Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!

Rather than staying on a soggy site at Lugano we moved on. Even Lugano town
centre didn't look inviting on a grim Sunday morning. So instead we made an
alternative plan and diverted ourselves to Montreux and my Dad's new abode
there. The drive was quite a long one and should have been spectacular in
parts. However the rain dampened that one quite well. The pass we chose back
into Italy northwest of Lago Maggiore was on a very narrow road that cut up
the side of a fantastic gorge, over the top, and down into the Italy and the
town of Domodossola. Did we see much of it in the rain and clouds, no! Then
from Italy back to Switzerland we took the Simplon Pass. Great road, great
rain! We are not sure if we needed a Vignette (motorway toll sticker) for
the pass. At the start of the pass we stopped at the manned checkpoint and
there was a sign saying 'Vignette Compulsory' but the guy, who looked
extremely bored, manning the post just waved us on. We didn't intend on
buying one anyway as we were not planning to use any motorways during our
brief stay in the country. Safely through the pass we ploughed on and
eventually stopped for some lunch at the town of Raron, Sue made yummy
toasted sandwiches. There was a campsite there which we had thought of using
for the night, and the sun even made a brief appearance, but after
confirming with Dad we carried on and reached Montreux by 17h00, our planned
ETA.
We spent a very pleasant few days in the apartment giving Noddy a much
earned rest. The sun even made an appearance on Wednesday, all day. We took
advantage of it doing a tour around the surrounding mountains up to Gruyeres
and back. All the rain over the previous few days had fallen as snow up in
the hills. It made the whole area look very pretty, especially with some
blue sky to accompany it. We cooked dinner each evening using up supplies
from Noddy, and Dad treated us to a very nice Thai meal on Wednesday, many
thanks!!
It was very difficult to drag ourselves away from the luxury of a roof and
four walls on Thursday morning, but the open road was calling again. As
usual we had no firm plans of where we were heading long term. Our only plan
was to aim into France and Annecy for the night. We took the pass from
Martingy to Chamonix, nice but not spectacular especially as the clouds had
returned and the snow-capped mountains were fast disappearing. Eventually we
arrived in Annecy where we had planned to stay the night. One slight
problem, nowhere to park! The place was manic, not even a space for a car.
The camper parking we had hoped to use didn't really exist anymore. We made
a hasty alternative plan, turned north, and stayed the night near La
Balme-de-Sillingy in a new camper parking (Aire). It was not in our 2005
book of Aires. The one that was in our book was defunct. Another English
couple staying there invited us over for drinks and a chat after dinner, as
the weather was so wet and horrible. They were a delightful retired couple
from Torquay and we had a very nice evening.
In the morning we finally decided on a plan of action and set our sights
west with an eventual destination of the Dordogne. Last night we stayed in
camper parking at the cemetery in Poncin, the residents were very quiet!
Today we made quite a leap and are now about 80 miles east of Limoges at the
small town of Gouzon. We only managed to find the Aire here after Sue asked
for directions from the tourist office. It was not signposted at all.
Tomorrow we shall aim to reach Limoges and then decide what to do for the
next few days. Our crossing is booked for 15th June, under two weeks away.
We will probably stay around the Dordogne for a short while and then slowly
make our way up and around the coast hopefully reaching the Calais area on
the 14th, unless our plans change again of course!
Ciao
M&S