Day 3: Zurich

 Not much to say about Zurich. It's like a Sunday morning version of Berlin. That wasn't going to stop us though!

We were one of the first few cars to arrive at the campsite in Zurich (a quaint little site on the lakeside) so there was quite a bit of waiting around after our tents were set up.

We finally headed into town around 10:30pm.  As you might imagine this was trickier than was really necessary.  Most places were closed, and after wandering around for about 20 minutes it became clear our only option was a mcdonalds. Not ideal but better.than nothing.  After food we sampled some of the local beer before heading over to the club where the prearranged party was supposed to be occurring.

The party was loud but nothing much was happening so we headed on  back to the site.

Day 2: Checkpoint 2

Our second checkpoint of the day was to pick up a Top Gear Road trip inspired "gift" to swap with one of the other teams. As we all know that means it needs to be bulky and fragile.

We stopped at a couple of Intermarche's  mostly to aquire some dinner but also to hatch a plan for our "Secret Scum Santa" cursed gift.

Well, what hatched was what could only be called an abomination. In an effort to make life easy on ourselves and hard on our victim..... Balloons! These were duly inflated and a short ceremony was conducted to perform the exchange. Our friends were thrilled with it. They were inside at least I am sure.

The evening saw the usual suspects "tending the fire" and performing last rites on a steak. Much local plonk was consumed and merry was made. We all retired to our tents for some needed sleep after the long stints at the wheel.

Day 3: On days like these.

Good morning campers!

We gather to collect our route cards, and this morning, complimentary pain eau chocolate. We are informed that our destination today is the home of insurance and bankers. Zurich!

Heading out to the Cote de Azure, totally feeling the Mediterranean joie de vive in Nice.

We have a closer look at our checkpoints, and it's a couple of truly special ones today. First stop is Monte Carlo, better known as the Monaco Grand Prix circuit! Then our route north takes us through cinematic history, as we make our ascent through through the Alps via the Turini and St Bernard passes where they filmed scenes from the Italian Job.

Yep.

Day 2: Checkpoint 1 Dijon

There was a nostalgic feel to this stop,  as it harked back to the first run which departed from the UK at sunny Brighton.

Our mission was to get a photo with the owner (Patrice) but like a tired groundhog, declined to make an appearance. We were left with simply a shot of Bar Brighton and some weird looking feller in a Lab coat. 

and a picture of a castle! Vive la resistance! 

Day 2: The morning after

After a reasonable nights sleep (albeit not helped by people playing their car stereo till the wee hours) we awoke to a cool, but clear morning.  

Bacon sandwiches were again the order of the day.  We made use of the camp-kitchen-server to good effect (despite Adam doing his level best to wreck it). Then we repacked the van to mare better use of the load out.  As the saying goes, No plan ever survives first-contact with the enemy. We figured out a few things to that would work better if rearranged.

Once we had packed everything back into the wagon, we rolled over to the main gate to pickup our route cards... Today's destination destination: Nice.

Day 1 : Holy bankroll..

The Scumrunners have collectively raised over £118k for JDRF.  Well done everyone.

Day 1: A costume drama...

Finally we have a full costume team photo.  The doctor theme in full effect.  From right to left: Zoidberg (Futurama), Dr.Cox (Scrubs), Dr. Nick (Simpsons), Waambulance medic (Adam sucks :))