Thursday 18th June 2026. Leaving Italy, over the Cenis Pass to Aix Les-Bains, and Riom, France.
Next morning we were half baked by 9am, and it was becoming oppressive.
We packed up and headed off from our final shop in Italy up through the Cenis Pass mountain road to the Lac du Mont Cenis on the border with France.
The road is just brilliant, very busy with motorbikes and smart cars loving the hairpin bends.
As we climbed up nearly 2,000m, ours ears popped (as did the many water bottles we carry!) but the air began to cool, just slightly.
I remember when we came this way 3 years ago we spotted a Marmot sitting on a boulder but this time we had no such luck.
What’s really funny about this road is that during the winter it becomes ski slopes evidenced by the markers for the different coloured slopes. Hard to imagine everything covered in snow. Chair lifts are closed and the chairs are folded but still hanging from the cables.
At the top we stopped to view Lake Cenis.
The water level was lower than last time we visited and though it was warm there was a cool breeze. You could see other people doing what we were and that was to breathe a sigh and thank goodness for the little relief from the heat that it provided.
We made a cup of tea and joined an elderly French couple on a picnic table. We had a conversation with them, thanks to Gareth’s French, about where we had been and where we were going 
. They bade us a good journey when we left as we started our descent. Once again ears popped, snow machines laid dormant, ski lodges and hotels were closed. We couldn’t come this way on our way out as it was still closed for the season.
Our next stop was another lake! Haha, this one we had also visited before and really liked it.
It was Lac du Bourget, in the Savoie region near Chambrey and our park-up was in the lovely town of Aix Les-Bains.
The temperature was mid 30’s when we arrived at the Camping Car Park Aire, once again.
Just across the road is the lake and a park with outlets for drinks, food and ice-cream 
. We went over at about 7pm and had a dip, it was still busy but loads of room for us and Meg.
Meg went in and this was the first time it appeared she was swimming for herself and not to save us. She definitely came up chilled 
.
When we had cooled down sufficiently we walked up the park and had an ice-cream on one of the many benches.
It’s so lovely here we would definitely come here for a stop if passing this way again.
We met another British couple who were just at the start of their trip.
This morning we said goodbye to them as they cycled off for a tour of the area, and were really touched when a little while later one of them was knocking on the door. He had to bring back their baguette to the van so dropped us off a couple of pain au chocolates. How sweet.
We left Aix Les-Bains and drove for about 4 hours. We are in another Camping Car Park Aire in Riom, just outside Clermont-Ferrand.
Even though we found shade it was still 35° so we have just sat by the van.
It’s now 9.50pm, the sun is just setting and a balmy 29°. We certainly pick the right times to go away eh? 
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