September 20th Well here we are in the Roja…..nice breakfast with 3 other couples and we are ready to start the day. This is the heartland of this wine making region and the early morning was alive with the sound of growling tractors pulling small wagons as they embarked for the vineyards. This was quite…Continue Reading “Briones …….Wine Tasting and the San Mateo Festival”
September 19th After a mediocre breakfast we got rolling asap as it will be a full day… ….arrived in Pamplona by mid morning >> yes another beautiful sunny and warm day. The first order of business was to walk the route of the bull runs, the bulls stay in the paddock below: ……and at 8AM the…Continue Reading “Jaca to Briones …..Bulls, Wine & Tapas”
September 18th After a good nights rest and a decent breakfast we are off to Lourdes, a 15 minute drive away although all in we will have a longish day. We arrived just after 9AM, grabbed a good parking spot close to the main entrance and are a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of…Continue Reading “Lourdes to Jaca, Spain…………….”
September 17th Another crisp, sunny morning low of around 6 Celsius but expected to reach a high in the mid teens ……….not bad for the Haut Pyrenees….and should make for some lovely views: No breakfast included so we were off and running sans coffee…. the rivers are reminiscent of glaciated rivers in B.C.: to get…Continue Reading “Escalona to Argeles-Gazost, France …..famous Tour de France passes the easy way”
September 16th The now smooth running machine was up bright and early, packed, breakfasted, car rendezvous completed and on our way to Santa Maria de Monistrol Montserrat ” the Monastery” the first stop of the day. Bright blue sky and temps were expected to reach early 20’s……the autopista grew a little thick with trucks on…Continue Reading “Girona to Escalona……and some serious high mountain religion”
September 15th Well after yesterdays exertions we have amended our plan and nixed Barcelona, we know……how can you do that …. well we can…. so off to the Costa Brava for another glimpse of the Med, first stop the medieval town of Madremanayo, arrived bright and early, walked around, took some pics there are a…Continue Reading “Girona ……day trip to the Costa Brava”
September 14th Another beautiful morning with the forecast calling for sun and mid 20’s as our stay in Collioure is coming to an end…….slowly but surely we are getting used to the departure routine…bring the luggage to a predetermined spot while the other person gets the wheels, meet up, luggage in, on the way >>>…Continue Reading “Collioure to Girona…..and a visit with Dali in Figueros”
September 11th Saturday morning was nice although windy contrary to what the host had predicted…..we spent the morning touring the town and taking it easy as we are here for several days: …..and in the afternoon took the Petit Train Jaune (actually not a train):…….to Port Vendres which is south of Collioure…… it was fun…Continue Reading “Collioure ……..and a day trip to the Costa Brava”
September 10th We got up bright and early as today promises to be a big day >> Villefranche de Conflent to Collioure. organize our stuff, an excellent breakfast (best of the trip) and out the door we go… First stop is a short drive away >>> Abbaye de St. Martin de Canigou, you cannot see…Continue Reading “Villefranche de Conflent to Collioure …a religious day featuring an Abbey, a Priory & a Beach Town”
September 9th Up and at them…good sleep, good shower, ok breakfast, albeit in a great setting… Today the plan was to visit two Cathar castles on our way to Villefranche-de-Conflent….. …..as we drove through the somewhat scraggly pine forests, rocky hills and innumerable vineyards we saw a sign for Aguilar Castle (not one on the…Continue Reading “Pommerols to Villefranche de Conflent …….into the Pyrenees”