Interrail Trail 2023

A 81-day adventure by Interrail Trail 2023 Read more

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Trip start
September 4, 2023
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Day 1
Monday, September 4, 2023 at 1:32 PM
☀️ 27 °C
Altitude: 213 ft
England Crewe 53.099615, -2.44146353°5’59” N 2°26’29” W
Crewe
September 4, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Here we go! 🚋
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Day 1
Monday, September 4, 2023 at 4:45 PM
☀️ 28 °C
Altitude: 43 ft
England Imperial War Museum 51.495751, -0.10860451°29’45” N 0°6’31” W
Imperial War Museum London
September 4, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
A little stop off in at the IWM before the trip begins!

A visit to see "the car", part of Artist Jeremy Deller's It Is What It Is Project. It was a car bombed in Baghdad on 5th March 2007, which killed 38 people and wounded many others. An everyday object that is a reminder of the impact of war on civilians.

Unexpectedly, there was a section of the Berlin Wall... I'm looking forward to finding out more about this when I get to Germany 🇩🇪

But first, on to Paris!Read more
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Day 2
Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at 11:00 AM
☀️ 24 °C
Altitude: 98 ft
France Flame of Liberty Memorial 48.864183, 2.30087648°51’51” N 2°18’3” E
Flame of Liberty
September 5, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
A successful first journey on the Metro and of all the places to surface, the exit to the stop I needed just so happened to be at the Princess Diana Memorial ❤️
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Day 3
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 10:00 AM
☀️ 23 °C
Altitude: 249 ft
France Arc de Triomphe 48.873779, 2.29503748°52’26” N 2°17’42” E
Arc de Triomphe
September 6, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
18204 steps yesterday, and I have a feeling it is going to be another big step day again today!

The first stop Arc de Triomphe. Inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, Napoleon commissioned it to honour those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and later WWI. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WW1 to represent the 1.3 million French soldiers who gave their lives.

The Arc de Triomphe has an overall height of 50m (164 ft), with 284 steps to the top. The view was totally worth it, unlike my pictures with my selfie stick 😆Read more
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Day 3
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 12:00 PM
☀️ 28 °C
Altitude: 85 ft
France Place Jeanne-d'Arc 48.832464, 2.3725648°49’57” N 2°22’21” E
La Felicità
September 6, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Lunch 🍽

Found this place in a travel magazine, and it definitely did not disappoint! Housed in an old rail freight building, it has italian inspired food, cafés and bars to choose from.

Oh, and I bumped into a familiar face! 🤩Read more
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Day 3
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 6:00 PM
☀️ 31 °C
Altitude: 830 ft
France Limoges 45.835424, 1.26448545°50’8” N 1°15’52” E
Limoges
September 6, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
French national rail caught to my next stop, Limoges, for my day trip out tomorrow.

19,718 🚶‍♀️... respectable!
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Day 4
Thursday, September 7, 2023 at 9:00 AM
☀️ 20 °C
Altitude: 886 ft
France Oradour-sur-Glane 45.932778, 1.032545°55’58” N 1°1’57” E
Oradour-sur-Glane
September 7, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
First 🚌

After practising the French for a return ticket and being a solo passenger (except for a guy who worked there!), I arrived at Oradour-sur-Glane.

10th June 1944, the village was in Nazi-occupied France and was destroyed when 643 civilians, including non-combatant men, women, and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company as collective punishment for resistance activity against Nazi-occupation.

Their faces were placed on a picture wall, and knowing that they had all been burnt to ensure that they could not be identified was the hardest part to hear 😥. The museum noted it as a war crime and that this happened in several Nazi-occupied areas to deter uprisings.Read more
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Day 4
Thursday, September 7, 2023 at 9:30 PM
🌙 25 °C
Altitude: 1,280 ft
France Clermont-Ferrand 45.777455, 3.08194345°46’39” N 3°4’55” E
Clermont-Ferrand
September 7, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
3 Trains later, and a first 1 hour delay, I have finally arrived!
🙏
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Day 5
Friday, September 8, 2023 at 8:00 PM
☀️ 28 °C
Altitude: 1,230 ft
France Clermont-Ferrand 45.772319, 3.08848245°46’20” N 3°5’19” E
Lecoq
September 8, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Despite suffering from heat exhaustion 🥵, today didn't turn out badly after all!

