A relatively calm night in Basel saw the hoodies tucked up in bed before the chimes of midnight, ready to face the prospect of one of the most scenic drives known to man, taking in the mountains, lakes and valleys en route up and over the Grimsel pass... well, I'm sure the view was out there somewhere, but it was difficult to tell because the wipers wouldn't shift the rain quick enough. If we thought yesterday started in monsoon conditions, our sense of perspective was quickly readjusted as we headed through the Swiss countryside.
We climbed our way around the hairpins of the Grimsel pass, and as the rain turned to sleet and then to snow we wondered if we would have been better off packing waterproofs and wellies instead of shorts and flip flops. More drama was to follow as we reached the summit of the next pass - the Furka pass - amid scenes normally reserved for the Rally of Finland and we were told that the road was impassible and we would have to turn around and make our way back down and find an alternate route to Como. We duly did this, calling on Graham's navigational resources, to take in another winding climb in a convoy of a few scally cars slipping and sliding our way up and over another pass.
After a well deserved lunch of carbonara we continued into Como. The snow turned back into rain - a lot of rain – and just as we caught our first glimpses of lake Como the sun welcomed us across the Italian border. We were waved straight through the border control – they must have recognised the Italian credentials of the chariot (and Mike's wig)...
Our challenge for the day was to get the vital statistics of some of the world's most exotic motors (and a Ford Focus ST), and extra points for photographic evidence if we happened to see any of them. So the sight of Porsches, Ferraris, Astons, and Beemers heading the opposite direction down the pass got us all overexcited and trigger happy on the camera... amazing though that the Alfa Brera is clearly not sold in its native Italy as it eluded us all day,
A beautiful drive along the edge of the lake saw us into Como, where we duly found our hotel, and prepared for an evening of comparing notes with our scally peers...
Day 3.......Well there's no two ways about it....we are having a ball! The whole thing is just fantastic.
Having arrived in Como on Saturday night, we had a lovely evening despite the rain!! After a few drinks and a good italian meal with the locals, we decided to head to a bar in the main square for a quiet drink before heading home! But it wasn't meant to be...the Taylor-Quinn combo couldn't escape the Como party and managed to stumble across and gatecrash a good irish wedding, which turned out to be a great shindig!
After just 3 ½ hours sleep, we were on the road again and heading to the Stelvio pass....and the early start was well worth it....what an amazing experience. We had a ball going up the mountain and took lots of pictures, it was a truly memorable experience, particularly seeing other scally cars before and after us, keeping the comaraderie going!
It was a long day, but truly worth every minute, and we even managed to squeeze in the beginning of the grand prix (go, Vettel!) and finally landed in Cortina, several passes later, at around 5.30pm.
Ains & Mike took to the hotel jacuzzi for some well deserved r & r, before we all headed off to explore the delights of Cortina...and what a beautiful place, it really is stunning! With the banter still on top form and with laughs aplenty, we enjoyed a nice meal in the town, before heading back to the hotel to catch up with some fellow scallies and share some stories! After a rather crazy 48 hours though, the woody hoodies opted for an early night....after all, Monday is the last day and we have Venice and a wrap party in Rimini to face tomorrow, and that could be rather hectic!!
Photos here.....