Pictures HERE.
10:00pm: at the B&B in Marseille after a hectic day to say the least. I apologize in advance for typos in this post because I am hastily writing. I will get to that. We set off from Menerbes around 8 and actually had a pretty stress-free drive to Marseille, France’s 2nd biggest city.
We could not find a gas station close to the Hertz office so we will end up paying extra for the gas, but neither of us had the energy to go drive to a gas station that may or may not have even taken our card. We then took a taxi to the B&B which was not far but somehow cost 20 euros. No matter. Our lovely B&B Owner Christophe was waiting for us. We checked in and left our luggage and set out.
We explored the area by the port and bought tickets for a boat ride tomorrow morning to the Calanques, fjord-like formations off the coast. We wandered through the Rick Steves walking tour. We could not find the African spice market and later realized maybe it was because of Ramadan. We went up to the Panier district, which is the older and apparently hipper part of town. I bought a little handmade statue that is typical of the area and something I had wanted to get. We had lunch at La Panier Gourmand in one of the squares - they served sandwiches on panisse, which is fried chickpea fritters, and it was delicious.
After lunch we came back to the B&B for a rest and then around 3 set out for the main sight in Marseille, the Notre Dame church. We took bus 60 from the water and it swept us rather uphill in about 15 minutes. The church is actually pretty small but quite beautiful, with amazing views. We took the bus back down but to the other side of the port and wandered a bit, had a drink, etc.
Around 6:30pm we sat on a bench to kill a little time before dinner and I do not know why but I engaged my data on my international phone and checked my email. That is when I saw our flight back on Sunday had been canceled due to a national air strike. We were rebooked for Monday, which was basically unacceptable to us both. Having lost all appetite, we rushed back to the B&B to call Iberia. The only other option was to fly out tomorrow.
So we will lose our last day and the boat tickets we had bought, which were not cheap and which we were really excited about. I also called Christophe, who came over and let us pay, gave us a little souvenir of soap, a ticket for a free night if we ever return, and booked us a taxi for tomorrow. It was about 8pm by this point and we still needed dinner so we went back to the port and went to Le Souk, where we had intended to go anyway. It is a Moroccan restaurant and had been recomended in a few places. I had chicken tagine and Matt the couscous. We had a view over the port and of the high up church and it was generally lovely. And with that, the trip is unfortunately and abruptly cut a bit short.
Saved the most walking for last I guess: 26,063 steps and 10.37 miles.
Friday, May 25, 2018
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 15 - Aix-en-Provence
Pictures HERE. Not too many today.
9:30pm: back at the airbnb after a fairly uneventful day. At least the weather was beautiful finally! We grabbed some pastries at the bakery in town (not before the lady gave me change in all one and two cent coins....) and set off for about an hour to Aix-en-Provence. It took us on the major roadway (equal to interstate) and we actually hit some decent traffic to get to the center of the town.
Anyway, we parked in the huge Rotonde garage in the center, which was perfectly located for some of the market action. Since Aix is a bigger city, it’s outdoor market is sprawled in different parts of the city, in a couple squares, on a main street, etc. We grabbed a coffee at a cafe and then followed Rick Steves’s walking tour while checking out some of the market. I also picked up a couple of huge Macarons from a recommended store. There is really a ton of crap sold at these markets. Definitely bigger than the other Provencal towns we have seen, it has little to actually see except the church, which has a number of architectural styles all in one. I bought some strawberries from a grower and we got some lunch.
I didn’t have anything specific else on the itinerary so we decided to take a more scenic/country route back to home base. We didn’t seem to pass anything that looked too interesting. If I had planned better we would have ditched the car in Aix, stayed there a night, then went on to Marseille. Oh well! We made it nack to the airbnb and started packing up a little, then wandered the town a little, then went back to Le 5 for dinner. Since the weather was nice, we could eat on their beautiful terrace overlooking the vineyards, cherry trees, olive trees, and countryside. I had the seasonal risotto with asparagus and mushrooms and we split creme brulee.
Tomorrow it is off to our last stop, Marseille.
Today’s totals - still managed to get some decent walking in: 16,874 steps and 6.71 miles.
9:30pm: back at the airbnb after a fairly uneventful day. At least the weather was beautiful finally! We grabbed some pastries at the bakery in town (not before the lady gave me change in all one and two cent coins....) and set off for about an hour to Aix-en-Provence. It took us on the major roadway (equal to interstate) and we actually hit some decent traffic to get to the center of the town.
Anyway, we parked in the huge Rotonde garage in the center, which was perfectly located for some of the market action. Since Aix is a bigger city, it’s outdoor market is sprawled in different parts of the city, in a couple squares, on a main street, etc. We grabbed a coffee at a cafe and then followed Rick Steves’s walking tour while checking out some of the market. I also picked up a couple of huge Macarons from a recommended store. There is really a ton of crap sold at these markets. Definitely bigger than the other Provencal towns we have seen, it has little to actually see except the church, which has a number of architectural styles all in one. I bought some strawberries from a grower and we got some lunch.
I didn’t have anything specific else on the itinerary so we decided to take a more scenic/country route back to home base. We didn’t seem to pass anything that looked too interesting. If I had planned better we would have ditched the car in Aix, stayed there a night, then went on to Marseille. Oh well! We made it nack to the airbnb and started packing up a little, then wandered the town a little, then went back to Le 5 for dinner. Since the weather was nice, we could eat on their beautiful terrace overlooking the vineyards, cherry trees, olive trees, and countryside. I had the seasonal risotto with asparagus and mushrooms and we split creme brulee.
Tomorrow it is off to our last stop, Marseille.
Today’s totals - still managed to get some decent walking in: 16,874 steps and 6.71 miles.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 14 - Roussillon, Apt, Lourmarin, etc. 5/23/18
Pictures HERE.
5:30pm: at the airbnb for a rest, partly because we finished the plan for today and partly because the skies opened again a while ago. The good news is that in the morning, skies were relatively blue, so we set out to go back to Roussillon and try to walk the ocre trail. The town was nice and quiet in the morning, and I was finally able to find a couple nice magnets. We were also having trouble finding somewhere to get breakfast and the lady sellig magnets told us where the town bakery was - naturally it was in the one place we hadn’t looked and right off the main square. We had amazing pastries filled with nutella and then set out for the ocre trail, which is a converted quarry. The walk/hike takes about a half hour (we did the short route) and the fact that it had rained may have helped the path not be so dusty and dirty. I am really glad we returned and gave it another shot. The town was more enjoyable early in the morning and the walk in the ocre was so beautiful.
At about 10:30 we set out for Apt, a little bit of a bigger town, which was cute enough to walk around for an hour but not much else. I bought some local strawberries and cherries that are really delicious. I don’t think I have mentioned it yet but there are cherry trees everywhere here and they are in season.
We then set off for Lourmarin, which is an adorable little town - in fact if I were to ever come back here I might stay in or near that town. The road to get there was pretty, hilly, and winding. We had lunch at Cafe de la Fontaine. I ordered the pork special of the day, which ended up to be an enourmous delicious pork chop served with delicious fries. We then wandered the town a bit and I bought a couple pieces of beautiful local family-made pottery that I did not need at all. It was pretty warm by this point and we had some delicious ice cream before walking over to the Chateau of the town, which was pretty cool.
After Lourmarin, we set off to head back towarrds home base. We passed through Bonnieuux, which seemed pretty unexciting, and intended to stop in Lacoste. It looked pretty small and steep and probably cute but after a couple minutes outside the car, it started raining and we decided to make the 10-minute drive back to Menerbes. The market here is tomorrow so accessing the town is a bit tough, but we found a good spot near the airbnb and will not be leaving for dinner tonight. Our restaurant options are dwindling!!
9:30pm: Back at the airbnb after dinner at Chez David, which is a pizzeria - we both needed a little change and as I have already mentioned, the options in town are not endless. Luckily, by the time we went to dinner, the skies had totally cleared up. I had a pizza with various vegetables and buffalo mozzarella - interestingly, the cheese was put on after it was cooked?? Anyway, it tasted good. We then walked around town, saw the sunset, and came back and had some fruit and chocolate for dessert.
