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• Chartres to Amersfoort to Copenhagen: the 80th anniversary of VE-Day. WWI Trenches. Anne Frank. And a Little Mermaid.
  Hullo! Bonjour! Groetjes! Hallo! Hej! The last time we wrote a cycling blog post was in November of 2024 after we had had, to be honest, a hellacious last day of riding through a freak snow storm. On that day, we were very grateful to leave the bikes at the HomeBox storage facility in Chartres. In a nutshell: Fall 2024’s trip was “1587 kilometres cycled over five weeks… and the watery-est trip so far. We rode through absolutely torrential rains on the very first day (Lisbon to Setubal), did a complete re-route mid-trip when violent floods ravaged Valencia, and rode… Read more: Chartres to Amersfoort to Copenhagen: the 80th anniversary of VE-Day. WWI Trenches. Anne Frank. And a Little Mermaid.
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  Days 41 and 42. Chateaudun to Chartres on Thursday November 21st through a raging blizzard: the toughest day of riding, EVER. Chartres to Paris to Toronto on Friday. The fabulous end of a fabulous trip.
  Both of us were awake at different times during Wednesday night (November 20th) at the Brit Hotel in Chateaudun, checking the weather apps and the increasingly alarming storm notifications – official “Code Orange” – from the French government on European news sites. You’ll see from the screenshots below that the outlook was not good. In fact, at one point, rather than our current Plan B* to cycle from Chateaudun to Chartres, put the bikes into storage there, check into a swanky hotel and then take a train to Paris on Friday morning, John researched alternatives. (What did people do before… Read more: Days 41 and 42. Chateaudun to Chartres on Thursday November 21st through a raging blizzard: the toughest day of riding, EVER. Chartres to Paris to Toronto on Friday. The fabulous end of a fabulous trip.
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  Monday Nov. 18, Tuesday Nov. 19, Wednesday Nov. 20. Days 38, 39, 40 two nights at Chef Christophe Hay’s Fleur de Loire Hotel and Michelin starred restaurants followed by a night at the Brit Hotel, Chateaudun.
  It was hard to leave our hotel in Amboise, Le Clos d’Amboise, because the room was so comfortable and spacious, and the dining room staff and chef were so excellent. However, we have to push on to Chartres, and Blois was our next and final Loire Valley city. Our ride was an easy, flat, wind-at-our back (luxury!) ride, mostly on small country roads that followed the Loire River east and north. Observation: we’re at the point in the trip where, rather than stopping at a LIDL or E. Leclair or small epicerie to pick up a block of cheese and… Read more: Monday Nov. 18, Tuesday Nov. 19, Wednesday Nov. 20. Days 38, 39, 40 two nights at Chef Christophe Hay’s Fleur de Loire Hotel and Michelin starred restaurants followed by a night at the Brit Hotel, Chateaudun.
• Friday November 15 through Sunday the 17th, Days 35, 36, 37. Nouâtre to Tours for one night, Amboise for two nights.
  We said goodbye to the delightful young son and daughter (and chickens) of our hosts in Nouatre, passed the site of the tragic WWII massacre of all of the inhabitants of the town of Maillé (Maison du Souvenirs), and cycled in dense French fog (see moody photo of dead sunflowers in field) until we reached the small town of Veigne when the fog lifted and the sun kind-of came out to reveal a lovely Friday morning farmers’ market. (I looked longingly at the huitres-monger, but…) At the 53 km marker we found our hotel. Travellers’ tip: Tours is a big… Read more: Friday November 15 through Sunday the 17th, Days 35, 36, 37. Nouâtre to Tours for one night, Amboise for two nights.
• Days 33 and 34. Wed Nov 13 and Thu Nov 14. Aubigné to Poitier to Nouâtre.
  Our bellies full of Pasta Carbonara and Molten Chocolate Pudding swimming in a custard sauce from Tuesday night and Pain au Chocolat from Wednesday’s breakfast (thank-you Chef Bastiaan at L’Ancien Cafe in Aubigne) we hit the road bright and early on Wednesday morning. It was a frosty 3 dg C and we had a bastardy head wind out of the north that never let up for the next 4-1/2 hours. Still, we were on fairly flat roads that were relatively untraveled by cars, and we rode through a couple of sweet French villages. We arrived in Poitier in a quasi-perished… Read more: Days 33 and 34. Wed Nov 13 and Thu Nov 14. Aubigné to Poitier to Nouâtre.
• Day 32, November 12, 75 km Barbezieux to Aubigné
  Ordinarily we don’t post every day but today we arrived here around 1:00; there’s nothing to do or so see in this tiny stopover town and after 75 km of very cold riding that ended in rain we’re only nicely warmed up now, 3 hours later! A cup of tea, feet up, and some internet is looking really attractive. Thus, I blog. (And John haunts music arranging, math, and cycling equipment sites). Aubigne is about an hour’s car ride from the coast, and just northeast of Remy-Martin cognac country. I wish I liked cognac, I’m sure it would warm me… Read more: Day 32, November 12, 75 km Barbezieux to Aubigné
• Days 30 and 31. November 10th and 11th. Libourne and Barbizieux, France.
