Back into Italy

Travelled:80km
Visited:la Rosiere, Col du Petit St Bernard, La Thuile
Stay:3km from Courmayeur- aire, free parking and services GPS N45.81428 E6.95612

The rain has stopped and the clouds have lifted, so off we went in Bluey up and over another Col into Italy. Before we left Bourg St Maurice we did a pit stop at the camp ground for €3. After driving the zigzag road up to 1850m, we had a stroll along the main drag in the ski resort town of la Rosiere. 

Then we stopped just before the Italian Border at the Little Saint Bernard Pass 2188m. They have found evidence of people using this pass from 700BC and also in the Roman era. The pass is named after Saint Bernard who built a hospice here in the 11th century, to give shelter to pilgrims. Although through the years it was destroyed and rebuilt many times, it was eventually abandoned after WWII and was not renovated until 1993. We visited the museum and information centre here. 

We then had a walk to the chapel before going across the border where we looked at the Roman ruins. 

The snow covered mountain is Mont Blanc.

 Left over border fortifications.

 

A marmotte...

And yes, this is where the Saint Bernard dogs were given their name

We also watched some cross country/alpine racers competing in the Ultra-trail du Mont Blanc (for more info look at wikipedia).

 Heading down the mountain we stopped to have a walk to Lake Verney. 

We visited La Thuille where we bought some fresh pasta and I had my first Italian hot chocolate...mmmm. 

We then continued down 3km past Courmayeur, just near the entrance of the Mont Blanc tunnel, to an aire for the night with great views of the mountains and glaciers.

Rainy day

Travelled:38km
Stay: Bourg Saint Maurice - free parking, no services GPS N45°37.3194' E6°46.6878'

We listened to the rain splatter on Bluey most of the night and it was still going when we woke up. So down the mountain we came to Bourg Saint Maurice. We spent the rest of the morning shopping to buy our favorite things we may not find in Italy. We then went to McD where Mark watched some footy and I did some blogging. Still the rain came down, so we will wait it out here as we will see nothing if we head up the mountain into Italy. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching a movie. It was 7pm when it finished so it was dinner time. Crossed fingers that the weather clears up for tomorrow.

to Alpe d'Huez France

Travelled:104km
Visited: Col du Glandon, Alpe d'Huez
Stay:Alpe d'Huez -aire, €10 parking with services GPS N4505.204' E6°04.750'

We had a terrific day. It was a beautiful drive down to la Chambre, where we stopped to have breakfast. 

Then we continued on to the Col du Glandon, where we had a lovely walk and took in the wonderful and diverse alpine scenery. 

We stopped at the Lake Grand Maison to have some lunch before making our way to Alpe d'Huez. 

After the 21 switchbacks in 12km (not counting all the others today) the boys were ready to stop. We found a spot in the aire and then later we went for a walk into the village. Luckily by the time we finished our first drink the rain had stopped. We strolled around some more before heading to our next bar. After a couple more drinks we made our way to a restaurant that had been recommended by two locals and we were not disappointed. Nice food and atmosphere. Later the moon light shone for our walk back to Bluey and #25.