Homeward Journey: Vannes-Paris-Basel

Vannes - Paris (July 8, Train) - Paris (July 9) - Basel (July 10, Flixbus)

On Tuesday morning, we have plenty of time to spare, which we spend on a small tour of the old town of Vannes and at a café crème. The train ride is hassle-free, the two bike spots provide enough space for the bikes and luggage. At Gare Montparnasse, we quickly find the right bike paths and comfortably ride along the Seine to the hotel in Porte Bercy. It’s actually true that there are dedicated bike paths or at least bike lanes everywhere, separated from car traffic. Only the crossings at large roundabouts are a bit cumbersome. How cool it is to ride through Paris on our own bikes! We also enjoy this possibility in the evening, cycling along the Seine to the Marais. There, we eat the most expensive cake of our trip, which can certainly be called a rip-off, and stroll through the narrow lanes. Compared to our last visit, which must be quite a while ago, quite a bit has changed. Notably, there are now luxury brand stores for clothing and perfumes. However, in many small restaurants, you can still eat well and cheaply.

On Wednesday, we visit the Musée d'Orsay. Again, we can ride along the Seine to the museum quite relaxed. It’s unbelievable how Paris has developed into a city for cyclists. The museum is very well attended on this holiday, which makes viewing the famous paintings by Manet, Monet, Degas, Cézanne, and Van Gogh a bit difficult. But as locals from Basel, we are spoiled and have seen many impressive paintings at exhibitions in Beyeler. We then have plenty of time and fewer people in the section of Neo-Impressionists that we know from Pont-Aven. It’s a different experience when you know the backgrounds and the surroundings. We are also impressed by the building itself. This was built for the World’s Fair in 1900 by Victor Laloux and was used for long-distance travel in the southwest of France until 1939. The decision to convert the train station into a museum was made in 1977 as a result of an initiative from French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. A wonderful decision!

We then add a tourist program, visiting the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, and can actually cycle along a bike lane to the Trocadero, relaxed. Several formations of military planes accompany us, probably a dress rehearsal for the celebrations of July 14. The ride continues to Notre Dame, which shines in a new, bright light. We ride again to the Marais for a poppy and apple strudel at the Jewish baker Finkelstejn. We end the day in the Quartier Latin.

Now, it’s time to head back home. We bike to the bus station, secure the bikes to the back of the bus, and set off via Dijon, Besançon, and Mulhouse to Basel. It has become tradition to end here at Tellplatz with tapas at Esquina. Today, we are welcomed by Rhea and Luigi.

Conclusion of the Entire Tour

After 2500 km, 750 km in Scotland, 1050 km in Ireland, and 700 km in Brittany, we have reached our destination. The remainder of the journey is by train and bus, briefly described above. That we ended up in Vannes in Brittany was unexpected; we had anticipated either Caën or Le Havre. Dominique had had enough of the many steep climbs that would have continued unabated in Wales and found the solution with the Cork - Roscoff ferry, which had a timely schedule for us. Timely schedules are a crucial keyword; as in almost all tours, we were able to keep our stages and timelines precisely. This is partly due to the possibilities for precise planning (Harald is truly excellent at this, thank you💕), the blessings of the internet, and on the other hand, our physical fitness. I have had to make slight to moderate compromises in my own fitness in the meantime, while Dominique, thanks to Zwift and her personal ambition, is fitter than ever. We now ride in two different leagues, but thanks to my willingness to push myself, I’m always making my way up when Dominique waits for me. However, I want to and cannot complain. After the surgery six months ago and the end of radiation just a month before the trip began, many would have advised against such a (Tour)tour, but I wanted to do it and managed it well. As with all previous bike tours, we remained completely free of coughs, colds, hoarseness, or muscular issues. The bikes also performed according to expectations; aside from the improvisation with the panniers, there was nothing to do regarding the bikes. As described in the first blog entry, we had additional doubts, but as is often the case, you have to get out there and start your journey. Every day, we made good progress, fought against adversity, and enjoyed the special nature of the landscape and the many personal encounters. Today, we read in a blog about the experiences of a Swiss couple during their first days cycling in Ireland, and it feels as if they are traveling in a different country. As mentioned earlier, we rode on the best bike paths in Europe in Scotland and Ireland, 99% paved, well signposted, with little motor traffic, and if there was any, cyclists always had the right of way. Breakfast was good, beer very good, friendliness extremely high, incredibly beautiful scenery, too much rain, and too much wind apply equally to Scotland and Ireland. Brittany then reconciled us with the weather, as we didn’t have to take out our rain jackets in the nine days.

As with every previous tour, we are also challenged as a couple. Balancing different interests and ideas, enjoying and tolerating each other’s idiosyncrasies. Naturally, there are times when this goes better or less well. Overall, we have done well this time, we are learning, and therefore we can endure certain situations better. Is that the wisdom of age 😉? We are very happy to take such tours together and to share the many impressions. That is a great blessing and not to be taken for granted!

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