Today’s totals: 20,950 steps and 8.33 miles.
5:30pm: at the airbnb for a rest, partly because we finished the plan for today and partly because the skies opened again a while ago. The good news is that in the morning, skies were relatively blue, so we set out to go back to Roussillon and try to walk the ocre trail. The town was nice and quiet in the morning, and I was finally able to find a couple nice magnets. We were also having trouble finding somewhere to get breakfast and the lady sellig magnets told us where the town bakery was - naturally it was in the one place we hadn’t looked and right off the main square. We had amazing pastries filled with nutella and then set out for the ocre trail, which is a converted quarry. The walk/hike takes about a half hour (we did the short route) and the fact that it had rained may have helped the path not be so dusty and dirty. I am really glad we returned and gave it another shot. The town was more enjoyable early in the morning and the walk in the ocre was so beautiful.
At about 10:30 we set out for Apt, a little bit of a bigger town, which was cute enough to walk around for an hour but not much else. I bought some local strawberries and cherries that are really delicious. I don’t think I have mentioned it yet but there are cherry trees everywhere here and they are in season.
We then set off for Lourmarin, which is an adorable little town - in fact if I were to ever come back here I might stay in or near that town. The road to get there was pretty, hilly, and winding. We had lunch at Cafe de la Fontaine. I ordered the pork special of the day, which ended up to be an enourmous delicious pork chop served with delicious fries. We then wandered the town a bit and I bought a couple pieces of beautiful local family-made pottery that I did not need at all. It was pretty warm by this point and we had some delicious ice cream before walking over to the Chateau of the town, which was pretty cool.
After Lourmarin, we set off to head back towarrds home base. We passed through Bonnieuux, which seemed pretty unexciting, and intended to stop in Lacoste. It looked pretty small and steep and probably cute but after a couple minutes outside the car, it started raining and we decided to make the 10-minute drive back to Menerbes. The market here is tomorrow so accessing the town is a bit tough, but we found a good spot near the airbnb and will not be leaving for dinner tonight. Our restaurant options are dwindling!!
9:30pm: Back at the airbnb after dinner at Chez David, which is a pizzeria - we both needed a little change and as I have already mentioned, the options in town are not endless. Luckily, by the time we went to dinner, the skies had totally cleared up. I had a pizza with various vegetables and buffalo mozzarella - interestingly, the cheese was put on after it was cooked?? Anyway, it tasted good. We then walked around town, saw the sunset, and came back and had some fruit and chocolate for dessert.
Today’s totals: 20,950 steps and 8.33 miles.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 13 - Too Many Towns to List 5/22/18
Managed to finish uploading yesterday’s pictures - they are HERE. Today’s pictures are HERE (I think most, if not all, of them uploaded!).
6:30pm: at the airbnb taking a rest while it pours buckets again outside. We got an early start today to hit the famed market at Vaison-la-Romaine. It was a little over an hour drive and we made it there before 8:30am and it is a good thing we did because parking was problematic. The market is as big as Uzès if not bigger, but it is a little more easily navigable because it's in the newer part of town. There is also an awful lot of crap to be found - I was amused by the French ladies digging through piles of crap clothes for stuff costing 3 euros and less. I bought some olives and strawberries and we found a chocolate shop and bought, you guessed it, chocolate, as well as a couple pastries for today. It was one of the most beautiful shops I have ever seen. We would have done another picnic, but the weather was too iffy.
There are Roman ruins in the town but you could see a lot of it from the street and we decided against the 9 euros entry fee. We then drove around and through a bunch of little towns, starting in Segueret, which is quaint and stony and pretty, but without much to see or do. We next went to Gigondas, known mostly for wine-making. Matt did some tastings and we wandered the little town then had lunch at Carré Gourmand, a little place in town with a funny waiter. We both had the salad, which had ham, tapenade, a cheese scone, tomatoes, etc. on it, plus this weird pork and spinach pate thing that was completely gross.
We next went to Goult, which is closer to where we are staying and was about an hour away through pretty roads. Goult was boring and we were not there long. Finally, we went to Oppède-le-Vieux, another old stony sort of ruined place without much life. We got back to Menerbes and got a bread at the bakery and had a great afternoon snack before relaxing, and that’s when the heavens opened. We are not sure what we’ll do for dinner since there are only 4 restaurants in town, and one is closed, we ate in one last night, and one doesn’t have anything good sounding on the menu....
9:00pm: back at the airbnb doing some laundry in the crazy washing machine (but, yay, washing machine! I have never had a trip to Europe where I have basically avoided hand-washing clothes) after a delicious dinner at Le Galoubet. It is a few steps from the airbnb and we had no trouble getting seated, which was really nice in this rain. I had “Daube de boeuf” a traditional local beef stew and we split creme brûlée for dessert. Another great French meal! And Matt didn’t hit his head today!
Today’s somewhat lighter totals: 16,165 steps and 6.43 miles.
6:30pm: at the airbnb taking a rest while it pours buckets again outside. We got an early start today to hit the famed market at Vaison-la-Romaine. It was a little over an hour drive and we made it there before 8:30am and it is a good thing we did because parking was problematic. The market is as big as Uzès if not bigger, but it is a little more easily navigable because it's in the newer part of town. There is also an awful lot of crap to be found - I was amused by the French ladies digging through piles of crap clothes for stuff costing 3 euros and less. I bought some olives and strawberries and we found a chocolate shop and bought, you guessed it, chocolate, as well as a couple pastries for today. It was one of the most beautiful shops I have ever seen. We would have done another picnic, but the weather was too iffy.
There are Roman ruins in the town but you could see a lot of it from the street and we decided against the 9 euros entry fee. We then drove around and through a bunch of little towns, starting in Segueret, which is quaint and stony and pretty, but without much to see or do. We next went to Gigondas, known mostly for wine-making. Matt did some tastings and we wandered the little town then had lunch at Carré Gourmand, a little place in town with a funny waiter. We both had the salad, which had ham, tapenade, a cheese scone, tomatoes, etc. on it, plus this weird pork and spinach pate thing that was completely gross.
We next went to Goult, which is closer to where we are staying and was about an hour away through pretty roads. Goult was boring and we were not there long. Finally, we went to Oppède-le-Vieux, another old stony sort of ruined place without much life. We got back to Menerbes and got a bread at the bakery and had a great afternoon snack before relaxing, and that’s when the heavens opened. We are not sure what we’ll do for dinner since there are only 4 restaurants in town, and one is closed, we ate in one last night, and one doesn’t have anything good sounding on the menu....
9:00pm: back at the airbnb doing some laundry in the crazy washing machine (but, yay, washing machine! I have never had a trip to Europe where I have basically avoided hand-washing clothes) after a delicious dinner at Le Galoubet. It is a few steps from the airbnb and we had no trouble getting seated, which was really nice in this rain. I had “Daube de boeuf” a traditional local beef stew and we split creme brûlée for dessert. Another great French meal! And Matt didn’t hit his head today!
Today’s somewhat lighter totals: 16,165 steps and 6.43 miles.
Monday, May 21, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 12 - Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Gordes, Roussillon, Menerbes, etc. 5/21/18
The internet connection at the airbnb here in Menerbes seems somewhat weak so pictures may be slow...
9:00pm: at our airbnb in Menerbes, a sleepy rocky little hilltop town in the Luberon region of Provence, where we will be for 4 nights. The airbnb is a cool little stone townhouse type of home right in the middle of town.
This morning, we set out from St. Remy around 9 and made it to a little town calle Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which apparently has a huge market but is otherwise a little sleepy. The church is supposed to be nice but it was closed, I think because of the Pentecost holiday stuff that has been going on all over the place here. There was also some kind of big biker convention leaving the main square, which is always interesting. The town is cute, winding around the Sorgue river with cute cafes and waterwheels. There was a bizarre Italian food and crafts fair going on as well.
