Humbug
Registered user
I've been meaning to post this for a while now as it was over two years ago.
Hope you enjoy the report!
For my 50th birthday Paula and I splashed out and bought a BMW R1200GS. We'd always fancied one since trying an 1100 back in 1998 but this was the perfect excuse to part with some hard earned cash! The bike was quickly run in, had it's first service and then we set off with the intention of riding the 'Grande Route Des Alpes', then crossing the Pyrenees and returning to the UK from Spain. The bike covered the miles so easily that we ended up doing a little bit more than planned............
After crossing from Poole to Cherbourg, our first nights stop was at Le Moulin du Prieure, a beautifully converted watermill with a very warm outdoor pool which Paula was grateful for. Somehow she had got really chilled during the day - it took her about two further days to thaw out! More details of the Moulin HERE. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. It's the only B&B in France where we've ever been served eggs for breakfast too!
We headed over to Lac Lucerne and Thonon Les Bains, the starting point for the Route Des Grandes Alpes. More information HERE. It was still decidedly chilly for France in mid September and there was a lot of low lying grey cloud about.
We started out for Val D'Isere, encountering some lovely winding roads and a few local wildlife on the way. We don't see many red squirels in the Uk now so it was a nice surprise to find them here in abundance.
Arrived at Val D'Isere where the large temperature display there read 0C. Paula still felt chilly! The place was almost desrted and we couldn't even find a place open to buy a much needed coffee. Some technicians were testing a new train which ran through an inclined tunnel through the mountain to the upper ski slopes. An impressive piece of engineering!
Leaving the town behind we started to climb up to the Col de L'Iseran at one stage passing through the clouds and emerging above them.
Down the other side we noted how much the scenery changes from one side of a Col to the other. Sometimes the scenery was almost lunar like and the low clouds below us gave the impression of travelling in a sort of primordial soup! The Col de Galibier was probably our favourite.
More stunning passes and scenery.
We arrived in Menton way ahead of schedule so we decided that as we were 'sort of' in the area we should travel back up the Route de Napoleon towards Castellane and find a hotel there..
The next day we circumnavigated the Gorges du Verdun, the deepest canyon in Europe. Unfortunately it was very misty but when a gap appeared the views were stunning.
We cut across the South of france, stopping at some lovely spots (sorry I can't remember all the places) and eventually arrived at Andorra La Vella. We had been told this was a bargain place for bike gear and we had the idea of buying Paula a heated waistcoat for future trips (she had fortunately thawed out by now)! However, we didn't find any and what was on offer wasn't our 'cup of tea' and appeared to be no cheaper than UK prices!
Leaving Andorra the next day we spotted a BMW dealer - they didn't have any waistcoats either! Now, which one is mine?
Once into Spain we headed south to Vinaros. Our ex neighbours decided to move there (they're both in their early 70's) after never being abroad in their whole lives. They had a small modern villa built for them two years previously but Bill had got itchy fingers, become tired of having nothing to do and bought them a 'project'. An isolated half built house in the middle of nowhere surrounded by three acres of rubble (supposed to be an olive grove). At the tender age of 73 he's set about finishing it! An ex-cabinet maker, Bill informed me that he'd rather die with callouses on his hands than on his bum! We also met up with our ex neighbours from the other side of our house. They moved to Portugal and had driven up to Vinaros. Bill and Barbara had a bit of a surprise as they didn't know we were coming. We just knocked on their door and said ' surprise'!
Footnote: he has finished it and they have moved in. He's now in the process of building a swimming pool! He's 75 now!
We stayed at camping Vinaros where we were able to hire a 'shed' for a few nights.
A few days later we rode down the coast to the town of Peniscola famous for it's use as a shooting location for the film El Cid.
Then it was inland to Morella, an ancient fortress town dating back to before the 8th century. We had passed this way two years earlier but decided to stop this time to have a walk round, finishing with a very pleasant tapas lunch.
Being lovers of old castles, we had read about the Castillo de Loarre, situated NW of Huesca. We had also read about a good hospederia with an excellent restaurant nearby so that's where we headed. We arrived at the hospederia fairly late to be informed that they did have a room but unfortunately the restaurant was closed and the nearest one was about 8 miles away. So we set off to eat. Unfortunately the only one we could find didn't open until 10.pm so we had no choice but to wait as we were both famished! Sadly, they didn't speak the same Spanish as Paula and all we ended up with was a starter and a pudding! They somehow totally missed out the main course and although we tried to explain they were having none of it so we left - unfulfilled! After a very good breakfast we visited the castle the next morning and that made up fot it all.
