I arrived at Cusago, just outside Milan last night in an oppressive 36ºC. I woke this morning to find there had been an enormous thunderstorm. The atmosphere was lighter, the air was cooler and it was not the sweaty chore I had expected to load the car. I breakfasted in style and set off towards the Alps. I did a few circuits of the neighbourhood first though as I navigated and re-navigated a newish set of roads leading to the autostrada. I had a wonderful run, managing to introduce drama only by refusing to fill up on non-premium fuel at a station in the Alps that didn't offer it. Instead I put 10 litres of regular in and pressed on planning to dilute it with the good stuff as soon as possible. I ended up having to leave the autostrada and go hunting for a garage that was open on a Sunday in a tiny Alpine village. I found one, worked out its automatic payment system (cash only) and more or less filled up before setting off again for the Mont Blanc tunnel.
There were no queues and the tunnel was quiet. I was soon through and back in France. The temperatures were rising well into the thirties again, so I kept my roof up and basked comfortably in the air conditioning. I took a break to eat a modest picnic lunch. After a long day (I gave up some progress yesterday to have time to visit Enzo Ferrari's birthplace) I arrived back at my modest hotel in Dijon.
Tomorrow I strike out for home.
The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
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