328: Miles travelled today.
1.5: Hours taken to cover the first 50!
4: The amount of croissants consumed my yours truly. Today.
350: The amount of miles the cars managing to average on a tankfull of 'Sans plomb'!
2: The amount of times i got 'geographically disorientated' trying to find the campsite.
1: Annoying texan woman sitting across from me chatting to her overweight husband via iChat.
Was up fairly early this morning, and left La Bresse around 10, managing to strike camp and pack up in about 15 minutes now. And thats without even breaking a sweat! The first 50 or so miles out of La Bresse were slow, which was made up for a little by one of the twistiest, curviest and flowiest (I am aware that none of the last 3 adjectives appear in the Oxford dictionary...) roads ive ever driven. However, the novelty soon wears off when you realise that youve covered just 35 miles in an hour. And have 300 more to do!
Eventually i hit the A39 (i think), and progress rapidly increased from here onwards. Wahoo! Stopped at a service station to grab some fuel for both me and Flo, as a side note, even french service stations are cool. This one had like a massive country park attached to the side of it! Oh yeah, and i went a little weak at the knees when i came out and saw the below....
Back in the car and on the road again, things were pretty boring, but quick for the next 200 miles. 100 miles to go though and things started getting a lot more interesting. Le autoroute de titans has to be one of the most spectacular feats of road engineering i've ever seen. It weaves alongside the side of the french alps, attached as high as 500m up on floating platforms. To the side of you there is nothing but a thin layer of Armco protecting you from rocky obliteration hundreds of metres below! Unfortunately i couldn't get any photos, as i was driving, no excuse i know!
15 miles west of Chamonix i stopped at a rest/viewing station. The furthest peak in the photos below, the one hiding behind all them clouds, is Mont Blanc itself. It's mahoooosssiiivveee!
Eventually, after getting lost only twice and driving six miles in the wrong direction only once, i found the campsite! In broken Frenchglish, i asked the lady if there was room for me to stay. There was, and before i had time to get back in Flo, she had already jumped into the passenger seat to guide me too my pitch! Photos of my camp for the next two nights are below, as well as the strangely peaceful, yet quietly menacing, highest peak in europe that towers directly above my tent!
Am currently in Chamonix, sitting in another McDonalds (if its one thing they're good for its the free wi-fi!), after having a ramble around the town. Chamonix is like no other place i've experienced, there is just such a radical vibe about the place. Chilled out yet adventurous, a 'lets go hiking then rock climbing then mountain biking' type thing, and yet at the end of the day there are bars galore, live music spilling out of every one with locals and tourists sitting, drinking, together. And all this is accompanied by one of the most dramatic backdrops that exist, the French Alps. Ooooh yeah, i found a North Face shop as well! Those that know me will know that i have a bit of an obsession for TNF gear, and when i discovered that this place had 3 floors, well lets just say its not often i go wobbly twice in one day! I like this place, i like it a lot. Pics below!
Oh yeah, i parked next to this...
Right, that's today pretty much wrapped up! I'm off to locate the nearest supermarché to sort out dinner for tonight.
Laters.
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