We were invited to visit Lugano, Switzerland, again, and decided to do so on our way back to Bahrain.

Ammar and Shafiq were especially looking forward to seeing this beautiful town. Traffic was heavy as we left Annecy in France because of a major event there which included fireworks. 

When we got to the border, we were told that if we entered Switzerland, Ammar and Shafiq couldn't enter Italy (our next stop), since they had single-entry Schengen visas. France and Italy are both part of the Schengen group of countries, but Switzerland is not, so crossing the Swiss border would mean their single-entry Schengen visas were no longer valid.

That meant we would have to drive straight to Italy. Fortunately a border official on the Italian side said he would let us enter if we returned from Switzerland at least three hours before he finished his duty for the day.

We made a quick trip to the city centre in Lugano, and Shafiq and Ammar started to take pictures. We were happy with what we got in a short time. 

Once we were done, we drove back to the border and thanked the officer before heading for Venice. 

It was a long drive so we stopped for the night along the way before continuing the drive to Venice the next morning.

Once there, we got our ferry tickets and spent Sunday night in the ferry before arrived in Corfu, Greece, this morning. We checked into our hotel and had lunch before exploring the islands. Ammar and Shafiq were happy with what they saw in one afternoon and I could see they enjoyed the island.

Tomorrow we will have a busy day as we leave for another island called Thassos, in the north, to spend another two days before we head to Turkey.

Ali Mushaima