The great emperor Charles V never finished
his place on top of the Moorish king's stronghold at Granada. (above) |
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Days 12 & 13:
Catalunya Rising |
Notes and Tips:
AHere is where the notes go
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Most scenic:
Olympic Park mirador
Surprises:
The locals' comfort with full nudity
Easy
to miss, but don't:
The town square in Vilafranca del Penedes
Exciting:
The happening Rambla
Eat:
In the marketplace at the Gothic Quarter
Most low-key:
Geltru Beach
Free fun:
Strolling Barceloneta
Don't:
Forget where your wallet is
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Road Diary:
Day 13, 7/18:
Entering Catalonia
Written at Pere III Hotel in Vilafranca del
Penedes, Catalunya, Spain.
Hi 85°,
partly cloudy. What a hard bed in
Peñiscola
and a big argument with rude man who ran
apartments. I don't want to dwell on it, but he halfway
blamed us. I reported to the so-called "tourist agency,"
but figure there will never be satisfaction.The insults
will be hard to get over. We drove to Lidl in
Benicarlo and got some food for drive,
breakfast, and snacks. Then we filled up on diesel. Took
free roads all day consisting mainly of N340 and a few
others. Crossed into Catalonia and went to Ebro
River at Amposta after
exploring canals on delta for a while. Rice farms with
herons all around. The river was so full of life with
fish of all sizes. The giant wels catfish lives here and
huge carp were spotted in the grass. There was evidence
of fishing here and a sporting goods store a few blocks
away. Crossed river at N340a bridge and headed deeper in
Catalan territory. It is hard to understand people here
for me, since I only barely know Castillan Spanish.
Beach towns were much less obvious around here and
mountains more subdued. There was a lot more industry
going on and less families on vacation. We got BK and
had the kids play in the playplace. Learned Smurfs have
a Catalan name too. X seems to stand for the "sh" sound.
Near Vila-Seca stopped at Decathlon to
check it out. Bought bags, rain gear, and fishing stuff.
Good prices on tents. Then rode past huge coasters of
Port Aventura World. Deeper into
Catalonia found huge beautiful reservoir with castle
called Panta de Foix. Not too much
access, but nice drive around Castellet.
Upriver from here was our hotel town, Vilafranca
del Penedes, and after struggling to find good
way to check in was treated to nice cool clean room with
real beds. We all rested in our own ways (siesta) and a
few hours later went to plaza right outside hotel and
got tapas and relaxed in the cool temps. Kids played in
playground outside hotel in dark and then went to room
and wound down as a vocal group practiced with the
windows open next door. Prepared for tomorrow? Probably
not. Notable is the proud tradition of building human
towers called castells in Vilafranca. I wish I could see
it in real life instead of on postcards and in
paintings.
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 The man himself, Don Quixote, was in effigy all over the place.
 The Toledo Alcazar, the seat of government for Emperor Charles V, the man who ruled the world.
 Much needed shade in the medieval alleys behind the cathedral in Toledo.
 Catedral de Santa Maria, a grand church which stands in front of the Toledo Ayuntamiento.
 Religious items were for sale in many shops around church-filled Toledo.
 The way through the inner walls of Toledo, near the mayor's house.
 The wild and scenic Rio Tajo which runs behind the city of Toledo.
 Stopping for some helado in the Jardines del Transito.
 Walking through some Toledo alleys avoiding the heat of the sun.
 A scene from high above Toledo in the residential areas in the center of town. One can see why they built a fortified city here.
 Toledo street scene. I had to run out of here as the sun was setting to secure our hotel in Orgaz.
 The streets of Orgaz, where I saw old men sitting against the shade of the castle in the center of town.
 Ana at the old mills of Consuegra.
 A Consuegra mill like the kind that inspired Cervantes.
 Cerro Calderico near Consuegra.
 Andrew is pretending to read some Cervantes. The kinds kept calling the character "Donkey," instead of Don Quixote.
 Jessica near the Consuegra mills.
 The sparse agricultural lands of La Mancha near Puerto Lapice.
 Walking above the tadpole-filled waters of Las Tablas del Daimiel.
 We came here in search of flamingos, but only found a bunch of ducks.
 A scene from La Tablas of Daimiel during low water. The extreme heat here caused Ana's nose to bleed.