Next, we went to Gordes, a small town perched on a hill. Google Maps took us some insane way around three hairpin turns and narrow streets, basically for no reason. We ultimately parked at the hospital and wandered around town, which was busy and felt touristy. Coming out of a shop that was down a few stairs with a low overhead, Matt conked his head again though thankfully not too badly. We will not be going into any more shops down stairs!! As an aside, the magnet scene in Provence has been seriously disappointing so far - everything I have seen has been imported from China.
We then had crepes for lunch at a cafe with a cute little terrace and then made our way to the next stop, Roussillon, which is known for ocre. The recommended parking lot was full so we parked a few minutes downhill. We started wandering around town a bit and were going to do a highly recommended walk through the ocre, and then it started to rain. Matt suggested going to a cafe to grab a drink and that was a great idea because a few minutes later it started DUMPIING, and I mean a legit thunder-and-lightning sideways-raining storm. We stayed at the cafe for a while and once it lightened up a little, we booked it down the few minutes’ walk to the car.
It was about a 20 minute drive to our stop, the little hilltop town of Menerbes. The house is on a narrow street in the center of town so we drove down a bit and found what looked like a parking spot (we will find out tomorrow morning if the car is still there, I guess!). We let ourselves in with the lockbox and took a bit of a rest. There is a washer here so we put on some laundry. I then went to the bakery a few steps away and got a couple cookies as a snack. We hung up the laundry (no dryer) and wandered town a bit. I had marked off one restaurant in town and we made a reservation for dinner. Thank goodness I speak some French! I am pretty sure we saw the whole town more or less in about an hour.
At 7 we went to Le 5 for dinner and were seated in the cave, literally downstairs in a cave. I had a slow-cooked beef and we had some rose wine, naturally, and it was delicious. I am not sure what we ate for dessert, but it was like a meringue cloud floating in some kind of cream with caramel and almonds and it was all very delicious. France is definitely not disappointing in the food department!
Tomorrow it will be an early day to see one of the region’s most famed markets, if the weather holds up......
Today’s totals: 19,527 steps and 7.8 miles.
9:00pm: at our airbnb in Menerbes, a sleepy rocky little hilltop town in the Luberon region of Provence, where we will be for 4 nights. The airbnb is a cool little stone townhouse type of home right in the middle of town.
This morning, we set out from St. Remy around 9 and made it to a little town calle Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which apparently has a huge market but is otherwise a little sleepy. The church is supposed to be nice but it was closed, I think because of the Pentecost holiday stuff that has been going on all over the place here. There was also some kind of big biker convention leaving the main square, which is always interesting. The town is cute, winding around the Sorgue river with cute cafes and waterwheels. There was a bizarre Italian food and crafts fair going on as well.
Next, we went to Gordes, a small town perched on a hill. Google Maps took us some insane way around three hairpin turns and narrow streets, basically for no reason. We ultimately parked at the hospital and wandered around town, which was busy and felt touristy. Coming out of a shop that was down a few stairs with a low overhead, Matt conked his head again though thankfully not too badly. We will not be going into any more shops down stairs!! As an aside, the magnet scene in Provence has been seriously disappointing so far - everything I have seen has been imported from China.
We then had crepes for lunch at a cafe with a cute little terrace and then made our way to the next stop, Roussillon, which is known for ocre. The recommended parking lot was full so we parked a few minutes downhill. We started wandering around town a bit and were going to do a highly recommended walk through the ocre, and then it started to rain. Matt suggested going to a cafe to grab a drink and that was a great idea because a few minutes later it started DUMPIING, and I mean a legit thunder-and-lightning sideways-raining storm. We stayed at the cafe for a while and once it lightened up a little, we booked it down the few minutes’ walk to the car.
It was about a 20 minute drive to our stop, the little hilltop town of Menerbes. The house is on a narrow street in the center of town so we drove down a bit and found what looked like a parking spot (we will find out tomorrow morning if the car is still there, I guess!). We let ourselves in with the lockbox and took a bit of a rest. There is a washer here so we put on some laundry. I then went to the bakery a few steps away and got a couple cookies as a snack. We hung up the laundry (no dryer) and wandered town a bit. I had marked off one restaurant in town and we made a reservation for dinner. Thank goodness I speak some French! I am pretty sure we saw the whole town more or less in about an hour.
At 7 we went to Le 5 for dinner and were seated in the cave, literally downstairs in a cave. I had a slow-cooked beef and we had some rose wine, naturally, and it was delicious. I am not sure what we ate for dessert, but it was like a meringue cloud floating in some kind of cream with caramel and almonds and it was all very delicious. France is definitely not disappointing in the food department!
Tomorrow it will be an early day to see one of the region’s most famed markets, if the weather holds up......
Today’s totals: 19,527 steps and 7.8 miles.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 11 - Avignon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, etc. 5/20/18
All of today's pictures are here!
9:00pm: at the b&b sipping some Moscato wine we bought yesterday at the uzes market after another long day. After a great night's sleep, we set out for Avignon, an important city because popes lived there for about a hundred years.
We wandered the market and town and visited the famous bridge, then visited the pope's palace. It is huge and imposing and you can tell it used to be gorgeous inside but a lot of it was damaged and now most of the rooms are austere and empty. There was a rose display going on with over thirty varieties of roses - you could even vote for your favorite. For lunch after visiting the palace, we went back to the market and got a rotisserie chicken and since potatoes and ate it with plastic forks because why not? It was also only 11.50€ for the whole thing.
Then we set off to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a little town most famous in Provence for red wine. Did a few tastings but not before Matt conked his head on a low overhead leaving the first winery (he's ok! We think?). After the wine tastings, came back to St. Remy and hit a cookie shop to buy more goodies (I think all I have bought on this trip is chocolate, basically) and then abck to the b&b for a rest before going to dinner.
I sure do appreciate that places here open at 7 more or less. We liked the menu of Bistro Decouverte. This is the sercond night in a row where the place had no written menu but the dishes of the day on a blackboard that they bring to you. I love it so much. I had a cherry tomato tarte tatin that was amazing and then good old steak and potatoes, done the amazing French way. Then we walked back to the b&b to enjoy the wine and relax before packing up.
Tomorrow it's off to our next stop in Provence, a little town off the tourist track in the Luberon part of the region!
Today's totals: 18,404 steps and 7.32 miles
9:00pm: at the b&b sipping some Moscato wine we bought yesterday at the uzes market after another long day. After a great night's sleep, we set out for Avignon, an important city because popes lived there for about a hundred years.
We wandered the market and town and visited the famous bridge, then visited the pope's palace. It is huge and imposing and you can tell it used to be gorgeous inside but a lot of it was damaged and now most of the rooms are austere and empty. There was a rose display going on with over thirty varieties of roses - you could even vote for your favorite. For lunch after visiting the palace, we went back to the market and got a rotisserie chicken and since potatoes and ate it with plastic forks because why not? It was also only 11.50€ for the whole thing.
Then we set off to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a little town most famous in Provence for red wine. Did a few tastings but not before Matt conked his head on a low overhead leaving the first winery (he's ok! We think?). After the wine tastings, came back to St. Remy and hit a cookie shop to buy more goodies (I think all I have bought on this trip is chocolate, basically) and then abck to the b&b for a rest before going to dinner.
I sure do appreciate that places here open at 7 more or less. We liked the menu of Bistro Decouverte. This is the sercond night in a row where the place had no written menu but the dishes of the day on a blackboard that they bring to you. I love it so much. I had a cherry tomato tarte tatin that was amazing and then good old steak and potatoes, done the amazing French way. Then we walked back to the b&b to enjoy the wine and relax before packing up.
Tomorrow it's off to our next stop in Provence, a little town off the tourist track in the Luberon part of the region!
Today's totals: 18,404 steps and 7.32 miles
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 10 - Uzes, Pont du Gard, etc. 5/19/18
All of today’s pictures and a couple of videos are here! Also make sure you look at the videos from yesterday from the Carrieres de Lumieres, which finally uploaded!
