With his alarm set for 06.30, M1 was awake just after 6.00 and on the road at 06.25 so as to get ahead of the inevitable traffic round the lake. Starting on the wrong side of Bluffy, there was an incentive to go as quickly as possible and despite traffic lights and some sometimes unthinking drivers he was through Annecy, past the many patisseries and their appetising smells and at the turning point at the bottom end of the lake within the hour averaging 19.5 mph. The turn back to Talloires brought more awkawrd, narrow roads which, with a bit of a headwind slowed the rate of progress a bit. At Talloires, the route goes away from the lake up towards Bluffy but in checking the computer an inadvertent double click zeroed the b.....y thing! Never mind, up we went following the road still with all the chalked encouragements to the fans heroes visible but not always understood. Somehow though, M1 came off the route by following the main road then found himself barelling down to lakeside again. Ouch! nothing for it but to turn up the hill again which was a tough test. Quite how the TdeF competitors coped with this on their TT bikes earned even more respect. Nevertheless, the circuit was completed and back in the campsite at 08.10 when most others were still in their scratchers!
McD set of on his jog just as M1 returned following a locally recommended route - spectacular scenery all around but to his disappointment a large chunk of it was through domestic housing. On his return, both had good appetites for a breakfast of ham and scrambled eggs. We decoupled from the site quickly and set off for our next destination, Courmayeur, after being slightly disappointed with the summer experience that Lake Annecy represented for us anyway - just too busy after the peace of the Valserine valley!
We had been to Courmayeur for a long ski weekend a few years before and enjoyed it very much despite indifferent snow. Since our aim was now to get into northern Italy, Courmayeur fitted the bill well and gave us the most direct route through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, some 12km of well managed human engineering - but at a cost of 44 euros! We were soon through to marvel at the Val d'Aosta revealed ahead of us and with the picturesque Courmayeur at its head. We remembered the town layout well and had soon parked the van before taking a light but delicious lunch in a favourite place - the Cafe de la Posta. This was terrifically relaxing as we ate, watched the world go by and how the locals just popped in and out for a sociable coffee or glass of wine - solid evidence of a real community. The helpful lady in the Tourist Information office gave us some excellent maps for walking the mountains and valleys on this south side of Mont Blanc but told us politely but firmly that we must park overnight in one of two car parks both in inconvenient places outside the town and sandwiched between two busy roads. Dutifully we chose the least bad option to the south - or so we thought - cleaned ourselves up and headed back into the charming town for pre-dinner drinks. On returning, our EMU was hemmed in by other vans and by a bloomin' great pantechnichon which pleased us not at all. Easy solution - load up and climb the hill into the lovely Val Veny to one of three campsites which would suit our walking ambitions the following day. McD at the wheel, we followed the narrow road out of Dollone but, although it was signposted as being banned to large lorries, was undergoing road and building works with those banned large lorries filling the road. We had to beat a hasty retreat - not at all an easy exercise - back to the same car park that we had just left. In some chagrin, we parked well away from the other vans and their yappy dog-owning occupants little knowing that the car park was used as a turning point, load swapping point and delivery area for a whole host of goods wagons. A somewhat unsettled night ensued but no matter, we had made a reservation at Rifugio Elisabetta at the head of Val Veny for the following night and we looked forward to relishing a quiet night up the mountain.
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