Leaving the castle and still headed NE we passed a stunning area of rock formations known as the the Mallos de Riglos. These are a set of rock formations approx 30 miles from the city of Huesca. Rising to nearly 1,000 ft high ( 3,300 ft above sea level), they form part of the foothills of the Pyrenees. (I know - one of them looks like a willy!)
We then came across the Monasterio de San Juan de la Pena.The monastery consists of two buildings, the New Monastery, dating from the 17th century, in the Baroque style, and the Old Monastery, from the 10th century, in the Romanesque style. It has its origins in a hermitage church built where the monastery was constructed in the 10th century, with what is known as the Mozarab style Lower Church being built first, and consecrated in 920. Sancho el Mayor of Navarre founded a new centre in the year 1025. A new Romanesque style church was built. In the 15th century the chapel of San Victorián was built and, in the 17th century, following a fire, the monastery had to be rebuilt, this time adopting the Baroque style. However, the most important is the marvellous Romanesque Cloister that attracts the visitors.
Autumn was setting in now and we just rode along, fascinated by the magnificent colours. At this point we decided to cross the Pyrenees again and stay one more night in France. So we headed for the thermal waters town of Eaux Bonnes taking in the scenery on the way.
The next day we decided to visit Lourdes via the Col D'Aubisque and cross the Pyrennes (again) back into Spain. Lourdes was jam packed with pilgims and shops selling horrible cheap plastic 'holy' trinkets so we decided not to stop and carried on, crossing into Spain and Jaca via the Col du Somport. We ended up staying in a small village named Hecho where we met Nicky and Neil on a R1150GS. We didn't realise they were English until she turned round and spoke to us in the restaurant that night. She had been ordering their meal in fluent Spanish! They both live in France but were looking to buy in Spain. This didn't happen and we've since met up with them in France and hope to do so again this year.
The following day the four of us decided to travel up the Hecho valley together, cross the Pyrenees via the Col de la Pierre St Martin, then have lunch in Oleron Ste marie before going our separate ways. Neil and Nicky were heading home and we had arranged to meet friends from Taunton who were travelling in the same area. This journey was probably the most stunning of the whole trip and the colours were truly amazing. The pictures don't really do them justice.
To be continued......................
Hope you enjoy the report!
For my 50th birthday Paula and I splashed out and bought a BMW R1200GS. We'd always fancied one since trying an 1100 back in 1998 but this was the perfect excuse to part with some hard earned cash! The bike was quickly run in, had it's first service and then we set off with the intention of riding the 'Grande Route Des Alpes', then crossing the Pyrenees and returning to the UK from Spain. The bike covered the miles so easily that we ended up doing a little bit more than planned............
After crossing from Poole to Cherbourg, our first nights stop was at Le Moulin du Prieure, a beautifully converted watermill with a very warm outdoor pool which Paula was grateful for. Somehow she had got really chilled during the day - it took her about two further days to thaw out! More details of the Moulin HERE. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. It's the only B&B in France where we've ever been served eggs for breakfast too!
We headed over to Lac Lucerne and Thonon Les Bains, the starting point for the Route Des Grandes Alpes. More information HERE. It was still decidedly chilly for France in mid September and there was a lot of low lying grey cloud about.
We started out for Val D'Isere, encountering some lovely winding roads and a few local wildlife on the way. We don't see many red squirels in the Uk now so it was a nice surprise to find them here in abundance.
Arrived at Val D'Isere where the large temperature display there read 0C. Paula still felt chilly! The place was almost desrted and we couldn't even find a place open to buy a much needed coffee. Some technicians were testing a new train which ran through an inclined tunnel through the mountain to the upper ski slopes. An impressive piece of engineering!
Leaving the town behind we started to climb up to the Col de L'Iseran at one stage passing through the clouds and emerging above them.
Down the other side we noted how much the scenery changes from one side of a Col to the other. Sometimes the scenery was almost lunar like and the low clouds below us gave the impression of travelling in a sort of primordial soup! The Col de Galibier was probably our favourite.
More stunning passes and scenery.
We arrived in Menton way ahead of schedule so we decided that as we were 'sort of' in the area we should travel back up the Route de Napoleon towards Castellane and find a hotel there..
The next day we circumnavigated the Gorges du Verdun, the deepest canyon in Europe. Unfortunately it was very misty but when a gap appeared the views were stunning.
