Although I have been doing the trip from Morgex to London and vice-versa many times over the years, as a copilot, I’ve never dared to drive it myself.
Before leaving this summer, my husband told me he had no more holidays, and if coming, he could only be a fraction of the time I was expecting to stay in the Italian Alps. For me, being in Italy is the highlight of my life, and missing it is a no-no!
But I knew also that driving on the motorway with a UK car on the other side is something I have been avoiding for too long.
I tend not to drive in London, only point to point. Since I moved to the UK, I took some lessons on how to drive on the left side of the road, and I find it very confusing the matter of changing lanes again!
Plus, since I had kids, I was paranoid of driving on the motorway.
But my dilemma was, I could go in a plane to Italy and take a transfer (or train + bus) to Morgex, but then I was going to be a bit stuck in Morgex, not being free to go everywhere. It is true that I could take public transport to move around, but it would still bit of a pain…
And if we fly, our dog Ozzy would have to stay home. And I do love having Ozzy with us on holidays. So, I needed to confront my fears and just do it.
I took one lesson in the UK as how to get to the motorway- which was the M25 (nothing worst I would say), so it was a good start. Then a good friend of mine made me get into and out the motorway a few times to start losing being afraid of that part.
Then the day came that we needed to leave London to get to Italy. The first day, we wake up super early, and I have chickened out and let my husband drive. I was way too tired for it. Part of it is that I take care of all the preparations, the packing (plus the packing of all my paintings and what I needed to put together my exhibition in Italy). And I deal with the boys to get them out of bed and changed, which is no mean feast! That means, that when the day comes, I am already extremely tired!
We stopped in Chaumont as usual, and after a nice meal and a good dinner, I said I was going to start driving. We always drive around 30 miles that second day on the route nationale, which is super nice, with turns and rolling hills, and then got into the A31 and A39 towards the south.
I got myself more comfortable of not having the back mirror (as we had lots of luggage, a full car with my mum and the two boys and the dog). My side mirrors where the ones I really relied on. I’ve learnt how to use the cruise control and how to increase and decrease speed with the buttons on the driving wheel. I drove three hours and then we’ve stopped and was happy to hand the car back to my husband to finish the trip!
Then I knew I will have to drive but was really dreading it! We went to Lago di Como and left my husband navigate the super narrow curvy roads. After a couple of lovely days in Como, my husband drove to Milano Malpensa, where he got off the car and told me, just drive! And off I had to go.
My GPS was showing me a completely wrong itinerary, but I had no time to really look at it. I knew I must follow the signs to Novara and then Torino. Then the route opens, and I have to go towards Ivrea and into the Aosta Valley. The second part of the trip was under a big storm, and I had a hard time to keep my windscreen not fogged up. But I did not lose my nerve and drove well!
I was completely ecstatic when I arrived in Morgex. So much that went straight for an aperitivo. To avoid driving longer, I took the A5 till Morgex, which is tunnel, after tunnel, after tunnel… I don’t like particularly tunnels, but I took this as preparation to drive across the Mont Blanc Tunnel!
Those days in Morgex I drove towards Aosta, Courmayeur, Val Ferret, etc, going up and down and getting a hang on it. I did have some Italians getting on my rear end and pestering me, but I just scream at them when they pass me (I am Argentine after all!)
Then the day came, and we needed to start the way back. I knew the storm was coming so just focused on just taking it easy. I was going to avoid getting the curvy road on the Autoroute du Mont Blanc and get into Servoz and take the route nationale D13 instead for a bit.
I’ve mapped the route on my phone, but as soon as we’ve crossed the Mont Blanc Tunnel (which at the end, was a piece of cake!)- my phone signal died, and I had to abort my detour. It started raining hard, so I’ve thought that at least I knew the main road took me towards where I ought to be and did it slow. As there are two lanes – and my friend Gemma told me, other cars could pass me if they don’t want to go slow, and you ought to go slow. Therefore, I thought I was going to stay on the main road.
I did it, and drove well, so could not be happier. That first day we’ve stopped in Bourg -en-Bresse. It seems like a nice place. The bummer was that it rained a lot, and it was a Sunday, so it was all closed. We did however stay in a nice hotel, the Cit’Hotel Le Logis de Brou and had a lovely poulet de Bresse for dinner.
The second day started, and I had to drive a short route that day, up to Troyes- just over 3 hours. This was leisurely travel but was good for my baptism on the French autoroutes! We arrived in Troyes, and I was extremely tired. I do notice when I pass lorries, that I tense my arms, and I don’t breathe…. I guess that was what cause my tiredness!
We had a lovely afternoon and evening in Troyes, going all out for dinner with Ozzy the dog – (even Ozzy behaved)- and went back for an early night.
The next morning was the longest day. After taking the dog for a walk, we packed the car again and off we went. The road to Calais was ok, even though I had two hours of pouring rain and very busy with cars and lorries. Finally, we made it to the Eurotunnel.
As I did not want to stress over the time of arrival to Eurotunnel, I’ve paid extra to have the Flexiplus. This was the first time I ever did that, but it was worth it. We passed through pet passport control and after passing the two passports’ controls, we went to the Flexiplus terminal. Your dog cannot get into the main area, only the first part of the terminal, but as you come in, you are given a bag to serve the food you want. People were getting off with bags full of food. A bit naughty I’ve thought!
Another advantage of Flexiplus, is that you go straight to board whenever you are ready. That is super nice, more in high season, when usually all services are delayed!
Coming back to the UK at the end is the worst part of the road. The roads are full, they feel all broken up, and there are lots of works on the roads, so you have lots of miles with very skinny lanes (at least there is a speed of 50 on those skinny lanes) … I was happy to be back home at the end.
Would I do it again? I guess so. I do hope I get more used to drive on the motorway so I can do this road in two days, as three days is only possible if you are going for a long time!
Start planning your next trip!
If looking to stay in the heart of the Mont Blanc Valley in the Aosta Valley, check the direct booking for Il Coure della Valdigne here. This is our own family home in the mountains, that I am renting out when not using.
Il Cuore della Valdigne. Book your lodging directly with me here.Il Cuore della Valdigne. Stay at the Heart of the Valdigne to ski in Courmayeur, La Thuile and Pila/Aosta.
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Featured Image: Splugenpass in Switzerland. Photo: Daniele Levis Pelusi. Unsplash.
