Along the spanish Costa Brava
France we left along the Eurovelo 8, we tried at least. We followed the signs while the sky above us was still more threatening than friendly. In the place XXX we came however ever to the end of our plan: the road ahead was closed and with her the cycle track. Katharina had enough of the bicycle path adventures and insisted to drive on the national road to Spain. This road was still known to Matthais from the last tour. The road slowly wound up a mountain, the valley is rather narrow, the stream meanders deep down in the gorge. On the left many French overtake. These drivers seemed to be allergic to motorways. We actually crawled quite fast up the mountain. Once again Katharina is in the following mood: We are too slow, it is flat. Shortly before the pass we are cheered on by a hitchhiker: Only 500m left. We arrived at the top and stopped in the border town. We bought a cool drink to refresh ourselves. And that felt good. It was still a few kilometres to Figueres and Katharina was not sure how long it would take us to get there. In Figueres we would like to visit the Salvador Dali Museum. We had postponed the visit. The journey from the border town over the Spanish border was slow at the beginning, because a small traffic jam had formed. After we had crossed the border, we drove along the traffic jam of the opposite lane, which stretched over several kilometres. It was good for us that we did not have to fight our way uphill past this colon. At the first gas station we stopped to equip ourselves with Spanish maps. We usually navigated manually and used GPS only when it was complicated, we are not sure, or we were lost. Except for the first day without a cycle path in France it worked quite well. The way to Figueres was well signposted, we were now on the N II, and this leads from the French border through Figueres, Girona to the coast. In Barcelona it leaves the coast and leads in the direction of Zaragoza and further to Madrid. We decided to follow this route until Barcelona. After that we had to figure out a route first. Bicycle paths are along our destinations Magelware and force us to find our own way. Simply following the N II does not work either, as in time it has been leveled out to the A2, which we cannot use. Motorways are closed for cyclists.
In Figueres we make our first stop and find a very tasty tapas restaurant for dinner. On the one hand you can order food, on the other hand you can get snacks - hot and cold - at the theses and fresh food from the kitchen is offered by the waiter first to the guests and then left at the bar. We are immediately in love again with this kind of Spanish food. The bites have different prices, which are marked by different stocher. The next day we sleep comfortably and only then go to the museum to find out that it is now a folk sport to visit this museum. There are long queues at the entrance and at the ticket expiration. The entrance is divided into half hour intervals, our time is 45 minutes later. Since Matthias knows the museum from 20 years ago, he directs us to the second part of the exhibition. In this part the jewellery works of Salvador Dali are shown. The most impressive is probably the Royal Heart, a scvhlagendes heart from gold and gemstones. We look at this part of the exhibition in peace and quiet and then line up in the 12:30 admission queue. We are exactly right and have used the time ideally. At matthias last visit it was different. At that time there was still the evening opening time.
In the exhibition there are probably more visitors than exhibits. For Katharina it’s a pain, there’s too much going on to enjoy the exhibition. In the entrance courtyard people are jammed. We give the Limosine one Euro, and already it starts to rain: In the interior, a rainy weather is pouring down on the sculptures. In general, Dali stood on gags with the exhibition objects. It’s not the only exhibit that was designed with a wink. From Figueres we say goodbye with a tapas snack and drive on towards Girona. Unfortunately for Katharina the road is not downhill but hilly. We follow the N IIa and drive on the breakdown lane. But this one is wide and clean, so that we mostly use it. Before Girona we go up another hill, so that we can roll into the city. After we have stowed everything in the hotel, we start to explore the city. At the reception we have equipped ourselves with a city map and tips. First we looked for a way to the old cathedral. From there we made the city wall unsafe. The evening approached and with it the darkness. The wall is well preserved and you have a beautiful view over the city. Also 3 parks are opened over the wall. So you can study the park from above before you explore it. From the Masuer we head towards the city centre, because we are hungry and want good dinner. The first local tip seems to be fully booked, and Matthias doesn’t address the food that way. The 2nd restaurant looks inconspicuous from the outside, but an exquisite tasting menu with wine accompaniment awaits us. We take our hat off to it. Some dishes we have never experienced before e.g. smoked chocolate served in a smoke bell.
From Girona we make our way to the <costa Brava. Katharina has still longing for the sea and looks forward to further bathing units. We stop at the first opportunity to have lunch and a snack on the beach. Katharina already had withdrawal symptoms ;-) Then we cycle on and choose a less touristy place for the night. Since simple hostel and hotel are equally expensive there, we sleep in the hotel.
The next day we move our breakfast to the beach. We discover the suitable place along the beach path. To our surprise it leads to Barcelona - according to information from passers-by. We have found our dream way to Barcelona here. The beach promenade leads more than 20 KIlometer along the coast. Since the weather is overcast, there are not too many people. When we arrive in Barcelona, the sun comes out. So we decide at short notice to make a stop and go swimming again.
