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Paris to Milan by bike

May - July 2017
A 59-day adventure by Pat and Tracey Read more
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  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
    Day 33

    Lyon

    June 30, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Spent the morning shopping to replace panniers and Pats shoes. Then headed into town - Place Bellecour- to tourist info. If you come to Lyon & need assistance ask for Lorreen. By the time we left we had a full itinerary and everything we needed. Lyon is a very big city - next after Paris and the gastronomic capital of France. Unbelievable the array of cafes, restaurants, boulangeries, chocolatiers, patisseries, bistrots, bars and, most Lyonnaise of all, the Bouchon - a traditional French affair, with a relaxed atmosphere and extremely, hearty servings.

    We found the best coffee in France at Slake coffee shop on the Rue Ancienne in Centre Ville - the brownies and carrot cake weren't too shabby either ( This sort of research required repeat visits- morning & afternoon tea).
    In between times we managed to take a Bateaux boat ride on La Saône and the Petit Train, which toured around The Croix Rousse area of Lyon - the old Silk weaving district. From the late 18th, early 19th century, the city's silk weaving industry made the Lyonnaise wealthy, while keeping the weavers in shocking conditions. Strikes and battles followed with hundreds of deaths, but conditions gradually improved.

    This tour is highly recommended, as is the Lyon city card. The city has a very good, but complex, public transport system that uses buses, trams, trains, vaporettos and funiculars. We used all of them to get around. Buying tickets would have been a nightmare without the city card. All are free with the city card, as are all museums, the boat tour and the Petit train.
    Took the vaporetto home to change for dinner!
    The highlight of the day was dinner at Le Comptoir Abel, a highly recommended and authentic establishment. We both had traditional Lyonnaise dishes. Entree was a shared crayfish salad. Tracey's main was Quenelle de brochet en gratin maison ( like a souffle with creamy fish (Pike) sauce) and Pats was Gratin d’écrevisses ( crayfish gratin). Shared desert was marron gateau. Delicious food and wine!    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
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    Day 34

    Lyon 2

    July 1, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Another spot of shopping to fill Pat's panniers and we were off sightseeing on a 2 hour guided walk around Vieux Lyon, the oldest part of town. Lyon was founded in 43BC by the Romans and there is plenty of evidence to prove it, including two adjoining amphitheatres on the Fourviere hill - the oldest part of town.
    Lyon became a leading publishing city in the 15th century, as well as becoming involved in the finance industry and the beautiful old gothic and renaissance buildings built by its wealthy merchants over many centuries have been preserved and are now a UNESCO world heritage site.
    The silk workers built passageways between their workshops, warehouses and shops, for convenience and to protect the silk from the weather. These were called Traboules. During the Second World War, they were used by the resistance. Lyon suffered badly at the hands of Klaus Barbie, 'The Butcher of Lyon'.
    The Funicular lifts you from riverside to the Basilique Notre Dame du Fourviére. It is a beautiful confection inside and the terrace outside has commanding views of the city.
    Returning to Centre Ville, we found ourselves in the middle of a Multicultural festival in Place Bellecour. Pat was particularly intrigued by an impromptu Madagascan dancer who seemed to be able to move all sorts of body parts independently of the other matching part.
    Dinner at a 'pub' in Place Carnot, home to the Statue De La Republique, near Perrache Station.    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
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    Day 35

    Lyon to Zermatt

    July 2, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Spent most of the day taking 3 trains -Lyon to Geneve, Geneve to Visp, and Visp to Zermatt which is a cog railway. On the stretch from Martigny to Visp we could see from the trees that there was a howling westerly wind blowing. We plan to ride back that way, but if that wind is still blowing we will be on the train!
    Arrived at Zermatt, around 5pm. The crowded streets were unbelievable, especially the large groups of Asian tourists. Our Hotel Garni,Tannenhof, is central and comfy.
    Walking around town, we absorbed the thought - the word on the street was that the Matt was visible - that now was the time to head up to the terrace at the top end of town. The Matterhorn was in full sun! And there it was, looking magnificent. Apparently, it is often shrouded in cloud.
    We still needed to replace a few things that were stolen, most urgently a small reasonably packable backpack. Zermatt has lots of very expensive outdoor shops, but we found one with a very suitable Salomon Trail 10 in the sale basket for half price.
    Minestrone soup at Hotel Monte Rosa for dinner rounded out the evening.    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
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    Day 36

    Zermatt 1

    July 3, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    We had decided to come to Zermatt due to a promising weather forecast. After the cloudy, cool and windy day before, today looked much better. Everything is very expensive in Zermatt, so with some help from the tourist info centre we made a plan for the day which involved buying tickets to the top on the Gornergrat Express and part of the way back down. A return ticket to the top costs 94 Swiss Francs, or about AU$130.

