By the time my husband, I and my teenage son had reached the beginning of the series of tunnels that lead up to the Biggie -the Mont Blanc (official website english version) tunnel itself, we were all a bit frazzled to say the least.
Although surrounded by spectacular scenery, it is hard to relax and enjoy it when you are pulling behind your car a boat on a trailer that is the physical representation of the sum of your life's savings!!!
This was the first time that my husband had undertaken such an arduous task and he assured me that one way or another it would definitely be his last!!!
If you are new to this blog I will just quickly precis the story so far (although it is well worth reading the preceding posts and there are some cool photos and even my first ever video clip!!).
We had bought a brand new Powercat 525 Evolution, twin hull (catamaran) with twin Yamaha engines and kitted out with a full bimini cover for the meditteranean, which was where we had recently moved to live.
We had been planning this purchase and communicating with Powercats Ltd of Redruth Cornwall since July 2007 including two visits to boat shows (a boat show in South Wales and the Southampton boat show) and at last the time had come to collect our long awaited powerboat in February 2008.
We had paid over £37,000 including VAT for this custom built craft and were now towing it across Europe, having started from Cornwall and having crossed the channel to Cherbourg from Poole harbour.
Back to the current point in the story of our epic trailer trek across a continent!
Passing through snow covered terrain we made our way towards the first tunnel. There are actually many tunnels both before and after the Mont Blanc and although some people might be entranced by the informative signs which enumerate the length and breadth etc of each and every one, I'm afraid we have a very low boredom threshold!
Looking back we should have got so much more from this experience, but as it was the anxiety seems to be the one thing we all remember most 
Apologies for the blurry picture - at this stage my eyes were a bit strained, during the moments when I actually was brave enough to open them!!
The roads were quite icy but we were trusting to the Suzuki SX 4x4's superb road holding abilities and of course our driver's superior skills. We weren't at all worried about the Italian lorry drivers hurtling past us - honest guv, we weren't, we always whimper like that, it keeps our vocal chords exercised.
The first of these psychedelic masterpieces is what happens when you take a picture inside a mountain while an Italian lorry hurtles past you and you don't know much about cameras.
The second is a picture taken inside a mountain but without the added fun of said Italian lorry.
We emerge into the light at the end of the tunnel. Here we arrive at the point where we pay to enter the Mont Blanc tunnel at last and here is where the photgraphs stop for quite a while as things started getting fraught.
We got to the pay booth and started getting anxious - yes even more anxious, nails were rapidly descending in length.
Here's why.
Tolls
Vehicle with two or more axles
and a total height greater than 2m
and less than or equal to 3m 42,70 Euro
Vehicles with three or more axles 248,90 Euro
with total height greater than 3m.
Quite a difference in toll between 42,70 and 248,90 Euros!!! We didn't have the larger amount in our toll cache in the car and in any case we were hoping that we wouldn't have to spend that kind of money.
Problem with the Powercat 525 Evolution is that if you include the height of the radar arch we were just over the 3 M mark!!!
The lady in the booth came out of the booth and looked at the boat on the trailer. She went back into the booth and came back with a very long ruler.
She measured the height of the boat and trailer.
We all held our breaths.
She made a non committal noise and returned to her booth.
Looking down at us from her lofty height, she pronounced her decision....
42,70 Euros !!! 
Much happiness ensued and it may have been the most joyfully given toll she ever received!!
Into the Mont Blanc tunnel (Wikipedia info) we went, and it was much the same as the other tunnels, just more so, and more so and more so.
A lifetime later we emerged into italy.
Sadly we prefer to draw a veil over our Italian experiences. But in a very short description here it is
Mad Italian Drivers, speed speed speed, narrow narrow roads, road works at maniac speed and inches away from nasty poky out walls threatening to rip the boat off its trailer and throw us across the motorway to our certain death.
A night spent asleep in the car in a motorway services (when I say asleep I mean awake in wide eyed terror convinced we were surrounded by murderous mafiosos (or mafiosi or whatever they are called - true terror knows no grammar) and a final miserable rush to catch the ferry at Ancona.
I will recount the Ancona experience tomorrow. Right now I need a stiff cup of decaffeinated something to restore my nerves after that awful traumatic recall of Italy, or as our teenage son calls it Sh - Italy!!
Normally I frown on strong language, but in this case it is only too justified.