9:45pm: Back at the b&b after a day that wasn’t quite as long or strenuous as the prior ones. Went to breakfast right at 8:00 so we could eat and then make our way to Uzes, technically just outside the Provence region, for the market. It was busy but luckily we found a lot just outside the old center. We wandered in to the cute little town and immediately the craziness begins. The stalls line almost every street of the old town selling basically everything - any kind of food you can think of, but also clothing, books housewares, crafty things, etc. The scene is hard to describe properly. We spent some time perusing and making our way through the crowds. One particularly lively man let us taste his wines and we bought a bottle. We also decided to put a picnic together and picked up some salami, cheese, tomatoes, cherries, bread, olives, and tapenade, and a little knife of course. It was everything I thought and hoped the Provencal markets would be, if not more.
After a couple hours, we made it back to the car and stopped in a little town called Vers Pont Du Gard where we stopped at a little cafe and had a glass of wine. Mine was so sweet I could barely drink it. We then made it to the Pont du Gard right after noon. Parking was easy in the lot and we got our tickets and then headed to the other side of the river to picnic. The sight is a stunning huge three-level Roman aqueduct in particlarly good condition. We found a shady spot and enjoyed the delicious and cheap lunch. After roaming around a little more, we left and went to Chateau Romanin, a winery our waitress last night recommended. Right as we were driving through the property to the tasting room the skies opened and it started pouring. We went inside and tasted the wines and saw the cave and ought a bottle of rose for later.
After the winery, it was a short hop back to the b&b for a quick rest before dinner. Since the weather was still precarious, we decided to stay close and went to Cafe de la Place, right around the corner. I had some kind of ravioli gratin - I am still not sure what I had exactly, but it was full of veggies and tasted quite good, and I guess that is all that really matters! We wandered around town for a few minutes and then came back and drank the rose and had some of the chocolate I bought last night. Did I mention I bought more chocolate last night? Not that that would surprise anyone!
Today’s lighter walking totals: 15,127 steps and 6 miles.
9:45pm: Back at the b&b after a day that wasn’t quite as long or strenuous as the prior ones. Went to breakfast right at 8:00 so we could eat and then make our way to Uzes, technically just outside the Provence region, for the market. It was busy but luckily we found a lot just outside the old center. We wandered in to the cute little town and immediately the craziness begins. The stalls line almost every street of the old town selling basically everything - any kind of food you can think of, but also clothing, books housewares, crafty things, etc. The scene is hard to describe properly. We spent some time perusing and making our way through the crowds. One particularly lively man let us taste his wines and we bought a bottle. We also decided to put a picnic together and picked up some salami, cheese, tomatoes, cherries, bread, olives, and tapenade, and a little knife of course. It was everything I thought and hoped the Provencal markets would be, if not more.
After a couple hours, we made it back to the car and stopped in a little town called Vers Pont Du Gard where we stopped at a little cafe and had a glass of wine. Mine was so sweet I could barely drink it. We then made it to the Pont du Gard right after noon. Parking was easy in the lot and we got our tickets and then headed to the other side of the river to picnic. The sight is a stunning huge three-level Roman aqueduct in particlarly good condition. We found a shady spot and enjoyed the delicious and cheap lunch. After roaming around a little more, we left and went to Chateau Romanin, a winery our waitress last night recommended. Right as we were driving through the property to the tasting room the skies opened and it started pouring. We went inside and tasted the wines and saw the cave and ought a bottle of rose for later.
After the winery, it was a short hop back to the b&b for a quick rest before dinner. Since the weather was still precarious, we decided to stay close and went to Cafe de la Place, right around the corner. I had some kind of ravioli gratin - I am still not sure what I had exactly, but it was full of veggies and tasted quite good, and I guess that is all that really matters! We wandered around town for a few minutes and then came back and drank the rose and had some of the chocolate I bought last night. Did I mention I bought more chocolate last night? Not that that would surprise anyone!
Today’s lighter walking totals: 15,127 steps and 6 miles.
Friday, May 18, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 9 - Arles, Les Baux, and more! 5/18/18
Lots of pictures and some videos from the awesome Carrieres de Lumieres (when they upload) are here!!
9:30pm: back at the B&B after an early dinner and long day. The plan was originally to go to Uzes and a Roman aqueduct today and have a bit of a shorter day, but at breakfast the B&B owner said the Saturday market in Uzes is one of the best, so we decided to switch up itineraries. Breakfast was a fine selection of s couple baked goods, OJ, coffee, etc.
Then we set off for Arles and after an easy drive, arrived shortly after 9 and parked in the main garage. We walked around the quaint town and saw Roman sights like an arena, amphitheatre, and baths. At around noon we were in a little less touristy neighborhood and wanted lunch and stumbled upon a place advertising homemade bread and sandwiches for 6 euros. It is a tiny place with one guy making bread on a griddle and he has 3 sandwich options. We each had the one with pork, cheese, fried potato sticks, etc. They were amazing and the guy who was behind the counter making everything was hilarious, making pig sounds to tell us the sandwich had pork in it. He was super nice and also knew everyone else coming into the shop. What a find! Unfortunately we cannot find the name of the place but it was on Rue de Porcelet. Across the street, there was a beautiful produce market and I bought a basket of delicious local strawberries.
We then set off for Les Baux, a touristy medieval town on a hill that reminds me of many I have been to before. We parked on the side of the road and walked up throgh the town to the amazing castle ruins at the top, then wandered back down through town, got some sorbet, and drove down the hill to the incredible Carrieres de Lumieres, an old quarry where they project light and music shows. We saw the main show about Picasso and Spanish painters, then one about pop culture. What an experience!
On the way back to St. Remy we stopped at Calanquet, a local olive producer, and bought some tins of oil special to this region. Came back to the B&B for a quick break and then set out for dinner at La Cuisine des Anges, in the center of town. We had an appetizer of cheese fondue and I had a main course special of the day of seasonal artichokes with bacon and sausage and veggies, and then we split a molten cake for dessert. Another delicious meal and I do appreciate that the French eat at 7-7:30!
I feel like now is an appropriate time to comment on how truly lovely the French people have been so far, with the exception of the waitress at lunch yesterday. They do seem to appreciate a little effort in terms of the language but have been a joy to talk to so far!
Today’s totals were more than expected: 20,495 steps and 8.05 miles.
9:30pm: back at the B&B after an early dinner and long day. The plan was originally to go to Uzes and a Roman aqueduct today and have a bit of a shorter day, but at breakfast the B&B owner said the Saturday market in Uzes is one of the best, so we decided to switch up itineraries. Breakfast was a fine selection of s couple baked goods, OJ, coffee, etc.
Then we set off for Arles and after an easy drive, arrived shortly after 9 and parked in the main garage. We walked around the quaint town and saw Roman sights like an arena, amphitheatre, and baths. At around noon we were in a little less touristy neighborhood and wanted lunch and stumbled upon a place advertising homemade bread and sandwiches for 6 euros. It is a tiny place with one guy making bread on a griddle and he has 3 sandwich options. We each had the one with pork, cheese, fried potato sticks, etc. They were amazing and the guy who was behind the counter making everything was hilarious, making pig sounds to tell us the sandwich had pork in it. He was super nice and also knew everyone else coming into the shop. What a find! Unfortunately we cannot find the name of the place but it was on Rue de Porcelet. Across the street, there was a beautiful produce market and I bought a basket of delicious local strawberries.
We then set off for Les Baux, a touristy medieval town on a hill that reminds me of many I have been to before. We parked on the side of the road and walked up throgh the town to the amazing castle ruins at the top, then wandered back down through town, got some sorbet, and drove down the hill to the incredible Carrieres de Lumieres, an old quarry where they project light and music shows. We saw the main show about Picasso and Spanish painters, then one about pop culture. What an experience!
On the way back to St. Remy we stopped at Calanquet, a local olive producer, and bought some tins of oil special to this region. Came back to the B&B for a quick break and then set out for dinner at La Cuisine des Anges, in the center of town. We had an appetizer of cheese fondue and I had a main course special of the day of seasonal artichokes with bacon and sausage and veggies, and then we split a molten cake for dessert. Another delicious meal and I do appreciate that the French eat at 7-7:30!