I met a lovely French lady, and thanks to Google Translate, we managed to arrange an evening walk to the city park. A colonial garden with 2 sequoia trees in which had recently been struck by lightning 🌩

I felt it was a lovely reminder that beauty is retained despite what life throws at you 💚

And, I still managed 13,463 steps!Read more
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Day 6
Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 9:45 AM
☀️ 21 °C
Altitude: 4,665 ft
France Monts Dômes 45.771944, 2.962545°46’19” N 2°57’45” E
Puy de Dôme
September 9, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
🚌 #2

Still suffering from heat exhaustion, it was a blessing that my paragliding was cancelled. Although, I wasn't thinking that when I was watching everyone else take off!

Puy de Dôme is a lava dome and one of the youngest in a chain of 80 now extinct volcanoes, including numerous cinder cones, lava domes and maars close to the edge of a tectonic plate. It was created some 10,700 years ago. 🌋

I had to take the train rather than walk, which I had planned, but it didn't spoil the view.

To quote Arnie, "I'll be back"!Read more
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Day 6
Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 8:00 PM
☀️ 28 °C
Altitude: 1,322 ft
France Clermont-Ferrand 45.778291, 3.0845845°46’42” N 3°5’4” E
Le 1513
September 9, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
An afternoon nap and shower, I felt like a new woman!

Took a walk with my new French companion through Clermont and ate in a Creperie restaurant that Caroline recommended and had my first Crepe 😋 ... well, it would be rude not to 😁

She told me the restaurant was called 1513 due to it being the year the building was built and that the Catherdral was made of volcanic rock. Interesting! I managed 21, 531 steps even though I was not feeling great 💪Read more
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Day 7
Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 2:00 PM
☀️ 32 °C
Altitude: 587 ft
France Place Bellecour 45.757814, 4.83201145°45’28” N 4°49’55” E
Bite-Sized Lyon
September 10, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
🚉 # 7

Me and my bitten and swollen legs collected a 24-hour Lyon City Pass and checked in. Quick change and out to make the most of it!

First stop the Funicular line, part of Lyons transport network since 1862. It stopped at the Roman ruins and the Notre-Dame de Fourviere. It has a stunning view over the city.Read more
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Day 7
Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 4:45 PM
☀️ 34 °C
Altitude: 617 ft
France Eglise Sainte-Croix 45.761875, 4.82729945°45’43” N 4°49’38” E
Musée Cinéma & Miniature
September 10, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
After a little more funicular fun, I headed to an International Cinema Museum (my first choice was closed until November for a refurb), but it was good fun... Arnie popped up again!

I stopped off for some frozen yoghurt and a wander before my evening boat trip... ⛴️Read more
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Day 7
Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 6:00 PM
☀️ 33 °C
Altitude: 594 ft
France Place des Célestins 45.760924, 4.83069645°45’39” N 4°49’51” E
Saône River, Lyon
September 10, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
⛴️ # 1

Making the most of my Lyon City Pass, I took advantage of the River Cruise included. It was a lovely way to end my first week... all aboard!

Week 1 🚶‍♀️ 121, 985
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Day 8
Monday, September 11, 2023 at 10:30 AM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 587 ft
France Place Bellecour 45.757814, 4.83201145°45’28” N 4°49’55” E
Walking Lyon
September 11, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Lyon Explorers Tour really brought the city to life!

The Traboules didn't disappoint. With more than 400 of these secret passageways, they have been used over the centuries to provide better access to the River, to avoid the crowded streets, and as a key part of the resistance in WWII.

It was such a shame that the Centre d'histoire de la résistance et de la déportation was closed... it just means I will have to come back to Lyon 😁

Next stop... NimesRead more
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Day 8
Monday, September 11, 2023 at 4:15 PM
⛅ 30 °C
Altitude: 187 ft
France Nîmes 43.837425, 4.36006943°50’15” N 4°21’36” E
Nimes
September 11, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
🚉 # 8 and 9 successfully completed, I arrived in the beautiful Nimes.

Nimes is a complete surprise as I planned only to use it as a base for Pont du Gard and Arles, but wow, am I glad I did!

I am now starting to appreciate how much Roman history there is in France 🤓, with a dusting of reality 🤣Read more
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Day 9
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 9:30 AM
☀️ 21 °C
Altitude: 75 ft
France Arènes d'Arles 43.677622, 4.63096543°40’39” N 4°37’51” E
van Gogh Route, Arles
September 12, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
A digital map in hand, I took to the streets of Arles following Vincent's footsteps 🖌

February 1888, van Gogh arrived from Paris in Arles and stayed until May 1889. During those fourteen months, he created a multitude of paintings and drawings, many of which are nowadays seen as highlights of late 19th century art.

It really felt like being in the Garden of the Health House painting 💛Read more
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Day 9
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 10:45 AM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 98 ft
France Église Saint-Martin du Méjan 43.677927, 4.62555843°40’41” N 4°37’32” E
Woman in Abstraction Exhibition, Arles
September 12, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
I learnt today that not only were women written out of Abstract Expressionist Art, but copied...

