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I had enjoyed the ski resort of La Clusaz in my last post and having left there we headed north towards Luxembourg. At least that was the intention, which in my modern Jaguar F Type, should present no problem...... Having not used maps at all on this journey, instead relying on GPS, I tended not to scan the system's chosen route too carefully, or mentally store the landmarks that would guide me in the right direction, as I would with maps. The GPS system in the Jaguar is a dynamic system receiving traffic status updates from various road authorities in 'real-time' as we drive. It is programmed to flag-up traffic delays ahead and works out alternative routes avoiding the problems. Smart system, dumb driver! My preference when driving through unfamiliar areas is to observe the countryside as well as the road ahead, denying all other inputs to my brain (well that's my excuse). At some stage early on in this particular...

  A first: I am touring, not in Bridget, but in my Jag. Once I had decided to do another short road trip in Europe, I could not decide which car to take. Strictly speaking Bridget was in need of a service and Bertie, the 'B', is up for sale and therefore in display mode and not to be fouled with road dirt, etc. Then returning from some essential shopping, on a bright sunny day, of which we had had few, I just looked at the Jag with its' roof down and thought "She really is a beautiful motor" so that was the deadlock broken. I overlooked the down-side of not being able to enter low emission zones of which there are many across Europe and anyway the better fuel consumption and, as it turned out, and the air conditioning made up for the emissions. I can also confirm that the luggage space in the Jag is far less than either of...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year It has been a few months since I posted any news, but I have been keeping busy. The plan was, as often before, to avoid the cold weather here in the UK by going to the Canary Islands for a few months. As I am now limited to a mere 90 days at a time, thanks to Brexit, I decided to spend Christmas at home with the family before flying out to Gran Canaria on the 30th December. Unfortunately, the cold weather arrived early this year and I have been shivering for several weeks. However, I will be in Gran Canaria in ten days time. I have finally made the decision to retire Bridget. She has done everything I have asked of her and driven her way into MG, and British Sportscar, history. When I return from my winter quarters, in April, she will go to a new, temporary, home where she will be available to view to...

Sorry for the extended delay with this blog and for the following announcement. Regrettably, we have had to return to the UK and cancel the remainder of the trip for technical reasons. I realised on the day that we left Sicily that we would have to return home, but delayed informing Caroline for a few days so as not to spoil her enjoyment of the remainder of Italy. Although the first few days of the return journey was uneventful I have to mention another road-trip car that was on the ferry from Messina to Villa San Giavanni. It was a 1970 Mercedes W113 convertible, pictured above, more comfortable than Bridget and probably more reliable (sorry Bridget). I spoke with the owner from Germany and it was his first road-trip in the car. We made our way from Sicily to Crotone on the ‘ball of Italy’s foot’ and then drove north to Bari. From Bari we took the east coast road to Pescara,...

My last blog signed off just as we were arriving at Cassino, in central Italy. The town is located roughly half-way between Rome and Naples and overlooked by the famous monastery on Monte Cassino. Whilst the battle for Monte Cassino is one of the most famous battles in Italian WWII history, the taking of the town by British, French and New Zealand troops cost a considerable number of lives before the attack on the Monastery could be undertaken. We embarked on the trip up to the Monastery at around 10:00am and the drive itself is memorable for the narrow winding road. I should mention that the weather for the whole of the trip to-date has been hot, at a little over thirty degrees centigrade and Bridget has been struggling with some of the hills. We arrived just after a ‘biker’ group from Poland. In the Battle of Monte Cassino the Poles took very heavy casualties and the battle is marked by...