I took this beautiful photo of Chateau Saumur from our hotel window this morning. Maggie and I are spending three nights in this picturesque Loire Valley city.

We are three weeks into our visit to Dubai and Europe but this is the first post I have published since we left Melbourne.

This uncharacteristic lack of volubility was brought on by a nasty and persistent virus which I contracted somewhere between Melbourne and Amsterdam, via Dubai. My proclivities have also been inhibited by an unusually protracted period of late-summer heat in Europe, with maximum temperatures ranging up to 34C.

So, I find myself incapable of doing anything more than enjoying our journey. Which, upon reflection, is not such a bad thing!