While Mondardini, driving a beautiful old Lancia Aurelia, is a man of culture, Battistini is not and his view of life is soured since his wife left him when his leg was amputated.

Turning round, they head for Portofino and in a restaurant meet a young woman going to St Tropez whose friends have accidentally left her behind.

Although Battistini refuses to enter France, Mondardini drives across the frontier while he is asleep and delivers the grateful girl.

Outside they meet the girl they brought, who has rejoined her friends, and they all go to a quiet spot beside the sea where the two old men are given their first joint of marijuana.

Battistini wangles a ride in a bus full of German tourists, which is halted by an accident: Mondardini's car is smashed and he is being loaded unconscious into an ambulance.