  John here: Our Ride With GPS rides and routes Collection, so far. Open it to see where we’ve been and the routes for each day. The long red part from Cordoba to San Sebastian was done by van with the bikes stowed in the back. Its distance is not included in the kilometre total. Thank goodness we were able to turn the van in to Enterprise in San Sebastián not Valencia as originally planned. Patti here: we left Bazas and instantly it was hilly and absolutely dripping with vineyards and chateaus. Huge estates. We were skirting the perimeter of the… Read more: Days 30 and 31. November 10th and 11th. Libourne and Barbizieux, France.
• Days 28 and 29. November 8th and 9th. Mont-de-Marsan and Bazas, France.
  I meant to say this about our evening in Dax: we had hoped to be able to eat dinner at the number one spot according to TripAdvisor but there was a handwritten sign on their door saying “complet”, so we headed to the town square. Dax isn’t a popular tourist destination but the French apparently enjoy eating out, so many places were busy. Atypically for us, we were drawn to a SPORTS bar supporting rugby which is, apparently, more popular than soccer in southwestern France. We’ve actually really enjoyed sportsbar meals we’ve experienced in our travels, e.g. pubs in Wales… Read more: Days 28 and 29. November 8th and 9th. Mont-de-Marsan and Bazas, France.
• Days 25, 26 and 27. San Sebastián, Bayonne (France!) and Dax. November 5, 6 and 7.
  We were so happy to be back in the Hotel Londres y Inglaterra in San Sebastián where we had stayed in August of 2019. The purpose of that cycling tour had been to remember my cousin Judy Bolton with some of her friends, and at that time all of us had loved the city, its spectacular beach and bay, and its Basque influences. The hotel is old school elegance – there are definitely more expensive hotels in SS – but this one holds a special place in my heart. The staff were incredibly accommodating with the bike storage, getting us… Read more: Days 25, 26 and 27. San Sebastián, Bayonne (France!) and Dax. November 5, 6 and 7.
• Days 19-25 – Granada, Almeria, Alcabendas & San Sebastian (Oct 31 – Nov 5)
  Here are a few photos we forgot to include in the previous post. The cave tour in Nerja was truly impressive and beautifully presented. Look at those stalagmites and stalactites: some of them resemble a gigantic pipe organ. The meal at “Patanegra 57” restaurant was spectacular. We really really liked Nerja and only regret not getting down to the actual beach. The shoreline is hostile/inviting. But there was the wind, and the rain with the brewing storm, and we had to get to Granada the next day. We reluctantly said goodbye to our sweet Hotel Paraíso del Mar in Nerja… Read more: Days 19-25 – Granada, Almeria, Alcabendas & San Sebastian (Oct 31 – Nov 5)
• Days 16, 17, 18 – Cordoba, Malaga & Nerja (Oct 28 – 30)
  Bright and early on a sunny Monday morning we cycled to Cordoba’s bus terminal, picked up our rental car from Enterprise (we’ve been renting cars from them since 1981), stowed the vans in the back (it’s a small van that I’ve secretly named “Ann the Van”), and hit the road. Traveller’s Tip: Cordoba is pronounced CORdoba. Malaga is pronounced MALaga.Traveller’s Tip: it’s a given that the first turn you make when you start your route will be a wrong turn. Don’t sweat the small stuff. ‘Nuff said. The hills got bigger and bigger, and turned from green to drab brown.… Read more: Days 16, 17, 18 – Cordoba, Malaga & Nerja (Oct 28 – 30)
• Days 14 & 15 – Cordoba (Oct 26 & 27)
  Two weeks ago today we left Toronto. Since then we’ve cycled 675 kilometres and eaten a mountain of Serrano and Iberian ham, goat cheese and olives. This weekend in Cordoba has been restful after all of the cycling and packing and unpacking. We’ve been here since Friday afternoon and we leave tomorrow morning when we’ll cycle to a car rental place at the train station, pick up a small van we’ve reserved, throw the bikes in the back and drive a couple of hours to Malaga where I think the most stressful element will be finding the place where we’re… Read more: Days 14 & 15 – Cordoba (Oct 26 & 27)
• Days 11, 12 & 13 – Sevilla, Palma del Rio, Almodovar del Rio & Cordoba(Oct 23, 24 & 25)
  We retrieved our bikes from the piano studio in Hotel Amadeus, and unfolded and set them up on a tiny bit of space on the side of the walkway outside the front door of the hotel. There’s always something to fix or adjust, especially when the trikes have been folded, so it took some time, and elicited stares and comments from the international set of passersby. John had a wish list of small fixes that required tools at a bike repair shop which we luckily happened to spy on the way out of town. (Sevilla is bike-friendly.) Observation: bike mechanics… Read more: Days 11, 12 & 13 – Sevilla, Palma del Rio, Almodovar del Rio & Cordoba(Oct 23, 24 & 25)
• Days 8, 9 & 10 – El Rocio to Sevilla (Oct 21, 22 & 23)
