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Baguette Bike Travels
  • Holly and Karl

Baguette Bike Travels

A family cycling trip from Barcelona to Paris to explore the Mediterranean coast, the Alpes and reconnect with old friends. Read more
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  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Appéro with Absinthe

    June 19, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We were expecting a hot day, so rolled out of Erlach fairly early. We rode along Lac de Neuchâtel, now back in the French speaking part of Switzerland, then up away from the lake through the Gorges de l'Areuse and further up the Areuse River to Val-de-Travers. We were on a mission to spend our last Swiss Francs so enjoyed some pastries and rivella before discovering a nice outdoor pool just outside of Fleurier where we spent a couple hours during the hot afternoon. We had one last short but very steep climb, then crossed back into France and the Rhône River watershed. Once again we were welcomed into the home of a cycle touring family in La Cluse-et-Mijoux thanks to Warmshowers. We had a great evening with Jean-Charles and Beatrice and their three daughters Gabrielle (16 years old), Marion (14), and Suzanne (9) sharing stories about bike touring, outdoor adventures and Yukon fauna, as well as getting to taste the typical meat (saucisse de Morteau), cheese (Comté, Morbier, Cancoillote) and alcohol of the area, which included absinthe!Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Coming Down

    June 20, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    It was a mostly downhill ride from La Cluse-et-Mijoux to Arbois, but the headwind certainly made the riding more challenging mentally. After we passed Pontarlier we were on very rural roads, and eventually on forest roads between hamlets. We were surprised at how flat and rolling this part of the Doubs and Jura were. We descended a last steep hill to Arbois and the mid-afternoon heat at valley bottom hit us like a ton of bricks. We were camping on a farm just outside of Arbois set up for guest stays, and once we had the tent set up in the shade it was hard to motivate ourselves to move! Finally we cycled into the town centre to pick up groceries, then explored some waterfalls our hosts had recommended - the frigid water was so refreshing on a hot day! After quite a few late nights, we ate and got to bed early, catching up on precious sleep. In the morning we enjoyed a lovely breakfast with our hosts, Patrick and Bénédicte, former cyclists and adventurers, who had walked from central France to Israel with a horse and cart and two toddlers when their now-adult children were young!Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Music in Dole

    June 21, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We had a short ride from Arbois to Dole, and some of the straightest roads of the trip. The last 20 km were along a rail-trail that traced a straight line to Dole, and Holly actually put on a podcast to spice up the ride. We picnicked on an island in the Doubs River, also swimming in the surprisingly warm water, before arriving at Warmshowers hosts Laure and Fabrice's home, where we were staying in a small garden cabin. Since it was Solstice, and in France la Journée de la Musique, we joined Laure and Fabrice for their daughter Zélie's choir concert, then wandered around the old city, past Louis Pasteur's home and along beautiful canals, listening to other pop-up street concerts. We had a fun pizza dinner with the whole family - including Anouk (19 years old), Timothé (17) and Zélie (11) - and learned about their 6-month bike journey through South America 7 years ago, when Zélie was 5 (about Claire's age), and many trips since. Certainly Laure and Fabrice understood the ups and downs of travelling by bike with children, and had some great nuggets of wisdom to share. We hadn't planned on using Warmshowers so much in this last part of our trip, but since we had very much enjoyed making the connections when we started getting hosted again in Switzerland, we continued to seek out wonderful hosts to add to the richness of our experience as we approached the end of our trip.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Arrival in Arcenant

    June 22, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    We left Dole on bike trails, the EuroVelo 6 - La Loire à Vélo, and made surprisingly good time to Saint-Jean-de-Losne. There we filled up on day-old pastries, and left behind canal trails for farm roads as we crossed wheat fields, spotted our first fields of sunflowers and some unidentified varieties of peas. We encountered some rainstorms as we crossed the plains, but managed to find shelter at opportune moments. We crossed into vine-land and entered the town of Nuits-Saint-George, where we had lunch and explored the cobblestone streets. We had just 10 km more and a small climb to reach Arcenant, where we were meeting up with Elodie, the last of Françoise and George's daughters left to connect with, her partner Julien and children Sasha (14 years old), Robin (12), and Clémentine (7). We arrived in the heat of the day and retreated to nap/rest in the cool house while kids were at schools and parents were working. Claire was thrilled when Clémentine came home from school and they were quickly in princess dresses, singing Elsa songs and comparing stuffies - fast friends! Meanwhile, Julien and Elodie, who have been twice to Holly's parents cottage in Ontario, had questions over dinner about the Yukon and our wildlife, as Julian is a keen and talented photographer.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Foot Patrol

