I will explain the story behind the picture at the top in a minute. But I will start at the Best Western CHC Genova Airport Hotel – the expensive one-nighter. We felt considerably more positively toward it after breakfast which was simply one of the finest breakfasts I have had anywhere. Perhaps the finest free breakfast I have ever experienced. Juices, fresh coffee, fruits, nuts, scrambled eggs (real, not powdered), delicious bacon, sausage, deli meats, cheeses and an extravagant selection of mouth-watering breads and croissants. And fresh honey, straight from a huge honeycomb! All served in a very elegant breakfast room. Gotta rate this hotel at least a 9 out of 10.
We had spent a lot on tolls getting to Genoa and I resolved to get to Chambery toll-free. I also expected the toll-free route to be more interesting And it was. Perhaps TOO interesting.
The first thing we did after finding our way out of central Genoa was to get gas. That was an adventure as it was Sunday and in Genoa – and maybe all of Italy – most gas stations are closed on Sunday. But even in a closed gas station the pumps remain open. I just had to figure out how to use one.
The pump is separate from the payment kiosk. I figured out how to do it with assistance from an Italian woman who was fueling up at the adjacent pump. You enter the credit card and indicate the pump you are at, then go to the pump and fill the tank (I also had to figure out which type of fuel to use). Then go back to the kiosk to complete the transaction and get the receipt. The total for about 9 gallons? Over $60 – more than $6 a gallon! Sure hope I get good mileage.
Shortly after gassing up the GPS had me take a right turn onto a small road that immediately started to climb. We climbed for over 20 minutes, into the mountains surrounding Genoa. The road was narrow and winding but not as scary as the road to Cinque Terre.
After we leveled out we encountered Voltaggio, a cute little town on a small river. It looked interesting and we needed a break, so we stopped. Very cute, quaint town! A memorable hour.
We didn’t stop again until we reached Turin/Torino and then stopped at a mall to use the bathroom and do some shopping – first for a snack (fresh bread) and then for clothes. Marlene, despite her best efforts, did not find anything to buy. She did, however, lose her phone. Being without a phone would, needless to say, be a disaster. We couldn’t leave until it was found, which it was, after only 20 minutes of searching. But that 20 minutes meant, to me, that I would be navigating the Alps in near-darkness. That prospect did not please me.
The sensible thing at that point would have been to get on the toll road which would have been much safer in the dark. But I didn’t, thinking that I could still make it through the mountains before darkness set in. But then we encountered the closed road and detour. At that point we were committed. But had we known just how scary the detour would be I might have turned around.
The detour took us into a small town and down a road that looked like someone’s driveway. It then started climbing. It was very narrow for about 2 km – not wide enough for two cars. I was terrified that I would encounter a car coming at me after the next hairpin turn. And no guard rails. Running off the road would have killed us.
Fortunately that road terminated at a slightly larger road. Passing cars were no longer a problem, but then the fog set in. We drove for nearly 30 minutes through some of the densest fog I have ever seen. My visibility was maybe 40 feet. And it was getting darker. At one point Marlene said “should we stop?” To which I replied “and do what – wait for night?” We kept going, across the border into France. Eventually the road started going down and the fog lifted. The reward for this terrifying ordeal was the beautiful photo at the top.
We made it to our destination – our hotel in Chambery – around 8pm, in total darkness. We had “dinner” of the bread we had bought in Turin and then went to sleep, exhausted.