Total mileage – 1494 miles, 1355 of them on continental Europe
Fuel Consumption – average 38 mpg
Technical thoughts
EGO didn’t like the slow crawl of a traffic queue into the St Gotthard tunnel … slightly too advanced? Also some backfiring on the steep hair pin bends – same issue?
The windscreen had been taken and out and refitted just before we left – we should have tested it for water tightness as we hit some heavy rain and it leaked, leaked, leaked. Luckily we had absorbent stuff to catch the drips!
Fan belt squeal when started after standing for a few days in Lezzeno when it was very hot. Did the same in Namur but we stopped shortly afterwards for fuel and a supermarket wine raid and it didn’t happen again.
However, the long daily runs have loosened up the engine and it now purrs along!
Things we learnt
Don’t even think about doing such a trip without satnav. Use a power bank if there’s no supply or connection in the car. We found the TomTom didn’t take much power in the end.
Watch out for roaming data costs in Switzerland, they are scarily high. Particularly if you are uploading – as in doing this blog!
If the St Gotthard and/or San Bernardino passes are open, take them – the experience and scenery is spectacular. Our one regret is that the parking place at the top of the St Gotthard was too busy for us to stop for a photo opportunity.
Think very hard about organising a wedding abroad if the language and local customs are unknown to you!
Quick overview of our outward and return journeys to/from Lezzeno
We thought our last night was very Belgian. How do we know? Well, we were in Belgium but … they spoke French but didn’t behave French. The architecture was unusual – lots of large houses in huge gardens looking similar to our hotel. We were the only people there but it was really a B&B. Just starting out after a complete refurbishment – fully booked for the weekend so we got the smallest room as it was easy to turn round – no talk of upgrade! Strange breakfast – tea OR coffee; egg but only option was fried (badly). The appetiser in the restaurant was unheard of Belgian beers! The food was beef, in all sorts of guises, no use being vegetarian! Interaction in hotel and restaurant varied from chatty, too chatty, to being ignored. Being Belgian is the only explanation!
Hot again so screens on car windows and watchful eye on water temperature. Fan belt squealed again on start up but never again. Once at the ferry terminal had to open all doors and watertight hatches to cool down! A Saab driver came over to look at the car, he’d been at a Saab 75th anniversary rally in Sweden. Turned out he lived in Welling, stone’s throw from Woolwich.
When we returned to our vehicles on the car deck, we spotted a Toyota Celica covered in stickers. Closer inspection revealed it to be returning to the UK after doing RustToRome. As we were taking photos, the drivers returned and told us they had driven via Nancy, Lucerne and the high passes – camping most of the way – the camp on the pass was very cold! They overtook us on the A2 waving and making lots of noise.
A Harley Davidson rider on the M2 took a lot of trouble to overtake us, turn and inspect the front grille before waving us a huge thumbs up!
The last comment was from a resident in the block of flats in Woolwich saying, ‘I’ve haven’t seen one of those for years’ as we were unpacking!
This is the last post of the ‘on the road’ sort – the next one will be the overall review with technical data from the driver! I may also go back to the on the road posts and edit them as they were hard to do on the phone – a few got discarded in error and had to be completely re-written!
The orange windows are automated shutters – down when the sun is on them, as they were in our room when we arrived, but up (silently) in the morning when we woke up. One thing we noticed in the Vosges – tap water tasted much better than by Lake Como, off the mountains we suppose – as pleasant as Scottish water.
We found a local supermarket and petrol station nearby so stocked up on Knorr packet soups (so much better in France), herbes de Provence and a frock that fell into TopMan’s basket! Then we were accosted by a lady in the car park who wanted to tell us the secret way to the petrol pumps – in Alsace French! I got very muddled and we all laughed when after thanking her in French, I said I had a petit pois of French! C’est la vie!
