Headed out of Turin this morning with Grenoble in our sights, took a wrong turn and ended up on top of the Alps.

Church of St. Michele

The plan was to take the toll roads for a fast trip, get to Grenoble and do some washing and van maintenance. Then sights like St. Michele kept coming along so we left the freeway to look for a more gentle and interesting route.

Side Note: We decided yesterday to believe Chat GPT that fuel prices on France were much better than Italy, so I was hanging out for the border crossing and some cheap French fuel. I had 160 km range to do 150 km trip. No problems.

We set off on an alternative route that looked promising, negotiated a stack more roundabouts and started enjoying the scenery. Then some confusion, a wrong road and a decision to continue because the gps seemed confident, and therefore so were we. Then we started climbing.

The town of Giaglione, Italy.

Hand cut slate roof that has seen better days.

Salt store for the icy roads. Snow chains mandatory November to April.

The road just kept going up. Not a French border or fuel station in sight and the range is suddenly 60 km.

France at last but no fuel stations. I thought I had reached the top, rounded the corner and saw this in front. By this stage we were at 1750 meters and the range was now zero. Another km and we thought there is no way we want to run out and stuck on that climb. I was seriously dry so we pulled over.

We had just passed a gang working on a dam so Collette suggested I walk back to them to see if they could help. I found the foreman, an Albanian Italian without any English but with the help of Google Translate I was able to beg for assistance. He agreed to help, not telling me how. A few minutes later he appeared in his truck and gestured for me to get in. 10 minutes later I had 20 litres and a much relieved wife. Our saviour would only take E40 for the fuel, refusing the extra E20 for the help.

Our Italian Angel.

We continued the climb, finally making it to 2060 metres before starting the down hill.

Finally the top.

Notice the sturdy guard rails. I would not like to do this road with snow chains.

Lake Du Mont-Cenis.

This was mile after mile of spectacular scenery comparable to the Ice Highway out of Jasper, Canada.

All year round shelter hut.

Very popular ski resort area.

Hilltop fortress town from early 1800’s.

We finally made it to a lovely camp site in Grenoble. It has a SWIMMING POOL which we utilised after the kids went to bed. It was great to cool the body temp down. We should sleep better tonight.

On the road again tomorrow, heading for the beach.

David & Collette