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Today for Daniel the only real option for touring the city is to ride the hop on hop off bus. We did this all day and really got a taste of the city, but we will have to come back next year on the way to Italy to really see the sights.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5674/...fa5e3e2f_c.jpgbarcelona 19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5622/...aa7e9e7d_c.jpgbarcelona 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5747/...7e942c7b_c.jpgbarcelona 49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Luckily with a teen we had wifi! https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5656/...d5d56d6f_c.jpgbarcelona 24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The architecture is varied and interesting, especially the Gaudi.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/649/2...91875905_c.jpgbarcelona 20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/712/2...d3e3845a_c.jpgbarcelona 22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/644/2...bc264d65_c.jpgbarcelona 23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5799/...bc0cd67a_c.jpgbarcelona 31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/739/2...f231eb3d_c.jpgbarcelona 32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5749/...273270d2_c.jpgbarcelona 52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5799/...2919bc95_c.jpgDSC03796 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Lunch Spanish style is drinks and Paella. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5659/...84676a69_c.jpgbarcelona 55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5690/...453d3960_c.jpgbarcelona 56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The Basilica i Temple Expiatori de la Sacrada Familia is a UNESCO site still under construction. The building began in 1882 and Gaudi took over in 1883 and transformed it to his vision. It was only ¼ complete when he died in 1926. It has progressed slowly since it is funded by private donation and building was halted for the Spanish civil war from 1936-39. It was half done in 2010 and should be completed in 2026, 100 years after Gaudi’s death.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5674/...f5e0bd8a_c.jpgbarcelona 37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/662/2...aee8d1d5_c.jpgbarcelona 40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/719/2...9246e985_c.jpgbarcelona 42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5661/...7feb661d_c.jpgbarcelona 43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5793/...780689be_c.jpgbarcelona 44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did a bit of a walking tour in the old city. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5678/...99ffc575_c.jpgDSC03777 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5832/...ff873fd1_c.jpgbarcelona 60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/653/2...8f080dba_c.jpgDSC03782 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5810/...597a06a3_c.jpgbarcelona 62 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5654/...df0786d7_c.jpgbarcelona 65 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/668/2...4f6f46cf_c.jpgbarcelona 66 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5656/...b5b34597_c.jpgbarcelona 70 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Fernanda took us to a Pizza place she claimed was the best she had every had….She was not wrong. It’s a good thing we don’t live near here. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/686/2...0c0577f2_c.jpgbarcelona 83 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We headed out late at 11 am north again towards the Pyrenees in France. We planned out route to cross Andorra for country number 43!
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5822/...402c326195.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-10 at 11.00.08 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/607/2...d8533eb677.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-10 at 10.58.17 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had the perfect storm and over 2 hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic thru Andorra. It is a Saturday and the cross border shoppers are here in droves, the tunnel is closed so all the traffic in on one road, there is a big sporting event on, the boarder guards were spot-checking cars on the road after the slow down for the actual border, and there was a police check after that! The last 90 km we had from the Spanish/Andorran border to Tarascon-sur-Ariege France took 3 hours! https://farm1.staticflickr.com/618/2...20e66cf7_c.jpgtarascon 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5753/...381d6927_c.jpgtarascon 14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/737/2...bbb25db77b.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-10 at 10.58.39 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The village of Tarascon is nicely situated on the L’Ariege River and is at the eastern “gateway” to the Parc Naturel Regional des Pyrenees Ariegeoses! We did a bit of a walk about the town, but found our hotel had the only open restaurant.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5636/...b3c4c593_c.jpgtarascon 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5782/...3bbc7469_c.jpgtarascon 5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/626/2...f57f64ff_c.jpgtarascon 6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/669/2...33723e9b_c.jpgtarascon 10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/678/2...a6f31294_c.jpgtarascon 11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From Tarascon we continued west to end in Cierp. We spent the day touring on the tiny roads in the Pyrenees Park and trying to hit as many of the passes or Cols as possible.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5674/...e96edd3a_c.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 5.24.48 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5784/...5746de44_c.