I woke after a good nine hours of sleep to find the sky overcast and grey. However, sunnier weather was forecast for later. The refuge manager was nowhere to be seen that morning, but his girlfriend prepared me an excellent breakfast along with a picnic for midday. There was a little confusion at one point… Continue reading Day 2 – Refugio di Rabadá y Navarro to Riodeva
Day 1 – Arcos de las Salinas to the Refugio di Rabadá y Navarro
I woke refreshed after a good night’s sleep, ready to tackle the first day of the trail. The lovely lady serving breakfast was very tolerant with my basic Spanish, and even managed to teach me a new word, tomillo, the Spanish word for thyme. She said that after the recent heavy rain, the mountains would… Continue reading Day 1 – Arcos de las Salinas to the Refugio di Rabadá y Navarro
From Valencia to the hills
The journey from Paris to Valencia was a very pleasant one, especially as I had treated myself to first class, meaning I could spend the two-hour wait in Barcelona in the first-class lounge rather than the relentless agitation of Barcelona Sants station. The second part of the journey was delayed slightly, and I arrived in… Continue reading From Valencia to the hills
Recto-Verso Europe 36
On May 13, after weeks of intense subtitling work for the Cannes Film Festival, I took a very early train from our local station and, after a quick breakfast in Paris, took the 7:42 train to Barcelona. From there, I shall take take an afternoon train to Valencia and, after a night in the city,… Continue reading Recto-Verso Europe 36
Bourges to Sancerre
In 2024, I joined a team of contributors writing descriptions of European hiking trails for a company based in Paris called Les Others, known for its podcasts and periodicals, that was putting together a guide of 100 hikes in Europe that could all be done from France without taking a flight. The guide comes in… Continue reading Bourges to Sancerre
The Moselsteig – Day 16 – Beilstein to Cochem and Klotten
This was the day when everything came to a sudden end… But more about that later. The day began in the best way possible with a terrific breakfast at the hotel with lots of tasty local produce. I set off feeling good about the day ahead and the 20 km to cover to Klotten. The… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 16 – Beilstein to Cochem and Klotten
The Moselsteig – Day 15 – Ediger-Eller to Beilstein
Today was the day when Odile had to return home for work, so we were up early for the 2-km walk to the station for her 8:15 train, stopping off at the village bakery as breakfast at the hotel didn’t start until 8. Her journey, which should have had her home by 1 PM, fell… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 15 – Ediger-Eller to Beilstein
The Moselsteig – Day 14 – Neef to Ediger-Eller
Just 11 km to cover on this day, a short but spectacular hike from Neef to Ediger-Eller via the Calmont plateau at 380 metres, at the foot of which are Europe’s steepest vineyards (with a 68-degree slope). As the guesthouse in Neef didn’t provide breakfast (apart from tea and coffee) and with no bakery in… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 14 – Neef to Ediger-Eller
The Moselsteig – Day 13 – Zell to Neef
After the efforts made the day before, this stage would be a lot easier, despite a very steep climb out of Zell. The weather was perfect for hiking, not too hot, not too cold, and even though rain did fall from time to time, the showers never lasted long enough for us to get into… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 13 – Zell to Neef
The Moselsteig – Day 12 – Traben-Trarbach to Zell
This was a double one – two of the official stages of the Moselsteig in one day which ended up representing a total of 31 km by the time we arrived in Zell. The first part, from Traben-Trarbach to Reil, around 15 km would be tougher than the second part that had fewer steep ascents.… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 12 – Traben-Trarbach to Zell
Footsteps 