Write Up tour de France ,Belgum,Switzerland,Italy,Switzerland,France,Italy............E

[miller1098]

It started in la belle Wales on tue morning and managed to cross the border intoEngland without a lot of bother five hours later were sitting waiting for our tunnel crossing .unload into a drissly France and head for Brussels ,got into Belgum, got lost, gave up, found a hotel and found we were back in France.It could of been worse we could of ended back across the channel.Got our bearings in the morning and pointed the nose toward the Alps , after a lovely lunch or "plat de jour" and feeling quite pleased with ourselves we startedto smell a little anti freeze and some steam appearing from the side plllar we pulled over to find a burst top hose ."£36 car insurance well spent"they did everything ,organised pick up for the car and us got us a taxi to Mets found us a hotel for 2 nights and a taxi back to the car on friday.All we paid for was the car repair 90 euro.
We hit the road again and got as far as Epinal found a really nice travel lodge with a restaurant nextdoor.It was our 27 year aniversary and by pure chance we stumbled across one of the nicest French eateries ive been in.really good French food and amazinglly reasonable price!Next morning we wanted to see some alpine roads so we headed straight to the Eiger, its a bit of tourist trap but it was on my list of thing i wanted to see.and it was spectacular , we found a hotel and drove up to the Wetterhorn and had a really nice walk in the qiuet evening

 

[miller1098]

The next day we did the obligotory Grimsell ,and Furka pass that were great , then we did the nufenepass which almost takes you back in a circle.Full steam ahead towards Martigny and the Grand stBernard pass that Napoleon got 46 thousand men with all their equipment over in 1800 .They used to keep stBernard dogs at the hospice on the top, luckily we didnt need them

 

[MAURICE THE MARTIAN]

Great pics .only been 4 weeks since we came back.seems a lifetime ago now.
Hmmmm better get planning for next year
Moz

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[zedwheels]

Great pics .only been 4 weeks since we came back.seems a lifetime ago now.
Hmmmm better get planning for next year
Moz

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[miller1098]

We found a hotel at the foot of the pass on the Italian side ,first thing on a beautifull sunny morning was go back over the pass and take a little more time to apreciate it,then down the chamonix valley and through the Mont Blanc tunnel,as soon as your out, its straight up the petite stBernad pass! wow the hairpins come fast often and just seem to go on.hotel in France tonight ,starting to get a little confused,5 countries today

 

[jonco]

Great pics - glad you enjoyed it. Shame about the breakdown but hats off to the breakdown companies. We had a non-Zed breakdown in Sicily last year and and they (Green Flag in our case) were brilliant.
As the other guys have said start planning next year's.

 

[miller1098]

We enjoy the tour every year, so this day the day for some col's.first col de la Madeleine. Half way up its starting to look a little scetchy.Lucky the snow plough went up first

 

[miller1098]

We thought we had done it all,but the best was yet to come,telegraph then the massive Galibier, passing cyclists,marmotts and sheep.Top down phone froze and camera.And just to add to the fun no barrier

..............found out what the luggage rack is really for

 

[MAURICE THE MARTIAN]

Brilliant .wish i was there with you.
M

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[miller1098]

Ok this is my last post the last col of the day was la h'alp dues so iconic loved every turn.Hope this gives you a little nudge its worth it .we didnt book anything exept the tunnel and only had a rough idea where we were going we stayed somewhere diffrent every night ,some better than others but we found it added to the fun of the trip.we would do it all again tomorrow!

 

[MAURICE THE MARTIAN]

A great trip .thanks for sharing.
Startin to plan ours now for 2014.
End of June .July or early Sept.
Decisions,decisions.
Moz
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[miller1098]

I think i'll find a few more of the cols of the tour de France i really enjoyed them ,there were so many in the area we were .I think the Bonette is the highest .but its a case of" to much choice to little time"

 

[TaffZee]

Great Pictures, already planned ours for next year, bit different next year, taking in the Alps High Route, and then heading Rome and then on to Sicily, few days stop over and then up to Ancona to catch the Split ferry into Croatia, 2 days checking out the scenery on the way to Dubrovnik and the 5 days luxury in the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace, then 4 day planned for the return going through, Slovenia, Austria over the Grossglockner pass, Germany, and Home.. Lots of Miles around 4,500 but it will be worth it...Taking 3 weeks to do it..

 

[hard top]

Hi Jim, are you just driving through Slovenia or will you stop?
If so, spend a day in Ljubljana, lovely city and great people.

 

[TaffZee]

Hi Jim, are you just driving through Slovenia or will you stop?
If so, spend a day in Ljubljana, lovely city and great people.

Planned 4 days to come back so plenty of time to stop on the way will check out Ljubljana, and may get to stop for the night. .Look's a lovely place, and the hotels are very reasonably priced

 

[hard top]

Some info for you Jim. I spent, on and off, 4 years down there at the port of Koper doing ship loading inspection for our drilling equipment. Love the place, if I could learn the language (no chance) I would live there. If you happen to drive to Koper, go to the Azure bar. Nothing special, its opposite a big car park but I think if you mention my name, you might get a free pint.................

http://www.visitljubljana.com/en/ljubljana-and-central-slovenia/slovenian-attractions/

 

[miller1098]

We had a couple of holidays in what was then Yugoslavia and did a little traveling it was lovely and the people so friendly,the troubles seemed so diffrent to our experience.One of our favorite places was lake Bled not to far from Ljubljana and the Astrian border,a lovely restaraunt in a castle overlooking a lake with a church on an island,get rowed over to it and ring the bell,over the skeleton !You have to be there.

 

[hard top]

Hi Miller, the bar I mentioned was always closed on Sundays but opened up for me so that I could watch F1 and have a drink with the owner, instead off sitting in my hotel room. When his customers found out, I did not get to see much F1 as I ended up working behind the bar as it was my fault....oh, the good times.

 

[miller1098]

How a bar and a drink bring people together

 

[TaffZee]

My revised route will be leaving on July 20th for three weeks...https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?sadd...&t=h&mra=dpe&mrsp=1&sz=8&via=1,2,6,8,9,18&z=8