Today commenced a new venture into continental Europe, the next phase in my ambitions to soak in the Alps. Farewelling friends in Rome, I braced myself for an overnight bus ride spanning three separate legs and twenty hours of travel time. If I wanted to save on my voyage to one of Europe’s most diminutive nations, I would undergo the punishment at the outset of the trip, then rest myself in the mountains.

Once Friday morning dawned, the winding bus ride graced us with spectacular views of the peaks, most white-capped and gleaming with the chill indigo unique to alpine atmospherics.