Category: Spain

We last visited Barcelona in 2018 and really enjoyed the city. One of the reasons we like this campground is that it offers a shuttle into the center of the city. We signed up for the first bus of the day, and I was a little surprised when we got to the bus stop to find over 100 people waiting. It seems that everyone had the same thought to go into the city today. The campground had put on three busses for the 9:15 departure so everyone ended up with a comfortable seat.

When we got to the city it was raining a bit, and it would continue to rain off and on until early in the afternoon. We arrived pretty early and while things were bustling it was a fun bustling. Barcelona is one of the top tourism destinations in Europe and has been in the news lately due to local protests against over tourism. As the day went on the crowds got to be quite heavy in nearly every part of the city we visited and uncomfortably dense in the big tourist areas. I can sympathize with the locals, but also understand the attraction of this beautiful city to visitors.

Our first stop was the La Boqueria Market which is just off of Las Rambles. We have visited a lot of markets in Europe and this one is near the top of Ton’s favorites so she was excited to visit it again.

Ton was looking for a certain brand of Paprika so in addition to just enjoying the ambiance of the market we were checking out all of the stalls that sold spices. Ton really enjoys going from stall to stall looking at all of the displays. She could spend hours in these markets, but is kind to me.

We had thoughts of visiting one of the coffee shops in the market but it was packed so we passed. But after visiting several spice shops we found the brand Ton was looking for and bought three cans of paprika to take back to François. Once again La Boqueria did not disappoint us.

Our next stop for the day was the Gothic Quarter. This is one of the oldest parts of Barcelona and is full of cool streets lined with small shops and restaurants.

The Gothic Quarter also contains the Gothic Cathedral which is now the second most famous Cathedral in Barcelona. We came upon it from the back and wandered around the streets surrounding the Cathedral for a while before we arrived at the front.

The front was impressive, but it is no longer the Cathedral that attracts the most tourists. It has been eclipsed by Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in another part of town. It is still a nice Cathedral and was getting a lot of visitors when we went by.

Having done a fair bit of walking already we jumped into a churro shop we came across. We shared a small portion which consisted of one very thick cup of hot chocolate and four 10 inch long churro’s. Another great fried dough.

Since Gaudi has just been proposed for saint hood in the Catholic Church we decided to head over to one of the famous buildings he designed. It was a pretty good walk from where we were, but Barcelona is one of the most walkable cities we have toured. Even with the big crowds it is pretty easy to get around and is full of charming things to see.

After visiting Gaudi it was time for lunch. Ton had picked out a Tapas place she wanted to try in the Gothic District. Today was one of more inefficient walking days as we double backed on ourselves several times to check out a place that caught our interest.

The Bodega Biarritz is a small place and we were worried about getting a table, but we arrived 15 minutes after they opened and they gave us a table four on the condition that we be prepared to move to a smaller table if they asked. Later in the meal they did ask so we got to enjoy two different views of this restaurant.

The menu is interesting here. You get an appetizer plate of cheese and ham which is pretty standard, but the quality is high. But the chef picks the 8 tapas you receive. Each customer gets a slightly different set of Tapas. We received prawns, a dish of pork and mushrooms, a pigeon in rice, a beef and cheese dish, some chicken in a sauce, and a nice fish dish, a ham with potato and onion, and finally a vegetarian dish. They were all excellent and Ton loved the crispy prawns. We had a look at other trays that went by and they were indeed different than ours. It was one of the best Tapas places we have eaten in.

We still had a couple of hours to kill so we crossed back across town to the Arch of Triumph. When we got there we found a nice bench to sit at and recharge our batteries, (both our personal ones, and the ones on our I-phones) while doing some people watching. We then crossed back one more time (with an 800 meter detour do to my poor google map skills) to pick up our bus back to the campsite for the night.

Our friends Stephen and Kit will be joining us on Monday for about a month. They are flying into Barcelona and renting a RV. We selected a campground outside of Barcelona because it is large and we had good memories of being here from 2018.

As I said yesterday we booked our spot here a couple of weeks ago as it is Easter weekend. In Spain it is a four day holiday so we wanted to make sure we had a spot to meet them on Monday. The campground we are staying at has about 400 places and they are all full tonight. It is a bustling place right now.

When we arrived we settled in to a spot that is a tight fit for François. Ton asked where the laundry facilities were, and we she saw the large commercial Maytag washers and dryers the afternoon was settled. We now have a fresh load of clean clothes.

We spent the day watching the other campers settle into our spots. This is always good entertainment. On our little block of sites there are three Spanish families, one Italian with three cute girls, one Bulgarian couple, and us. We’ve been watching a Spanish girl who is about the same age as the Italian girls try to get up the nerve to join them in play. Hopefully she will.

The campground is is located about 100 yards from the Mediterranean, but unfortunately there is a four lane highway and two railway tracks between us and the water. We walked over and found an underpass to the ocean but when we got under the road and the tracks there was only a narrow dirt trail along the water. So we headed back to François to settle in for the evening.