  Monday morning we left the spectacular (and highly recommended) La Malvasia hotel in El Rocio and made a point of stopping at the chapel on the way out of town. The Madonna statue there is an important destination for pilgrims to visit on horseback, and, as we witnessed, on their knees inside the chapel. (No video allowed in the chapel, but I described that experience in a video, below, after we exited.) We passed mile after mile of covered gardens – olive trees in various stages of growth. Found a perfect “Green Door”, although we are getting to be quite… Read more: Days 8, 9 & 10 – El Rocio to Sevilla (Oct 21, 22 & 23)
• Days 6 & 7 – Mertola to El Rocio
  To be honest, we had pangs of sadness leaving Portugal on our last day there.  It’s a beautiful country, scenery-wise, the food is absolutely delicious, and its peoples are family-oriented, caring, and genuine.  There’s a reason why it is enjoying a tourism boom now: they’re doing everything right.  We had a half hour long conversation with some Portuguese and Dutch travellers at a Rio Guadiana vista on the side of the road a couple of hours into our trip. Also… there was a spectacular dam.  See the video, attached.  It was a very hilly ride, we used the back-up battery… Read more: Days 6 & 7 – Mertola to El Rocio
• Day 4 & 5 – Santiago de Cacem to Aljustrel & Mertola
  On Thursday we had a 2:30 appointment for a mining tour in Aljustrel (Parque Mineiro de Aljustrel) so told ourselves to get up early and hit the road. Ooops – slept in and got away an hour late. As it turned out, all was well. The first twenty minutes of the 65 km ride was a steady downhill, and the balance of the journey was mostly flat through beautiful farm country and pretty small towns. We averaged well over 20 km/h. We were puzzled by the massive fields of neatly spaced rows of small well manicured trees. While making a… Read more: Day 4 & 5 – Santiago de Cacem to Aljustrel & Mertola
• Day 3 – Setubal to Santiago do Cacem, Alentejo
  After the excitement and drama of our soggy second day, it was wonderful to wake up to brilliant blue skies. We chatted with a couple from Kamloops in the garage while we set up for the day’s ride. (They noticed our Canadian flags.). They were riding very compact, foldable “Dahon” bikes. Our first stop of the day was Setubal’s famous fishmarket, Mercado Livramento, a bucket list item for me. The problem with these sightseeing stops when you’re on the trikes is: you have to carry the panniers once you’ve locked up. They’re not huge but they’re heavy. Makes for short… Read more: Day 3 – Setubal to Santiago do Cacem, Alentejo
• Day 2 – Lisbon to Setubal
  Patti and I had great sleeps last night, helping to move our systems ahead five hours. Breakfast was fantastic. We packed up our panniers, left them at the front desk, and walked for twenty minutes to the Jeronimo Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos). But FIRST, we stopped at Pasteis de Belem, THE source for the famed Portuguese Custard Tarts. The tart was still warm from the oven. Patti was in foodie heaven. The Monastery is steeped in Portuguese, and indeed, world history. Vasco da Gama, the first European exporer to sail to India, is buried here. Essentially, he started globalization, trading… Read more: Day 2 – Lisbon to Setubal
• Day 1 – Toronto to Lisbon
  Our (John’s and my) first 24 hours involved an overnight flight from Toronto to Heathrow on Thanksgiving Sunday (3-4 hours of sleep – yahoo!) and a connecting flight to Lisbon at 8 a.m., putting us at 11:00 a.m. on Monday into an airport that is stretched well beyond its capacity. Picture a field of planes parked on a massive tarmac, serviced by jetways and passenger buses, huge lineups for immigration and the exit line out of baggage. Yet, staff are patient, friendly and kind, weary passengers know that this will be the drill, and the whole experience is stress free.… Read more: Day 1 – Toronto to Lisbon
• Lisbon
  Our last day of riding – Friday May 31 – was from Torres Vedras to a storage company in the outskirts of Lisbon where we were going to leave our bikes. It was a short (56 km., 865m ascent) but slightly hairy ride. Lisbon is a huge city and its outskirts go on for miles and miles. There is a TON of traffic, and, sadly, although we had been spoiled with dedicated bike lanes on previous rides into various cities and towns, they were not an option on this ride, probably because we were going to an industrial park area… Read more: Lisbon
• Torres Vedras
  John: Our last two days of riding originally were going to take us more inland into a national park area for an evening at a place called Artvilla. Very funky looking, not too expensive, kind of in the middle of nowhere. As we got further south in Portugal I began to be concerned about longer distances and higher climbs with increasing heat and sun exposure. So, at about 2am one night about a week and a half ago I cancelled the Artvilla reservation and routed us through Torres Vedras for the last evening before Lisbon. This reduced the last two… Read more: Torres Vedras
• Tomar to Batalha
  Tuesday May 28th, we left Tomar early (we had only 54 km to ride with 950m ascent but the forecast was for sun). Not very far into the ride we rounded a corner at the top of the hill and saw a gorgeous aqueduct. It was the Aqueduct of Pegoes, built to supply Tomar’s Convent of Christ with water. It took 21 years to build the six kilometre long aqueduct: when you see how high it is, that seems about right. 1593-1614. We rode on and found ourselves on one of the Portuguese caminos -“Fatima” – for a while. It… Read more: Tomar to Batalha