I feel like now is an appropriate time to comment on how truly lovely the French people have been so far, with the exception of the waitress at lunch yesterday. They do seem to appreciate a little effort in terms of the language but have been a joy to talk to so far!
Today’s totals were more than expected: 20,495 steps and 8.05 miles.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Catalonia & Provence - Day 8 - Nimes, St. Remy, a train ride, and more! 5/17/18
All of today’s pictures are here!
10:00pm: at the B&B in St. Remy-de-Provence, France after another long day. Left the hotel in Girona a little before 8 then had to trek over out of the old town to get a taxi to the station. We then caught the 9:06 train from Girona to Nimes, France. The first stop across the border was Perpignan and in our coach something was going on with four police officers wanting to see someone’s documents - yikes!
Anyway, we arrived in Nimes right on time around noon and found the Hertz rental office. Everything went smoothly there and we are tootling around Provence in a Toyota hybrid crossover! Luuckily the car was parked in a garage and she gave us a ticket to get out of the parking so we could put our bags in the car then see the town for a while - that was super convenient, especially considering we then found out that the city had a festival starting today. Unortunately that meant that the main arena - a very well-preserved Roman amphitheatre - was closed for bull fights. It also meant parking around the city was more difficult than usual. We found lunch on a busy little square - it was nothing special but it was a plate of chicken or steak with fries, veggies, etc. for about 11 euros. The waitress was a bit rude and corrected my French grammar. Like, really? Way to live up to stereotypes. I have a feeling I will be calling to as much French as I can possibly remember!
Anyway after lunch we wandered a bit and saw a few of the sights in the town, including another well-preserved building, an ancient Roman house, as well as a 1st-century temple and a fountain garden. We ended up leaving town a little after 3:00pm, earlier than intended. Turned the data on on my internatioanl hopne and luckily had no problems with the navigation to the B&B in St. Remy, our base for 4 days. We arrived at about 4:15 and naturally the owners were not here because I had told them we would arrive at 6-7pm. So we found a parking spot around the corner and wandered town for about an hour. It is pretty cute and classy. At about 5:30 we returned and met our lovely hosts. The B&B is really their home with two guest rooms, a pretty little garden, some parking spots, and that is about it. But it is also a two minute or so walk into town. After checking in, we made a dinner reservation and took a quick break before having dinner at highly-recommended L’Aile ou la Cuisse. We both had a chicken dish which looked lile a little game hen but was a baby chicken of some kind. It came with incredible mashed potatoes and we indoctrinated ourselves into the local rose wine. For dessert, you go up to the window and pick what you want and they serve it. I chose a cake/biscuit of some kind in two layers filled with a chocolate cream. To say it was incredible is an understatement. The waiter was also lovely and shook our hands on the way out.
We then came back to the B&B and it was still light out so we took some pastries we had bought earlier and ate a second dessert in the B&B’s garden.
Today’s totals: 19,354 steps and 7.7 miles - I expect it will decrease from now on.
10:00pm: at the B&B in St. Remy-de-Provence, France after another long day. Left the hotel in Girona a little before 8 then had to trek over out of the old town to get a taxi to the station. We then caught the 9:06 train from Girona to Nimes, France. The first stop across the border was Perpignan and in our coach something was going on with four police officers wanting to see someone’s documents - yikes!
Anyway, we arrived in Nimes right on time around noon and found the Hertz rental office. Everything went smoothly there and we are tootling around Provence in a Toyota hybrid crossover! Luuckily the car was parked in a garage and she gave us a ticket to get out of the parking so we could put our bags in the car then see the town for a while - that was super convenient, especially considering we then found out that the city had a festival starting today. Unortunately that meant that the main arena - a very well-preserved Roman amphitheatre - was closed for bull fights. It also meant parking around the city was more difficult than usual. We found lunch on a busy little square - it was nothing special but it was a plate of chicken or steak with fries, veggies, etc. for about 11 euros. The waitress was a bit rude and corrected my French grammar. Like, really? Way to live up to stereotypes. I have a feeling I will be calling to as much French as I can possibly remember!
Anyway after lunch we wandered a bit and saw a few of the sights in the town, including another well-preserved building, an ancient Roman house, as well as a 1st-century temple and a fountain garden. We ended up leaving town a little after 3:00pm, earlier than intended. Turned the data on on my internatioanl hopne and luckily had no problems with the navigation to the B&B in St. Remy, our base for 4 days. We arrived at about 4:15 and naturally the owners were not here because I had told them we would arrive at 6-7pm. So we found a parking spot around the corner and wandered town for about an hour. It is pretty cute and classy. At about 5:30 we returned and met our lovely hosts. The B&B is really their home with two guest rooms, a pretty little garden, some parking spots, and that is about it. But it is also a two minute or so walk into town. After checking in, we made a dinner reservation and took a quick break before having dinner at highly-recommended L’Aile ou la Cuisse. We both had a chicken dish which looked lile a little game hen but was a baby chicken of some kind. It came with incredible mashed potatoes and we indoctrinated ourselves into the local rose wine. For dessert, you go up to the window and pick what you want and they serve it. I chose a cake/biscuit of some kind in two layers filled with a chocolate cream. To say it was incredible is an understatement. The waiter was also lovely and shook our hands on the way out.
We then came back to the B&B and it was still light out so we took some pastries we had bought earlier and ate a second dessert in the B&B’s garden.
Today’s totals: 19,354 steps and 7.7 miles - I expect it will decrease from now on.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 7 - Girona & Besalu 5/16/18
Pictures are here!
6:00pm: Back at the hotel for a bit of a rest after a long morning. Set out a little before 9am after finally getting a solid 8 hours of sleep (despite the cathedral bells going off all night, particularly when I heard then at 4am), had breakfast at Artusia, one of the only places open in Girona before 9 (and as a result, a very busy place!), then walked over to the train/bus station and got our bus tickets for Besalu, a nearby medieval town. As anyone who has read this blog in the past may know, most of my travel mishaps have happened on day bus trips so I am extra cautious with them. Got an extra cup of coffee at the station and caught the 10:10 bus to Besalu, which got us there about 11. To say I made special note about where to get the return bus is an understatement.
We wandered around the little old town for a while, which was nice as it was about 100 times quieter than Girona. There is a famous bridge and even some old jewish stuff. Had lunch at a traditional place on one of the squares - I finally had my tapas of garlic mushrooms and inadvertently found some chicken wings too! We caught the 2pm bus back to Girona and got off at a closer stop. We stopped and got a package of jamon for a final taste and quickly came back for a breather before wandering the high part of town and the old city walls for about an hour. When we came back we had a lovely snack of cava, the jamon, cherries, and some cookies I bought in Barcelona!
10:00pm: Back from a stroll around town and an interesting dinner at Le Bistrot. When I first looked at the menu, I wondered why all they had was a French menu. It looked a little different from most of the other places we had eaten at previously or looked at fro tonight so we decided to give it a try and it turns out I had even flagged it on my map. I ultimately determined that, duh, the menu was in Catalan and not French. Impressively, considering it is in the middle of a little touristy town, they had no menus in any other languages. I had a “pizza,” which was more like a toast, of a slice of bread toasted and covered with ham, cheese, and mushrooms. I cannot even describe Matt’s dish that was similar but also had weird meat and pasta sheets on it? As in, lasagna on toast?
Before dinner, we encountered some kind of Catalan independence protest, or something related to the political prisoners that we have seen all over the region. So that was an interesting way to finish our time in Spain. After dinner, I really wanted some kind of dessert or pastry but all of those places seem to close early. Oh well, I’m sure I will have my fill of patisserie in France!
Speaking of which, tomorrow it’s adios Espana and bonjour la France! I wonder how much of my high school and college French I will be able to remember?!
Today’s totals for what may be our final really heavy walking day: 20,001 steps and 7.96 miles!
