Cycling Italy & Hiking the GR5

We're six old friends - literally.  Ian and Donna both went to Scarborough State Primary school in the mid 1950's then on to Redcliffe High where I joined them in the mid 1960's.  Donna and I were in a five girl house in Beatrice street Toowong in 1971 while attending the University of Qld, a house frequented by Graham Mailander and his cronies because it was a five girl house.  In 1972, Ian and I were married and soon after, Donna teamed up with Milton, a fervent Manly supporter and climatology expert.  Jenny and Graham became friends in 2006, but co-incidentally, Jenny also attended the University of QLD in the late 1960's when Donna, Ian, Grahame and I were there.  So if you can sort that out you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. The bottom line is that most of us have known each other for around 55 years and here we are together again on another of our many active holidays together in Italy and France. 

Milton's the cycle trip guru and weather man, and I'm the hiking organiser.  So between us we're doing a Milton/Jan self guided tour with a six day cycle in Italy and a 25 day hiking trip through the French Alps.  And Milton is also organising the good weather.  Our cycling trip is centred around the beautiful wine area of Piedmont Italy near Turin.  After that, Donna and Milton are cycling west into France on a two week camping/cycling holiday before meeting up with some UK friends in Cognac.  And Graham, Jenny, Ian and myself are catching the train to Menton, near Nice on the French-Italian border, to do a 300k hike north through the French Alps to Briancon, half way to Lake Geneva. The walk is mostly on the GR5, of which Ian and I did the northern section of this route from Briancon to Geneva in 2012.

It's taken months of meticulous planning and booking, but that's half the fun.  As they say, when we finally get to do the bike/hike, it's like living the dream and you feel as though you've already walked in those footsteps.