VALLA is awarded the prize for the most frugal team in the JET Jaunt!
Four members of the VALLA team have just completed an epic adventure to travel from St Malo to Monaco in the quickest possible time. The race, entitled the JET Jaunt, was a fundraiser for the Jersey Employment Trust. The charity provides valuable and inclusive services which support people by making employment and vocational training more accessible to people with disabilities.
The JET Jaunt invited teams of two to navigate a route from St Malo to Monaco quickly while completing a series of challenges. The teams were asked to choose any mode of public transport, including buses, trains and taxis, to get them to the finish line.
The JET Jaunt route took them across France, with mandatory checkpoints in St Malo, Rennes, Paris, and Dijon. They chose a route through Le Puy-en-Velay or Turin (Italy) to get to Monaco, with unique challenges to complete at each stop.
Prizes were awarded for the fastest finisher, top fundraiser, most eco-friendly, and most frugal journey. VALLA was delighted to hear they had been awarded the prize for the most frugal journey, having navigated the St Malo to Monaco route at just £126 per person!
Our colleagues completed the race in fifth place, which is incredible.
We have now had the opportunity to catch up with our team of adventurers and wanted to capture their experiences in this blog.
Jersey to St Malo
Before the team began the challenge, they thought they would take the race slowly, enjoying the scenery and resting in some nice accommodations as they gently made their way to Monaco.
However, as soon as the packs were handed out and the brief was received, they were fired up to place well in the race. They managed to book their travel to Dijon before the boat had even docked in St Malo.
The VALLA team inside the walls of St Malo
When they arrived in St Malo, they completed their first challenge: taking a selfie before Rue de Jacques Cartier, a road named after a famous naval explorer and privateer.
St Malo to Rennes
Curtis enjoying the infamous Rennes sausage galette!
Upon arriving at the train station in Rennes, they quickly grabbed some food in a local cafe. One of the challenges asked them to take a photo of themselves eating a Rennes speciality sausage galette and a photo of the receipt.
While Curtis tucked into the surprisingly tasty snack, the other team members decided against eating (little did they know then that it would be nearly 20 hours before they would enjoy a proper meal!)
Rennes to Paris
Grabbing the next train to Paris, they chose the slow train to keep costs down, taking five hours instead of two! To while away the hours, the team played Shed, similar to Uno, and they say it got pretty competitive.
Once they arrived in Paris, they had to get a photo of one of 135 bronze markers located along the French meridian line. Thinking they were searching for plaques the size of dinner plates, they were astonished to find they were, in fact, tiny.
Here’s Mark finding the tiniest Arago stamp ever!
After an hour of searching for one of the stamps, they believed one could be inside the Observatory's grounds.
However, when they arrived in Paris at 22:30, the observatory was closed, so they had to run to find another.
With just 30 minutes spare to complete the challenge and catch the last bus to Dijon, they raced to find the plaque and returned to the bus station with minutes to spare.
Paris to Dijon
Arriving at Dijon at 3 AM, the team quickly completed their challenges, which included getting a photo of a red timber house on the north side of Place Francois-Rude, named after a local sculptor and a photo of The Owl of Dijon, which was located behind the Church of Notre Dame.
They had many hours to spare and were starving, so they wondered where to find food. They were also exhausted by this time, having travelled for 18 hours non-stop. At first, they thought about taking a nap inside a bank’s ATM foyer but chose against it as security cameras were inside, and they didn’t want to upset the local gendarmerie!
So grateful to find somewhere selling food at 04:00 am
Feeling tired and hungry, they were delighted to find a small pizzeria open at 4 AM.
They quickly got into the warmth and ordered the biggest pizzas they could find on the menu.
Maybe they were hungry, but they all said they were the best-tasting pizzas they had ever eaten.
At 6 AM, they returned to Dijon bus station to take their longest journey so far: an 8-hour bus trip to Turin, Italy.
Knowing they’d be able to at least snooze for some of the time and with a full tummy, they were ready to take on the next stage of the JET Jaunt challenge.
Dijon to Turin (Italy)
Their view en route to Turin
Curtis and Millie with a bar of the infamous Gianduja chocolate
Onwards to Turin, the long bus journey was a welcome break from the hectic nature of the challenge, and they could rest up before taking on the next run of challenges that faced them once they arrived in Turin.
Turin is known for its hazelnuts, which are used in many local dishes.
The famous Ferrero Rocher company is headquartered in Turin, so it was unsurprising that one of the challenges included getting a photo of them holding a jar of hazelnut spread or a bar of their locally renowned chocolate, Gianduja.
The team thought they would have time for a quick meal and drink and ordered some sustenance. While the boys were more than happy to oblige, the girls preferred cider.
However, the girls were disappointed when they ordered two glasses of ‘Cidrata’ and found out it was not cider but two glasses of lemon soda!
Turin to Ventimiglia (Italy)
A room for four! They were so tired by this point, they didn’t care where they slept!
Having quickly chomped down their meal, they raced to catch their bus to Ventimiglia.
The team chose to stop at Ventimiglia before arriving at the finish line in Monaco.
While this location was not part of the challenge, it was close enough to the finish.
Having travelled for 40 hours nonstop, they were desperate for some sleep and food. But sadly, they could not find anywhere open to eat, so they bedded down in a room for four.
It was undoubtedly not Hilton's standards, but they were just happy for a place to rest their weary heads. And they said the beds were super comfy!
Ventimiglia to Monaco
Rising early in the morning, the team quickly departed Ventimiglia to take the 30-minute train to Monaco and cross the finish line. But they had just one more challenge to complete before they could do so.
Mark driving in the statue of Argentine driving legend Juan Manuel Fangio
In honour of Monaco’s long-standing association with motorsport, they had to visit the statue of Argentine driving legend Juan Manuel Fangio, one of Formula One’s greatest drivers.
Once they’d taken the team photo at the statue, they were invited to cross the official JET Jaunt finish line at the Place du Casino.
What an amazing adventure! Despite it being a really tough challenge, which demanded strength, brains and resilience, they think they’d love to do it again next year.
And seeing as they were awarded the most frugal prize, they have an award to uphold. But maybe next year, they’ll try to get there quickest!