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Was the procession inSiena to welcome the Ariel Club to Tuscany?



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Day 11 Tuesday 4th Sept Driving to Portofino from Villa Paggi

Than on to Monaco and Nice

Day 12 Wednesday 5th Sept said goodbye to Rob G and Nargiss.

Drove along seafront at Nice for a bit then headed up to Col De Turin.




The Col de Turini (el. 1607 m) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Alpes-Maritimes in France.


It is famous for a stage of the Monte Carlo Rally which is held on the tight road with its many hairpin turns. Until a few years ago, the Col de Turini was also driven at night, with thousands of fans watching the "night of the long knives" as it was called, due to the strong high beam lights cutting through the night.

The Col de Turini has also featured three times in the Tour de France (1948, 1950 and 1973). The climb averages 7.2% over 15.3 km when approached from the East starting at the valley of the river Vésubie.

This pass was featured in the first episode of Top Gear series 10 when the presenters went in search of the greatest driving road in the world

From Col De Turin we head off up Col De La Bonette.




The road around the Cime de la Bonette reaches an altitude of 2,802 m (9,193 ft), but this is not a "pass", but merely a scenic loop. It is, however, the highest asphalted road in France and is the highest through road in Europe.

The pass has featured in the Tour de France four times (1962, 1964, 1993 and 2008). In 1962 and 1964, the race was led over the summit in both years by Federico Bahamontes, approaching from the south in 1962 and from the north in 1964. Robert Millar led over the summit (from the north) in 1993.[6]

In 2008 John-Lee Augustyn led over the mountain, before falling on the descent to Jausiers. He did, however, receive 5,000 Euros for being the leader over the highest point of the Tour, known as the "Souvenir Henri Desgrange".[7][8]

Descending Col De La Bonette

Carried on driving through Col De Vars to Hotel La Ferme, De L Izoard, La Chalp.

Booked an evening meal, found the Restaurants were full for a reason. Best value and food of the whole trip.

Better late then never video's I forgot to post.

Nice and drive up to top of Col De Turin, top of Col De La Bonette and down other side onto Del Izoard, La Chalp.

Some fantastic roads in Switzerland day 3 part 2.

Driving day 4 Switzerland.

On day 13 Thursday 6 th Sept.
The sky was looking dark we knew we were about to get rain.
The mountains were covered with clouds.
We decided to take the fastest route to Sous La Cote which would take at least 4 hours on the motor way, much longer in the rain.
The mountain route in the rain would take about 8 hours or more, and be dangerous.

We went through Mont Blanc Tunnel which cost 43 euros. It was interesting being 11.5 kilometers long, but remember the fire if 1999.


Mont Blanc Tunnel 1999 fire
A commemorative plaque on the French side of the tunnel, remembering those who were killed in the fire.

On the morning of 24 March 1999, 39 people died[6] when a Belgian transport truck carrying flour and margarine caught fire in the tunnel.[3] After several kilometres, the driver realized something was wrong as cars coming in the opposite direction flashed their headlights at him; a glance in his mirrors showed white smoke coming out from under his cabin. This was not yet a fire emergency; there had been 16 other truck fires in the tunnel over the previous 35 years, always extinguished on the spot by the drivers. At 10:53 CET, the driver of the vehicle, Gilbert Degrave, stopped in the middle of the tunnel to attempt to fight the fire but he was suddenly forced back by flames from his cabin.[3]

At 10:55, the tunnel employees triggered the fire alarm and stopped any further traffic from entering. At this point there were at least 10 cars and vans and 18 trucks in the tunnel that had entered from the French side. A few vehicles from the Italian side passed the Volvo truck without stopping. Some of the cars from the French side managed to turn around in the narrow two-lane tunnel to retreat back to France, but negotiating the road in the dense smoke that had rapidly filled the tunnel quickly made this impossible. The larger trucks did not have the space to turn around, and reversing out was not an option.

Most drivers rolled up their windows and waited for rescue. The ventilation system in the tunnel drove toxic smoke back down the tunnel faster than anyone could run to safety. These fumes quickly filled the tunnel and caused vehicle engines to stall because of lack of oxygen. This included fire engines which, once affected, had to be abandoned by the firefighters. Many drivers near the blaze who attempted to leave their cars and seek refuge points were quickly overcome.

Within minutes, two fire trucks from Chamonix responded to the unfolding disaster. The fire had melted the wiring and plunged the tunnel into darkness; in the smoke and with abandoned and wrecked vehicles blocking their path, the fire engines were unable to proceed. The fire crews instead abandoned their vehicles and took refuge in two of the emergency fire cubicles (fire-door sealed small rooms set into the walls every 600 metres). As they huddled behind the fire doors, they could hear burning fuel roll down the road surface, causing tires and fuel tanks to explode. They were rescued five hours later from a third fire crew that responded and reached them via a ventilation duct; of the 15 firefighters that had been trapped, 14 were in serious condition and one (their commanding officer) died in the hospital.

Some victims escaped to the fire cubicles. The original fire doors on the cubicles were rated to survive for two hours. Some had been upgraded in the 34 years since the tunnel was built to survive for four hours. The fire burned for 53 hours and reached temperatures of 1,000 °C (1,830 °F), mainly because of the margarine load in the trailer, equivalent to a 23,000-litre (5,100 imp gal; 6,100 US gal) oil tanker, which spread to other cargo vehicles nearby that also carried combustible loads. The fire trapped around 40 vehicles in dense and poisonous smoke (containing carbon monoxide and cyanide). Due to weather conditions at the time, airflow through the tunnel was from the Italian side to the French side.[7] Authorities compounded the effect by pumping in further fresh air from the Italian side, feeding the fire and forcing poisonous black smoke through the length of the tunnel. Only vehicles below the fire on the French side of the tunnel were trapped, while cars on the Italian side of the fire were mostly unaffected. There were 27 deaths in vehicles, and 10 more died trying to escape on foot. All the deceased were ultimately reduced to bones and ash. Of the initial 50 people trapped by the fire, 12 survived.[3] It was more than five days before the tunnel cooled sufficiently to start repairs.

Got to hotel Auberge Le Moulin De Lere up in the French Alps.
Booked dinner as no where else to go, and the hotel had loads of awards for its food on the walls.
Food was a tasting experience where you paid for either 4 course at 44 euros or 7 course at 70 euros and they choose dishes for you.
We choose the 4 course menu.
Judge for your self what you think of the food.
Pictures below.

Day 14 Friday 7th Sept Short drive to lake Geneva for Coffee.

Fast drive up to Logis Hotel Le Val Moret. Very nice place to stop and easy to find, with swimming pool and Jacuzzi.