I love the smell of the fall (autumn in England), and of course the colours. Yesterday the 10 th we visited Allens Park via Lyons and saw the occasional small aspen in brilliant yellow against the conifers. Mount Meeker was brilliant topped with snow as the sun appeared. We decided to take highway 72 back across to Nederland. This was very picturesque with great patches of yellow in the wide open vistas across the valleys. In Nederland the morning had brought in some snow, perhaps the first of the fall!

At the moment we are looking forward to taking our first trip back to England for over five years. We travel across 'the pond' in less than two weeks time, to take in the Piemonte region of Italy for a week before finally seeing my family and friends. I probably won't recognize my two grandchildren at 16 and 18 years old.

So there we are, checking how light we can travel for three weeks, Cherryl in particular seeing what smaller bottles and jars can be purchased or transferred for the cosmetic and toilet bag. There doesn't seem to be a smaller foam shave cream around, but I am still searching. The temperature in the two countries is another question mark related to packing. We constantly check newspapers, the web, and nearer the time, my cousin's son who owns the farmhouse in the Piemonte.

The Piemonte region is around Torino in northwest Italy close to France. The farmhouse is near a small village south of Torino. The coast is further to the south with Savona and Genova being the largest cities.

Due to my wife's expertise on wines, and of course working in a wine store, there have been connections to book three wine tours. The area is famous for their great red wines and surprise, surprise, there are famous vineyards not too far away. Barolo is one that Barolo Grill on 6 th Avenue is associated with. The owner there sends some of his staff over to the region to experience and learn first hand the culinary delights. The other 'B' wines are Barbaresco and Barbera. The town of Asti, of Spumante fame, is to the north east.

The region is noted for white truffles, frogs' legs and edible snails. Not some of my favourite items, but we both have to maintain a balance of interests over the seven days. Me with my sketchbook, watercolours and camera, Cherryl with her tasting notes. The history around is loaded - Duomos, churches and a fine rolling landscape. Asti battled incessantly with Alba, a settlement only 29 kilometers away! Alba once had 100 towers (a competitive build by the wealthy), only 20 now survive.

I shall report back on both countries, maybe with a sketch or two. Needless to say there will be a lull in my writing after next week as we try to close our suitcases and put our little carry-ons through security. Ciao, Peter.