• Batalha to São Martinho Do Porto (and Nazare)
  This ride took us through a major cork growing area. Portugal is the world’s largest producer of cork. We were puzzled when looking at trees with all of their bark removed up to about the 2 metre level. Often a small bucket was mounted in this bare area collecting sap. Turns out the bark gets processed into cork, and is shipped worldwide. On the way we stopped in Nazare, made famous by the recent documentary about the highest surfing waves in the world. There were lots of people there enjoying the incredible views from the upper town and from the… Read more: Batalha to São Martinho Do Porto (and Nazare)
• Tomar
  Tomar is famous as an important centre of the Knights Templar. Its Convent of Christ is a Unesco World Heritage site and it is a true jewel of Portugal. I cannot overstate this: IF YOU ARE GOING TO PORTUGAL, DO NOT MISS TOMAR’s Convent of Christ. The ride to Tomar from Pombal was a short one (50 km) but there were some climbs (923m). Enough exertion in dry sunshine to lend a certain level of fatigue to the post-arrival routines (esp. in light of my, er, collywobbles the previous evening) (not to be dramatic but…). Tomar is, as John mentioned… Read more: Tomar
• Coimbra to Pombal
  A little side-note (from John). As we rode our trikes first through a bit of England, around Wales, across south Ireland, Brittany in France, Bordeaux, northern Spain, and across Portugal, I am amazed at how ‘easy’ this type of travelling is now. We still have to power ourselves across many kilometres, and appreciate a little e-assist up the long steep hills, but several things have made cycling trips much more enjoyable than they would have been not too long ago. I’ll list a few here. We left Coimbra bright and early on Sunday morning (May 26), in order to beat… Read more: Coimbra to Pombal
• Praia Mira to Coimbra
  May 25th, already. Less than a week until we store the bikes in Lisbon next Friday (May 31st). Ack! Coimbra is a university town, and we were there the day the students were graduating. If we had stayed on until later on Sunday we would have seen what is supposed to be an epic parade through the streets. (Or maybe it’s best that we would be moving on, early.) The university itself is at the top of the town, up high, reached via winding, steep, narrow streets lined with cafes, bars, and people socializing (and smoking). It was a hot… Read more: Praia Mira to Coimbra
• Aveiro to Praia De Mira
  A lovely short (32km) and flat ride from Aveiro to the beach, with a stop at the ceramics factory museum, Vista Allegre. While we were gearing up the bikes in the morning, there was a person hanging around outside the hotel. Spidey senses were tingling, perhaps a misfire, but two of the hotel staffers were hyper-aware, also, and they stayed with us and the bikes until we finally pulled away. It always takes about 10 minutes to get all batteries and back-ups installed, panniers mounted, routes confirmed on our phones, walkie-talkies booted, so we appreciated their attentive vigilance. In Aveira,… Read more: Aveiro to Praia De Mira
• Porto to Aveiro
  John here. We got away early from Porto, with the sun just rising behind the beautiful Porto bridge. We wanted to beat the heat and the sun for the long ride ahead of us, but EARLY breakfast is tricky in Porto (yesterday – Starbucks – I know …), so late at night I googlemapped a tiny cafe about 5km south. Turned out to be the ‘official’ club/cafe of the Porto Futbol team. Hmmm. But, the nice woman serving about four tables of Portuguese octagenarians intent on watching the news on tv made us great coffee and the most amazing toasted… Read more: Porto to Aveiro
• Porto
  We had a day off from cycling!!!! A whole day to explore Porto, and our knees kneeded -LOL – the break! While we waited for our 9:30 tour with a local guide to start we were lucky enough to happen on a hardware store where John was relieved to find a bit that had gone missing from his bike. I blame the cobblestones. At any rate, problem solved. Our guide’s recounting of the recent history of Porto (i.e. the explosion in tourism after RyanAir set up flights into Portugal in 2011, the terrible struggle Portugal had with its citizens’ heroin… Read more: Porto
• Riding Into Porto
  John here: Hah! We missed a day or two. But here we are on the coast of Portugal, south of Porto. The biking day into Porto was incredible. Pouring rain, intense long inclines, trails through mud, crazy descents on very slippery cobblestones and rocks (see the video where Patti bumps her way down a disused Roman road that we finally found after a route suggested by Ride with GPS seemingly ended in a field) fog-obscured vistas, battery anxiety, and a very long extremely hilly entry into Porto. But – highly recommended!!!! It was like Portugal saved its very best for… Read more: Riding Into Porto
• Riding to RibaDouro
  More hills, incredible Douro valley views, steep cobblestones, road blocks, great food and wine, and barking dogs. Another lovely day along the Douro. Tomorrow is THE long hilly ride to Porto. I’ve been worried about this one. Wish us luck!