The "drip" technique and "all-over painting" (in which the surface of a work is approached holistically from every direction), made famous by Jackson Pollock, was not his method. In 1938, Janet Sobel, a 45-year-old Ukrainian with no previous artistic training, began fiddling around with her son's painting supplies and changed the course of cultural history.

The art critic Clement Greenberg admitted in 1955 to visiting an exhibition with Pollock and that the two "noticed one or two curious paintings by a primitive painter (a housewife from Brooklyn). Pollock (and I myself) admired these pictures rather furtively… The effect – and it was the first really 'all-over' one that I had ever seen… – was strangely pleasing. Later on, Pollock admitted that these pictures had made an impression on him."

www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220307-janet-sobe…

Women have changed the world; they just haven't had recognition within the patriarchy 😡Read more
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Day 9
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 2:50 PM
☁️ 29 °C
Altitude: 75 ft
France Arles Railway Station 43.684827, 4.63207943°41’5” N 4°37’55” E
Arles
September 12, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
🚉 # 10 successful!

Thank you, Arles, you have been wonderful... 💛 🌻 but after 19, 507 steps, it is time for a little rest before finding some place yummy to eat 😋
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Day 10
Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 12:15 PM
☀️ 25 °C
Altitude: 75 ft
France Pont du Gard 43.947154, 4.53546743°56’50” N 4°32’8” E
Pont du Gard
September 13, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
🚌 #3 to Pont du Gard... the view!

Built in the 1st Century AD, the Roman aqueduct provided water to the population of Nimes for more than 500 years. The highest ancient bridge in the world makes this a UNESCO site.

It was a perfect spot for a little ☀️ and a swim 💦Read more
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Day 11
Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 9:45 AM
⛅ 21 °C
Altitude: 26 ft
France Vieux-Port 43.296174, 5.36995243°17’46” N 5°22’12” E
Marseille
September 14, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
🚉 # 11 to Marseille!

Founded c. 600 BC by Greek settlers, Marseille is the oldest city in France, as well as one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements. Since its origins, Marseille's openness to the Mediterranean Sea has made cultural and economic exchanges with Southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. It feels that way 💛

La Panier is Marseille's oldest neighbourhood, with its latest struggle being property purchases for air bnb use! It's full of narrow streets and art. Can you spot the bra bunting? 🫢

After a day of discovering the city on foot, another 24,495 steps, watching the sunset followed by ice cream, was on the cards🍦Read more
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Day 12
Friday, September 15, 2023 at 11:00 AM
☀️ 24 °C
Altitude: Sea level
France Calanque de Sormiou 43.210127, 5.42199543°12’36” N 5°25’19” E
Parc national des Calanques (cœur)
September 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
🚌 # 4 taken instead!

The hiccup of not being able to take a boat as planned to Château d'If turned out wonderfully...

The Calanques are marine and terrestrial protected areas of the Mediterranean and are littered with sandy coves. I hiked 5km, stopping off for some sun and sand ⛱️

Listening to some favourites today made me feel very grateful 🙏... One of the best days of the trip so far!Read more
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Day 13
Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 3:45 PM
🌬 26 °C
Altitude: 492 ft
France Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde 43.283945, 5.37124243°17’2” N 5°22’16” E
Notre-Dame de la Garde
September 16, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
After a rainy morning, the Château d'If was unfortunately still closed, so I visited the Notre-Dame.

Yes, guru walk guide Louis was right, the view was definitely worth it! 🔭
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Day 13
Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 7:00 PM
⛅ 26 °C
Altitude: 112 ft
France Notre-Dame du Mont 43.291157, 5.38311343°17’28” N 5°22’59” E
Notre-Dame du Mont
September 16, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Thanks Nick, the recommendation to visit this area was an excellent suggestion 👍

Wandering graffiti streets to find the Sepra Swing Club for a tiny bit of vintage shopping before stopping off at the Café Librarie for my first alcohol drink🍸Read more
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Day 14
Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 12:45 PM
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: 95 ft
France Nice Ville 43.704091, 7.26214643°42’15” N 7°15’44” E
Nice
September 17, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Leaving Marseille on 🚉 # 12, I arrived in Nice to find it had been taken over by the Rugby World Cup 🏉

I hopped on 🚍 to get the highlights of Nice to find very little 🫢 so I took to my feet but didn't find much more...

The highlights were definitely the and the Meditterano (housed within old railway buildings) and the Promenade des Anglais. Picnic tea at sunset to finish off week 2... not bad after all 😉

Week 2 🚶‍♀️ 131,489...Read more
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