Stelvio Tour, Day 1 - 25 July 2009

Today we began the Stelvio Tour, a driving tour of the European Alps. Our early start was not really early enough to get us to the ferry at Dover with adequate check-in time but after a rather rushed journey to Dover, we sat on the quay for an hour longer than we should have due to delays caused by technical problems the previous day.

However, we were entertained by the centennial re-enactment of Bleriot's flight across the channel as the restored replica of Bleriot's plane flew overhead before landing at Dover.

The delay in Dover meant that we arrived in Calais just as la Patrouille de France (the French equivalent of the UK Red Arrows) was performing their routine for the French side of the Bleriot celebrations enabling us to enjoy a free show while we waited to disembark.

Then it was on the road for a motorway run across France and Belgium to Arlon, just before the border with Luxemburg.

To break the monotony we detoured into the centre of Mons and had a wander around the town square and later on we ventured off the motorway to see the Chateau de Lavaux Sainte-Anne and, after checking in at the hotel, we went into Arlon to wander around the town centre and up the hill to the Belvedere for a view over the environs.