 At Castillo de Santa Catalina, an old fortress that once was Napoleon's headquarters.
 Jaen from the Torre de la Vela on Castillo de Santa Catalina.
 Looking down on Jaen like a bird might from Mirador de la Cruz.
 At Castillo de Santa Catalina in Jaen.
 Ana at the entrance to Castillo de Santa Catalina in Jaen.
 Pretending to fall from heat exhaustion.
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Road Diary:
Day 13, 7/19:
Exploring Barcelona
Written at Pere III Hotel in Vilafranca del
Penedes, Catalunya, Spain.
Hi 85°,
partly cloudy and breezy. Drove down to
Barcelona via toll-free route after breakfast
in hostel cafeteria. This road was a bit busy due to
construction and truck traffic on round-abouts.
Eventually got to downtown Barceloneta
and parked at Hospital del Mar for 18€.
Proceeded to walk along beautiful urban beaches with
cool refreshing breezes. Lots of completely nude men and
women here mixed in with everyone else. The city had a
bunch of "beach clubs" here for people to enjoy the
beach and volleyball. As crowds lessened at the Desigual
store, we realized we went the wrong way. Walked back to
Barceloneta and got snacks at c-store. Walked around
yacht-filled harbor on main drag, passing statues and
monuments. Crossed bridge on Rambla de Mar
to mall but not before seeing tons of fish in harbor.
Came back to Columbus statue and enjoyed walking
La Rambla, except I was feeling sick so we
stopped to rest a bit in the AC. Walked by Palau
Gaudi and then to market of fresh fruit and
meat called La Boqueria. Went wild
buying fruit juices and fruit and cured ham in paper
cones. This energized our walk through a Carmelite
church and then up to Plaça Reial with its
parrots and gay pride. We got lost in the streets of the
Gothic Quarter. Found mask shop, art
galleries, little remnants of the past like murals and
santas especially to Our Lady of Carmel. Walked through
magnificent Cathedral of the
Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia with geese
in the courtyard and a strict dress code for humans.
They sold veils for women to cover up outside the
church. Pickpockets were everywhere and other ne'er do
wells. But we were guarded as usual, and made frequent
eye contact with them. So many sites to see, it's hard
to list them all. Then to one more square with a
basilica called Santa Maria de Pi,
which had its giant santas for festivals on display.
Back to Rambla and walked to end near magical fountain,
the Font de Canaletes. Took metro to
Gaudi's masterwork, still under construction, the
Sagrada Familia. It was dark when we
arrived. Got snack nearby and then took Metro to Olympic
City back to car lot. Drove up to Mountjac
and Olympic Stadium and got good views
of city around midnight. Returned back to Vilafranca on
the toll roads which were safer but not faster. Situated
our luggage, washed up, and slept.
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Road Diary:
Day 14, 7/20:
Barcelona to Paris
Written at Hotel Cambrai, Paris, France.
Hi 85°
in Barcelona area and partly cloudy and windy. Woke up
in Vilafranca and situated bags more
and prepped for our plane ride later. Then drove down to
Vilanova i la Geltru where the circus
and the wind was in town. Walked around toy train tracks
and then to wind swept public beach at Parc de
Ribes Roges to say good bye to the
Mediterannean Sea. The wind was sand blasting us in such
a way I wonder how the naked people on the beach could
possibly stand it. After an hour, drove to
Barcelona Airport and dropped off the car we
got in Madrid. We had to go to terminal 1 on bus then
got onto our Vueling plane to Charles de Gaulle
Airport. We were delayed by about an hour.
Sometimes bumpy, usually uncomfortable flight on old
Airbus. Landed at CDG an hour late and had to deboard
via busses from a weird faraway terminal. Got to CDG
train station and found it be a RER station which cost
10€ to get to Paris
Zone 1 and 7.5€ for
kids. The kids tickets are only available from the
ticket counter, where English is spoken. Lots of
Africans on the way thru St. Denis. Got
to hotel in one piece in a rougher and busy neighborhood
around Gare du Nord. Andrew and I went
out and looked around, oriented ourselves, and got food
as sun was setting. Prices at grocers are almost twice
as much as in Spain. Returned to hotel and ate and
relaxed and planned next day. Today was exhausting.
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