Travelling home from Italy

A grumpy Daughter at 6:30 this morning as we have to leave by just after 7:00, so Wife and Daughter can get their plane.  Wife is anxious that they might not make it, but seasoned traveller Daughter is totally relaxed and is proved right.

I drove on northwards from Pisa for another 30 minutes then stopped for supplies and some last wine buying and a detailed think about possible routes home.  I decided on the route via the Mont Blanc tunnel, with a stop over in Chamonix.  Music for this morning's drive is provided by Zoe Keating (a live CD I got from emusic.com), John Renbourne (The Maid of Bedlam album) and an edition of Stuart Maconie's Freak Show featuring many fine tracks.

The car park at Chamonix

After a brief walk round the centre of town, I was tempted by one of the cafes where I could have had pancakes or various other treats.  A beer and a banana split were very good.

I gradually felt more and more tired as I spent the afternoon in Chamonix and was tempted to ask in a couple of hotels if they had a room for the night.  The second one did and I was very pleased to spend the night there.  Dinner was a pizza in town and then a chance to watch a foorball match on tv and have a nice bath - luxury

My hotel in Chamonix

Sunday

An early start from Chamonix and rapid progress on my drive to Calais.  I stopped off at a service station around lunchtime and dscovered there was a sort of park attached which I rather liked. 

Somewhere in northern France, I was able to pick up radio 5 from the UK and could listen to more football matches.  I had planned to stop at one of the Aires but just kept pushing on.  I got to Calais around midnight and was allowed on the next ferry.  A long drive in the pouring rain back in England and I arrived home around 4:00am, just as it was getting light.