schofiel: Tips 1... 2... 3....:

More seriously, I think we've got the "don't stand on the outside of corners" thing covered! We're also treating this something like a camping trip from a snack food and equipment standpoint (wooly socks, raingear, big umbrellas), and I reserved something from Avis that should work as an ersatz camper (a Class H "Renault Megane Scenic or similar" with optional snowchains) if we get stuck on a room. We'll pick that up in Aix and drop it in Nice.

schofiel: Tip 4: Get as far south as you can possibly get before the rally starts, as it only gets interesting around halfway (when things loosen up).

Being new at this, I think we'll be pretty forgiving about whether we see everything. In 2002, the rally doesn't go to Gap. There's service in Digne on Friday, with stages running in the area to the northwest, then in Monte Carlo Saturday/Sunday, with those days running north of Monte Carlo around Sospel. I requested a couple of rooms in Digne for Wednesday/Thursday night -- we'll have Thursday for our own recce --, and I'm staring at the map trying to decide what to aim for on Friday/Saturday night (we'll need to catch the train late Sunday afternoon in Nice, so don't expect we'll be staying for the champagne).

So, when you say "get as far south" ASAP, I'm guessing you mean bail out of Gap/Digne and head back closer to MC? I'm thinking that MC itself will be a complete zoo and that rooms would be very pricey. I'm looking at the Logis de France guide and I see that there are a ton of small (cheaper!) hotels between MC and Sospel/Col de Turini. I may look at someplace midway between the two. Wherever we stay, I expect we'll be getting up at 4/5 AM to move out. Thoughts??