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 5.18.26 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/654/2...f76edcaf_c.jpgcierp 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5830/...e54fdcd6_c.jpgcierp 7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/693/2...7790605b_c.jpgcierp 9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The first was the Col de Port at 1249 meters. The ride up here was stunning with the fall colors. There are numerous cute French villages with areas of hairpin switchbacks between them. The only hazard here is the huge amount of cow manure on the road. Unlike in Latin America they do not tether the cows they graze at the side of the roads here so they can just wander about.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5619/...27376e85_b.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 5.25.26 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/674/2...946ba3d6_c.jpgcierp 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5819/...b422f589_c.jpgcierp 3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/606/2...d1ed1235_c.jpgcierp 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5627/...aefc3a3e_c.jpgcierp 5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We even did one section of the tour de France route and found this memorial on the downward side. It is incredible to think these guys ride on these steep narrow twisty roads at such speed on those skinny tires.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/573/2...12a6cc4d_b.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 5.25.53 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5815/...31fcb702_c.jpgcierp 11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5776/...b0d4eb37_c.jpgcierp 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/574/2...6f95c455_c.jpgcierp 13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5711/...d8bde6f4_c.jpgcierp 14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/673/2...7f94cdfe_c.jpgcierp 15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5758/...52f901ba_c.jpgcierp 17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5627/...a6afbeaa_c.jpgcierp 18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5694/...dd255aca_c.jpgcierp 19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We are happy to see the Col Portet d”Aspet is Ouvert or open. This was a wall of switchbacks up one side of the mountain and down the other. They are so tight that at times the GPS does not always know which side of the switchback you are travelling on.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5707/...5798e542_c.jpgcierp 20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5655/...4175e483_c.jpgcierp 23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/644/2...c9db2ba4_c.jpgcierp 21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5675/...6f393c2f_c.jpgcierp 24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arrived to Cierp to the cabin we had rented. (38 CDN dollars and sleeps 7). We had luckily remembered to stop for groceries early today since it is Sunday and everything is closed after 1230 in much of France. Dan did some chain maintenance.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5747/...a3e84515_c.jpgcierp 27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5801/...8db0acc1_c.jpgcierp 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/597/2...a0a62815_c.jpgcierp 26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From Cierp we are headed only about 60 km as the crow flies to Pierrefitte-Nestalas, but we managed to make that into 150 km of total awesomeness in the Parc National des Pyrenees.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5730/...ca745c78_c.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 5.32.16 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We started out south on the 125,but soon headed west on the single-track roads in the Park. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5830/...305ee25e_c.jpgpyrenees 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/574/2...65e8f8b2_c.jpgpyrenees 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5641/...a9d3b71b_c.jpgpyrenees 3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
At Louderville we took a side detour we thought up the switchback to the ski resort, but up there we found a tiny road that snaked over the top of the mountain and down the other side to Azet. This is along the route of the Col de Val Louron-Azet at 1580 meters.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/730/2...897e47e4_b.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 5.32.33 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5757/...5554798e_c.jpgpyrenees 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/570/2...930ea709_c.jpgpyrenees 5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5698/...119b0cf1_c.jpgpyrenees 6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5672/...8d19906b_c.jpgpyrenees 8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we went north again towards Aspin-Aure and over the Col d”Aspin at 1490 meters. We were so luck for the last 2 days to have amazing fall weather it has been mostly sunny and 10-14 degrees in the morning and 14-22 in the afternoon.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/668/2...b718e8bf_c.jpgpyrenees 9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/741/2...0c860e33_c.jpgpyrenees 10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/628/2...0b885c88_c.jpgpyrenees 11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5621/...89fd0f00_c.jpgpyrenees 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5817/...f34b73b6_c.jpgpyrenees 13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr From Campan we did take a detour by following the GPS coordinates of the hotel. This was 10 km up a road that ended in a dirt walking path…so backtrack it was. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5769/...6aa38d0a_z.jpgScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 5.17.58 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
They spelled my name wrong on that road sign!
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