Pat and Belinda, Tour De France and 40th anniversary

Just a Little 40th Anniversary Kiss!

Gran San Bernardo Summit
Aosta Castle

Great Supper


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As we left Levanto and headed north that mindset of the trip is over and we’re heading home starts to set in. But when we got to Aosta Italy we were excited by the fact Pat and Belinda were going to meet us there. We hadn’t seen them both together since ‘06 and Pat in ‘09.
Our time was going to be short again, only 3 nights but we made the most of it.
After a great tour of one of the Aosta castles, we headed out the next day up the Gran San Bernardo pass to Switzerland. It was spectacular, and when we got to the top we became the centre of attraction for a lot of other riders there since we were from Canada. First we chatted with some Swedish riders then 2 German riders one who had the same make model year and color Vstrom as ours. Lots of video was shot on the way up and down as it is a very scenic ride.

From there we decided to take some back routes to our destination and we definitely found ourselves on some incredibly beautiful goat trails that you would never take a car on. Switzerland mountains are so much more accessible than the Rockies, people live everywhere in them and the views are amazing.
Finally our third day we took a drive to Murten where Pat and Belinda will be housesitting for a week and we met their friends, and then onto the Tour De France. With the side trip to Murten we ended up trying to get to the finish line after some of the access roads closed, so we decided to stay in this one small village and see the race pass by from there. As you can see from the pictures we had a great vantage point to see the racers and the support vehicles.
The Peleton
Yet it all happened so fast that the event was over in 5 mins. where we were. Next time we will try and get to the finish line first thing in the morning.
With road closures and all it took a lot longer to get out of Switzerland  and to our final destination for the night, Mulheim Germany where we celebrated our 40th anniversary with Pat and Belinda who took us out for an incredible meal. Thanks again Pat and Belinda! 
Fab Beer

We each ordered a meal, then we shared it with each other so that everyone could taste the various wild German meats that were offered. Coupled with  great German beer a good time was had by all. It was sad to leave them today as we headed back. We ride similarly, have great travel learnings to share back and forth, so keep in mind that you can check out their blog offerings by clicking on the link to the Horizon’s webpage ( on the right side of the web page).


Tour Support

Comments

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January 31, 2013 at 9:59 PM
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