    June 23, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    With another hot day ahead, we set out early for a different type of adventure - on foot - around the town of Arcenant. We walked up through the town, through the 'haute côte' (~ high hill) vines, along the cliffs of Arcenant and down through the forest along a small creek back to town. With some coaxing Claire walked the entire 8 km loop, although we did some running races on the uphill sections to add motivation. On the cliffs we climbed into the Trou du Duc, a small cave under the viewpoint. As the day warmed up the sunny sections became stifling; in contrast the refreshing coolness of the forest was a relief from the heat at the end of the hike. After another restful napping/lounging afternoon, we headed to Clémentine's school for an end of year gathering showcasing the environmental and cultural studies the classes had been doing. This included learning about the historical 'lavoirs', or washing houses. We enjoyed crepes for dinner with raspberries from the garden for dessert. And then Claire and Clémentine had a 'sleep-over', although we later learned it didn't involve quite enough sleeping!Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    History and a Vertical Playground

    June 24, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Elodie had a full day planned for us on Saturday, with a tour of Beaune, an outdoor festival and a concert. We headed to Beaune in their two electric vehicles, arriving in time to enjoy the market and pick up some local cheese and fruit. After some city wandering, including along the historical ramparts, we decided to visit the Hospice de Beaune to get a look at the impressive decorated roofs and learn about the history of the renowned hospital. We weren't sure how interested the girls would be, but to our surprise with the help of the audio guides they were the most captivated of us all and made sure we stopped at each info station right up to the end of the visit. From Beaune we headed to Noley for Côté Splash, a festival of bouldering, ziplining, slacklining and yoga at the edge of the lake. We enjoyed all the activities, as well as frequent swims throughout the hot afternoon. We returned to Arcenant in time to catch the first concert hosted in the town, as part of the Journée de la Musique - a fun end to a busy day.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Wine Tasting in Bourgogne

    June 25, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We've been intentionally learning about local foods as we've pedalled around France, and Bourgogne was certainly the place to learn more about wine. Julien provided a good initial introduction, as he works to make software for viticulturers. We talked about the protected appelations for wine, the specificity of each region, grape variety and parcel of land, and disease-resistance of the vines. Of course we also wanted to go to a tasting to see for ourselves. Luckily, while we were in Arcenant one of the local domaines, La Domaines Les Cocotes, had an open house and so we were able to talk directly to the viticulturer about her vineyards and taste a whole range of wines. Claire needed some rest after the short nights and big days, and when she woke up from her nap it was scorching hot. The logical activity was heading back to La Source in the cool forest to play in the creek, and we were lucky to find some friends to play with in the cold water. For dinner Julien and the boys fired up their spiffy portable wood-fired pizza oven and we enjoyed delicious homemade pizzas for our last night together.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Wine, Mustard and Crême Brulée

    June 26, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We said our goodbyes to Elodie, Julien and the kids, with the hopes that we will see them next in the Yukon! It was great to catch up and share some fun moments together, and Claire absolutely loved her time with Clémentine. We had a short ride to Dijon and then were catching the train to Paris - the end destination! While we could have ridden all the way over the span of another week, we preferred to have the time to visit with many different friends in Paris. Our ride took us through the heart of wine country in Bourgogne, and we got to see all the treatments and tools used in the vines. In Dijon we made sure to visit the chouette de Dijon for good luck taking our bikes on the train again. We were relieved to get to use an escalator instead of stairs to access the train platform, then were able to secure a good place for the bikes on the train, but the air conditioning wasn't working in our train car so it was a long sweaty ride to Paris. We found ice cream to cool down on the short cycle from the train station to Vincennes, where we were staying in Jean-Paul and Claude's appartment during our time in Paris, and were lucky to get to catch up with Claude as she was in town for the night. We celebrated our arrival in Paris with a nice dinner, complete with a trio of creme brulé for dessert. Then, as the last segment of our multi-part day, Claude offered to babysit Claire, so we headed back out for a mini night tour of Paris in the neighborhoods around La Bastille.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Biking in Paris

