Stelvio Pass

Passo dello Stelvio. Voted the best driving road in the world, it did not disappoint. 60 hairpin bends and amazing views, what more could you want.

We could see the windy roads ahead.

Looking back at the road we've just come up. Very cool!

The challenge for today was to get a creative team photo at the top of the Stelvio Pass, so this was ours (but of course we didn't get to the hotel in time to submit it!)

And this was the down road.

It was rather chilly at the top. Thanks Motoscape for the fleeces, this is the 2nd time they have come in handy (first being when we broke down on the autobahn at sunset)

Day 7 - Renon to Bologna via Ferrari

When we arrived in Renon/Ritten it was very dark, so it was a very pleasant surprise when we awoke in the morning and were treated to this amazing view! Surrounded by mountains this was a lovely spot to be staying (despite the hostile reception we received from the hotel for arriving so late).

Bologna is our destination for today, but first a detour to Maranello, Modena to the Ferrari Museum... over-taking the Musketeers on-route :)

It's all about food and wine

The nice thing about not driving is stopping to enjoy some of Italy's food and wine. We found a lovely park with a cafe and coffee was only €1.

For dinner Sam had tortellini in broth, yum!!

The "amazing" pizza we had in Como.

And dinner in Singen.

Day 10 - Singen to Bruges

Today we said goodbye to 'Sherman' the MR2. We have to leave him in Germany for the scrap heap. We've decided to push through to Bruges so we can enjoy our last day with no driving. Our drive through Germany, 750km, took us around the black forest which was a lovely view. No photos (Shorty was a bit slack with the camera today). We also added another country to our list as our route took us through Luxembourg. We dropped the hire car in Brussels and continued to Bruges on the train. We met back up with Sean & Tish and enjoyed the best meal of the trip. Tomorrow will be our last day and the ferry back to Hull

Day 9 - Bologna to Singen via Switzerland

Today we leave beautiful Bologna. We have all enjoyed stopping for a day, but it's time to continue our driving adventure. To Singen we go to collect our belongings from the car as we have been informed by the AA that it is too expensive to repair and repatriation will cost more than the car is worth. Boo :(

We had a 700+km trip ahead of us, so a plan for lunch was essential. After a very boring trip up the Italian motorway we stopped in at Como for lunch for the "best pizza ever" as rated in a Tripadviser review. And it was pretty damn good! Then through Switzerland which again was like driving through a postcard. We got stuck in a couple of traffic jams, but at least pursurrounds were lovely. The Swiss don't appear to be very good drivers as we saw 3 accidents!

Day 8 - Bologna

Spending the day in Bologna, trying to take our minds off our broken cars. The city is beautiful! We climbed to the top of a tower, the 498 stairs was a test of fitness but worth the view at the top. A day of no driving. Bliss!