Second European roadtrip this year

[StuBeeDoo]

Just over a month ago I had a conversation with Our Lass, and somehow RallyLegend was mentioned. OL said "Why don't you go? It's soon, isn't it?".

Well, I thought it was some-kind of womanly mind game and dismissed it. But sometime later she asked if I'd started researching the trip.

So, here I am in Rimini waiting for breakfast, soon to set-off for home again. RallyLegend was awesome, I spent far too much on merch.

Would I do RallyLegend again? Probably not. I'm the sort of person who once he's seen something, that's enough. Would I do another solo roadtrip? Absolutely!

This time I got to drive the Simplon Pass, which I missed last time because it was closed. If anyone is interested I will be posting the dashcam footage on YouTube.

[X5Sport]

Sounds like fun. Not sure Our Lass would approve without herself joining in though.

No way I’m leaving a teenager (my son) alone in the house for a few days either.

I need a plan……

We are hoping to drive down to Southern France again next year. Did it by air as a Fly/Drive this time. It didn’t;t go too well!

French ATC went on strike outbound
EasyJet lost my bags, but the rest of the family were OK. Bag finally delivered 4 days later.
Slight challenge with the hire car as the one I asked for suddenly wasn’t available
Our Lass broke her foot
Easy Jet aircraft had a tech fault coming back so we were three hours late!

It cost a lot!!

[StuBeeDoo]

Wow! What a nightmare. I'm not a lover of flying, although it is quicker - leaving time for fun/interesting stuff.

Although I said I would do it again, three things could change that: My reaction when the credit card bill comes, the fact that I'm rapidly approaching 70, and the fact that the F25 isn't getting any younger either, just yesterday it passed the 150k mile mark.

I could, potentially, replace the car - but that would eat into my available funds. Choosing to come when fuel costs are at an all-time high might not have been the wisest move financially. But I can't turn-back the clock. Although I'm still in good health I'm aware that could unexpectedly change at any time. Every day I'm so far away from home I ask myself "Should I really be doing this totally solo?"

But the truth is that I'm enjoying it. There are plenty more Alpine passes to traverse - although I'm not sure I would bother with Stelvio, I've read that these days it's too busy.