6:00pm: Back at the hotel for a bit of a rest after a long morning. Set out a little before 9am after finally getting a solid 8 hours of sleep (despite the cathedral bells going off all night, particularly when I heard then at 4am), had breakfast at Artusia, one of the only places open in Girona before 9 (and as a result, a very busy place!), then walked over to the train/bus station and got our bus tickets for Besalu, a nearby medieval town. As anyone who has read this blog in the past may know, most of my travel mishaps have happened on day bus trips so I am extra cautious with them. Got an extra cup of coffee at the station and caught the 10:10 bus to Besalu, which got us there about 11. To say I made special note about where to get the return bus is an understatement.
We wandered around the little old town for a while, which was nice as it was about 100 times quieter than Girona. There is a famous bridge and even some old jewish stuff. Had lunch at a traditional place on one of the squares - I finally had my tapas of garlic mushrooms and inadvertently found some chicken wings too! We caught the 2pm bus back to Girona and got off at a closer stop. We stopped and got a package of jamon for a final taste and quickly came back for a breather before wandering the high part of town and the old city walls for about an hour. When we came back we had a lovely snack of cava, the jamon, cherries, and some cookies I bought in Barcelona!
10:00pm: Back from a stroll around town and an interesting dinner at Le Bistrot. When I first looked at the menu, I wondered why all they had was a French menu. It looked a little different from most of the other places we had eaten at previously or looked at fro tonight so we decided to give it a try and it turns out I had even flagged it on my map. I ultimately determined that, duh, the menu was in Catalan and not French. Impressively, considering it is in the middle of a little touristy town, they had no menus in any other languages. I had a “pizza,” which was more like a toast, of a slice of bread toasted and covered with ham, cheese, and mushrooms. I cannot even describe Matt’s dish that was similar but also had weird meat and pasta sheets on it? As in, lasagna on toast?
Before dinner, we encountered some kind of Catalan independence protest, or something related to the political prisoners that we have seen all over the region. So that was an interesting way to finish our time in Spain. After dinner, I really wanted some kind of dessert or pastry but all of those places seem to close early. Oh well, I’m sure I will have my fill of patisserie in France!
Speaking of which, tomorrow it’s adios Espana and bonjour la France! I wonder how much of my high school and college French I will be able to remember?!
Today’s totals for what may be our final really heavy walking day: 20,001 steps and 7.96 miles!
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 6 - Girona 5/15/18
Lots and lots of pictures (mostly of interesting floral installations so if that is not your thing maybe don’t click?) are HERE!
6:00pm: back to the hotel for a quick break before an 8:00pm reservation in Girona. Got out of the airbnb early in Barcelona and took the green metro line to the station. There is security and ticket-checkin in Spain’s train stations so it was good we left plenty of time.
We arrived in Girona on the fast train in just over a half hour and took a aquick taxi up into the old town to the hotel. The room wasn’t ready yet but we left our bags and set around town. The flower festival is going on and there are crazy floral installations all around the city, on the streets, in churches and museums, etc. All the museums have free entry so we wandered around in and out of things, including the Jewish history museum, which was pretty interesting. The city is crazy insanely busy - presumably because of this festival. I am hoping it empties out a bit in the evening and that most of the people are here on tours/day trips. We were getting a little hangry since we had breakfast so early and most of the better places do not seem to serve lunch until at least 1:00pm so we found Tony’s, a bit more touristy but more than adequate. We had a meat and cheese plate, olives, tomato bread, cheese croquettes, and patatas bravas. We then trekked, and I mean trekked, uphill to the hotel and checked in. The room is sparse and definitely in need of refurbishment, but its location right by the cathedral is great, it has a fridge, and it is big.
After a quick rest, we made it to the Arab Baths, which are one of the most important sights in the city, and were also totally decorated in flowers with free entrance. There was still a line but it moved quickly. We then wandered around a bit, hit the ATM, made a dinner reservation tonight at a typical local restaurant, and sat down for a glass of cava. I wanted to get an ice cream at the same place in Barcelona we went a couple times, but the line was Salt & Straw long and who needs that. And now it’s time for a pre-dinner rest!
10:30pm: Back from a simple, traditional Catalan dinner at Casa Marieta. They actually had salad on the menu and I took that opportunity to consume some raw vegetables! I also had roast chicken and we split a 12 euro bottle of the house cava with their own label on it. We then got ice cream one more time at Rocambloesc, which is based here and had no line at 9:30pm. The town was generally very quiet tonight and that was a relief. We took some nighttime pictures of the lit flowers at the cathedral and then came back for an early-ish night after a long day!
Today’s totals: 22,375 steps and 8.9 miles, and a lot of “active minutes!”
6:00pm: back to the hotel for a quick break before an 8:00pm reservation in Girona. Got out of the airbnb early in Barcelona and took the green metro line to the station. There is security and ticket-checkin in Spain’s train stations so it was good we left plenty of time.
We arrived in Girona on the fast train in just over a half hour and took a aquick taxi up into the old town to the hotel. The room wasn’t ready yet but we left our bags and set around town. The flower festival is going on and there are crazy floral installations all around the city, on the streets, in churches and museums, etc. All the museums have free entry so we wandered around in and out of things, including the Jewish history museum, which was pretty interesting. The city is crazy insanely busy - presumably because of this festival. I am hoping it empties out a bit in the evening and that most of the people are here on tours/day trips. We were getting a little hangry since we had breakfast so early and most of the better places do not seem to serve lunch until at least 1:00pm so we found Tony’s, a bit more touristy but more than adequate. We had a meat and cheese plate, olives, tomato bread, cheese croquettes, and patatas bravas. We then trekked, and I mean trekked, uphill to the hotel and checked in. The room is sparse and definitely in need of refurbishment, but its location right by the cathedral is great, it has a fridge, and it is big.
After a quick rest, we made it to the Arab Baths, which are one of the most important sights in the city, and were also totally decorated in flowers with free entrance. There was still a line but it moved quickly. We then wandered around a bit, hit the ATM, made a dinner reservation tonight at a typical local restaurant, and sat down for a glass of cava. I wanted to get an ice cream at the same place in Barcelona we went a couple times, but the line was Salt & Straw long and who needs that. And now it’s time for a pre-dinner rest!
10:30pm: Back from a simple, traditional Catalan dinner at Casa Marieta. They actually had salad on the menu and I took that opportunity to consume some raw vegetables! I also had roast chicken and we split a 12 euro bottle of the house cava with their own label on it. We then got ice cream one more time at Rocambloesc, which is based here and had no line at 9:30pm. The town was generally very quiet tonight and that was a relief. We took some nighttime pictures of the lit flowers at the cathedral and then came back for an early-ish night after a long day!
Today’s totals: 22,375 steps and 8.9 miles, and a lot of “active minutes!”
Monday, May 14, 2018
Catalonia & Provence - Day 5 - Barcelona 5/14/18
All of today’s pictures are here!
6:00pm: Back at the airbnb for a rest and to do laundry and some packing before an early dinner reservation at Canete, which I have read much about, and more packing since we move on to Girona early tomorrow morning.
Started the morning at good old Satan’s Coffee for a delious flat white, then we went to Dulcinea, one more chocolate and churro spot. I think their hot chocolate was the best of the ones we had but since they make their hot chocolate with water rather than milk, I have to be honest that it all tastes, well, watery to me.
After breakfast we wandered into the Cathedral and then made it over to the Born district and the Santa Caterina market, which pales in comparison to the Boqueria. I did manage to spend all of 90 cents on some of my favorite arbequina olives. We then went to the chocolate museum, where your ticket is a chocolate bar with a QR code on it, naturally. The museum goes through the history of chocolate making and is full of chocolate sculptures. The whole place smells amazing.
After the chocolate museum, we wandered around the Born district, which has a lot of cute shops and cafes and the Santa Maria del Mar church. We had an amazing mascarpone croissant at Hoffmann pastry shop, supposedly one of the best in the city. At some point, I slipped on some grease and fell on my behind (and left knee) in the middle of a street, so that was fun. We had a delicious lunch of jamon, fried asparagus, croquettes, olives, and potatoes. I bought some clothes and came back to the airbnb to change and we put on a laundry.
We then took the metro to the beach and wandered a bit and then back through the pretty City Park before taking the metro back to Place Catalunya, where we walke down and got some fruit at the Boqueria before returning to the airbnb.