• The Middle of Portugal and the Douro River Valley
  After leaving Spain we slogged through two days of cycling against a head wind and a cold front. Temperatures started about 6 deg C in the morning, and really didn’t improve much, and rain was always threatening. Our first refuge was in Sendim, in a hotel under reconstruction preparing to be a wedding reception destination. Not quite yet, though. A tent at the back of the property was serving lovely meals mostly for the construction crews. Never mind. The food and hospitality were fantastic. We had no idea what was in store for the next day’s ride. A sheer drop… Read more: The Middle of Portugal and the Douro River Valley
• Zamora, Miranda Do Douro and onto Sendim
  A couple of days of stuff here as we left Spain and ventured into Portugal. The 69.5 km ride was fairly uneventful, just more of that dratted headwind. When we crossed from Spain into Portugal, the only fuss was a Spanish sign – no Portuguese one! (See photo.) Obviously, the land all looked the same. The border is at the top of a ridge. Miranda Do Douro is known as the “Grand Canyon of Portugal”, and rightly so. The balcony on our hotel room opened onto a spectacular vista: a dam to the right, and steep rockfaces to the left.… Read more: Zamora, Miranda Do Douro and onto Sendim
• Parador de Zamora
  Our ride from Toro to Zamora started with a treat: after a breakfast of Patti’s favorite treat, the Abuluelo cake filled with Nutella along with a fantastic coffee (see photo), we enjoyed a nice steep descent onto what would be a flat route of about 36 kilometres. Lots of stork nests on church roofs. Sometimes the parishioners have even built ‘cage supports’ to house the huge nests. The toughest part of this ‘easy’ day was the drop in temperature and unrelenting headwind. Zamora is in the Castile and León region, so, prevalent is that Castilian soft ‘s’. (Think lisp.) Toro… Read more: Parador de Zamora
• Toro, Spain
  Vallodalid was a real pleasure. We left in the morning and cycled against a relentless west wind for about 70 kms. Whew!!! Very flat and fertile farms, well irrigated with machinery, a few gently rolling hills, lots of beautiful red poppies, but that wind. Relentless! We climbed a few hills towards the end and entered the Reora and Toro wine regions. All of a sudden grape vines reappeared, with their accompanying bodegas. A final climb put us into the town of Toro. We stopped briefly to pick up some potato chips, a Spanish version of Cheezies (cycling cravings) and some… Read more: Toro, Spain
• Valladolid, Spain
  Ahhh! This is a beautiful city. It once rivalled Madrid as the dominant centre of Spain, but a French invasion a few hundred years ago destroyed much of the infrastructure, including severely damaging its massive cathedral. Our takeaways from Valladolid are: its huge and numerous large open space plazas, all with NO cars, incredibly neat and tidy everywhere, impeccable new transit vehicles, very cool Sunday evening plaza concerts with hundreds of city-provided chairs, everyone eating ice cream cones at 6 pm, (before dinner), grandparents with grandkids everywhere, just a great feeling everywhere we strolled. We stopped at about 8pm for… Read more: Valladolid, Spain
• Getting Across Central Spain
  We’ve just finished our second day of biking after leaving Burgos and we’re combining two days’ worth of posts into one because, honestly, the past two days have really just been about getting through the miles. The terrain is much flatter now, with distant hills that resemble the mesas of Arizona. The zone we’re traversing is an industrial and agricultural area. Not particularly charming or beautiful. Huge car factories (see the Michelin photo below) and large irrigated crop fields (of what, we’re not sure) dominate. The lovely old tiny villages seem to be fewer and farther apart. We’re just pushing… Read more: Getting Across Central Spain
• Burgos
  What a fantastic city. We rode about 40 km and began our approach to Burgos proper with a 5km long beautiful bike path following the Arlanzón river. The river bisects the city, with the old areas to the north, and the more recent builds to the south. We entered from the north-eastern suburbs and had a thirty minute ride, sharing the path with many riders and walkers as the architecture became older and older. I think that our day in Burgos will be the last time that our paths intersect with the Camino walkers. We have seen many pairs of… Read more: Burgos
• Very Hot, Very Dry, Very Long
  We left the lush, rolling landscapes of the Rioja near Pomplano and entered the flatter, drier, hotter area to the west. The ride was big, too. About 72 kms with quite a bit of climbing, especially at the end. The last 10 kms was a constant climb from 750m to about 1,000m. It was wonderful to find our lovely B&B. One stretch of the ride was about 20 kms, straight as an arrow, with huge farm fields stretching out on both sides. No wind, no cars, and no distractions except the bugs that bounced off of our faces when we… Read more: Very Hot, Very Dry, Very Long
• Cycling Through Rioja
