10,000 kms in 162 days

The maps you have seen at the beginning of each post this year showed a route and a mileage that was direct from campsite to campsite and didn’t allow for the various meanderings along the way. Now that we are back in Dover I can reveal Normie’s odometer tells us we covered just over 10,000 kms in the last 162 days.

Art Deco at Lago Maggiore

Goodbye Italy

Lakes Como & Maggiore were magnificent and we enjoyed great weather while there. However checking the forecast while planning our next stop in the Swiss Alps showed nothing but cold and rain coming up.

Hello Switzerland

Crossing the Alps from Italy into Switzerland

The Matterhorn

The Swiss/Italian border in the Alps

In the week ahead there was ONE day forecast with sunshine so we hightailed it over the Alps up to a town called Täsch. From there we caught the train to Zermatt and from there the cable car to the Matterhorn.

Meine Kleine Spätzle

After catching that 1 lucky day in the Alps the miserable weather stayed with us the rest of our time in Switzerland and we didn’t see the sun again until we crossed back into France and toured the beautiful winey route through the Jura mountains.

Jura Mountains Wineries

Vandenesse-en-Auxois

After a few more wine regions in Burgundy & Chablis it was onto Paris to meet up with the boys. We parked Normie at a campsite on the outskirts of Paris and as we had 2 days on our own we ventured in by train and on 1 night did Moulin Rouge and the next day the Musee D’Orsay.

they sure make a helluva crepe

Adam had found a great Airbnb apartment near Gare De Lyon so Deb & I arrived first in the morning with Jason flying in from Barcelona in the afternoon. Adam arrived from NYC the next day and for the next 4 days the four of us walked, talked and especially ate our way around Paris.

Sacre Coeur – The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre

Bridge covered with locks with Notre Dame in the background

Not a church, but a department store

The unbelievable Galeries Lafayette

cliche but….

If only they would become mimes

At the end of our time in Paris, Adam joined Jason in Barcelona for a few days before heading back to the States and we returned to Normie to start our downhill run back to Calais and now in Dover for the big cleanup. It has been a most enjoyable season and we have met some remarkable people along the way who have in no small way contributed enormously to our enjoyment of the local communities they allowed us to visit.

While this will be the last post in the travel blog section for a while there will be regular updates in other sections such as ‘Persons of Interest’ so don’t forget to subscribe to be notified. Deb and I thank you all for your kind comments and your virtual company along the way, until we meet again we wish you all safe travels.