It’s the start of the week and I’m already thinking of escaping! Actually, one of the great advantages of the French Riviera is that it’s really easy to escape plenty of wonderful places within a short drive, especially in Italy, something I take advantage of a lot. Each time I drive down the motorway, past Menton, into this tunnel and emerge from the tunnel into Italy, I definitely feel like I’m experiencing the dolce vita as one can immediately feel the change of vibe and scenery, even on the motorway. I recall in the 1980s when I came here on holiday crossing the border by train, having a passport check and then changing money from French francs into lira – so much nicer no longer to have all that hassle, I hope that we don’t go back on this in the future as from a purely practical perspective, a united Europe is brilliant!