We left Liguria and the seaside behind on Saturday, driving up north through the hills then across the plains and around Turin, finally climbing into the Italian Alps. We reached Aosta after about 4 hours, travelling mainly on toll roads.
The city of Aosta is situated in the valley with the Gran Paradiso National Park to the south, the Monte Bianco massif to the west, and the Grand St Bernard Pass north into Switzerland. I love being in the mountains again. They’re definitely my happy place, especially on a sunny day.
We parked up on the easily found aire, which only cost 8 euros and is just a 10 minute walk into town. It’s a bit cooler up in the mountains, so we both pulled jeans and jumpers on for the first time in many weeks.
Aosta is an old Roman town with lots of interesting Roman remains including an arch, walls, a gateway and a theatre. Unfortunately the arch and theatre were being developed and are currently hidden from view.
We wandered up and down the main cobbled street, which was very busy with it being a Saturday afternoon. There was an exhibition in the main piazza, where the many alpine emergency services were showing off their toys, for example snowmobiles and drones.
We stopped in a cafe with delicious pizza for a late lunch and then spent more time exploring the beautiful town, with its churches and towers, ending up in a craft ale bar for a couple of beers and wines.
Back in Molly, we had left over curry and an early night ready for the next day’s journey across Switzerland.
Ramblings 
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