Culoz to Geneva

Day 25, 18 July  Culoz to Geneva 57kms

Today started out with a plan to get as close to Geneva as we could, then this would give us a short run into Geneva the following day.

But even the best made plans go astray. The first few kms out of Culoz were relatively flat and the sun was out so cycling was very pleasant. We soon hit some very undulating hills which despite the magnificent views, was hard cycling. A lot of times the road looked flat ahead but we seemed to be all pushing very low gears, when you looked back it was very clear that we had been pedaling up hill. After about 22kms of very hilly work we called into a patisserie to clarify our path…. Big mistake! Mademoiselle told us to take the road down to the river as the other road was very hilly. There was a velo route (bike path) that ran along the river which even she rode along. So off we set merrily on our way, rolling along gently and then this fantastic 4.5km of the best downhill ever. We all had a feeling it was too good to be true but this was the road we were advised to take. Arrived at the bridge as instructed and no bike path in sight! A sinking feeling hit us all. We spoke to an elderly man and lady and they said in their best 1% English no, no, no, no bike path here, only quatre kilometer (4kms) of uphill on gravel.

 Mademoiselle’s ear must have been burning as we decided we had already climbed 4.5km today out of Culoz as we had started at the river there, now we had just come down 4.5k and the only way out was 4.5k of gravel straight up!! Anyway after many expletives about Mademoiselle we go on with the task and pedalled and walked out of the valley. It was a long hot ride. Once we got to the next town at the top of the valley we asked another lady (we are starting not to trust some of the directions we are given) if there was a bike path onward to Geneva, no, only the main road but there is a railway station at Bellegarde which is about 7k away ‘and all downhill’. We decided to push onto Bellegarde, which was mostly downhill and caught the train to Geneva. Our legs were all very tired and a train ride to the centre of the larger cities is often a better option than trying to navigate our way into town anyway!

The train trip was only 35 mins with plenty of beautiful scenery along the way.

We knew where we were going to camp so called into the tourist bureau for some maps and info on the City and headed off 6 or so kms to the camp. Lovely camp right on Lake Geneva, beautiful showers with real taps, no push buttons and nice camp kitchen.

All in all, a good day, but very tiring on the legs. We had dinner at the tents after purchasing supplies from the camp shop. We have decided Geneva is the most expensive city we have all been to so far.

Day 26 to 27, 19^th and 20th July,  Geneva

Both these days were spent sightseeing, shopping and catching up with a few chores. Shopping for the ladies and bike maintenance took up most of Friday.

Geneva reminds us a bit of Canberra in that there are no tall buildings and no hustle bustle like Sydney. We saw the headquarters of many international agencies when we did a boat cruise of Lake Geneva on Thursday. The lake also has a water jet similar to the one in Lake Burley Griffin. The back drop to the lake is beautiful and on a clear day you can see Mont Blanc in the distance. There are some large homes along the lake which look very attractive with lovely gardens and most have a boat ramp.

There does not appear to be centuries of history here as with all our previous large cities, but still a very pretty city.

PHOTOS TO FOLLOW. 

 AT A MACCAS NOW AND A BIG MAC IS $11.50.  EVERYTHING IS IN SWITZERLAND IS ABOUT 3 TIMES THE COST IN AUSTRALIA