sharp drops and looking back with a view of the glistening green lake makes the climb even more gentle. [...]

Susan was a hoot, loved a joke, very engaging as she took us to her small one room chalet out the back. In one of our talks she mentioned her daughter who lived in Randwick, Sydney, Australia, where we live, and suggested we visit her which we will do. One of the many funny things she did was lighting a candle for breakfast when I said the light was too bright. I had fun with [...]

Another regular morning climb took us past some older day walkers, dozens of bike riders with similar variegated paths and landscape. We came down from the forests and the cows to see a lake in a narrow valley, the sun doubling the view with nature's reflection in the water. There were a few small boats, a couple of kayaks and the odd fishing boat. We walked for a couple of kilometres between a small passenger [...]

Off and up into the now sunny hills, but with just enough chIll to keep us happy on track. Long hills today but after nearly losing our breath yesterday, most hills are fine now, or almost. We passed farmers cutting grass (about the only work being done in the fields for we have seen no crops) - bar one woman digging truffles, and a few boys were out working with their dads, one dad was [...]

Doris, the breakfast nun, thrust out her hand and before I could recall Dorita's handshake of the night before, she crushed it again (all 40 kilos of her). Apart from the damage she was doing to unsuspecting guests she was delightful, funny, and had the energy to run the distances we were walking, and we got all of this without her having to speak one word of English. She was one of those few people [...]