France: Day 30 - Barcelona - Heading Home

 We dragged Aidan out of bed at 8am and made him march to the churros shop.  He liked it once we got there.

While enjoying our churros on a bench, Laurie got a message from our old friend Sue.  Sue stayed with us a long time ago ... 2001(?).  We have all aged a bit.  Aidan was 3 years from being born and his brothers were a newborn and a toddler.  We had a brief meet up at Catalunya Square before heading to El Sagrada Familia.

El Sagrada Familia is different.  I saw it in 1977 and it looked nothing like it does now.  I looked up some archive photos from that period and it was less than 50% of the massive structure it is now.  It is different but I like it.  I think.

Next it was back to the hotel to check out.  We consolidated all of our bag into the duffle and it was heavy.  To get Aidan his steps we left the bags at the hotel and did another quick walk around the Gothic Quarter.  We were all running out of energy and headed back to get the bags.

From the hotel we headed toward the Trek bike shop looking for a place for lunch.  We found a place that was good but probably would have been better if we didn't get the first order of the day out of the kitchen.

Next up the bikes.  They were all ready to go and we asked the store if they could call us a taxi big enough for the two bikes and the three of us.  It was a tight fit and the driver probably would have given up if not for a woman getting off her bike at the store who jumped in helping stuff the boxes into the taxi, saying "It will fit!".  I think that's what she was saying.  Might have been "Get these damn tourists out of my city".

After that it was pretty uneventful.  We just have to wake up in a few short hours to catch a 6am flight.

France: Day 29 - Barcelona - Just Tourists

I really like this city.  The grand avenues and the buildings are magnificent.  Walking is a pleasure here.  There is also a massive Metro underground system - I think I read somewhere that there are 1000km of track under the city.  Ok, I'm wrong ...

The vast network is made up of 180 stations and 12 lines that cover 90 miles (146 km) ...

My numbers were more impressive.

This is an incredibly vibrant city.  There are a lot of tourists here.  The biggest challenge of the city is finding restaurants that aren't catering to tourists.  Don't bother ordering sangria as it seems to mostly be some crappy sweet American recipe using 7-UP.

The first thing we did was go find churros.  We found a place that made them to order and got a bunch with thick chocolate.  We ate them sitting on a bench on a walking street a few doors away.

Next we headed to the Gothic Quarter, wandered around, had cafe con leche and generally blended in with all the other tourists.  We made a stop at Decathlon to get a duffle bag for the flight home.  I headed back to the hotel for a little rest while Laurie went shopping at Zara and Mango which seems to have stores on every corner in this area.

It is hard to tell from reviews which restaurants are good and which restaurants have good reviews from tourists who really only like the food they are used to.  I found a nice place and we were the only English speakers there.  It was good.  Most of the dishes were very good but my chicken was a little disappointing.

We had to have a bit of a rest after lunch and didn't venture out until about 8 when we could fit in a little more tapas.  Much of the afternoon was taken up getting Aidan to Barcelona.  His first train was late and he was going to miss his Paris connection.  The best way to get him here was to fly him.  Fortunately, airfare is a lot cheaper here than in the US.  He arrived just at midnight.

France: Day 28 - Malgrat de Mar to Barcelona

This was the last ride day of the bike tour.  We drank the last of the instant coffee I purchased in Blois ... with milk as it was a special day.

We got on the road at a reasonable hour.  We were riding parallel to the train tracks all day.  We alternated sides throughout the day.  We spend about a third of the time on N11. The N11 may actually be the N2 with Roman numerals.  Why would you do that?

We stopped for lunch at a tapas place in Vilassar de Mar.  We ordered several plates and they were all good.  Galcian octopus, patas bravas, olives, croquettes and chips made from a bunch of different stuff.  We had cokes because the cycling pros drink coke on their rides.

Not long after lunch we switched to the sea side of the tracks for good.  We went slowly along pedestrian/bike paths as the skyline of Barcelona got closer.

One of the dominant features were these three smoke stacks.  Not sure what they were for.  Maybe power?

Then we were in the city riding up a central boulevard.  Bike lanes were marked everywhere and there were special traffic lights for bikes.  This is a great city for bikes.  Mostly flat and bike lanes on almost all streets.

We rode straight to the Trek bike store near our hotel and for a reasonable price they are boxing the bikes for transport.  I am also getting a clean and tune for my bike.  It also needs a new chain.  The old one was new with my entire drive train in January.  This is all cheaper here than in San Francisco.

We walked to the hotel with our bags and checked in.  It was strange to be without the bikes.  After a shower we had an end of ride beer/cava on the roof of the hotel.  The view of the city was pretty good.

Next we headed out from the hotel and while Laurie shopped, I explored.

We went to a seafood restaurant recommended by Bob and other than being really far away, was really good.  It was definitely the most expensive meal so far.