Those of us travelling from the US to London for the start are leaving next week to allow enough time for our 14-day quarantine in the UK. That is really not very far away now!!
Yesterday we finalized the itinerary. The overview: We cross to France from Dover to Calais and head down through the Burgundy region till we reach the Alps at Chambery. We cross over the Alps into Italy at Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis, head past Turin down to the coast then across to Florence. After Florence, we head south through Siena to Rome and then back up the Mediterranean coast to cross back to France at Menton/Monaco. We will spend a night in Callian where I have a house, a bunch of friends and a few gallons of rose wine(!) and then head off to Mont Ventoux (15 times a key climbing stage on the Tour de France). We then go up the Rhone Valley towards Lyon and cross over to the Loire Valley to head up to Paris and onto Dieppe where we cross back to the UK. We currently expect to finish on the 4th October, if all goes to plan….that’s a big IF…!!
The details: Worplesdon (UK), Hythe (UK), crossing from Dover into France, Montreuil-sur-mer, Clermont, Provins, Tonnerre, Beaune, Bourg-en-Bresse, Chambery, Modane, crossing into Italy just south of the 3 Valleys ski resort at Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis, Avigliana, Novi Ligure, Sestri Levante, Lucca, Florence, Montalcino, Viterbo, Rome, Tarquinia, Follonica, Pisa, Rapallo, Imperia, crossing back to France through Menton and Monaco, Callian, Sillans-la-Cascade, Sault (at the base of Mont Ventoux), Montelimar, Vienne, Roanne, Nevers, Sully-sur-Loire, Elancourt, Forges-les-Eaux, Dieppe, crossing back to UK, Newhaven, Worplesdon.