A drive from France to Italy through the French Alps
We arrived on our flight from the US into Geneva by way of Munich for the start of our European Road Trip. Our first destination was to be Lake Garda, Italy so we had a five hour drive through the French Alps. After securing our rental car, we were off heading east on the A40.
To be honest, I had been concentrating so much on all the other days of our road trip that I hadn't thought much about our drive through the mountains. I knew we would pass Mt. Blanc which is a fantastic destination in it's own right but since we weren't staying there, I glossed over this sight entirely. And what a beautiful drive it was!
We came upon Mt. Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and west of Russia, and then drove up to the Mount Blanc tunnel that passes from Chamonix, France to Courmayeur, Italy. (The peak itself sits in France)
After passing Mt. Blanc, we needed to enter the tunnel to pass from France to Italy.( In front of the tunnel is the Memorial to the 39 victims of a fire in the tunnel in 1999.) While waiting in line to pay the 40euro fee and pass through the tunnel, we were interviewed by a French policeman. After starting to ask us questions in French - to no avail - he switched to English and asked us if we were carrying more than $10,000 dollars in our car. Ha! That's a good one.
After passing through the long tunnel, we arrived in Italy. Now our views were of castles, ruins, and churches. A bit of a change in landscape as we went on and kept heading to Lake Garda. A beautiful drive - even with jet lag!
How about you? Have you driven from France to Italy? Or Italy to France?
Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand and Faraway Files at Oregon Girl Around the World!
To be honest, I had been concentrating so much on all the other days of our road trip that I hadn't thought much about our drive through the mountains. I knew we would pass Mt. Blanc which is a fantastic destination in it's own right but since we weren't staying there, I glossed over this sight entirely. And what a beautiful drive it was!
We came upon Mt. Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and west of Russia, and then drove up to the Mount Blanc tunnel that passes from Chamonix, France to Courmayeur, Italy. (The peak itself sits in France)
After passing Mt. Blanc, we needed to enter the tunnel to pass from France to Italy.( In front of the tunnel is the Memorial to the 39 victims of a fire in the tunnel in 1999.) While waiting in line to pay the 40euro fee and pass through the tunnel, we were interviewed by a French policeman. After starting to ask us questions in French - to no avail - he switched to English and asked us if we were carrying more than $10,000 dollars in our car. Ha! That's a good one.
After passing through the long tunnel, we arrived in Italy. Now our views were of castles, ruins, and churches. A bit of a change in landscape as we went on and kept heading to Lake Garda. A beautiful drive - even with jet lag!
How about you? Have you driven from France to Italy? Or Italy to France?
Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand and Faraway Files at Oregon Girl Around the World!
What a beautiful part of the world! I love your photos of the mountains but the castles are always a treat for me!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week!
My Corner of the World
Thanks Betty! And thanks so much for visiting - and for the link-up!
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