Today was always going to be a slog – to get close enough to Dunkirk to make the final sector to the ferry on Friday afternoon a gentle stroll. So of course it was peage, peage and peage. Some I objected paying for, the road surface was so awful! But it was amusing driving on new roads that Lady Victoria knew nothing about (our TomTom is over 25 years old and not been supported for the last 5 of those years!). The most exciting thing was watching the odometer click over to 50,000 – here’s the video with voice over! Yes it took a while!
We are now on the Meuse south of Namur and passed a garage on our way here with a classic Citroen DS outside, hiding a TR6. We should have stopped! Now sampling Belgian beers and staying at an old villa recently renovated. With amazing lights in the stairwell and the largest copper beech tree in the world nearby!
Today’s data:
Left Selestat 10:10, mileage 49779
Arrived Wepion 16:00, mileage 50043
40 mpg we calculated this morning, we think because we coasted down St Gotthard to Andermatt! Forgot to say we saw a UK MGA on the hard shoulder of the side going up to St Gotthard. Couldn’t tell if they needed assistance but they were out of the car.
We left our beautifully located apartment beside Lake Como this morning … and my apologies, I’ve just learnt (relearnt?) about galleries of photos so sorry about the scrolling and scrolling!
We decided to head to the car ferry at Bellagio – no fan belt squeal at all but perhaps a top up of lubricant oil was needed. We discovered it was market day so here’s a little gallery of today in Bellagio! Putting new found knowledge into practice!
As usual we were position A on the ferry, second on, first off and were greeted at Cadenabbia with ‘Ciao!’ by the ferry man who had loaded us last week!
We negotiated the hair pin bends above Menaggio safely, meeting nothing at the crucial points. We were amused at the Italian/Swiss border (in a tunnel by Lake Lugano) by being told by the guard that we couldn’t drive a car like this and NOT speak Italian! Italian Duolingo coming up?
Then we hit Lugano itself and experienced some pluses and minuses. We knew it was a tricky place to negotiate so we were using Lady Victoria Satnav but she didn’t play with any satellites until we were well and truly lost. Signs to the motorway were prolific but just gave the road number and pointed straight ahead and right at the same junction! She kicked in soon enough but we had the pleasure of driving along the lakeside promenade and realising what a pretty town Lugano is. We’d like to go back!
Those of you kind enough to be reading this from the start will know we were debating the route home. San Bernardino or San Gottardo. And if San Gottardo / tunnel or pass. So from Lugano/Bellinzona onwards we were using our precious roaming data (Switzerland isn’t covered by the EU deal, it seems) to check the traffic tail backs at either place. At Bellinzona we got WiFi and oil – one told us there were queues at both tunnels but perhaps San Bernardino were longer – and it was 50 miles of a detour. So San Gottardo it was. Onward!
We were informed on a gantry that the Gottardo queue was 4km but looking at the interactive ViaMichelin, it looked like that was one queue, but there was another at Airolo as you enter the tunnel. We could see the parallel road was clear which went over the pass and there was an option to cut back to the tunnel route at Airolo. Using Zen navigation, we followed a car that did just that but we had seen the scenery and the mountain road – being the Alpinists we are, we went for it! Altitude was 2100mts – nearly 7000 ft. Fabulous experience!
Back down to earth and we stopped for a cool down between Lucerne and Basel. EGO decided not going any further. Starter motor just would not turn over. We decided to walk away and allow everyone to cool further when I noticed the lights were on (mix of daylight running requirement in Switzerland and the plethora of tunnels) – turned headlights off, tried starter and bam! On the road again!
Due to taking longer over the pass plus being a bit held up by an accident near Basel, we hit Basel at rush hour. Luckily Lady Victoria knew exactly the route through the tunnels and exits so we arrived at a very comfortable hotel in time for pre prandials and some relaxation.
Today’s data
Left Lezzeno 09:45, mileage 49522
Arrived Selestat 17:20, mileage 49779
34 mpg – local driving, steep hills up and down and refuelled before San Gottardo.
As we prepare to leave Lake Como on the morrow, we reflect on a wonderful week here in Lezzeno.
