Now that Easter 2023 was over, it was time to plan our 2023 summer roadtrip going north. Starting in Andalucia we drove through Murcia, Valencia, Barcelona, Perpignan, Nice, Turin, then after a few weeks in the Val d’Aosta, we planned to drive further north…, a trip of nearly 3,000 km.
This was a trip about visiting friends on-route.
Our route
We started with a leisurely drive north to the Parador in Lorca. From there we drove on and stayed at the Hotel Torre del Marques in Teruel.
Our next stop was La Villa Duflot in Perpignan, where we had the chance to lunch with some old friends.
Then we spent a weekend in the Hôtel La Bastide de Biot, where again we lunched with some very dear friends from the time when we lived in Italy (1970s).
From the region of Nice our plans were to take the Colle di Tenda road tunnel but the tunnel and its access roads were damaged by Storm Alex in October 2020, and repairs were to be completed only in late 2025. So we decided to take the route up through Isola 2000, and down towards Cuneo. As we drove up to Isola (different from Isola 2000) we saw that the only pass not open was the Col de la Lombarde (2347 meters). We ended up taking the Route de la Bonette, which touches 2802 meters.
As we drove up through the Valle d’Aosta our plans were still fluid…
Disaster struck
During our stay in the Valle d’Aosta disaster struck. My beloved wife Monique, had a stroke. She was rushed to hospital in Aosta, and a week later transported back to our home city. She remained in hospital some weeks, and then we moved together into a care home.
Unfortunately the light of my life faded away on the 23 December 2023. Nothing will be the same.