    June 27, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We spent our first day in Paris cycling around on cycle paths, separated bike lanes and at times along roadways, both paved and cobbled. From Vincennes we headed to the Seine River and biked along former roads on the edge of the river, now restricted to active transportation. We popped back up from the riverside to see the clear glass pyramids of the Louvre Museum, and walk our bikes through the Tuleries Gardens. After a playground break, we headed up the cobbled Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triumph, the centrepoint of the large and confusing roundabout in Place Charles de Gaulle. We rode along a few more avenues to reach the Trocadero for a view of the Eiffel Tower. The ride home along the left bank of the Seine River took us past the Eiffel Tower, the Hotel des Invalides, Saint Germain des Près and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. In the evening we met up with Jérome, Jean-Paul and Claude's son, and were thrilled to meet his partner Caroline and their children Benjamin (18 months old) and the newest addition Chloé (1 month old). It wasn't the easiest dinner for them with two tired little ones, but we were so happy that we were able to connect and Claire loved getting to hang out with tiny baby Chloé.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Catching our Breath (& Visits)

    June 28, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    It was a more low key day, starting with a big sleep in for Claire after a late night. After Claude's departure back to Savoie the previous day, we had new "roommates" - her daughter Clemence's mother and father in law Samia and Jean-Yves, who were in Paris for medical visits from their home in Tunis. We enjoyed chatting with them over breakfast and learned more about life in Tunisia, as they moved there after retiring from their medical careers in Paris, and Samia grew up there. We made a trip to Decathlon to figure out bike boxes, prioritized a nap for Claire, then headed back out on the bikes to the Marais and Bastille districts. We met up with Gisèle's daughter Dominique, her partner Clodagh and son Cody (22 months old) for a drink on the terrace of a brasserie. We caught up on our lives, since it had been ages since Holly and Dominique had last seen each other, and Claire sang Cody songs to entertain him - it was a super nice little visit! We had a simple Greek-inspired dinner along Rue de la Roquette, then headed home for an earlier bedtime.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Jardins!

    June 29, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We had a garden-themed day for our third day in Paris. We started out at the Jardin des Plantes, checking out the various gardens showcasing the evolution of plants. A short hop on the bus took us to the Place de la Contrescarpe for a tasty lunch - with a french toast dessert! We then wandered past the Panthéon to the Jardin de Luxemburg, where the highlight was sailing a little boat on the Grand Bassin in the centre of the garden - not sure who had more fun, Karl or Claire! We had fancy ice cream in the 6ème arrondissement, then walked past the Louvre again before heading home for a rest. In the evening we enjoyed a lovely visit and delicious dinner with Marie-Odile, Franz and their daughter Anne-Sophie, long time friends of Holly's family.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Montmartre

    June 30, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    In an effort to respect Claire's energy levels after another late night, we kept it simple for the day with a visit to Monmartre. We climbed up the steps toward the Sacré-Coeur Basilica with ever improving views of the city and increasing tourist densities. After visiting the impressive church and, Claire's favourite, lighting a candle for loved ones, the merry-go-round was the next coveted destination. After lunch, then returning home for a nap, we headed to La Gare de Lyon to connect with François and Isabelle, who were hopping off a train from Avignon and just in town for the night. Isabelle is Marie-Odile's sister, and Holly's family spent time skiing and enjoying summer trips with François, Isabelle and their four sons. We swapped adventure stories and family updates over a drink, and all too soon our visit was over. We certainly hope we'll get to connect for longer on a future visit, as we actually missed François, Isabelle and their sons by just a few days at a few different locations along the way on this trip... We finished the evening at a Cat Cafe (of all places!), where you could pet the resident cats while you ate and/or drank, much to Claire's delight.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Chateau de Versailles

    July 2, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We got an early start to join the masses at the Chateau de Versailles for the day... But our arrival in Versailles was a step up from the regular visit because we were met at the train station by Catherine, a long-time friend of Holly's family. Catherine and her husband Michel live right by the train station, and following our visit at the palace we were heading to Normandy with them for a few days. After Catherine and Michel treated us to tea and pastries, we headed to the gilded castle. We wandered through the gardens, complete with musical fountains, took a quick peak of the Petit and Grand Trianon estates, picnicked on the grounds, then got our chance to visit the main palace. Going from the appartments of the dauphin and dauphines to the State Appartments and the Hall of Mirrors provided a glimpse into the history of the French monarchy and the artists that created the beautiful decor. Compared to the solitude of mountain roads, it was quite the contrast, with the crowds at some points along the visit feeling quite overwhelming. We caught our breath over a mid-afternoon snack, then headed back to Catherine and Michel's to load up the car for the 2-hour drive to Saint-Valery-en-Caux.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Wind and Tides