  Wednesday May 8th marked the last day of our first week of cycling. We were incredibly lucky to be spending that day in brilliant sunshine in the Rioja region of Spain. We rode about 50’ before we realized that our devices were sync’d to different GPS routes, so we pulled over to the sidewalk and while we figured out which route was the most current route, a young mum walked past us with her seven year old daughter. They continued past and then came back because, as the mum asked, the sweet daughter had a question. Of course, all of… Read more: Cycling Through Rioja
• First Day in Spain
  We left our mountain hotel in Akeretta surrounded by misty mountains, a light drizzle, and a cool temperature. The ride started on the shoulder of the busy road but soon enough we were treated with the Greenway all the way into Pamplona. Pamplona is famous for the bull run through its narrow winding streets. Not everyone’s cup-of-tea. Our route planner avoided the crowded centre of town, and in return we enjoyed the splendid parks and the magnificent castle. Pamplona is a beautiful city, and is, of course, a mecca for the Camino de Santiago pilgrims. Some of the pilgrims choose… Read more: First Day in Spain
• The Pass Through the Pyrénées
  We had a perfect day cycling from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France to Akerreta, Spain. I had planned a route that followed the main road over the pass, but had doubts about it the night before. A bit of research put us on a much less travelled route, following one lane paved roads high in the hills. We saw perhaps two cars during our ascent to 1,000 metres, and with the ups and downs our climbing totalled almost 1,300 metres. Yeah Patti!!!!! We paralled the Camino de Santiago pilgrims. They use a footpath – not practical on our three-wheelers! We shared the lovely… Read more: The Pass Through the Pyrénées
• Salies-de-Béarn & Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port
  The last two days have been a pleasure as we approach the Pyrenees and the Spanish (Basque) border. Salies-de-Béarn is a beautiful town, obviously very wealthy in its past. It is known for its salt (hence the name) which is mined by pumping water into the underground deposits here. Also, hot springs with salt concentrations ten times as high as the ocean have attracted many people. Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port is the starting point for most of the pilgrims who walk the ‘French Way’ of the Camino de Santiago. Lovely walled town, full of shops, small hotels and restaurants. The Camino has several… Read more: Salies-de-Béarn & Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port
• A Couple of Challenges
  Our third day of riding was much more enjoyable than the first two. The scenery was more interesting and the route took us around many more turns and up and down lots of gentle hills. We had two inconvenient incidents though. The RideWithGPS app sent us up a bunch of stairs leading to the Abbey at Saint-Sever. Not convenient on recumbent trikes. The video below starts with a Patti and I bumping the trikes up the steps. An hour or so after that, the app guided us into a long muddy trail – also not good on trikes. We hope… Read more: A Couple of Challenges
• Day 2 – Sore to Mont-de-Marsans, France
  This area of South-West France is actively being deforested and reforested. Some areas are clear-cut, with saplings of various ages, and others are being selectively cleared. Most of the reforestation is a monoculture pine, perhaps white pine. We saw many heavily-laden trucks carrying unprocessed wood, and several wood mills with large inventories of construction grade product. When not in the forest area, huge farm fields were populated by long irrigation machines. Agriculture and forestry here are big business. Mont-de-Marsan is a large scenic town, with the Midou and Douze rivers joining to form the Midouze flowing to the Atlantic. Tomorrow… Read more: Day 2 – Sore to Mont-de-Marsans, France
• First Day Cycling – Bordeaux to Sore
  We took the trikes out of storage in Bordeaux, stayed the night, and set off southwards to Sore, France. The ride first took us through the Grave wine region, with its endless vineyards and spectacular chalets. Then, all of a sudden, the vineyards were replaced with a rather monotonous 60 km or so of heavily forested land. Some areas were clear cut, but reforestation was obviously a stringent requirement. For a first day out, 80 km was a bit ambitious, but the terrain was fairly flat. As we approach the Spanish border in the next few days the ups and… Read more: First Day Cycling – Bordeaux to Sore
• Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris
  While waiting for Patti to emerge from the Edgar Quinet Metro station, I had two very pleasant experiences. The Montparnesse outdoor market lines the street, with the Metro station roughly at the centre of the market, and the Montparnasse Cemetery, is across the street. The market was bustling, but I’m not a huge fan of bustling, so I strolled into the cemetery. Here’s a 360 video of my short walk amongst the memorials. Drag the view around with your mouse. The cemetery is the second largest in Paris, and if you’re interested, check this Wikipedia page for more details.