We have been meaning to visit Girona for a while. It had a reputation as a real foody town with great restaurants which was our primary motivation. So this morning we shifted the 80 kilometers from Roses. On the way out of town we passed a car wash so we swung in and knocked some of the worst of the road dirt off François.

We found our aire near the center of town. It is a concrete parking lot surrounded by apartments, so not romantic, but very practical as it is only 1 kilometer from the center of the city.

The old town is built on a hill in the center of the city and has been a fortress town since the Romans. It was heavily fought over during the War of Spanish Succession in the early 1700’s when the French and Spanish fought over who was going to control Catalonia. The border was eventually settled with most of Catalonia being in Spain, and a small part around Perpignon in France. The Catalans have a slightly different feel for the story, but that is for another time.

Girona is located in a very strategic spot as it controls one of the best exits from Spain into France. As a result it has suffered 25 sieges and been captured 7 times. During the period between about 715 and 980 it was basically on the front line in the war between the Christian kingdoms of France, and the Islamic rulers of Moorish Spain. During that time it changed hands multiple times.

Girona also had a thriving Jewish community during the middle ages that occupied an area in the center of the city. This community was forced to convert to Christianity or were expelled by the Spanish kings in 1492 (a year familiar to American educated people for a different reason).

The Cathedral in the city is located on the highest point of land in the city. The Cathedral was built on a site that the Moors had converted to a Mosque. It is Spanish Gothic. It has become famous recently as it was used in the Game of Thrones. The massive steps in front of the church are quite impressive, and fans of the show will remember them as the steps that Arya Stark fell down while being chased in Season 6.

A lot of the walls of the city are still intact and you can walk large sections of them. We scrambled up onto them a couple of times and the views were spectacular.

The river is crossed by multiple pedestrian bridges. The most famous is a bridge built by Gustave Eiffel who is of course famous for the Eiffel tower. Most of the bridges are stone or concrete, but Eiffel’s bridge is of course made of Iron.

The architecture along the river was more modern, and reminded me of the Netherlands where buildings are built right to, or even overhanging the river. The river was pretty low right now, but must at times be much higher based on the design of the homes.

We also went down to the town market right before it closed. Once again we did some recreational shopping. Ton loves these old markets, and finds the regional foods to be fascinating. Even though it was close to closing time most of the vendors were still open and doing good business.

After the walking and climbing (my Fitbit said we climbed the equivalent of 161 flight of stairs today) we had a long discussion about what to eat. Despite Girona’s reputation as a foody town (it is supposed to have the most Michelin stars per capita in the world) we opted for a very light lunch and two glasses of Vermouth. I think we were both still enjoying our meal from yesterday in Roses.

We did have enough room to try the local dessert called Xuixo de Crema. They are another great example of why fried dough makes the best desserts and nearly every culture has their version of it.

Girona reminds me of why I like traveling without reservations or commitments. If not for our reservations tomorrow in Barcelona I think we would stay for another day here. Girona warrants another day of exploration, maybe more. But we were nervous about Easter weekend so we booked ourselves in the campground in Barcelona. So tomorrow we are off for Barcelona.

It was raining heavily when we woke up in the morning so we settled in and enjoyed our coffee. After we got going in the morning we checked the weather and the rain was supposed to stop around noon. We had been planning to go to Girona today, but decided to wait for tomorrow.

Around noon we decided to head out to the promenade and see what was happening today in Roses. On the walk down to the town it was still cold and gray, Ton took some pictures but was not happy with the result. She then told me that this region was famous for two different Prawns called Palamos and Carabinero, and handed me a list of three places we could find them.

After checking out all three we decided on a fourth restaurant we remembered from our last stay here. We had to wait to get a table, which is always a good sign. After about 10 minutes we were seated, but had spent the time trying to decide what to order. We were still undecided when we got to the table so we used the walk to the table to look at all of the dishes. We finally decided on a plate of shellfish and shrimp.

Ton was thrilled with the selection of different shell fish and shrimp including three different shrimp and a lobster, plus a nice mixture of clams, mussels, and razor clams. The meal was fantastic, Ton was very happy.

When we left the restaurant the sun had come out so Ton was very happy again. This time she was stopping every few yards to take photos as the sea, sky, and surrounding sites were perfect for photos.

The walk back was a very enjoyable for Ton, and I enjoyed people watching and watching Ton have fun.

I have talked about Roses in the past. It has an interesting role historically as a port during the Spanish empire and celebrates that. But mostly it is a great beach resort town with a nice vibe that really appeals to us.

It was a late start to the day, but in the end it turned into a great day at a place we really like.

We have been corresponding with a RV shop in Roses Spain about getting our privacy screen fixed. Yesterday they said they had a replacement screen available, but their technician said he thought he could fix the existing one. So our next stop for the day was set.

The drive was a little further than we thought it was going to be. When we started out looking at the distance we were going to cover on the Autopista (freeway) Ton and I guessed it was going to be a €40 toll. We were both wrong today there was no tolls. We arrived at the RV repair place and the tech looked at the problem and thru his interpreter (his wife) said it wont be elegant but it will work. He underestimated the quality of his work and while he was with us I had him fix one more small item. The repair was quoted at €700 in the Netherlands so the €108 we paid today was a great bargain.