A beautiful wedding between Julie and Russell in a stunning location. Planned in 2019 and hoped for in 2020 and 2021 but achieved in 2022. An honour to be here! Wafted to the venue by a fleet of Lake Como water taxis, a brilliant ceremony conducted at the last minute by friend Jess, entertained by a live band, fed and watered in beautiful surroundings.
We wish Julie and Russell all the best in their future life together.
Arriving back after photosBeautiful tablesWedding cake Italian style
After chilling for a couple of days, EGO was started for a short trip to the alimentaria – hmm, a bit of fan belt slippage on start up. Not repeated once warm. Something to keep an eye on.
The return journey offers a few alternatives:
1. Either a short stretch of narrow road back to Bellagio, the car ferry and the hair pin bends above Menaggio to Lugano or longer scarier drive on narrow, bendy road to Como and then the motorway?
2. The St Gotthard tunnel or the San Bernardino? Both can have traffic queues but San Bernardino puts 50 miles on the journey.
3. If St Gotthard route – the tunnel or the St Gotthard Pass? Depends on traffic tailback south to north. Was 5 miles on the way here.
There are a few decision points here. Hopefully I can tell you about them from our wonderful hotel in France tomorrow!
We have reached our destination so EGO is having a well earned rest as will this blog post writer!
Last night we had lovely dinner in the garden with our landlady’s homemade grappa as a finale
It was a beautiful place in Lugano ….
Our plan was to enjoy Lake Lugano before heading to Italy but everywhere we wanted to stop was pay, pay, pay. Once in Italy it was not like Switzerland so we were able enjoy the views.
Here’s EGO – first stop in Italy since she was built in Milan!
Onward to Menaggio via steep hairpin bends on one of which we met an HGV – gulp! If we’d been 10 yards further up the road it would have been a catastrophe.
Waiting for the ferry over to Bellagio
Right at the front of a ferry with no barrier or any protection! Position A again!
Comments/glances:
Our Lugano landlady was the proud owner of a 1960s VW Beetle so she was excited by the Alfa but pointed out hers was older!
I realised from the rear there is nothing to say the car is an Alfa, just ‘1750’ so all the toots from the back must have from Alfisti who knew what they were looking at. An Alfa Owners’ (tiny) sticker is on the rear screen now.
We met a Spyder at the ferry queue. Noted that the driver and co-driver had red Alfa caps – envy!
Tuesday evening and sitting by a pool in a garden with a beer.
We left La Vancelle after a wonderful dinner ….
Car looking good! Overcast morning as we set off. Next stop Basel at the Swiss border, purchasing a vignette for the motorways and doing whatever the border asked of us. There was a special line for the vignette so that was easy – we had passports and vaccine apps ready for inspection but no-one wanted to see anything. I suppose Switzerland is in the Schengen area and that was dealt with atDover. But just asking if we were vaccinated without proof seemed pretty casual there!
On then. Wow! Basel is a sprawling place now, negotiated by underground motorways. I remember it only as a place to change trains.
Tunnels, blue skies, mountains and Swiss scenery but we were sorry that Lake Lucerne was hidden by motorway barriers, buildings and finally another tunnel. I tried but photos aren’t much good.
Next scary thing was the St Gotthard tunnel. We thought the queues and tailbacks from the north were bad until we saw the queue at the southern end – we calculated it to be 5 miles!
And then we drove through Bellinzona, home of Birra Bellinzona that I recall from a holiday in the late 1960s. Before the Alfa was built.
Comments/glances
Chatted to a Belgian couple at Basel who were heading to Tuscany – they loved the car. They overtook us later south of the St Gotthard with much tooting and waving!
Beeped by a coach driver with thumbs up
A chat with a Suisse father and son at Lucerne
Beeps from a BMW at Bellinzona
Only saw one other Alfa – a Stelvio – which ignored us!
Todays data:
Left La Vancelle 10:15, mileage 49267 Arrived Lugano 16:20, mileage 49494 – and achieved 38 mpg – the advantage of drafting behind lorries!
