Chandolin, Switzerland

We broke camp at sunrise near Lyon, France, the sky just beginning to blush behind the mountains and the air sharp enough to wake even the sleepiest overlander. Today was the day we (a) visited the famous Silk Museum of Lyon, France and (b) traveled into Switzerland through Charlie Chaplin and Ella Maillart territory. The next chapter of our Silk Road expedition was calling and it came with silk artesans, alpine peaks, endless switchbacks and the promise of standing in the shadow of the Matterhorn and visiting the Chandolin home of legendary Swiss traveler Ella Maillart.

Pont Séjourné viaduct, Fontpédrouse, Pyrénées-Orientales, France

We woke up in our pine-nestled campsite next to Spain's border with Andorra in the Pyrenees, to the sound of mountain silence, which is to say: the occasional bird call, a rustle of wind through pine needles, and Chetak squeaking every time Odyssean Journey rolled over in their rooftop tent. The air was crisp, almost alpine-sharp, and it smelled faintly of woodsmoke and damp moss. Shehzadi, our ever-stoic Toyota Tundra, had a light coat of dew. It was the kind of morning that feels borrowed from a postcard.

Coffee was brewed, stretches were stretched, and sleepy grins passed between our two overlanding couples. The Vagabond Couple and the Odyssean Journey were back on the road. Today’s mission: leave Spain behind (temporarily), enter the fairytale micronation of Andorra, fuel up, caffeinate, and then keep pushing toward France. Because that’s what you do on the Silk Road—follow the stories wherever they lead.

Lamborghini is a name synonymous with unparalleled luxury, speed, and innovative design in the automotive world. 

By MarkSweep - Own work, Public Domain, Link

However, the brand's influence extends beyond the roar of high-performance engines and sleek car designs into the realm of lifestyle and dining with Tonino Lamborghini Cafés. These upscale cafés, scattered across the globe, are more than just eateries; they are a celebration of the Lamborghini brand's ethos, offering a fusion of high-end dining, sophisticated ambiance, and an immersive brand experience. 

Switzerland, France and Germany: A Trifecta of European Shenanigans

German side of the Three Countries Bridge Flags of Switzerland, France, Germany, the European Union and Weil am Rhein This bridge is so international it needs a passport just to cross itself

This long and juicy roadtrip travel guide takes you overland through the stunning heart of Europe:

• Cities: Paris (France) → Zürich (Switzerland) → Basel (Switzerland) → Huningue (France) → Three Countries Bridge (France, Germany, Switzerland) → Strasbourg (France) → Kehl (Germany) → Baden-Baden (Germany) → Heidelberg (Germany) → Triberg (Germany) → Meiringen (Switzerland) → Lucerne (Switzerland) → Venice (Italy)
• Provinces (Regions): Île-de-France (France) → Grand Est [Alsace] (France) → Canton of Zürich (Switzerland) → Canton of Aargau (Switzerland) → Canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland) → Baden-Württemberg (Germany) → Canton of Bern (Switzerland) → Canton of Obwalden (Switzerland) → Canton of Lucerne (Switzerland) → Canton of Glarus (Switzerland) → Veneto (Italy)

Europe has this funny habit of cramming multiple countries into spaces smaller than some American parking lots. Switzerland, France and Germany decided to play a particularly intense game of border hopscotch in this corner of the continent. We'd just finished ogling Parisian opulence and decided to trade baguettes for bratwurst via Switzerland, because why take the direct route when you can involve three currencies, four languages and enough bureaucracy to make a paperwork enthusiast weep with joy?

Our route was essentially a literary pub crawl with better scenery. We followed Victor Hugo's hunchback inspiration in Strasbourg, chased Dostoevsky's gambling demons in Baden-Baden, hunted Goethe's ginkgo poem in Heidelberg and nearly tumbled down the Reichenbach Falls like Sherlock Holmes' inconvenient demise. All this while dodging cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest that probably contained more intricate machinery than our first car.

London–Paris–Versailles–Zurich Train Journey: Europe Rail Travel, City Sightseeing & Palace Tours

On our way to the Palace of Versailles. Did you know the palace's garden fountains actually run on a 17th-century hydraulic system that once used 14 water wheels and 221 pumps? During Louis XIV's reign, the gardens consumed more water daily than the entire city of Paris. The king's gardeners would sometimes paint grass green during droughts to maintain appearances.

London ➡️ Paris ➡️ Versailles ➡️ Zurich.  Our European train travel adventure continues with what we call the "Channel Dash" - that mad sprint from London to Paris via the underground tunnel that still feels like science fiction. After chasing solstice shadows at Stonehenge and getting thoroughly windswept in Scottish coastal towns, we figured civilization might be nice. So we traded North Berwick's sea spray for Parisian perfume, proving that sometimes the best travel hack is just letting someone else drive the train while you nap.

Gilded Grandeur: Secrets and History of the Palace of Versailles

That's not just any chandelier. It's a 200-kilogram, 18th-century bronze and crystal beast hanging in the Mercury Room, which sounds like it should be dedicated to speedy gods but was actually just a fancy antechamber. The painting behind it shows Louis XV looking regal in his coronation outfit, probably thinking about how much firewood it would take to heat this particular room. The Mercury Room was part of the King's State Apartment, a fancy name for "the rooms we parade important people through to make them feel small." It originally contained a lavish silver bed that was melted down in 1689 to fund one of France's many wars, proving that even royal furniture wasn't safe from the national budget.

The Palace of Versailles isn't just a big house with a nice garden. It's the ultimate flex in architectural history, built to basically tell the rest of Europe, "Look at us, we have so much money we can turn a swamp into the world's most famous backdrop for political drama and bad wigs."

Located just southwest of Paris, this place makes most other royal residences look like garden sheds. We're talking 2,300 rooms, 67 staircases, and a garden so large you could misplace a small army in it. Which, historically, they sometimes did.