    We left the train at Riffelberg and followed walk 19 via Riffelsee to re-board the train at Rotenboden. We saw large groups walking on other trails but almost had our trail to ourselves until we got to Riffelsee where you see a reflection of the Matterhorn in the lake.

    We had a coffee at Gornergrat, sitting in brilliant sunshine. When we moved to get away from a smoker we got talking to a local couple who have spent a total of 6 years in Australia. After coffee we walked up to the panoramic viewpoint nearby, then caught the train down to Riffelalp where we followed the number 21 walk to the top of the SunneggaExpress, an underground funicular railway.

    We didn't have tickets for the Sunnegga, but had been told we could take it to the bottom and buy a ticket there. There was some problem with the train, so we joined the large number of people sitting on the cold damp steps from which you board the steeply sloping train. After an hour the problem was apparently fixed and we were allowed to board. In France we have yet to have our tickets checked on any train or tram. In Switzerland you pay or you walk, with conductors checking tickets on every train, and at Zermatt your electronic ticket is required to get either on or off every lift or train.

    We suggested to the man supervising the exit gates that, since we had waited for a full hour due to a fault, perhaps he could just let us out without having to buy tickets. He didn't take too much persuading and opened the gate for us.

    Dinner included a very nice bratwurst from the barbeque in front of the butcher shop.

    So many wildflowers I have created a Google Photos album: https://goo.gl/photos/mYWQYmBUcTvSTi517

    11km 511mts climbing    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
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    Day 37

    Zermatt 2 Rest Day

    July 4, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Strolled around Zermatt, watched stage 4 of the tour and caught up on bits and pieces.
    There is a cluster of very old buildings in the centre of Zermatt - all wooden, some 15th-16th century and obviously protected to the irritation of developers, I'd say.
    The cemetery is lined with the graves of young men, particularly young englishmen, who died in their attempt on the Matterhorn, the slightly bigger Weisshorn or one of the other very big surrounding peaks.
    After another bratwurst from the Metzgerei barbeque we had a drink at a bar in the main drag. The small beer and glass of rosè cost about AU$10 each, but we were served by an Italian reincarnation on Ned Kelly.    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
    Day 38

    Zermatt to Sierre

    July 5, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Do not attempt the ride down from Zermatt. Busy, narrow road, broken up surface, fast cars, trucks and buses, 4 of whom attempted murder on the poor Aussie cyclist. But we lived to tell the tale!
    Once we hit the Eurovelo 17, the Rhone Cycle route, at Visp, the route was very good.
    Since we have to catch a train tomorrow we just headed for a campground we liked the look of. Our little tent is under some shady trees (33 degrees this afternoon) next to a lake and the wifi from the restaurant reaches to it. We had a quick refreshing swim in the lake.    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
    Day 39

    Sierre to St Gervais les Bains

    July 6, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We were held up leaving our campground in Sierre, as nothing opened until 9am & we couldn't pick up the meds. So we missed the early train back to France. The trip up from Sierre through Martigny to Le Chatelard on the Swiss-French border was, as expected, very scenic and made more enjoyable by a chat with some friendly yanks from Utah. At Le Chatelard, we transferred to a bus, which dropped us a few kilometres later at Vallorcine, to start our climb towards St Gervais Les Bains. The road to Chamonix was nice, but the traffic increased thereafter. Chamonix was very touristy, as you'd expect. Our ride took us through Argentiere, Chamonix, and through long, steep rolling hills, mostly newly surfaced, around Les Houches and Vaudagne to our gite, a few kilometres before St Gervais Les Bains. The last few kilometres were particularly steep, heavily trafficked and a bit of a challenge, coming late in the day.
    But the gite, Gite Mont Joly, was fantastic.
    We were welcomed by Brendan, asking whether we wanted a beer, wine or shower first. He and Miranda and the children, Finn, Eoin & Oisin (about 15 mths old and obsessed with parapentes), made us feel like family and we enjoyed their generous hosting, their good rosé and good company. We "cooked" potato gratin dauphinois and quiche? for dinner and enjoyed the peaceful family atmosphere.
    50km, 710m climbing.    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
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    Day 40

