Italy Road Trip: Poorly Car but Hotel Owner May Save the Day.

An interesting day today to say the least. We were up and away early from the hotel in Nancy at 8.30 but soon our suspicions of a poorly car yesterday were confirmed: increasingly worrying vibrations, gradual loss of power and, eventually definite noises from underneath. My initial thoughts eventually proved correct and we have an ailing prop shaft. Despite these problems the day has not been without its high points. After leaving Nancy and heading south we soon began to make out the outline of the Vosges Mountains on the horizon. Motorway was left behind and we began to climb up into the hills heading towards the Ballon d'Alsace. Gradually main roads were behind us and we headed into the heart of the mountains at St Marie aux Mines having already surmounted one col. At St Marie we reached familiar territory here as I had cycled these roads several years ago. From St Marie we climbed over another spectacular col (the car managing to behave at this point!) and descended into Ribeauville where we had camped for a week in 2005. We decided to stop for a coffee break here and revisit this beautiful Alsace town with it's quaint Germanic architecture. Problems with the car began to exacerbate from this point and the second half of the journey proved increasingly interesting!!! We headed from the Vosges Mountains and the vineyards of Alsace towards Basel and Switzerland. As we passed through the border control we were 'invited' to pay the Swiss road tax. This was not unexpected but 40 euros to drive through the country in half a day seems a tad over the top!!!! The next hurdle was Basel, a city we had negotiated twice before but not without incident. Today was to be no exception. No problem this time we thought!!! We had a brand new SATNAV but unbeknown to me it was set to avoid toll roads and however hard we tried to get on the motorway to Lucerne, Sally Satnav insisted we leave it. Interesting!!!! The problem was eventually resolved and Sally corrected and we sped (?) towards Lucerne and the Alps which were dramatically covered in snow. From Lucerne we headed (with increasing vibrations) up the Gotthard Pass and the 11 mile long tunnel. Had we broken down here we would have caused a drastic traffic jam!! Pass and tunnel behind us we limped into Lugano where lady luck was on our side as the hotel we picked out of the ether proved to be a godsend. The owner not only spoke good English but had a friend who owned a car workshop. Not only that but there is a Landrover dealer in the town. Always wanted to explore the Italian Lakes by public transport and on foot!!!! Hopefully tomorrow will see some news on the repair front.
Wildlife highlights were buzzards and red kites hunting near the motorways with jays and greenwoodpeckers in the woods. At one point a nuthatch flew across the road in front of us. The area in and arouind Ribeauville is well known for its storks which nest in and around the town. Nest platforms have been erected for these magnificent birds on all of the taller buildings.
Sadly the weather has been a disappointment: rain and fog in the Italian Lakes!!!!