9:15pm: back at the airbnb after an incredible dinner at Bar Canete. I had read amazing things about it in numerous places and was able to get a 6:45 reservation, which was early, but it was all they had and it worked out well since there is much packing to do tonight. We had a veritable feast of a bottle of cava, tomato bread, burrata, suckling pig, steak, and desserts of molten chocolate cake and crema catalana (basically creme brulee). It was not a cheap meal but at a little over 100 euros for all of that plus a great experience of sitting at the bar while they make all the food seems rather reasonable!
Luckily we had a washer and dryer here and did two loads of laundry, and tomorrow will set off early for a quick train ride to Girona!
Today’s totals: 24,566 steps, 9.77 miles, and one badly bruised knee :(
6:00pm: Back at the airbnb for a rest and to do laundry and some packing before an early dinner reservation at Canete, which I have read much about, and more packing since we move on to Girona early tomorrow morning.
Started the morning at good old Satan’s Coffee for a delious flat white, then we went to Dulcinea, one more chocolate and churro spot. I think their hot chocolate was the best of the ones we had but since they make their hot chocolate with water rather than milk, I have to be honest that it all tastes, well, watery to me.
After breakfast we wandered into the Cathedral and then made it over to the Born district and the Santa Caterina market, which pales in comparison to the Boqueria. I did manage to spend all of 90 cents on some of my favorite arbequina olives. We then went to the chocolate museum, where your ticket is a chocolate bar with a QR code on it, naturally. The museum goes through the history of chocolate making and is full of chocolate sculptures. The whole place smells amazing.
After the chocolate museum, we wandered around the Born district, which has a lot of cute shops and cafes and the Santa Maria del Mar church. We had an amazing mascarpone croissant at Hoffmann pastry shop, supposedly one of the best in the city. At some point, I slipped on some grease and fell on my behind (and left knee) in the middle of a street, so that was fun. We had a delicious lunch of jamon, fried asparagus, croquettes, olives, and potatoes. I bought some clothes and came back to the airbnb to change and we put on a laundry.
We then took the metro to the beach and wandered a bit and then back through the pretty City Park before taking the metro back to Place Catalunya, where we walke down and got some fruit at the Boqueria before returning to the airbnb.
9:15pm: back at the airbnb after an incredible dinner at Bar Canete. I had read amazing things about it in numerous places and was able to get a 6:45 reservation, which was early, but it was all they had and it worked out well since there is much packing to do tonight. We had a veritable feast of a bottle of cava, tomato bread, burrata, suckling pig, steak, and desserts of molten chocolate cake and crema catalana (basically creme brulee). It was not a cheap meal but at a little over 100 euros for all of that plus a great experience of sitting at the bar while they make all the food seems rather reasonable!
Luckily we had a washer and dryer here and did two loads of laundry, and tomorrow will set off early for a quick train ride to Girona!
Today’s totals: 24,566 steps, 9.77 miles, and one badly bruised knee :(
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Catalonia & Provence Day 4 - Barcelona & Tarragona 5/13/18
Pictures here!
5:00pm - back at the airbnb for a rest after a fun day trip to nearby Tarragona. We set off around 8 and got churros and chocolate from Xurreria San Roman and they were better than the ones from the other day - fresher. Caught the metro at Jaume I and went to Passeig de Gracia where I realized a stop on a line closer to us would have been more convenient - whoops!
Caught the 9:26 regional train to Tarragona that got us there just after 10:30. We found the ancient Roman amphitheatre built almost right on the water but it appeared to be closed for some special event. Instead, we went to the historical museum, which was less museum and more empty ancient ruins. After that, we started wandering around the cute little old town and into the cathedral, which hilariously had wifi. We were having trouble finding an open interesting-looking restaurant and on the church wifi I yelped called Espaivi. It was a couple minutes away and we had an awesone lunch on a cute little square of steak, incredible burrata, and the traditional bread with tomatoes, except they provided all the ingredients (bread, whole tomatoes, a clove of garlic, salt, and olive oil), and you make it yourself.
Meandered back down through the old town where I bought a little handmade mug and saucer set and made it back to the train station where we caught a 2:55pm train back to Barcelona, then the more convenient subway line back to the airbnb (which is good because it was drizzling) but not before a stop at Rocambolsec, a gelato shop owned by a famous pastry chef in Catalonia!
10:45pm: back at the airbnb after a multi-stop evening adventure. Before we went out for dinner there was some kind of police raid either in this building or in a nearby building. Wandered the ramblas and into the Raval neighborhood a bit.- that is apparently the “rough” and “colorful” part of town and we maybe were not at the right part, but it was not exciting. Made it to the bottom of the Ramblas and found Tasca Corral, a northern spanish tapas bar, where we had flaming chorizo and manchego cheese. We then wandered around looking for a little more food. A couple places were busy and we stumbled upon Rasoterra and thought, hey this looks different! We go in to find out it is a slow-food, all local, vegetarian restaurant. We had olives and homemade pasta with saffron and tomatoes, and artichokes stuffed with nuts, and they gave us little glasses of almond gazpacho as a little starter. Finally went to a craft beer place and I had a lambic sangria, which was also delicious, before making it back to the airbnb.
Tomorrow is the last day in Barcelona and lots of wandering, eating, and shopping is planned!
Today’s walking totals: 20,071 steps and 7.98 miles
5:00pm - back at the airbnb for a rest after a fun day trip to nearby Tarragona. We set off around 8 and got churros and chocolate from Xurreria San Roman and they were better than the ones from the other day - fresher. Caught the metro at Jaume I and went to Passeig de Gracia where I realized a stop on a line closer to us would have been more convenient - whoops!
Caught the 9:26 regional train to Tarragona that got us there just after 10:30. We found the ancient Roman amphitheatre built almost right on the water but it appeared to be closed for some special event. Instead, we went to the historical museum, which was less museum and more empty ancient ruins. After that, we started wandering around the cute little old town and into the cathedral, which hilariously had wifi. We were having trouble finding an open interesting-looking restaurant and on the church wifi I yelped called Espaivi. It was a couple minutes away and we had an awesone lunch on a cute little square of steak, incredible burrata, and the traditional bread with tomatoes, except they provided all the ingredients (bread, whole tomatoes, a clove of garlic, salt, and olive oil), and you make it yourself.
Meandered back down through the old town where I bought a little handmade mug and saucer set and made it back to the train station where we caught a 2:55pm train back to Barcelona, then the more convenient subway line back to the airbnb (which is good because it was drizzling) but not before a stop at Rocambolsec, a gelato shop owned by a famous pastry chef in Catalonia!
10:45pm: back at the airbnb after a multi-stop evening adventure. Before we went out for dinner there was some kind of police raid either in this building or in a nearby building. Wandered the ramblas and into the Raval neighborhood a bit.- that is apparently the “rough” and “colorful” part of town and we maybe were not at the right part, but it was not exciting. Made it to the bottom of the Ramblas and found Tasca Corral, a northern spanish tapas bar, where we had flaming chorizo and manchego cheese. We then wandered around looking for a little more food. A couple places were busy and we stumbled upon Rasoterra and thought, hey this looks different! We go in to find out it is a slow-food, all local, vegetarian restaurant. We had olives and homemade pasta with saffron and tomatoes, and artichokes stuffed with nuts, and they gave us little glasses of almond gazpacho as a little starter. Finally went to a craft beer place and I had a lambic sangria, which was also delicious, before making it back to the airbnb.
Tomorrow is the last day in Barcelona and lots of wandering, eating, and shopping is planned!
Today’s walking totals: 20,071 steps and 7.98 miles
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Catalonia & Provence - Day 3 - Barcelona 5/12/18
For some reason my post from yesterday didn't feed to my social media. The link is here and the many pictures as videos are here. All of today’s many pictures are here (but if you are not interested in Gaudi architecture, these pictures are not for you).
