To get across the border from Italy to France or vice versa, there is a quick little mountain pass that leads up to a 3 mile tunnel inside of the mountain. It is called the Col De Tende on the French side and the Colle Di Tenda on the Italian side. The whole experience of driving through this pass and the 3 mile tunnel that separates the two countries, is unique, each side offering it's own form of entertainment. But it also offers a common frustration as well, a 15 minute long wait.

On the French side, pictured above, there is a station that appears to hold round the clock, fire "type" men, who live there. If you suddenly find yourself in trouble, there's instant help available which is a comfort on those cold dark nights at the top of this high pass in the Alps. But the unique attraction at the entrance to this tunnel happens after dark. If you find yourself traveling up through this pass after the sun sets, be sure and bring some food. As you sit in your car waiting for the light to change you'll be greeted by a skulk of foxes. That's right, very cute, very cuddly and very clever foxes will suddenly appear and sit by the side of your car where they will wait patiently for you to well.., feed them.

Being particularly smart, these little guys have us all figured out, wait at the light looking adorable and of course hungry and eventually one of the humans will feed you. 

The small animals roam freely between car and truck and pose for photos while showing absolutely no fear of the people making baby noises at them and snapping photos. When the light changes, they run to the side of the road, sit down, (and I mean literally sit down, I've seen em!)  and wait again for the next red light and a new batch of travelers. It is very charming, and makes that 15 minutes seem to almost fly by..,  
well.., for them..


On the Italian side, they offer a helipad, although I've never actually seen a helicopter there, still, it's great if you need a quick medical emergency exit and there is of course, a bar where you can drink your Italian espresso and chat with fellow travelers while waiting for that 15 minute light to change to green, damn. 
The charm here is in the food, espresso and the words of interesting people. Sip your cafe while checking out the uber fantastic motor bikes parked along side the road. The bar, a cozy little place that sits on the edge of the roadway, (it's almost at the top of the alps, so the bar literally sits on a precipice.) offers every necessity from warmth in the winter, to ice cream when it's hot.

So there you have it, entertainment on both sides. Which makes this adventure kind of cool, except that it's forced upon you..,

for 15 minutes!

Why is there a wait? I have no clue! When I used to come through here 14 years ago or more, they not only stamped your passport to cross between countries, (back than we actually had bragging rights thanks to country stamps in our passports.) but the the tunnel itself, had two lanes, so there was no wait aside from the guard stamping your passport, which never took 15 minutes. 
I heard they were going to build a new road and a new tunnel, which is why they cut it down to one lane and installed a couple of lights at each end, but I've seen no sign of that new road or of, you know, actual construction.

Oh and did I mention, that this pass closes down? Sometimes, when it's not even snowing, meaning it closes for no apparent reason. Also, heads up, be careful of late night travel through this pass because many times they decide to shut the tunnel itself down at 10:00 PM. Why? Maybe., zombies?

Anyway, it's Europe, so you gotta love it. Grit your teeth and enjoy that hot chocolate, or feed the foxes and WAIT. I'm sure there's a game on your phone if the foxes don't show and the bar is closed for.., well it's Italy, it might just be closed. Anyway, you'll have lots of time to "level up" your game or get up close and personal with your iPhone. 
They say patience is a virtue and you'll learn to be patient as a fox, although the motorcyclist above, just about ran out of his, on this charming high mountain pass!