So Day 1 started with the relatively short dash from Dover down to the Eurotunnel. Uneventful, but the first time I had used the tunnel and I have to say it was efficient, quick and a hassle free way to get to France. Here's us waiting in the queue for boarding. I include it as I am a rubbish photographer (you'll quickly ascertain this looking through the thread) and this was my best attempt at an "arty" shot of what is actually quite a boring setting!
My father used to drive to Switzerland quite a lot (our family is from Lugano) and recommended avoiding the tolls in France and taking a route through Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Our stopover point was to be in a small village close to Offenburg that I'd been recommended. When I'd seen the photo of the hotel it looked quite unique in a kitsch sort of way but it turned out every building was done exactly the same in a sort of faux-chalet style. The owner had a mad land rover as well
However what was important was it was clean and did amazing local food. So after a god night's rest following day 1s 500 or so miles we set off again to a village called Greppen near Luzern where I was to see an aunt and uncle for lunch. Driving France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland on the motorway was uneventful and quite dull. Due to the bag on the back of the car I didn't really push up past 120mph on the autobahn. Lane discipline in Germany is some of the best I have ever seen. No one hogs middle lanes or uses the outside lane for anything other than overtaking. I was also amazed by the amount of road haulage throughout all of Northern Europe. I must have passed thousands of lorries.
Switzerland requires anyone who wants to use the motorway to purchase and display a vignette (CHF40). Fortunately the family had sent one over one otherwise there is a bit of a faff at the border to purchase one. Once into Switzerland we drove the remaining 70 miles or so down to Greppen. My aunt’s house was pretty easy to spot on its own and was truly amazing. I knew they had a few quid, but the location of their house is something else, right on the lake. This is the view out the back:
and out the front, leading down to their own private beach:
Having arrived at lunchtime we were treated to lunch in the next village down called Weggis, where we had a wonderful meal right on the lake. The restaurant can be seen on the left hand side of this photo.
The weather was treating us well with temperatures at about 25 degrees. This was good news because after lunch we had to set off on the next leg of the trip which was to get to Lugano, right on the southern tip of Switzerland, and this meant getting through the Swiss Alps. The quickest route is the motorway via the longest motorway tunnel in Europe through San Gotthard. However with the weather so good, and being a petrolhead, that wasn't the route we were going to take. Up and over was the way to go!
Now alpine passes start opening normally in May and we were a little early for most, including the San Gotthard pass. However I'd been advised that the Locamango and Andermatt would be open so we headed off in the heat, roof down to see if we could get there. While it may not be the prettiest view, I can assure you that these semi-tunnelled hairpin roads were fun getting up to the top:
and once up there we were treated with a drop in temperature of about 20 degrees but the most stunning views:
and the route down the other side looked just as enticing:
This video shows a little more of what the scenery was like:
As we descended the Alps it was getting towards late evening and we found our way into the centre of Lugano to our hotel for the next three nights. Lugano had little to do with driving or cars, but we did drive up to my local bar I used to frequent on the top of a small hill called Monte Bre (about the same height as Snowdon)! The terrace gives a lovely view of Lugano and the lake below, albeit a little hazy on the day we were there:
Lugano is not so often visited by the English, more Germans, but if you do find yourself in that part of the world then I urge you to take a look for a few hours when it is as beautiful as this:
As I said, not much in the way of car action in Lugano, but parked next to me in the hotel was this very nicely kept old 911:
Next up was the long drive down to Tuscany. Heading out of Lugano early we set off on the motorways across the border and down to Milan. With no time really to take a tour of the Ferrari factory, which we could have passed, we took the route down to Genoa and then south along the coast. The motorway deteriorated into a SuperStrada and then onto local roads for the final leg to Pereta, at the very Southern point of Tuscany, almost in Lazio. The site of the quaint village holding no more than a few hundred people was very welcome:
This was to be our home for 10 days or so, during which time I covered about 1,200 miles on predominately local roads, I've no intention of boring you with holiday snaps of Siena or Florence, but I will cover the Italian road system. As far as I can make out there are five types of road:
1. Motorway - not many and toll based. Most are two lanes in each direction and quite poorly surfaced in places. There's less haulage traffic than the rest of Europe though and out of tourist season it is pretty quiet.
2. SuperStrada or SS roads - Equivalent to our dual carriageway A roads in the UK but with one caveat. Every single one had potholes big enough that I was worried once or twice that I had damaged the wheels. They are a disgrace and I kept off them.
3. SR roads - equivalent to our single carriage way A roads, although generally slightly more twisty in the part I was in. They tend to be better surfaced too and with good scenery are great fun at the 60mph mark sweeping from section to section.
