My German wife hyped up a vacation in Italy....at the Garda Sea (northern quarter of Italy)....where we would drive from central Germany down. I agreed to this, and had a fine route drawn. Everything ran according to plan (excepting turning 'left' in Milano). (Another story I'll tell one day)
After seven days...it's time to return. I suggested a alternate route.
This would avoid the tunnel-business, and we would literally drive OVER the Alps. When I say over....it means elevation climbs of 3,000 to 5,000 feet up.
At some peak-point....after a massive climbing experience with the car....we hit the peak area....where the Italians have a gravel parking lot for folks to halt, and get a 'whiff' of fine air. It's at this point....the last five minutes....I start to notice cows just wandering around....no fencing....just loose.
So we hit the gravel parking area....I stop, and the wife agrees...it's a fine time to exit the car....get pictures, and get a 'whiff' of real fresh air.
She opens the door, and steps out without looking, and I've managed to park the car (with her door)....on a fairly fresh cow-paddy. Full-step in.
There was about ten minutes of German cursing, and naturally.....I was blamed for the parking location.
This one event....labeled the alternate route....a complete and utter failure.
But this was not the worst part of the trip....about 30 minutes later....I came to discover that the brakepads were finished, and brakes marginally worked for the remainder of the trip home. Monday morning....came the mechanic's view....roughly $1,500 for a full-complete brake job.
Whenever trips come up now....where driving is an element....the route there, and back....have to be laid out completely....with no crazy Alps alternate routes possible.
2 comments:
On our big family trip in Italy, ( pre gps) we drove rentals. We starting in Rome Which is quite the driving experience, then we drove down to a little town, Arretsa and rented an old farmhouse and did daily trips. We quickly learned that Even though the sign says you can take it to your destination, it's best to know where the road goes. We did an alternate route back once and the road turned into a cow path over the mountain!
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