September 5, 2023
A Holiday from my Holiday: Pottering around Sion
This wasn't completely a day off the bike, because I did cycle 3km in each direction to get to the station and back. But it was otherwise a very relaxing day.
After a gentle start, and a splendid breakfast (featuring -- a new thing for a me -- a whole Drawer Of Cheese), I whizzed over to the train station and jumped on a stereotype-confirming Efficient Swiss Train up the valley to Sion.
I'd passed through Sion a couple of years back, without having time to stop. But it had seemed like a very pleasant place, and an ideal spot for some gentle mid-holiday pottering.
And so it proved: a short walk from the station took me up into the old town, where an amble through some atmospheric cobbled alleys -- narrowly evading the danger of being drawn into a Community Street Theatre Production -- brought me onto a hillside above the city, with a castle looming on either side.
More or less on a whim (and also because it was a bit closer), I went for the Basilica rather than the Château, which turned out to be a good decision because the Basilica was also home to the local history museum: a really excellent survey of Sion and surrounds from the neolithic period, via the Romans, to the modern day. (I caused some consternation among the custodians by accidentally ignoring the direction arrows and following the story in reverse chronological order. But it was still highly informative, even experienced the wrong way round.)
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By the time I emerged from the museum the clocks were striking midday which -- it turns out -- is lunchtime in Sion, so I joined the crowd in plonking myself down at a very lively, very efficient cafe on the main street. Their (excellent) gnocchi with mushrooms gave me the boost I needed to get back to the station, from there to the train, from there to the hotel, and from there back into the Therapeutic Pool, where I happily whiled away the rest of the day. Turns out holidays can actually be quite restful -- who knew!
Today's ride: 6 km (4 miles)
Total: 338 km (210 miles)
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