What better way to start a great motorcycle tour than with fantastic French cuisine. Whether by plane or on a  motorbike, everyone has arrived safely in Vence and we all deserve a restful night. Tomorrow we go through the "Col du Verdon" towards Varlberg. This is going to be great!

Our first day of driving and we went 190 extremely curvy miles over dizzying passes and deep valleys like the impressive "Gorges du Verdon" or the "Gorges du Dalois" with its red rock mountains. Even if it rained a bit at the beginning, the weather got better by the hour. Fantastic driving pleasure curve after curve and fortunately without any tourist traffic. Tired but happy, we reward ourselves with some sleep and recharge our batteries for another upcoming EDELWEISS day. What a start!

The sun greets us warmly and joyfully in the morning and it should shine for us all day. The whole day we went up and down tiny streets, back and forth, up and down again, curve after curve through the fantastic hinterland far from traffic and noise through the mountains, a single driving pleasure. In Entrevaux we treated ourselves to a delicious lunchtime snack and the wild ride continued. Fantastically narrow valleys, great passes and sleepy villages clinging to the mountains gave us a lot of unforgettable moments. With delicious food and a good glass of wine, we let the impressions sink in and relaxed and ended this great day of driving in a relaxed manner.

In bright sunshine we set off from Roquebilliere eastwards in the early morning to cross the Alps towards Italy. But this turned out to be more difficult than expected, as it quickly turned out that the Passo di Lombardo was still in hibernation. Well, you can see how far you can get, then have a coffee at the top and enjoy the great view. No sooner said than done, we finally managed to cross the pass and we are now in the wonderfully beautiful region of Piemont in western Italy. Two more closed streets later we reached our hotel in Vicoforte in the afternoon and had enough time to visit the impressive basilica. In an extraordinary ambience, we let the evening end in a relaxed manner with delicious, typical Italian cuisine and a divine monastery ambience.

Once again we start in the best weather towards the east. We cross the Piedmont region, driving through mountains and valleys full of vineyards and agriculture, reaching Liguria and the Mediterranean coast east of Genoa in the course of the afternoon. A pleasure for every motorcyclist, just the pass down to the coast with a view of the water, a dream. We become part of the relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle and let the evening end in a relaxed manner with good food and drink. Another great day of our trip.

Today, on the rest day, the motorcycles stopped and we explored the area. Gordon, Greg and Hideki treated themselves to Vespas and sped through the area, Jeff, Eric, Philip and Jo took the train and the boat to see all 5 villages of the "Cinque terre". One more beautiful than the other, they lie like honeycombs with colorful little houses on the rock and everything comes together in tiny harbors. You can only round off this great evening with original, Italian pizza & pasta and so we fall into bed happy, full and satisfied at the end of a great day. Good night!

After escaping the rush-hour traffic in Rapallo into the mountains, it was actually the plan to bypass Genoa generously above. Said and tried, however, after an exciting photo stop, there was a road closure that forced us into the city and later onto the motorway. So far so good, the traffic jam and the exhausting, sweltering heat would have been. We fought our way through, then fled back to the cool mountains and recharged our batteries in idyllic peace with delicious pasta. We enjoyed the last few kilometers, driving the coast road in the original Italian style, until we reached it in the late afternoon. With a great ambience and good food, it was very easy for us to end this evening in a relaxed manner.

What a great final day of riding. Challenging, exhausting, awe-inspiring, delicious, hot and cold, a little bit scary and ultimately awesome. We left Finale Ligure in bright sunshine and decided on an individual route. First along the coast and then wide through the mountains to skirt Monaco for tomorrow's Form 1 race. Exciting when the road gets narrower and suddenly the asphalt is missing. Now we are tested and experienced in Italian overtaking skills, snow-covered and closed pass crossings and steep gravel road serpentines. All around a fantastic trip, a great group of friends who supported each other at all times and were always in a good mood. No accidents, no injuries, everyone is fine (our thoughts are with you Heinz). Thank you, also a wonderful tour for me as a tour guide. I felt less like a tour guide and more like a friend and part of the group. A great experience. At any time gladly again!