Tour de France

I got a split vote for coast and Alps so I did both.  Woke up at 5am and drove the back roads down to Savona along the coast to Aix.  I found one of the Calisson shops, Leonard Parli right away, another one Bechard Sa was closed and the third one, Roy Rene was not where the map said it was.  No bother, I got what I came for, mass quantities of Calissons.  From experience I know that once you exit Aix, you can’t get back on the highway going the direction I came from (maybe someone knows how but no one I've talked to), which is why continuing on to Montelimar made sense.

After a brief drive through Avignon for nostalgia sake, the fortified city in the picts, and getting lost only to find a McDonalds with free Wi-Fi to get me back on track (will my blasphemy never cease), I made it to Montelimar.  Each town in France are each known for something and the exit signs from the autostada are marked with pictures of it.  No surprise, Montelimar’s was nougat.  I just wish my camera turned on faster.  After a couple scores there it was time to hit the Alps via Grenoble. 

Lucky for me it was a perfectly clear day and the roads were dry.  There is a 12 kilometer tunnel at the top of the pass between France and Italy which costs 36 euro (nevermind the other countless tolls).  Other than that, it was a lot like driving in the Rockies, maybe even easier because the roads here actually felt less steep.

I got to see the sun rise over the water and set in the Alps.  Lovely (and long) day.

I hope you enjoy the picts!