We start the day with breakfast in the Hotel Du Lac. The fresh food is delicious with so much choice. Strawberries, served with champagne. Crispy bacon, served with poached, fried, boiled or scrambled eggs. Selection of cheeses and smoked Italian meats. Olive bread, crusty white Italian bread, tomato bread, rustic brown bread and various different types of freshly baked rolls. We decide on fresh strawberries with champagne, followed by scrambled eggs with smoked salmon (see recipe) – what a lovely way to start the day! We do a little shopping in the town and admire all the elegant Italian styles, which we can’t resist. We arrive back at the hotel with a few more shoes and handbags to add to our collection. Ed is thrilled with even more stuff to squeeze into our already stuffed car! But with his incredible packing skills we are soon ready to hit the road and we say our goodbyes to the staff at this lovely hotel. Doug and the boys have already gone on ahead with their caravan of various cars, trailers and motorhomes. We may pass them on the road or we’ll catch up with them tomorrow in Monte Carlo.

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En route to France we skirt Milan and drive down to the coast, passing through so many tunnels and driving over so many bridges, we lose count. We see some lovely cars on the road and Dot and I decide that the orange one is for us girls. Crossing the border into France, we drive past Monaco and Nice and finally pull into Karine’s lovely apartment in Marina Baie Des Anges. The views of the bay are stunning and we relax after unpacking with a drink on the balcony.

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My brother Paul and his wife Carol are already here in a nearby apartment so we meet up at a restaurant on the front. We enjoy the meal, and Paul orders a Crepe Suzette which arrives with all the usual theatre of cooking it in front of you and the obligatory flaming process before presentation. We finish with a nightcap and take the short walk back to the apartment, where are glad to get to bed, ready for our trip into Monte Carlo tomorrow.

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RECIPE FOR SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SMOKED SALMON

Use two eggs per person

4 eggs

2 tbs cream

100gm smoked salmon cut into strips

25gm butter

Salt and pepper

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the cream and salt and pepper

Heat the butter and add the eggs. Keep the heat low and gently stir the eggs with a wooden spoon until they start to thicken. I prefer the eggs soft and a little runny, so remove them from the heat once they start to set. Add the chopped smoked salmon and stir through gently. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with orange juice, coffee or Champagne!

Bon Appetit