Day 20 - 18 July - Half way! Travel to Tallard

Last day in the Maurienne Valley (though I will return to nearby Chambéry on my way to Italy) so I was up early to make the most of it.

One blitzkreig hill climb of the Col de Beau Plan was the interary and with that done I packed my bags and headed for my train journey.

The day was warm but easy enough - I knew that the other end of the journey (Gap to Tallard, 15 km south of the train station) would be a bit of a bugger and so it proved to be. I will definitely not be returning to Gap via the busy 'Route Nationale' road I chose. Yuck.

Staying in Tallard, a gorgeous little village of 1700 people in the southern Alps. It has a castle! In fact I arrived on a good night because I went with my host Marianne to a french music concert playing in Chateau Tallard. The concert was a selection of youngish french bands of different styles - influences from New Orleans, bluegrass, ska, hip hop - even a bit of a Salt'n'Pepa cover at one point in the evening. A great night in an amazing setting.

Worth getting out of bed for this.

Descending to the Valley from the Col I had amazing views of the Télégraphe.

Chez Isabel! Home for the last week.