Day Four - Sauze D'Oulx to St Moritz

Day Four, marking the halfway point of our Alpine Tour, proved to be a mixed day both in terms of weather and driving.  First thing this morning it was bright sunshine but bitterly cold (see previous post) yet by the middle of the day we were peeling off the layers and slapping on the suncream.  By days end we were wrapping up against the chill again as we ascended to St Moritz.

First thing we headed north to the Mont Blanc tunnel, a bit disappointing as the mountain was shrouded in cloud and the tunnel didn't seem as big as it looks on Top Gear!  Nevertheless we saw the glacier on the drive up from Chamonix and managed to get the engine note reverberating around the tunnel without exceeding the speed limit by too much!

Our next landmark was Lake Como - what a super place to visit!  We were only able drive the (surprisingly long) length of the lake, with the snow capped mountains in the background, but it looks worthy of a longer stay.

We did stop briefly on a couple of occasions ... did I mention it was very hot during the day?!

After Lake Como we headed up to St Moritz and our first alpine pass - the Moloja Pass!  Angela drove but her progress was thwarted by a rather sedate German Mercedes driver ...

We finally arrived at our hotel for the next two nights, the 5-star Kempinski Grand Hotel - it's rather nice, I don't think we're going to want to leave!

Top Down Motoring .... Whatever the Weather!

There's not much point in having a convertible if you don't get the top down!  So with the sun shining this morning we dressed for the weather and headed off on Day Four of our adventure ....

(This one especially for the guys at PCT Cars for their help in getting the car together for the trip - thanks!)

This is what we woke up to this morning ....

The view from our bedroom window - lovely!

Day Three - Carcassonne to Sauze D'Oulx

As we had a fairly late night last night and both of us were a bit hung over this morning we did not set off quite as early as we had planned!  Consequently our intent to drive along the French Riveria coast through Nice and into Monte Carlo was abandoned in favour of the most direct route to the principality.  We arrived early afternoon to bright sunshine, a welcome change to the grey clouds we left behind at Carcassonne.  We made for the casino being well signposted and picked up the Grand Prix circuit.

Our first 'lap' was a bit tentative - the roads look quite different in their non-race configuration though there's still enough kerbs around to see where the F1 cars have trod.  I also wasn't sure how much we could actually get around but as it turned out we could do it all except the right turn in Casino Square, this being a traffic island hence going the wrong way, and the new chicane - we had to drive down to the old chicane used in the pre-modern era (was it Lorenzo Bandini who ended up in the harbour? You can see how easy that would be!).  Anyway, having done it once I had to do it again, and then again - all the landmarks like Tabac, the old hairpin and of course the tunnel.  I have an on board video but too large to post here with mobile broadband!  When we get to a hotel with free WiFi ....

We shared the driving today, a mixture of motorway and some A-Road through the Italian hills; lots of tunnels and bridges.  Angela doesn't like Italian motorways as the driving isn't quite as well disciplined as France or the UK but she seemed to adapt pretty well!!  As it happened she drove the final few miles to the hotel which involved a few hairpin bends which she did enjoy - no brakes needed, just chuck it in and wrestle it through.  We may have some rubber left for the Nurburgring!

Sauze D'Oulx is primarily a ski resort so Sunday evening pretty well everything is closed, including the hotel restaurant!  The receptionist was able to get us a late table at a nearby restaurant where we enjoyed a beverage and a snack ....

YES - Monaco Baby!

I'm sure most F1 fans will remember Jenson Button when he won the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time .... "YES - Monaco Baby!" he shouted over the radio.  Well my excitement may only be a fraction of that shown by Monaco-resident Jenson but the thrill of being able to drive around pretty well the whole of the Grand Prix circuit today was fantastic - so good in fact I had to do it three times!  Angela was, well, less enthusiastic shall we say!  

Nevertheless here we are in Casino Square with the Hotel de Paris in the background.  It was packed with tourists and very flash cars - no chance for me to park alongside the Ferraris, Maseratis and a Buggatti Veyron!  I had a few seconds to grab this picture before being moved on.

Day Two Update

I've been asked (make that 'told') to tell you a bit about my belated birthday meal at the Hotel's Michelin starred restaurant last night.  It was very nice (not enough? Oh alright then ...)

While I had duck pate for my starter Angela tried the French delicacy frogs legs or 'cuisses de grenouille'.  She really enjoyed them!  I tried one but all I could taste was garlic so I still don't really know what frogs legs taste like!

Between courses we had Chef's specially prepared tasters which included the smallest pilchard sandwich you have ever seen!  Stick two matchsticks together and cut them to one inch long and you've got the idea!!

For main course Angela had fish and I had beef with truffles.  Now I've never had truffles before (yes, really) so interested to see what all the fuss was about .... not impressed!  Didn't enjoy the first piece so rather them go to very expensive waste Angela finished them off.  I guess my tastes are for simpler food - and plenty of it!

Given the small portions we had room for desert - Angela had a soufflé which she described as 'eating a cloud' it was so light, while I had a very fancy & delicate chocolate and fruit concoction, very nice!

So that and a couple of bottles of wine later and we've both woken up with headaches this morning!  I've done the first driving stint but have handed over to Angela before I take the wheel again for the drive through Monaco ...

Day Two - Dourdan to Carcassonne ... and the sun was shining!

We successfully completed the journey to the south of France without any issues!  Angela drove all but the last few kilometres - bless her cotton socks!  En route we had to fill up with fuel twice (ouch!) and Angela had four changes of clothes by the time we had dinner!!!  Don't ask ....

We crossed the 'Viaduc de Millau', the 12th highest bridge deck in the world and a spectacular piece of engineering ....

By this time the sun was well and truly out so we just had to put the top down to get the best view of the crossing ...

From here we headed for our overnight stop at the hotel within the old city walls of Carcassonne which we found without too much trouble as Angela has been here before (we did have our first tiff but this was quickly forgotten!)

Tomorrow it's Monte Carlo or bust ......

[Two quick post scripts - tonight's room has tea making facilities - yippee!  And the car temperature debate has been amicably resolved - Angela now wears her Ugg boots and a thick jumper and scarf  so has stopped complaining - a suitable compromise!!]