Vis It's a canon ball run i et større kart
Its a cannon ball run - 7500 km, Renault scenic, 12 countries and 11 days.
15th of april 2011 started as a normal day for me, alarm rang at about 5 am (which did not mean that i woke up at that time) and for the next 2 hours the alarm kept ringing. At 7am i got myself out of bed and start getting ready for work, but this was not going to be a normal day. i had promised my wife 16th of april's breakfast by a bridge in Faro in Denmark, 1350km away from alesund and about 17 hours' drive away. And here i was getting ready to work 0800 to 1600 on the 15th; this is how the Bhullars do it. So went the next 8 hours crawling by but i knew at the end of it, it will be Amrit and i - just two us to for the next 11 days and it would be the best road trip so far. So as the clock ticked towards 4pm i was ready to change into my road trip pants (you know men have special pants for everything).
As i was out and trying to find my wife, in all the excitement she drove past me and i didn't see her. Finally we met and had to get some diesel for the car. One thing we had promised ourselves that no matter what, we would not have hot dogs from a gas station. At the first stop for gas (we are not even out of the city yet) and we stop for a hot dog. There is something about these hot dogs. With a cold coke.
First leg of the trip was to get to London. First pit stop would be at Tina's to have yum yum lamb curry with nan. It was 12 in the night when we finally made it to Oslo. With the belly full, hot shower and loads of Indian gossip we bed farewell to the lovely Grewal family and were on the road again; afterall I had a breakfast planned. Just as we crossed the Swedish border, this strong man needed some rest so I tried to get some shut eye, but i don’t know whenever I try to stop for a nap I didn't feel sleepy anymore so my lovely wife took over the captainship and drove us to the Danish border.
Toni and I hadn’t road-tripped since 2009, when we made a crazy drive to Oslo in 30 hours. We needed to be let loose on the road again. We hadn’t quite made it to buying a car. So we hired one. One big enough to fill up en route and return with goodies.
Destination was France, via London since we needed to pick up some important documents and I needed to go shopping. We were supposed to be on a budget, but everytime I saw shops I pulled out the card and said to the hubs “it’s ok, we’re on holiday”. The result was two empty bank accounts at the end of the trip. And it was worth it.
France welcomed us with sunshine and glorious heat. We visited Reims for a champagne tour at G. H. Mumm and left with a bottle for that special occasion. We drove on to Montpellier via Dijon and Lyon and parked up to lie on the grass and soak up the rays. France has the best campsites I have seen in Europe. Resorts which come fully kitted with spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, basketball/tennis courts, outdoor gyms and play areas, restaurants and bars, as well as the usual hot showers and excellent facilities. A far cry from the Scandinavian bare essentials and Scottish rough-it-rides. I was impressed with the friendly staff, the cosy families that ran the sites and the excellent management of the campsites we visited. We stayed at a site in Port du Carmague – known for it’s aggressive mosquitos and I found out the hard way. One night in and I was bitten all over. Still, that didn’t deter me from wearing as less as possible and making the most of the glorious sun. Tan lines were forming after the first day. We took a drive through Montpellier. A bad choice since we got stuck in the reconstruction works of this student city. I was dedicated driver (for city-driving) but my skills were not shining on this day and we ended up taking wrong turns and having to follow the one-way system twice to find nothing but more construction. So we moved onto the quieter and serene Pont du Gard – the Roman aquaduct and took a stroll around the grounds. A beautiful beautiful place.
Next stop: Marseille. Friends had said that this was smuggler’s city, the “butt of all French jokes” but we saw it differently. It had poverty about it but also re-development. The city was transformed with huge cash injections and an effort to clean it up. It was clean, beautiful and picturesque. The place had become rich, but the people had not caught up as quickly. We stayed at a campsite just outside St. Tropez. Walked to a quaint pizza place down the road where we were served by a friendly couple who drank wine as they stone-baked our pizzas. Friendly homely lovely people.
I took a dip in the Mediterranean the next morning. A toe-dip that is since the water was very cold and the sky, although clear of any clouds, was preparing for a storm. The drive along the coast from St. Tropez to Nice was one of the best drives. Small roads along the coast through small beach towns. Blue seas and sunshine. We stopped in Cannes for a stroll. It was my favourite place: small enough with little hustle-bustle. I did the walk of fame and Toni snapped away. We checked out the boats which were unique and different, every one of them.
We reached Nice in time for an evening stroll and to pick up local baguette, fromage, sausage and cider for dinner. Walking through the narrow streets, we would have gotten lost but for my hubs and his navigation skills. I would be lost without him in every sense. Took dinner to the tent before the storm came to us in the night. I thought the tent might blow away, or at least the rain would seep through. But our Blacks tent managed to prove its worth to us and keep us grounded and dry.
We awoke early to drive to Monaco for a coffee in the morning. It was quiet and empty so I tried my skills at pretending to be Bond. It was futile of course but fun. We sat for coffee and beer with a plate of croissants. And then it was time for the drive home.
Stopping at Lake Como for our last humungous pizza, we headed on home, driving through Switzerland, Austria and safely clearing customs at the Norwegian border. Home sweet home.
I loved this trip because it meant a lot for us to get away together alone. We got re-acquainted with our tent and we got back on the road after a drive-less 6 months. It brought us good weather, companionship and great times. We managed to meet family and friends in London and I shopped until I dropped. We had good food and wine. And best of all, we got to relax. Roll on with the next one.
No comments:
Post a Comment