5 May

I woke up this morning not very happy after last night’s incident. However, some things have a way of working out, as you will see later.
I was prepared and down for breakfast at 8. Breakfast was a large cup, with tea and cold milk (as specified), pieces of baguette and a croissant. The fruit juice was of indeterminate origin, so I gave it a miss, and there wasn’t much room left inside anyway.
I, as usual, gave my hostess a pin (either kangaroo or koala, although kangaroo seems to be the favourite. We then had a discussion about Australia, but it was rather limited. Then I headed off to pack and leave. Just as I was leaving (after pushing pieces of the car back together), mine hostess rushed out and asked if I would like a bottle of wine (I think it was their’s as part of the farm is a vineyard. I politely declined as I wouldn’t drink it before leaving Europe and didn’t want to have to carry it half-way around the world. My only comment on this was that this was the cheapest night for me (€25) and in many ways one of the best. Price is not always a determinant of quality.
I left and headed in, wanting to check with the police as to whether I should report it or not.
The first problem was finding the police station. It was stuck down a tiny one-way street with no parking anywhere near. After my third drive past I stopped in their driveway and went in to explain and ask. The officer on desk duty knew as much English as I did French. The woman who was on the desk with him took one look and headed off to do other things. We were halfway through when two more police came in, and one did understand and speak English quite well, but after clarifying two points, he found something else to do away from the desk. His female colleague stayed, but she couldn’t speak English anyway. He needed an occupation and couldn’t understand “retired” so I said teacher of Mathematics. The female officer squirmed, but he said he was good at and enjoyed Maths. Eventually we finished, after half an hour, and we all said goodbye, especially the one who could speak English, who now appeared back on the scene (once everything was done). I headed off to a Renault dealership, where the service adviser just hit everything hard, said it all needed to be replaced, but it was perfectly okay to drive. I took him at his word and headed off.
I went up to the viewing point for the Millau bridge. It had a lot of information, but also a lot on sale and you needed to join a guided tour to walk right under the supports, and I didn’t have the time anyway. I got some souvenirs and headed into Millau, to get some photos there and finally drive across. In town I had to circle a roundabout to get to a parking spot to photograph the town and the river and … the police were there, including the English speaker, who waved back at me once he recognised me.
After taking the photos (of the Tarn River), went up to the A75 and bought my toll ticket, but went off to the viewing spot first. I took some photos and asked a French couple to take a photo of me with it, which they did reluctantly UNTIL they found out I was Australian. Then it was all friendly smiles and talking in English.
On my way back to the car park (even the viewing point is big business), the Fire Brigade were trying to get into a spot, had trouble and had to call the police, who included the English speaker, who again waved back and gave a second take, as if to say are you following me. After thatI was off and over the bridge.
Well, it was an experience, but because of its size and construction, it was just like driving over a ridge road. The view, when I cold get it, was great, but there was no swaying or movement, which I did expect.
After that I headed off towards Turin. My choices were nine hours, or six using toll roads, so I opted for the toll roads. My view on pictographs for toll roads – they should have a toilet bowl and someone tossing money into it, to illustrate the folly. Altogether, I think I spent nearly €60 on tolls today, all on the Mastercard. I will find out the exact amount when my statement comes in (so the final version of this may be edited).
Nearly every road I had to take was a toll road. I stopped to take photos at one point, and was asked by a Frenchman whether I thought the view was good. Again, as I explained I liked it in broken French, he looked uninterested, but after finding out I was Australian, I had to end the conversation as he wanted to know how it compared to France, in what ways, and so on. I went off at Orange (France, not NSW) to check on the McDonald’s and they had WiFi (but very small advertising of it), so I called in, sent my blog and photos and checked my emails. Then it was off again, but all the stopping had stretched my arrival time in Turin to after 8.
Once I was in the Alps proper, the road became slower, but still far quicker that the ordinary road beside us. I found one problem with the SatNav, when roads cross at different heights, the SatNav can’t really tell which one you are on and sometimes gives directions for the other road(s) – which can be very confusing if followed.
Just before I got to the long tunnel, I filled up, as I intended to let the car go on the Autostradas in Italy, to make up time. Faint hope. After being the only car at French Customs as I entered the tunnel, I got a few questions, but with the EU passport was waved through quickly. The tunnel was interesting – all the rules, but you don’t get time to read them – and also slow and downhill. Once out, on the Italian side, the speed limit was only 100 (though I was the only one sticking to it, which was unnerving when one car came up behind me (I was next to and overtaking a truck) and then overtook me as if I was standing still. However, I don’t want to waste time in an Italian traffic court, so I stuck to the limits.
I got to Turin (Torino) well after 9, feeling a little tired and so I let the SatNav choose a hotel for me. It was a little pricey, but included Internet and breakfast, and I didn’t have to search. But I did have to park the car in a spot with only thirty centimetres at each end – and I did! Right out the front of the hotel, so I feel it should be safe. I took the SatNav out just to remove an obvious temptation – something not necessary when parking in a farmyard.
I settled into the room, which is hot – the weather today got up to 31°C and then was only 10°C when I was out of the tunnels and in near fog – did the photos and then this blog, tried to ring Connie for tomorrow (no luck at 9:30, so I’ll try now at 10:30, as I need a town to head to). I need a good night’s sleep for a long drive tomorrow on unfamiliar roads.