We cut across the South of france, stopping at some lovely spots (sorry I can't remember all the places) and eventually arrived at Andorra La Vella. We had been told this was a bargain place for bike gear and we had the idea of buying Paula a heated waistcoat for future trips (she had fortunately thawed out by now)! However, we didn't find any and what was on offer wasn't our 'cup of tea' and appeared to be no cheaper than UK prices!
Leaving Andorra the next day we spotted a BMW dealer - they didn't have any waistcoats either! Now, which one is mine?
Once into Spain we headed south to Vinaros. Our ex neighbours decided to move there (they're both in their early 70's) after never being abroad in their whole lives. They had a small modern villa built for them two years previously but Bill had got itchy fingers, become tired of having nothing to do and bought them a 'project'. An isolated half built house in the middle of nowhere surrounded by three acres of rubble (supposed to be an olive grove). At the tender age of 73 he's set about finishing it! An ex-cabinet maker, Bill informed me that he'd rather die with callouses on his hands than on his bum! We also met up with our ex neighbours from the other side of our house. They moved to Portugal and had driven up to Vinaros. Bill and Barbara had a bit of a surprise as they didn't know we were coming. We just knocked on their door and said ' surprise'!
Footnote: he has finished it and they have moved in. He's now in the process of building a swimming pool! He's 75 now!
We stayed at camping Vinaros where we were able to hire a 'shed' for a few nights.
A few days later we rode down the coast to the town of Peniscola famous for it's use as a shooting location for the film El Cid.
Then it was inland to Morella, an ancient fortress town dating back to before the 8th century. We had passed this way two years earlier but decided to stop this time to have a walk round, finishing with a very pleasant tapas lunch.
Being lovers of old castles, we had read about the Castillo de Loarre, situated NW of Huesca. We had also read about a good hospederia with an excellent restaurant nearby so that's where we headed. We arrived at the hospederia fairly late to be informed that they did have a room but unfortunately the restaurant was closed and the nearest one was about 8 miles away. So we set off to eat. Unfortunately the only one we could find didn't open until 10.pm so we had no choice but to wait as we were both famished! Sadly, they didn't speak the same Spanish as Paula and all we ended up with was a starter and a pudding! They somehow totally missed out the main course and although we tried to explain they were having none of it so we left - unfulfilled! After a very good breakfast we visited the castle the next morning and that made up fot it all.
Leaving the castle and still headed NE we passed a stunning area of rock formations known as the the Mallos de Riglos. These are a set of rock formations approx 30 miles from the city of Huesca. Rising to nearly 1,000 ft high ( 3,300 ft above sea level), they form part of the foothills of the Pyrenees. (I know - one of them looks like a willy!)
We then came across the Monasterio de San Juan de la Pena.The monastery consists of two buildings, the New Monastery, dating from the 17th century, in the Baroque style, and the Old Monastery, from the 10th century, in the Romanesque style. It has its origins in a hermitage church built where the monastery was constructed in the 10th century, with what is known as the Mozarab style Lower Church being built first, and consecrated in 920. Sancho el Mayor of Navarre founded a new centre in the year 1025. A new Romanesque style church was built. In the 15th century the chapel of San Victorián was built and, in the 17th century, following a fire, the monastery had to be rebuilt, this time adopting the Baroque style. However, the most important is the marvellous Romanesque Cloister that attracts the visitors.
Autumn was setting in now and we just rode along, fascinated by the magnificent colours. At this point we decided to cross the Pyrenees again and stay one more night in France. So we headed for the thermal waters town of Eaux Bonnes taking in the scenery on the way.
The next day we decided to visit Lourdes via the Col D'Aubisque and cross the Pyrennes (again) back into Spain. Lourdes was jam packed with pilgims and shops selling horrible cheap plastic 'holy' trinkets so we decided not to stop and carried on, crossing into Spain and Jaca via the Col du Somport. We ended up staying in a small village named Hecho where we met Nicky and Neil on a R1150GS. We didn't realise they were English until she turned round and spoke to us in the restaurant that night. She had been ordering their meal in fluent Spanish! They both live in France but were looking to buy in Spain. This didn't happen and we've since met up with them in France and hope to do so again this year.
The following day the four of us decided to travel up the Hecho valley together, cross the Pyrenees via the Col de la Pierre St Martin, then have lunch in Oleron Ste marie before going our separate ways. Neil and Nicky were heading home and we had arranged to meet friends from Taunton who were travelling in the same area. This journey was probably the most stunning of the whole trip and the colours were truly amazing. The pictures don't really do them justice.
To be continued......................