    July 3, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    It was quite the change to be in Normandy, with a strong wind coming off la Manche (the English Channel) keeping temperatures cool. We strolled around Saint-Valery-en-Caux in the morning, checking out the harbour and the beach at high tide under impressive limestone cliffs. After lunch and a nap we headed to Veules-Les-Roses, another small harbour town just a few kilometres away. The Veules River flowing through the town is the shortest river reaching the coast in France. Less impacted by World War 2 bombing than Saint-Valery-en-Caux, the historic flint and brick buildings, some with thatch roofs, were surrounded by beautiful roses throughout the town. For dinner we got to taste a local variety of boundin blanc without meat, with a side of cooked apples - an interesting and delicious meal that was enjoyed by the whole family.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Castle Hunt

    July 4, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Saint-Valery-en-Caux and the entire coast of Normandy was impacted by fighting during the Second World War. Our morning stroll took us through the historical part of town left standing after bombing during the war, to a war memorial and to the top of the limestone cliffs. In the afternoon we saw both the castles of Miromesnil (16th century), along with its flint and limestone chapel, and Arques-la-Bataille (11th century), with the surroundings now being naturally 'mowed' by goats. How fascinating to be in a place with such an abundance of castles! We enjoyed moules frites for dinner, but had to work for it, running through the rain both ways, with a drenching downpour on the way home that left us all giggling as we splashed through the puddles.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Ocean Swim

    July 5, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We spent our last day in Normandy on the cliffs, at the beach and learning about the town's history. And as in the days prior, we enjoyed special times catching up with Catherine and Michel over delicious meals and through our explorations together. Catherine has known Holly's Mom since her university days, when they met through a family connection. And the connection has continued through the growth of both their families, although unfortunately we weren't able to catch up with Catherine and Michel's daughters, Pauline and Bertie on this trip. It was super lovely to spend time with Catherine and Michel, and have them generously share their little seaside getaway in Normandy with us. With the heat of the sun brightening and warming up the afternoon, we got inspired to head to the beach one last time and add swimming in la Manche to our achievements of the trip. Surprisingly it was much warmer than expected - quite pleasant actually! In the evening we said our goodbyes to Catherine and Michel at the Yvetot train station, and settled in for the most relaxed train ride of the trip (what a difference not having to manage bikes!) back to Paris for our final day in France.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Lasts

    July 6, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    For our last day in Paris we opted for a small tour in the morning to see a few final sights prior to an afternoon packing push. Our metro ride involved the usual 'driving' of the train by Claire and other tiny conductors. We wandered around l'Île de la Cité, and enjoyed visiting Notre Dame and learning about the stabilization and reconstruction efforts that have been underway since the fire that destroyed part of the cathedral in 2019. We wandered along and around Rue de Rivoli and found a crêperie Bretonne for a taste of galettes and crêpes, before heading back home to pack up our bikes and gear. Despite the indoor focus, the beautiful sunshine made breaks on the balcony especially appealing. Then it was early to bed for the little one to rest up for a long day of travel to come.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike TravelsHolly and Karl

    Au Revoir!

    July 7, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Loaded up with two bike boxes and two large bags, we caught a van taxi to the airport, then endured a marathon of lines through check-in, security, duty-free (to spend our last € on French treats!), customs and boarding, only to wait for two hours in the plane while our flight was delayed. Fueled by airplane food and movies we endured our flight to Toronto, marking the end of our bike travels but the start of the next leg of our journey - cottage time! In all we travelled 3,000 km over 92 days through 5 countries (Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and of course, Monaco!). What an incredible, enriching, fun, challenging and rewarding trip it was, certainly with highs and lows along the way. We feel so much gratitude at getting to re/connect with long-time and new friends along the way - these connections are what feed our desire to continue exploring, learning and sharing through these kinds of trips!Read more

    Trip end
    July 7, 2023
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