4. SP roads - These are no more than equivalent of B roads in the UK, but due to the relative lack of roads all round in Tuscany seem to be well maintained and marked up on large scale maps. They are the main thoroughfares connecting villages and provide an incredible amount of fun to drive on in the 30-40mph region with hairpins, good straights and virtually no traffic.
This video shows a spirited drive along an SP road back to our village. (Missed gear changes and flies on windscreen included) you can hopefully get an idea of how pleasant it is to push on a little.
In terms of car spotting, there was not a lot about. It is a poor part of the country and foreign holiday makers don't tend to drive down so far in their own cars. Most things were on the cute side of things like old Fiat 500s:
Tuscany itself is a beautiful place consisting mainly of small medieval villages clinging on the tops of hills like this (gratuitous pics of the ZMR really):
although occasionally obstacles can make progress a little difficult, especially when they don't want to get out of the way:
With three days left until we had to be back in the UK we said goodbye to Tuscany and headed for our next destination, Monte Carlo. Retracing our route back up the coastal motorway we got off 20 miles before Portofino to enjoy the coastal SR road. Although not particularly exciting to drive, the scenery was stunning, culminating in our arrival in Portofino for lunch. It reminded me of a Cornish fishing village done the rich Italian way so the everything was little more glamorous. Truly beautiful:
Feeling refreshed we set off for Monte Carlo. We thought again we'd drop off the motorway early and come in via the scenic route, but that was a mistake as it was far more "urban" and simply resulted in wasted time. Getting to Monte Carlo late I then had a complete nightmare finding the hotel. Now I don’t know how many of you have driven or been to Monte Carlo. I'd only seen it on the TV when Grand Prix is on. Well it is tiny, but the majority of the road network appears to be underground. We're talking five exit roundabouts beneath the surface with poor signage and, as I discovered, a place where Sat Nav does not work very well. At one point I found myself on the start line for the Grand Prix which there were setting up for:
Unfortunately pointing the wrong way on a one way road!
A quick U-turn and eventually we found the hotel, which I later found out used to be owned by David Coulthard, and very nice it was too. In the evening we wondered around the harbour. It seems everyone was gearing up for the GP so actually getting to the harbour was difficult due to having to negotiate all the grandstands and Armco, but once there we could see that all the rich and famous were having their boats prepared. Some were simply awesome. I think I've travelled on smaller ferries across the channel!
Next day was the final leg of the interesting part of our journey. A petrolhead can't visit that part of the South of France and not experience the Col de Turini and Route Napoleon. So off we set for Nice before climbing up into the hills towards the Col de Turini. Amazing scenery and great roads that wind their way through dense forests in the main. This is a typical section of the climb up:
and the route on the other side still to drive:
Eventually we reached the top where I got a chance to try another artistic shot with the summit sign in the background, although it was slightly hampered by the fact that the local restaurant puts their menu right outside!
Sat Nav showed us quite high up, although not as high as the Swiss Alps where I forgot to take a shot:
While at the top there was one other car there:
And for the life of me I have no idea what it is, which I feel quite ashamed about. If someone can help out here's a shot of the manufacturer's badge on the back:
In the end we spent more than six hours messing around up in the mountains before we got onto the Route Napoleon. And in some ways I think I managed to save the best until last. We drove it all the way from Grasse to Grenoble and it took far longer than really we had time to do it in. In the end I was on the road for 12 hours and Monaco to Grenoble should be doable in a third of that. But it was worth it when the views are like this:
The route itself is spellbinding, combining fast flat sections through valleys in some places and then tighter sections up in the mountains as it winds its way Northwards. I think this final shot gives quite a good idea of the quality of the way the road is maintained and I'm sure you can imagine how glorious it is to push your car on it.
And this final video gives a more sedate view of the sort of view you get while driving through that particular piece of France.
After a stop-over it was an uneventful journey back along French motorways and across the Chunnel, which once again was efficient and fast.
All in all we covered 3,800 miles. Averaged 45mph across the three weeks and achieved 26.4mpg. Given how hard I was pushing the car at times I was pretty chuffed with that. Totalling up the receipts, at current exchange rates the fuel bill was just over £900. I had high expectations of the trip but at times the roads and scenery just blew my mind. The Z4M was a great car to do it in and getting the roof down when not on the motorway meant an added extra sensory dimension to it all. I loved it and I encourage you all to take the plunge and visit some of these beautiful places and roads. For any petrolhead the alpine passes, coastal roads of Italy and France and the Route Napoleon provide some of the most rewarding driving experiences.
. But would love to save up and do one next year, I'll certainly be using some of your advise and experience when planning mine. Well done!