3:30pm: sitting in the cafe at La Pedrera, the third and final Gaudi stop today to rest before going into the house. Got a terrible night sleep because some jerk in the building had a party all night long. Set off for the Sagrada Familia around 8. Had to take two subway lines to get there and then found a bakery that took forever but we were able to get a quick breakfast before visiting the church, which I'd inexplicably skipped last time I was here. It's truly incredible, despite the million (or two hundred, whatever) circular stairs down from the towers. After visiting the church, and its shop of course, we wandered through the Eixample district to one of the main streets. We found tapas 24, a place I'd read much about, and got a coffee before their tapas service started at 12:30. For lunch we got some kind of ham, cheese, truffle sandwich, olives, traditional local bread with tomato, and fideos, which is like paella but with local noodles and sausage. For everything it was about 40 euros, which seems quite reasonable considering the quality.
Then I found cacao sampaka, a fancy chocolate store, and spent all my money. Bought a little more chocolate in yet another store and then we went to the first Gaudi house, casa battlo, which is as wild as one would expect from Gaudi. Bought some earrings in the gift shop and here we are with some down time before the second house.
6:45pm - back at the airbnb for a break before what I think will be an early dinner. We went into Casa Mila early because we are tired and it was starting to rain - they let us in early and it is a good thing because the rooftop terrace is the best thing about this house and they close it in the rain. And that is probably a good thing because it was a little treacherous already. Took the metro back to the airbnb and i wandered around a little bit and bought a handmade necklace (the guy in the shop had to call and ask his mom how much it was), and some more chocolate. I have a problem, ok?
10:15: back at the airbnb after dinner at Bar Brutal in the Born district, which was basically ham on top of pork on top of more pork product, but it was delicious. We ended up there after trying a few places I had written down and by 8pm they were already packed, maybe because it’s Saturday? After dinner just wandered around some and made it back for the earely night.
Today’s walking totals: 19,607 steps, “only” 7.8 miles.
3:30pm: sitting in the cafe at La Pedrera, the third and final Gaudi stop today to rest before going into the house. Got a terrible night sleep because some jerk in the building had a party all night long. Set off for the Sagrada Familia around 8. Had to take two subway lines to get there and then found a bakery that took forever but we were able to get a quick breakfast before visiting the church, which I'd inexplicably skipped last time I was here. It's truly incredible, despite the million (or two hundred, whatever) circular stairs down from the towers. After visiting the church, and its shop of course, we wandered through the Eixample district to one of the main streets. We found tapas 24, a place I'd read much about, and got a coffee before their tapas service started at 12:30. For lunch we got some kind of ham, cheese, truffle sandwich, olives, traditional local bread with tomato, and fideos, which is like paella but with local noodles and sausage. For everything it was about 40 euros, which seems quite reasonable considering the quality.
Then I found cacao sampaka, a fancy chocolate store, and spent all my money. Bought a little more chocolate in yet another store and then we went to the first Gaudi house, casa battlo, which is as wild as one would expect from Gaudi. Bought some earrings in the gift shop and here we are with some down time before the second house.
6:45pm - back at the airbnb for a break before what I think will be an early dinner. We went into Casa Mila early because we are tired and it was starting to rain - they let us in early and it is a good thing because the rooftop terrace is the best thing about this house and they close it in the rain. And that is probably a good thing because it was a little treacherous already. Took the metro back to the airbnb and i wandered around a little bit and bought a handmade necklace (the guy in the shop had to call and ask his mom how much it was), and some more chocolate. I have a problem, ok?
10:15: back at the airbnb after dinner at Bar Brutal in the Born district, which was basically ham on top of pork on top of more pork product, but it was delicious. We ended up there after trying a few places I had written down and by 8pm they were already packed, maybe because it’s Saturday? After dinner just wandered around some and made it back for the earely night.
Today’s walking totals: 19,607 steps, “only” 7.8 miles.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Catalonia & Provence - Day 2 - Barcelona 5/11/18
4:45pm - Back at the aiarbnb after a busy day with absolutely beautiful weather. Started the day by stopping at Satan’s Coffee Corner for some awewsome hipstesr coffee and then went to the incredible Boqueria market to look around and get some fruit. Then we went to La Pallaresa for equally aweseome churros and hot chocolate. Apparently that is chocolate street and there are more places to try.
Realized I forgot tickets for something we would need later and we went back to the airbnb but not after Matt was gouged for 28 euros on sunscreen! Then we wandered a bit more and found our free walking tour, which went all around the Gothic Quarter and provided history and context. The guide Fran had more energy than possibly anyone I have ever seen. After the tour, which ended arouond 1:30, we found a tapas place for lunch and set off to the Catalan music palace, which is a modernist masterpiece built in the early 1900s. Did their guided tour and checked out a little artesans’ market, though there was nothing really to buy.
Midnight - back at the airbnb after a great evening of awesome ice cream at rocamblosec, fun at the Magic fountains full of people watching and break dancers, and an awesome lit fountain show set to mucic. After the fountains, we walked to the Poble Sec area to Blai street, which is full of tapas bars. I had noted a few good places, which we either could not find or were too busy to bother with, but still had some drinks and cheap little tapas, before taking the metro back here. It is late, so pictures tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, let’s call it Gaudi Day, so get readaay for lots of modernist stuff! Sorry today’s entry was so short!
Oh and today's totals: 25973 steps and 10.33 miles!
Realized I forgot tickets for something we would need later and we went back to the airbnb but not after Matt was gouged for 28 euros on sunscreen! Then we wandered a bit more and found our free walking tour, which went all around the Gothic Quarter and provided history and context. The guide Fran had more energy than possibly anyone I have ever seen. After the tour, which ended arouond 1:30, we found a tapas place for lunch and set off to the Catalan music palace, which is a modernist masterpiece built in the early 1900s. Did their guided tour and checked out a little artesans’ market, though there was nothing really to buy.
Midnight - back at the airbnb after a great evening of awesome ice cream at rocamblosec, fun at the Magic fountains full of people watching and break dancers, and an awesome lit fountain show set to mucic. After the fountains, we walked to the Poble Sec area to Blai street, which is full of tapas bars. I had noted a few good places, which we either could not find or were too busy to bother with, but still had some drinks and cheap little tapas, before taking the metro back here. It is late, so pictures tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, let’s call it Gaudi Day, so get readaay for lots of modernist stuff! Sorry today’s entry was so short!
Oh and today's totals: 25973 steps and 10.33 miles!
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Here we go again!
A few pictures are here
4:00 or so Spain time: Well, here we go again.... Currently most of the way through a 12 hour direct flight from LA to Barcelona to start another journey. It seems Google did not update the Blogger app to new iOS standards so this will be a little challenging, but we’ll make it work.
In case it wasn’t clear already, this adventure will start in Barcelona, where I first went in 2007 and basically did all wrong. Did not research enough food, skipped all the Gaudi interiors (what?!), no day trips, etc. This time we are staying in the Gothic Quarter and things will be different. From there, we move on to a couple of days in Girona, then a train into Provence, France, where we will rent a car and gorge on Roman ruins, markets, olive oil, and rose for 8 days before a couple of final days in Marseille.
The flight over is on Level, which is a low-cost deal from Iberia. You only get food if you bought a more expensive fare (which, it turns out, we did), or a pillow or anything else unless you pay. I am all for low-cost but it is definitely different on a long-haul flight. Otherwise things have been uneventful. I was unble to get my traditional 800 Degrees pre-flight pizza at the airport because there was a fire/gas issue and most of the restaurants were not cooking. Oddly, this is the second time in this terminal I have seen that happen! Speaking of the terminal, which is normally like hell on earth, it was almost downright, almost eerily, quiet and we sailed through security in ten minutes.
Since Level is a newer enterprise, it is a newer plane and there’s a fancy entertainment system on board. Naturally, what did I do? Bring Bluetooth-only headphones of course! But no matter, I tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to sleep and we made it on with all our luggage, and really, nothing else matters.
10:30pm - back at the airbnb after an uneventful flight and trip through passport control. No one was available to let us in the airbnb for a while so we wandered, got a snack, and then checked in. The apartment location is perfectly situated in the Gothic Quarter. We wandered around a little and that is it because it will be a full day tomorrow!
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