• Montparnasse – the rear view
  This is the view from my hotel room in Montparnasse, the kind of view of Paris most Parisiennes see. Like a sore thumb, you see Tour Montparnasse, built in the late 1960’s against fierce opposition. It’s … just … too … tall …!
• Patti Arrives Tomorrow
  Well – my two weeks with my old friends Rob Mee and Ben Pon are over. Patti joins me tomorrow in Paris for a train ride to Bordeaux and a month of cycling to Lisbon, Portugal. Rob’s visit was in Norway, starting north of the Arctic Circle on the Lofoten Islands. We were escorted by a photography tour company in Svolvaer around all corners of the Lofotens, ending in the iconic and most southerly scene at Hamnoy (Rob’s picture). Leaving the Lofotens, Rob and I had three beautiful full days of train rides back to Copenhagen. The terrain gradually smoothed… Read more: Patti Arrives Tomorrow
• Schwebebahn Monorail, Wuppertal, Germany
  In 1903, an overhead monorail transit system was completed in Wuppertal, Germany, an industrial town in the Ruhr Valley. The Schwebebahn monorail has been recently restored, with all new carriages and control sytems. It carries 20,000 passengers per day, and is the main mode of transit for the people of Wuppertal. Most of the monorail is suspended over the river that passes through town. The Schwebebahn is elegant, efficient, smooth, comfortable and perfectly quiet. Why don’t more cities adopt this obviously wonderful transit solution?
• Vienna to Domodossola, Italy
  Since parting with Rob Mee in Berlin, Ben and I have travelled south through Poland to Poprad, Slovakia, and west through rural Slovakia to Vienna, Austria. We saw fantastic model train layouts in Poznan, Poland and at the Pratern Park in Vienna. We then had a lovely day in the countryside north-west of Vienna visiting an incredible model train layout in Schiltern. Returning from Schiltern we followed the Danube River, enjoyed chips and sausages at ‘Captain Otto’s’, a rustic pub on the banks of the Danube on the northern edge of Vienna. From Otto’s we took the ‘D’ tram all… Read more: Vienna to Domodossola, Italy
• Bratislava, Slovakia to Vienna, Austria
  A long travel day yesterday in drizzly rain and fog from Poprad to Bratislava, Slovakia. So – no post yesterday. Interestingly, though, we saw many tanks and artillery pieces loaded onto train flat beds along the way. Perhaps heading toward neighbouring Ukraine? Bratislava is now the capital of Slovakia, but during the Czechoslovakia days it was a provincial seat. It has some interesting architecture, and is a stopping point for river cruise boats on the Danube River. Bratislava is a major car manufacturing centre. Ben and I enjoyed the fantastic collection of restored ship, car and train hardware in the… Read more: Bratislava, Slovakia to Vienna, Austria
• Krakow, Poland to Poprad, Slovakie
  Quick post today. Ben and I left Krakow on a morning train south to Zakopane, near the border with Slovakia. Zakopane is a seasonal tourist destination – skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. The town is full of lovely chalet-style lodges. Zakopane is the end of this train line; the Tatra mountains, which define the national border, rise dramatically close by. We continued south on a twisty pot-holed road through the mountain pass into Slovakia. The bus was state-of-the-art modern – the latest from Mercedes-Benz. The Tatra mountain peaks towered over us to the right, up to… Read more: Krakow, Poland to Poprad, Slovakie
• Frankfurt (Oder) to Poznan, Poland
  After a very delayed train yesterday south to Berlin, we had to change our plans to stay overnight in Poland. We made it to the Polish border at Frankfurt, on the Oder river. Stayed in a nice old hotel. Ben and I shared a Domino’s (!!) pizza and hit the sack. We caught the early morning train to Poznan and hailed a cab to take us a few kilometres south to ‘Makieta’, a fantastic model train layout created by Robert and his wife Renata. They were excellent hosts, opening specially for Ben and I for a small charge. Robert and… Read more: Frankfurt (Oder) to Poznan, Poland
• Copenhagen to Frankfurt (Oder)
  A big travel day, so very little video and just a few pictures. Rob Mee and John (me) have been travelling in Norway for the past week. I met Rob at Scarborough Music Camp in 1971. Rob was first trombone in the band, and I was first trumpet. Great friends ever since. Ben Pon joined us this morning in Copenhagen. Ben grew up in The Netherlands, and I met him at the back of the first Physics class in University of Toronto Engineering Science in 1973. Again, great friends ever since. The three of us rode the trains from Copenhagen… Read more: Copenhagen to Frankfurt (Oder)
• Copenhagen
  A very quick post tonight because it’s late! Rob and I left Oslo at 8:10 this morning for Copenhagen. The trip was in two legs, with a change in Gotenberg, Sweden. Both trains were comfortable and perfectly on time. The scenery was basically exactly like Ontario Canada. Lakes, forests and granite south from Oslo, and more farms and fields as we proceeded south through Sweden. The Oresund bridge / tunnel connects Sweden to Denmark. Finished in 1998, it consists of an 8 km bridge from the Sweden end and a 5 km tunnel to Denmark. We checked in to our… Read more: Copenhagen