PS – on the female front – nowhere in France, Switzerland, Italy or Spain has any female been seen wearing the printed so-called swing dresses (sacks?) that are in all the retail outlets in the UK!
We shook the mud (too wet to say ‘dust’) of Reims from our feet on Monday morning and headed off to Alsace and La Vancelle in the Vosges Mountains.
Cloud with sunny intervals plus a few rain spots which was perfect for a drive. Shortly after leaving we discovered a drawback to driving an interesting car – the gendarmerie picked us out to be pulled over for a breath test. Looking for morning after drivers we reckoned plus they were curious about the car. Driver passed the test and they stopped the traffic to wave us on our way.
Although we are now well south of Flanders, the fields are full of poppies. We’ve never seen them before and realise we have never driven through France this early in the year.
We wondered why the roads were quiet and then realised it’s Whit Monday! If the UK had stuck to that instead of the ‘Late May’ holiday, we’d have known! The car held its own on the A and N roads – here are the dials showing condition normal!
We decided not to take a peage tunnel almost direct to Monday’s hotel but took a route over the Col de Sainte Marie …. gentle climb to an altitude of 772m.
Comments/glances:
Toot tooted by an Alfa Guila
Wave from a bike
Flashed on the col by an old Citroen (a bit mothy) and a Karmann Ghia (in very good nick)
Thumbs up by a couple of people
Today’s data:
Left Reims 10:00, mileage 49065 Arrived La Vancelle 14:45, mileage 49267
34 mpg – lower than yesterday due to an easterly headwind.
Thanks for the likes and comments!
PS – photos not loading for some reason – will try to update later. Turns out it was funny WiFi at the hotel which blocked uploads. All done now, courtesy Co-op Marche at Bellinzona!
Northern France, Sunday, rain. As grey as it can get.
We drove south past Hazebrouck/Poperinge and thought of great uncle Reggie lost there in 1915. Got lost, we thought, in Cassel due to a ‘route barriere’ and going round and roundpave streetsbut finally popped out where we expected to be. This is very hard without satnav!
Then we had a cock up on the navigation front on the Lille bypass. Driver thought we were taking A23 to Valenciennes, navigator thought we were taking A16 towards Mons (but had forgotten A23 was an option). Ended up taking the A22 towards Tourcoing – wrong! Took a risk, deployed the power bank and connected the satnav – Lady Victoria got us safely back to the A23 which we found on a completely different bypass to the one we started on! No further need for Lady Victoria until we needed to get to our hotel without entering Reims city centre – no Crit’Air cert for the Alfa!
Summary of the day / rain, rain and more rain but the car went really well.
Today’s data:
A car toot tooted us at Lille! If there were other admiring glances, we couldn’t see them through the rain! And no-one on the streets on a Sunday in France!
Left Bollezeele 09:55, mileage 48868
Arrived outside Reims 15:25, mileage 49065
37 mpg
Wet in Reims. Suppose Joan of Arc would have prayed for rain!
PS – would be lovely if you followers liked or commented on posts, otherwise all we get is number of visitors.
On our way …. a sprinkling of rain as we left, dealt with by RainX. No need to use wipers and so no risk of the fuse blowing. RainX did what it said on the tin.
As you see, Dover Ferry Port was almost deserted! No challenge at all and the ferry only quarter full, I’d say, perhaps less! Car admired by the loading crew so put in position A to get off first! And we did!
Reading French signs and paper maps turned out to be a forgotten skill. We dived into the ‘Something to Declare’ side at the Dunkirk Douane post. Our basic French allowed us to escape. Then ViaMichelin had sent us a twisty way that we (me) got wrong. Here we are at Hostellerie St Louis eventually.
Today’s data:
Number of admiring comments on the car: 4
Left Woolwich at 08:49, mileage 48777. Arrived Bollezeele, near St Omer at 16:10 mileage 48868. All times local.
rosneath 