We were at the campground by 3:30 just in time for it to rain. Ton cooked a nice dinner, and then declared her day over. I took a short evening walk and then came back to relax in François.

We were up bright and early as we had a 9:30 appointment at the repair place. It was an easy drive and we arrived to find a real polyglot operation. Initially they greeted us in French based on our plates, when I asked for English the person immediately switched to flawless English. She then got on the radio to have the technician come to the office and spoke what I thought was German to him, but I thought I had misheard and it was probably Catalan, later I learned it was German. The tech and I went out to the car to look at the problem and he was speaking in French until I asked for English, and he said oh good and also switched to flawless English. After a few minutes discussion in English Ton said to me in Thai that she thought he was German based on his accent. It turns out she has a good ear as he was indeed a German who had settled in the area. All of this talk of languages is because the repair itself was quick and easy and took all of 10 minutes. We now have a new latch and light for the refrigerator that seem to be working, as well as an admonishment to put less stuff on the refrigerator door shelves.

On the way to the repair shop, we saw a grocery store advertising the cheapest fuel we have seen in about 3 years. So we stopped and filled François up and probably saved about €20 over what our average fill has been lately. The gas station was attached to a large supermarket, so Ton ran in there for a few minutes while I was filling François. Well a few minutes turned into 45 minutes as we had discovered the largest Catalan owned grocery chain, and it was full of cool and cheap Catalan and Spanish food.

Ton had spotted a seafood restaurant yesterday that she wanted to try if it was open. Yesterday it was closed, but we hoped that was because it was Monday. Unlike the restaurants that are closed for the season, this one still had tables outside, and the inside tables were set with plates so we were optimistic. She even knew what she was going to order. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open. So we tried a Moroccan restaurant just up the street. We enjoyed the food, and the tea, so while disappointed that we didn’t get the seafood we wanted we still had a nice meal.

Every town in Europe now seems to have a little train that you can take to see the sites. We have taken a couple of them over the years. The one in Roses was exceptional as the “Engine” was a big Case or John Deere tractor instead of a little modified truck like most. We had stopped and looked at it yesterday, but there was no one there. Today when we walked by there was someone manning the booth. We were intrigued so we signed up for the one hour Cap De Creus tour.

The tour was mostly thru narrow streets full of vacation homes, and once again I was impressed as the driver navigated this farm tractor pulling two trailers down streets I would have cringed to take François down. The tour was narrated in French, German, and English, but not Spanish or Catalan. When we signed up for the tour they asked where we were from, so I suspect there were no Spanish on the ride today.

We climbed up quite a hill, and then dropped back down towards a less built up area which was part of a Spanish national park. For a short part of the trip we were on dirt roads, which is why they are using the tractor to pull the “train”.

On the tour they mentioned that the full time population of Roses is 20,000, but that during the peak of the summer when all of the hotels and vacation homes are full an additional 120,000 people are in the town! We both agreed that we were glad we were here when the population was closer to 20,000.

Tomorrow we are heading north as we only have 6 days until our flight home. We are planning to cover about 300 kilometers a day, which should put us into Amsterdam with a couple of days to spare. So today was our last day of traveling without a plan, unfortunately.

As much as we liked Perpignan we had to leave today as the campground we were staying at is closing for the season. We looked at our options and everywhere North and East of us had rain. I pointed out to Ton that we were only about 30 minutes from the Spanish border. One of our favorite memories in Spain was a meal we had in Roses, so that’s how we ended up here in the town aire. I told Ton that we should leave early as the recent reviews kept referring to it being sold out. We arrived about 9:30 in the morning after a quick drive down the freeway and claimed a good spot. I went to get rid of some trash around 5pm and they had just sold the 70th and last spot for the night to a RV from Iceland.

Our memory of Roses was of a very lively resort town where we had our first and most memorable Spanish meal about 6 years ago. It was a three course meal with both an aperitif and a glass of wine for €13. We were hoping we would recognize the restaurant and see if we could replicate the meal.

This time instead of a bustling seaside resort with lots of shops and restaurants, we found a bit of a ghost town. Out of season 90% of the hotels and restaurants shut down. We had the beautiful seaside promenade to ourselves most of the way. We found our favorite restaurant but unfortunately it was also closed for the season.

But we did find a restaurant where we could get a three course meal for €17, but this time the wine was extra. But, the meal was wonderful, and Ton was thrilled with her first course which was a giant plate of mussels, and her second course which was a very meaty fish called a monk fish. So Roses continues to meet our expectations for good meals.

We are going to spend another night here in Roses as we have to get a little problem fixed on François before beginning our trek north. A part of the latch on the door to our refrigerator has cracked. The door closes fine, but the door ajar alarm keeps going off because some circuit is not being closed. It is quite annoying to be woken up every few minutes by an alarm, sometimes it goes off continuously and sometimes it will be quiet for a few hours and then suddenly go off for no apparent reason. So tomorrow we are off to try to get it fixed.