Sospel France
Sospel France
Sospel France
Diano Marina Italy

On Wednesday we departed our spot just out from the lake and Les Salles- sur Verdon. We drove the two and half hours to Sospel. Driving the tolls through Cannes, Nice and Monaco. Jason freaked me out when we had gone through one and he said did I get another ticket, I hadn’t. Each time we pulled up we had no idea which lane we got in or how much it was going to cost us. At one point I’m hanging out the window, pushing the assistance button in a panic as it said lane closed after we had arrived. Lucky it was just a malfunction and I could pay. The result of my €20 note was loads of change. Jason had chosen our next stop in Sospel not to far from the Italian border. We knew the weather was supposed to be cold on thursday, possibly snowing and I had read that a lot of rain wa due in the med approximately a 100mm. What Jason didn’t check was where exactly Sospel was. Sospel is a small French Alps village up a series of 42 lasses, near hairpin bends. Once on the road we were committed as there was nowhere to turn around for the 10km climb up. We passed a beautiful arched bridge that lapped around in a circle at the side of the road and drove up through archways. Arriving in Sospel we realised we are right below the Alps and in between mountain passes. That night the thunder, lightning and heavy rain started and continued for two days. The thunder was so bad in the Alps that it actually shook our van. It freaked us all out and all of a sudden there was us and two dogs in the bed. The local caretaker came to collect our money and yesterday we asked him the best route out of there on friday. We wanted to go up to the Col di Tende, but it now had snow. The route we had come up already had heavy rockfall on the road, closing one tunnel and that was before the rain. That night was really cold and our leisure battery was low due to no sun or power for two days, also no internet connection. Today we decided it was now or never. We awoke to a beautiful sunny day, the snow on the mountains behind us. We walked into Sospel, a gorgeous little village, with stone arch bridges over the river, now a heavy flow after the rainfall. Coloured houses dotted the river bank. I am so glad we got to walk through the town before we left. We headed down the way we came, more rockfall on the road than when we came up, but happy there was sun shining and the visibility was clear. We headed through Menton and over the heavy guarded Italian border. The coastal drive to where we are is stunning, the roads wide. The italian drivers are a little crazier, scooters overtake on any part of the road. Italians park anywhere and zebra crossings are every 20 metres. The weather is good, warm and such a difference from two days ago. Viva Italia