Now that we’ve had a chance to settle in to our new home, I figured it’s about time to post a review of our trip - from start to finish, warts and all!
Our trip was the Alps To Paris Quality Package from Graham Baxter’s Sports Tours International.
The tour did not get off to a very good start; according to the pick-up details we were to meet the tour guide & bus at door 20 on the lower level of the terminal… however there are no numbered doors on the lower level (they meant the ground floor) and door 20 (along with many other doors) are blocked off as the are under long term renovations. This left us wandering around the terminal for far too long looking for any sign of our tour group. The simple step of having a rep standing at the door nearest to 20 with a sign would have made a world of difference.
My next beef was that we were given very specific pick-up instructions and that the bus would be leaving exactly at noon and that if we missed it we would have to wait for the next one at 3pm. Strangely we waited for nearly an hour for another guest who had made it to the airport but had not retrieved their luggage, nor made it to the correct terminal by noon.
Once we got on the road I would have appreciated a “welcome to the Tour, here’s what’s going to happen” but the team from Graham Baxter left us to sort things out for ourselves.
Arriving at the hotel in Paris - Hotel Campanile Porte D’Italie - our disappointment continued. The hotel is basic at best. And the terrible paint scheme of white and bright green makes it seem even worse. This was where we learned of our next disappointment - there is only one guide on our tour, contrary to the details in the sales literature and on the Sports Tours website.
The second day of the trip was a bus trek from Paris to Chantemerle. It took nearly all of the day - but was broken up by regular stops at highway rest stops. The final trek through the mountains was incredible, but after more than six hours on a bus, most of us were too weary to enjoy it.
Once we arrived at the Hotel Plein Sudin Chantemerle things turned around dramatically - solely because of the employees of the hotel. Lynne and her team (Emma, Kim, Jo, Roger, Matt and the rest of the behind the scenes players) do an unbelievable job of making guests feel welcome and comfortable. Throw into the mix wonderful food and a relaxing setting and you’ve got a recipe for success.
The daily trips to go and watch the Tour were well planned, but because of the traffic rules it meant the non-cyclists had to wait around for many hours. We would get dropped off at 10am and the Tour would pass us five or six hours later.
The options for riders from our base in Chantemerle were numerous and varied: classic mountain climbs, valley routes, lunch in Italy (!), etc, etc.
Each night at dinner our guide would present the options for the next day and let everyone choose their own adventure. The group rides were fun, however the wide variety of skill levels and interests made for some uncomfortable rides - riding the route that the group wanted instead of riding foreign roads on my own, at my own risk.
After five days in Chantemerle we were ready to move on, but at the same time content to stay forever…
The departure from Chantemerle started with a short trip to the start of that days Stage, followed by an arduous ride to Vichy.
In Vichy we stayed at the Best Western Aletti Palace which was a nice enough place, but left something to be desired. For a town of just 30,000 people it seemed to have a disproportionate amount of large buildings, sporting facilities, etc, etc. The first night we wandered around the town and enjoyed an open air market, live music, patio nightlife, and more!
After a couple days in Vichy we returned to Paris to see the finish of Le Tour. As a result of miscommunication, a changing of minds, or poor planning, we had to stay a couple more nights at the Hotel Campanile Porte D’Italie. To make up for this change from our itinerary the tour company gave us all a dinner cruise along the Seine after the conclusion of the race - which turned into a real highlight of our trip. Dinner, cheesy lounge singing, and dancing - under the stars and the lights of Paris.
After being home for a few weeks I realize that an organized tour is the way to go, but the folks at Graham Baxter might not be the ones to lead it. I’m looking forward to a return to France - but not to follow Le Tour. I love watching the event on TV and loved our time in France, however you don’t get to see much of the race, and it’s near impossible to watch a stage in its entirety.
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Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to 
I see it reported often that the US are an obese nation, but rarely is that comment made about Canadians. Well unless the majority of visitors to The Ex on Saturday were Americans, Canadians are a bunch of overweight, out of shape, slobs. There were plenty of fit looking people at The Ex, but the proportion of of obese to non-obese people was totally skewed. Is there something about The Ex that attracts obese people? Really, is there? Is it the opportunities to win useless midway prizes?