• Oslo
  A short day walking around in Oslo does not do this magnificent city justice. We downloaded another mobile phone walking tour and followed an excellent two hour narrated stroll. It started from the ‘Oslo Fjord’, with the Nobel Peace Centre, took us past the Royal Palace, down Karl Johans Gate, Oslo’s main street, the Oslo Opera House, and ending at Akershus Fortress, with its fantastic armed forces and resistance museums. Oslo is the capital of Norway, with about one million people. It has a long history, beginning with the Vikings around 1,000 AD. Norway lived through invasions and agreements with… Read more: Oslo
• Trondheim to Oslo
  This morning we installed a phone app called ‘VoiceMap’ and purchased a one hour long self-directed tour of Trondheim. The tour cost about $20 each, and was very impressive. It led us to a starting point, gave us walking directions, and the narrative was timed by GPS to our progress. Highly recommended for wherever you may be. Trondheim has been the capital of Norway off and on for centuries. Founded in the 900s, it is considered the cultural and technical centre of Norway. Leif Eriksson, the famous Norwegian explorer and settler of Greenland, is said to have spent much time… Read more: Trondheim to Oslo
• Svolvaer to Trondheim
  BIG travel day today. A three-and-a-half hour ferry from Svolvaer to Bodo, and a ten hour train south to Trondheim. Because the days are now so long the northern lights suffer, but our guide yesterday said that at 2 am the night before they were great. Rob got up at 2 am last night and reported a dud. Just a slight glow in the northern sky. We boarded the ferry for a smooth ride to the mainland. Bodo (pronounced Buddha) is the seventh largest city in Norway, and features mostly new construction. It was damaged severely by bombing in WWII.… Read more: Svolvaer to Trondheim
• Lofoten Photo Tour 2
  Lofoten is a group of islands in Norway, at 68 degrees latitude, north of the Arctic Circle. Lofoten includes many islands, with seven ‘main’ islands. Today, travelling west (or south) we traversed Austvagoya, (the furthest east, includes the ‘capital’, Svolvaer), Gimsoya, Vestvagoy, Flakstad and Moskenes. A non-stop drive from Svolvaer to Moskones takes about two and a half hours. Yesterday (Tour 1) we saw the highlights of the first three islands, Austvagoya, Gimsoya, and Vestvagoy. Today we explored Flakstad and Moskenesoya. As we ventured west the mountains became more rugged, and the space between mountain and sea reduced to not… Read more: Lofoten Photo Tour 2
• Lofoten Photo Tour #1
  We enjoyed the first of two tours around the northern half of the Lofoten Islands today. Lofoten consists of seven main islands; today we explored three. Svolvaer, the ‘capital’ of Lofoten, is on the most northerly. The islands are connected by a single road, with bridges built in the early 1960s. Parts of the road which followed up steep cliffs are gradually being replaced with tunnels. Lofoten does not use road salt in the winter because it is bad for the environment and bad for the vehicles. The most important reason to avoid road salt, though, is that wild animals,… Read more: Lofoten Photo Tour #1
• Leknes to Svolvaer, Norway
  We left Copenhagen this morning for three flights though Oslo and Bodo to Leknes, north of the Arctic Circle in Norway. We then caught a bus for a ninety-minute ride to Svolvaer. The three videos below show the snow-capped mountains on the bus ride and the lovely and rugged Svolvaer harbour.
• Copenhagen – Visit #1
  A walk in Copenhagen. We arrived around noon after a three hour delayed flight from Toronto. Checked our bags at the hotel by the airport and took the train downtown. We walked by Tivoli, the fairgrounds, through the up-and-coming meat processing area, and over to the lovely Nyhavn block. We’ll get a better idea of Copenhagen next week. AND – I’ll get better with the 360 camera and its editing software. I promise!! While watching, pan around to see what’s going on all around us.
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  Europe Travel – Spring 2024
  PattiAndJohn Europe Travel – Spring 2024 This trip takes us from the Arctic Circle in Norway to Lisbon in sunny and warm Portugal. John will leave two weeks before Patti and join two friends for train travel around Europe. Then Patti meets John in Paris, rides a train to Bordeaux, and PattiAndJohn head out on a month-long cycling trip to Lisbon. Here is the cycling route using the great planning app ‘Ride With GPS‘. Each day will feature an 80km ride. Our trikes are made in England by ICE Trikes. They feature full suspension, hub brakes, battery electric assist, and… Read more: Europe Travel – Spring 2024
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  First Post – Just testing a few things.
  First Post – Just testing a few things. I’ll be shooting video around Europe with the 360 camera. Hopefully I’ll be posting videos, pictures and observations each day. Here’s Patti with her beautiful ICE recumbent trike, and John’s train route from Norway through Denmark, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and France.