August 30, 2021
Montreal-Paris-Blois
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Grateful to be travelling again, in France and a smooth trip.
Travel days are always a challenge, and while today was by no means easy, Steven has to admit to a slight thrill when all the details click into place. Our schedule was rather tight with an 11:30am arrival leaving only 4 hours to catch the 3:30pm train to Blois.
After an already full day of packing for the trip and cleaning out of our Montreal condo, our wonderful son, Rob, drove us to the airport. This was our first time using bike boxes and it was a bit slower as first the check-in clerk and then the security scan people made us take out the bikes and everything I had carefully packed around the bikes for padding. The flight was about 70% full and we managed a few hours of sleep.
Paris airport was quiet enough to easily clear customs and find a space to unpack and assemble the bikes, which arrived undamaged! One hour gone, right on schedule.
We had applied for a "Passe Sanitaire", the French vaccination passport, but it had not yet come through, so we headed straight to the airport COVID testing centre where we were told we could get an antigen test which, if it came through negative, would count as a pass for 72 hours. This was where all the people were! The line up snaked along for 100 metres or more with people settled in as if they had been waiting for hours. And there was a big red sign stating that the tests were for departing passengers only! Fortunately, Steven eventually found an official who said that with our Quebec vaccination passports we could take the RER into Paris and the local train to Blois, where we could get the test in a local pharmacy. Heading off without a passe sanitaire seemed like a gamble, but we were running out of time. Another 75 minutes gone that wasn't planned for so we are now in a rush and will not have time to stop for French SIM cards, which means no Google maps!
We couldn't find an elevator so we had to take the escalator with fully loaded bikes down to the RER platform, but then we rolled right onto the designated bicycle car and were on our way downtown! We did have to stand and hold the bikes for the full 40 minute ride and by about half way the car was jam packed, but everyone kindly and quickly moved aside so we could get off in the few seconds available at our stop. Another elevator ride up to street level and we were beside the Seine, in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Not much time for photos with only 40 minutes to get to Gare d'Austerliz and mercifully there was a bike lane so we were slightly separated from the Paris traffic. I avoided having to show my non-existent Passe Sanitaire by using the self-serve kiosk to buy two tickets with bikes, we dashed through the station, found Platform #7, found the car that takes bicycles, but then had to unload the paniers to get up the 3 steps, move the baby carriage and huge suitcase in front of the bike racks and stow the bikes to still allow slim people to get past, and settle into our seats with 4 minutes to spare! Just 11 minutes at Orleans to get everything off the train, re-load the bikes, change platforms (mercifully no escalator or elevator required) and board the the train to Blois. By this time we were fantasizing about ditching the 40lbs of camping gear and credit card touring! Luckily the officious conductor came along and told the people standing in front of the bike racks to move out of the way, and did not ask to see our passe sanitaire. And then we were in Blois. We had arrived intact and were riding along cobbled streets gawking at the picturesque architecture, gardens and people in cafes. Over the 18th century bridge and a short ride along the Loire to the campground, where we still had some daylight to set up the tent before wandering over to "le Snack" for a delicious salad supper with rose wine (our first food since the airplane!). Crawled into our bags and had no trouble sleeping.
Today's ride: 10 km (6 miles)
Total: 10 km (6 miles)
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3 years ago
Looks like you're in for a great trip - Enjoy!!
3 years ago
3 years ago
I'm planning a loop ride between Munich and Bologna, passing through Cortina and the Dolomites on the way south and probably Bolzano and Innsbruck on the way north. I've made a rough start to the journal but don't want to make it public until I at least make it to France!
3 years ago
3 years ago