Seeing the land of Cezanne as he saw it. In the early morning light that transforms the sugar cube houses into peach and orange and the pines into umbrellas sporting every possible shade of green. Cooing doves form the morning soundtrack but as soon as the...
Three days ago we passed our first lavender field. The mountains were becoming more rounded, the style of the houses was changing, and we began to hear cicadas. The city of Sisteron, self-described as the gateway to Provence, made it official: we have...
On a daily basis, across four countries, Ruth and I have had agitated dogs barking at us as we pass. The dogs are almost always chained up or behind a fence, so they are rarely a real threat, though we do occasionally get a shot of adrenaline when they materialize...
I must be tired. Things are bugging me and I’m feeling grumpy. The “Welcome “ book at the campground where we have rented a bungalow has more rules and warnings about fines and consequences than any real welcome. In order to use their pool I had to buy Gord a...
This is now Gordon’s longest walk ever. We passed our previous record of 1700 kms yesterday. We both have been so focused on our journey and the logistics of finding and booking accommodation and deciding upon routes that we missed our 20th wedding anniversary. We...
I’m never really alone, you know. As I started my climb out of Cesana, I heard a plaintive cry, “Wait! I’m coming with you!” After turning the first bend my shadow caught up to me and took the lead. “Is it going to be steep?” Giving a pointed look towards Grandma...
Tomorrow I climb up to the pass at Monginevro and say good bye to Italy as we cross into France. I do want to point out that although the Tour de France also climbs up and over the same pass, the cyclists take the less steep direction and let their sag wagons carry...
Not long after Turin everything begins to change as we wind up and into the Susa valley. The riding is only a gentle climb at the entrance to the valley, but we have clearly arrived in the Alps. The mountains rise up on either side of the valley, jagged and majestic....
We arrived in Torino early yesterday afternoon after a 30 km walk in pleasantly cooler temperatures. Following a nap I pulled out my electronic map to have a look at the Wikipedia points in the city. “Damn,” I thought, “We screwed up, we need several days to see the...
For a few days, from Piacenza to Vercelli, we were on a functioning pilgrimage route, though we were moving counter to the flow. The Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome has become more active than when we walked and cycled it in 2012 and 2013. Years ago...
“We are going to be crossing the Alps, Ruth,” Gord announced with surprise. Where was he for the last week when I was talking about the climb and worrying about how steep it would be with the trailer??? I am always surprised to realize how amazing he is at tuning me...
Normally we find our accommodation through the Booking app. Occasionally, however, the app does not have properties where we need them, so we have to consult other sources and make a phone call. This isn’t a problem for us in Spain or France, but our...