When we got invited to attend a Wedding in Italy this year I thought it was a perfect opportunity for an extended holiday. In hindsight I admit my plans were rather ambitious, 17 stops in 20 days was a busy itinerary, but so worth it! Departing London and hopping on the Eurotunnel, it was a quick 18 hour drive to our first destination. For Brits this may seem like a crazy idea, but being married to an American and having lived there myself, this is a common holiday drive time and didn’t faze us at all.
This is of course until we got to the Gothard Road Tunnel on the Swiss/Italian border…
Unbeknownst to us they have been closing the tunnel at midnight to do some road works before the busy ski season descended upon the Alps. Arriving at 2:00am we were diverted on the rather precarious mountain roads which added another 2 hours to the journey. Worst of all as we were coming around a bend, a deer came galloping out of the forest and straight into our car! The poor thing slid about a hundred metres down the road as we tried to regain control of the vehicle with nothing more than thin air on the side of the cliff we were skimming by.
We came to a full stop with hearts in our mouths and looking at the animal for any sign of life, unfortunately there was none. This is sincerely one of the most traumatic experiences of my life and for those who have suffered something similar I am sure you will agree. Limping to the nearest service station with our battered car we called the Swiss AA (AAA for the Americans and not Alcoholics Anonymous) who told us this is quite a common occurrence in the mountains. We drove to Milan where we slept in the backseat until garages opened in the morning. With approximately £9,000 worth of damage this was going to have to wait till we got home and got a rental vehicle for the rest of the trip.
I am pleased to report that after this bump in the road (excuse the pun) the rest of the vacation went very smoothly and over my next few posts I will go over all the places we visited in more detail. Just thought it may be worth writing this as an introduction of sorts.
If you are planning on a similar road trip these are my tips:
1. Carry Cash (Euros)- the tolls throughout Europe are not cheap and each way we must have spent approx €100.00. The Swiss make you purchase a vignette windscreen sticker, which costs 40 CHF. The good news is it is valid for a year.
2. If travelling from England the toll receivers will be on the ‘wrong side’, make sure your passenger is awake and aware of their responsibilities as mainland European drivers like to use their car horns for any delays.
3. Keep Passports handy- Although ours were checked a total of one time at the British side of the border it is still worth having it handy for the rest of the time than having to rummage through a car, especially at night.
4. Sat Nav- We tried to go old school and got a map of Italy, unfortunately it was hard to keep up and road signs are not what they used to be. Data roaming is expensive so save yourself the stress and get a good Sat Nav device. We have the Tom Tom although the Garmin is just as good. Update to European maps before you leave.
5.Italian drivers are not crazy- they are just impatient and intolerant! Just get out of their way and let them pass, no need to get in a swearing competition when neither of you can understand each other or participate in road wars. You will lose.
Below are the places we visited. Rome and Venice are absent as we went there on separate occasions and have specific blogs dedicated to them also.
1. Bologna
2. Tivoli
3. Castellabate
4. Positano
5. Capri
6. Sorrento
7. Pompeii
8. Herculaneum
9. Mount Vesuvius
10. Naples
11. Siena
12. Florence
13. Tuscany/Chianti Region
14. Pisa
15. Cinque Terre
16. Milan
17. Lake Como
Looking forward to sharing our time in each of these places with you over the coming days.
-till the next experience
For more information on the Eurotunnel visit them on www.eurotunnel.com/uk/home
YOLO Inc. 