    Saint Gervais les Bains to Doussard

    July 7, 2017 in France ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We got an early start from the gite, leaving the fee inside the hosts "prive" door, so as not to wake them. The traffic had not yet reached its full peak, when we turned right off the main road a few kms of steepish climbing later, in St Gervais Les Bains. After 10-12 km of constant climbing and steadily worsening traffic, it was a relief to roll into stylish Megeve, with its extensive morning markets just starting to kick off.
    We had coffee and cake in a lovely corner watching the market activity.
    The traffic wasn't too bad after Megeve, and Tracey made it up the 10% climb on the bypass without strangling me at the top. There was a long steep descent to negotiate, but, fortunately, most of it was newly surfaced.
    Lunch in Ugine from the Boulangerie and eaten pique-nique style beside the gloriously smooth, gloriously fIat, gloriously traffic-free and shady CYCLE PATH. The path led all the way to Doussard.
    We met our friends, Karen and Eric, in the campervan in Doussard and camped next to the lake - a great evening of swimming, catching up, eating and drinking ensued.
    60km, 810m climbing.    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
    Day 41

    Doussard to Mont du Chat

    July 8, 2017 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We drove to the top of Mont du Chat. Absolutely packed out anywhere near the top so we turned around and drove down 5km to find a spot to park the campervan. After giving hearty congratulations to Erik for finding a spot with plenty of room and a spectacular view, and a celebratory beer/wine, we mounted the Swedish, Norwegian and Aussie flags. Many thanks to Knud and Erica for Aussie flag, which still, thankfully, always gets a great response.
    After a few beers we heard a car go past with Aussies yelling out. Pat went around to the front of the van to give them a wave. Unbelievably, in a car a few behind the Aussies was a group of young French men including Hugo, the young French policeman who had helped us when the panniers had been stolen. They stopped and Hugo came over to say hello. Unbelievable.
    Later still, more friends arrived - Aussies who now lived in Finland, but were holidaying in southern Europe. Welcome Alex, Georgie, Sienna & Leo - lovely folk, who added much needed style to "Aussie corner".
    In Georgie's words:-
    " We drove the route and realised the urgency in which the decision had to be made. The mountain was filling rapidly with boisterous spectators dribbling into every available piece of road verge, with still 24 hours remaining before the riders hit! As we climbed the 15 km of Mont du Chat’s windy, narrow road we could feel the excitement in the air. The atmosphere was electric and we were instantly addicted, we had to be part of this. As we wound back down the mountainside we came across a group of fellow Aussie’s, flags flying flamboyantly! Pulling up alongside their monster of a camper van there was an instant bond over chants of ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie’. They invited us to join their festivities ready for the race the following day. There was a small space just large enough for our van beside their camper. Let’s do it!
    *
    Our race was on, we had 1.5 hour to get down the hill, fill the van with water, buy food and drinks to last the next 24 hours, and ready our potable toilet. The mountain road was due to be closed off at 5.30 that evening! We achieved the impossible again and were reversing the van into our tight position at 5.30pm with just millimeters to spare between the road and imminent death toppling over the cliff! We’d made it, we couldn’t believe it was really happening, we were road side in our camper at the Tour de France!". You can find Georgie's blog at
    https://readysteadyfinnish.wordpress.com/2017/0…    Read more

  • Pat and Tracey EslerParis to Milan by bike
    1
    Day 42

    Tour de France 2017 Stage 9

    July 9, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    So much fun was had by all today.
    The preparatory barracking sessions, the scramble for Le Tour Caravan goodies - won by Pat- the fabulous food, wine and company. It was a day to remember. Thank you to Karen, Eric, Alex, Georgie, Sienna, Leo, Hugo & friends and all the aussies who stopped to chat.
    In Georgie's words:-
    "We shared a fabulous 24 hours on the mountain with our new friends Tracey, Pat, Karen and Eric. We shared travel tales, politics and caught up on news from Australia. The day was a massive success and definitely lived up to all our very high expectations. Oh, and the race was pretty fabulous too!"
    The only low note came when we realised Ritchie Porte had crashed.    Read more

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