Day 12: Travel Day
Welcome
Yesterday saw us leaving Switzerland and crossing the Alps into Northern Italy. We experienced true alpine beauty, true Italian bureaucracy, and had our first taste of real espresso.
We took advantage of the late checkout offered by our hotel and didn’t leave Lausanne until midday, snapping up the opportunity for extra rest. Finally though we set out on the A9 motorway heading Southeast along the edge of Lake Geneva. It wasn’t long before our hunger caught up with us though and we made a detour down to the lakeside town of Montreux and found a bakery that sold me a Focaccia sandwich filled with ham and tomato, and a L'entremets Oeuf de Pâques. We all took our treats down to the water and sat at the lake’s edge accompanied by precisely manicured gardens and crystal clear water as we enjoyed our decadent meal.
The now familiar sight of Lake Geneva and the Alps.
Feeling very contented we set off again and the road soon took us away from the water and into the Swiss countryside, climbing and winding through the hills that became snowy peaks as we moved further South. Before long we were flanked by towering mountains and the landscape was simply breathtaking - rocky valleys and tiny alpine settlements, pine forests, epic escarpments and bright blue skies.
The border crossing threw us a new challenge in the form of the Italian customs officers who posed a significant threat even to Jonathan’s considerable negotiating skill. While it usually takes 10-15 minutes to get our paperwork processed when crossing a border the gentleman in charge here had a plethora of stamps which he deployed at every opportunity while signing anywhere he could fit his name. He then came to the van opened up the back so he could check every piece of equipment we were carrying against the list. Once he was satisfied though he was a very happy man and he smiled and waved us on our way.
Our thorough friend at Italian customs.
Our journey now took us into the Great St Bernard Tunnel, a 5.8km road tunnel completed in 1964. The tunnel runs underneath the Great St Bernard pass and allows vehicle traffic 365 days a year as the pass is normally closed by snow between October and May. The actual border crossing happens deep inside the mountain and when we emerged back into the sunlight we were in Northern Italy, looking out a landscape of steep valleys dotted with tiny farms and villages. We descended down the windy, narrow roads and eventually found ourselves in one of these villages where we had our first experience of an espresso bar - easily the best coffee we’ve had on tour even though it was purchased and consumed at a petrol station. The rest of the drive was on the A4 Autostrada which snakes it’s way across the Po Valley, Italy’s industrial heartland. The dual-carriageway six, lane motorway made for a first class driving experience and we made good time arriving in Milan early in the evening and settling into our hotel for a well earned night of rest.
