Geneva -> Nice

 I've been looking forward to this one. It's going to be evocative of holidays, road trips on the continent cruising ever further south, until that moment you start seeing the first signs that there's a mountain range in front of you and beyond that, the French Riviera melting out into the most beautiful azure blue Mediterranean sea, whispering hints of African sun, dry deserts and a way of life almost forgotten to us northern Europeans.

But it's bloody overcast again, isn't it guys?

Sigh. I take off from Geneva and turn south, and I can't even see the Lakes for rain before I once again climb up into endless low grey overcast.

The overcast takes on a different air though - until now, I've known that the ground in front of me is relatively flat. But now, on the GPS as I fly towards Chambéry, I can see... terrain. It's not just "ground" any more. It's terrain; mounts merging into foothills merging into bigger hills and off in the distance, peaks towering far above.

It is imperative that when you're flying a plane, you don't accidentally fly into the side of a mountain. This is a lot easier when you can see the mountains, rather than just being aware that they exist and they're out there in the gloom somewhere.

My plan is to fly to Chambéry, turn left to enter a valley between two high ridges that run north-south to Grenoble, then follow the mountains round the the left while climbing to pass over a mass of proper snowy mountains before descending again towards Nice. Once again, I begin to feel like an idiot for going along with the poor real-world weather conditions and not just choosing an in-sim sunny day to enjoy the views.

Over Chambéry everything changes. In 5 seconds the cloud goes from dark grey through to orange and then... Alps.

The parallel ridges tower up past the sides of the Cessna, and ahead, over Grenoble, a huge thunderstorm sits, deep orange in the light of the setting sun. Sitting amid the left flanks of the storm cell are the snow capped peaks of the French alps. It is glorious. Other players are also there, enjoying the scene and again that makes it feel more real. It's a virtual space, but when you share it, that doesn't diminish the beauty of it.

Wary of the icing and turbulence that may be hidden in the storm, I move off course to pass round its side, and it slides past the wings. In front of me, thin, patchy layers of clouds are moving through reds and golds as the sun finally sets below the horizon, lights coming on in the valley beneath me. I dim the lights on the control panel in front of me, and watch the stars come out between layers of cloud as I climb to 13,000 feet over the top of the massif between Grenoble & the French Riviera.

The last peaks pass beneath me just as the last light leaves the sky to the west. I lower the nose, and remember warm nights drinking wine, watching the lights of the promenade shimmering back from the low waves of the med breaking on the beaches of the Riviera.