Susan an I arrive safe and sound in Barcelona after nearly 2000 kilometers together. We feel like newborn after a shower with fresh and warm water and set out to explore this magnificent place (... please see tourist guide for pictures, they are generally better than ours...).
Sadly, here in Barcelona Susan packs her stuff and heads home to the Unites States. She had joined the cycling trip right after returning from a job in Nigeria and now her family and her two dogs are waiting back home in Maryland.
After shipping her bicycle from the local post office and dropping her off at the airport I return to our hostel with a strangely empty feeling. Back on the road alone...
One thing that I find remarkable about Barcelona among all touristic sites and the very good food, is the system of Bicing - common public bicycles for everyone who lives within the city!!! All you need to do is to pre-register and pay a fee of 30 Euro per year (!) and then you can grab a free bicycle from more than 300 locations all over the city and drop it off at any station within half an hour. If you exceed the half hour you pay a small extra fee...
I talked to some people grabbing and dropping off bikes and they all seem to love it! No hassle using your own vehicle, no bus schedule, no worry about thieves stealing your own expensive bicycle, no pollution and a free work-out!
Very neat indeed, Barcelona :)
On our way through the suburbs of Barcelona we stop at a shopping mall to take a leak and refill our thirsty bodies with fresh (chlorinated) water. Unfortunately I lean my bicycle against the shopping window of a toystore...
You might call me a traditionalist or enviromentalist or whatever you wish - when I see those giant plastic Barbie-castles and crude-oil-Winnie-the-Pooh-huts I would like to cry. Do parents nowadays really have more money than time for their children? Is daddy to busy to hang out with his kids and build a treehouse made of wood, nails and sweat or are parents today just too dull to think out of the (labelled and priced carton) box?
Honestly, 600 Euro is a high price to pay for a bunch of coloured plastic trash! Or do people just not know anymore how to use a hammer, a woodsaw and a paintbrush? My dear Nintendo Wii and iPhone-3G-generation, I strongly feel that somewhat went awfully wrong here...
The coast south of Montpellier treats us well. The weather is great and we manage to swim in the Mediterranean almost every day and camp somewhere close to the ocean. The countryside is flat like a pancake but a strong headwind is blowing as if it was trying to prevent us from leaving France and cycling along the coast into Spain.
At the French/Spanish border the pyrenees take a steep dive into the sea. Even though the road follows the very coast it is extremely hilly here! We welcome the change of atmosphere and crouch up and whizz down the hills. Time and again we see large writing on the tarmac, remnants of the "Tour de France 2009" that had just past a couple of days before us along the same route.
On the Spanish side we visit Cadaques, a pitoresque whitewashed town where Salvador Dali used to live. Smart guy. The place is really neat. We camp in a public park (olive green tents are best!) and discover that the little hut next to the tent belonged to one of his "Muses" (as they called it on the signpost at the door). Unfortunately, a municipal officer discovers us the next morning and we receive a lecture that setting up a tent is forbidden. Alright. We sleep there another night - under the stars - who needs a tent when the weather is so brilliant?
From Cadaques we keep following the "Costa Brava" and eventually end up in Barcelona after riding our bikes through milles and miles of european coastal summer tourist playground.
Found in France. I am not exactly sure what the traffic department is trying to suggest here. It pretty much looks like they try to warn you that your vehicle might suddenly and spontaneously blow up :)
Whatever its meaning - it certainly does qualify for my #1 favorite road sign ever!