Arrival in Munich

The flight was 2 long legs with a long layover in Newark.  The Munich airport was easy to navigate and soon I was on the Lufthansa bus to downtown.  My hotel was half a block from the train station, but the bus dropped me off on the other side which added another block and a half.  Then there was construction so I had to cross three streets, with trolley tracks.  It was raining and I had my roll aboard and day pack on one arm and my suitcase with my ski duffel on top (40 lbs each) on the other so I could not handle an umbrella.  The sidewalk was a mix of concrete and cobbles.  Eventually the duffel started to shift and the whole thing started to tip, and I started to go with it.  Fortunately a nice African man caught me and I survived, upright.

The conrad Hotel ($95 a night) was very comfortable and close to the old city.  I went looking for lunch and settled on a place that looked Bavarian  but served mostly Pizza.  I was to tired to go anywhere else and they had a nice Turkey schnitzel that was bigger than a dinner plate, but it soon disappeared.  After a nap i had a good German dinner of roast pork, red cabbage and dark beer at the Munchner Stuben.  

The next day I spent wandering the old town, it was certainly cleaned up since I was last here in 1966.  The Glockenspiel was as impressive as ever.  The most impressive museum was the old treasury.  Lots of stunning examples of royal excess.  That evening I tried the Augustiner Keller but it reminded me too much of drunken college days.  I retreated to the Funkstadl, a small cozy place that had their own beer.  I had the mixed grill and 3 dark beers.  Toward the end of the evening they asked me to move to a smaller table so a larger party could be seated and gave me some schnapps for my trouble, I slept well.

Corvara

I had planned to pick up my car at the train station, half a block from the hotel.  I checked in there, it was upstairs of course,  and then they set me 4 blocks to pick up the key, and they sent me three blocks to pick up the car, all the while dragging all my bags.  I was ready for a nap before I hit the road. The drive was uneventful but I didn’t have time to visit a Bavarian castle I wanted to see, I guess another time.  I did learn to wait until you hit Italy to buy an espresso, $1 in Italy $4 in Austria.

This is my 18th year skiing in Alta Badia.  I always stay at Hotel Marmolada.  The accommodations are great, the food is memorable, the wines top notch, and the first lift is across the street.  Last year the weather was so bad I almost did not come back.  This year it was warm and sunny.  The snow did get mushy after lunch, but I only ski until lunch any more.  I managed to ski 6 days in a row and never fell ;-).  A great week.

Franciacorta

I left Corvara on a sunny Saturday morning, wishing I had one more ski day.  As I went thru the mountains west of Bolzano I climbed the Mendola pass, one of the steepest most switchback roads ever.  And this being Italy, of course there were cyclists everywhere.  The Franciacorta wine region is around the south end on lake Iseo.  They produce an incredible sparkling white wine using traditional champagne methods.  They also had a delicious light red that went wonderfully with fish.  I stayed at Hotel Ulivi in Paratico $55, right on the lake.  I had a lovely evening stroll (passeggiata), and a great dinner.

I was struggling with the self service gas station until another customer helped me, people are often so nice.  My next stop was Piacenza, founded by the Romans in 215AD.  As in most Italian towns, wandering and people watching are great  I went to the Musei Civici di Palazzo Farnese.  There were two very large (3 meters high) paintings of Euclid and Pythagoras, depicting them as extremely muscled physically, appropriate as they certainly were intellectual giants.  They al.  so had what is called the Etruscan liver (400BC), a small bronze piece the size of a sheep’s liver inscribed with deities names and astronomical symbols.  The purpose is not entirely clear but it probably was some kind of teaching tool.

Prato

I stayed in Prato as it was close by train to Florence and Pisa, and had free parking.  The Art Hotel Milano $55, was 5 minutes from the train and 2 blocks from the old walled city.  Prato has a great new museum, Museo di Palazzo Pretorio, after a 20 year renovation of the 800 year old building.  The cathedral, old walls and small shops and restaurants make it a pleasant stay.  Monday I took the train to Florence, $6 round trip.  The place was crawling with tourists and school kids.  I wandered and eventually went to the Galileo museum which was fascinating.  The Uffizi gallery was closed on Monday but I have seen too much renaissance work already, i like older things.  The density of classic Renaissance architecture is overwhelming. I had lunch on the Piazza della Signoria, knowing full well i would pay top tourist dollar (or euro).  Lunch was great but the prices, $4 for an espresso (usually $1) and cover charge plus 15% service and the waiter tried to talk me into leaving a cash tip.  $57 for a $25 lunch but the location was well worth it.

Tuesday I took it easy and drove to Pistoia.  This is a little visited old walled town with great churches and interesting museums.  In particular I liked the Marino Marini museum with some very fine contemporary sculpture.  Wednesday I took the train to Pisa (had to check that box) and saw that the tower really does lean.  Once you get away from the hordes at the Piazza dei Miracoli, it is a very pleasant town.  Lunch at the restaurant Galileo, started with a leek souffle which was amazing.

Cortona

I headed out early, expecting a scenic drive.  The first hour turned out to be a continuous suburb from Prato to the other side of Florence.  It finally got more rural and I looked for Castello di Romeno.  It was a striking location and the hours on the sign said 10 to 5.  However when I got to the gate there was a paper sign saying opening April 1st.  At least there were plenty of wild flowers to walk thru in the field.  My next stop was Poppi which had a magnificent feudal castle from the 11th century, 200 step up to the top of the tower.  

After much wandering i came to Cortona, an ancient hill town dating from the Etruscans about 300BC.  I parked in the gravel lot, went thru the gate, up 3 flights of stairs and then up 3 blocks of stone streets so steep they should have been stairs.  The Hotel Italia, $55, is in a 500 year old building renovated inside to a modern hotel.  I bought a bottle of the local Sangiovese and some pecorino for my apertivo.  I tried one of the restaurants by the piazza hoping to get a Florentine steak, but the menu said it served 3 people.  I settled on the veal chop which was the biggest I ever saw.

Friday I had an appointment with Frescobaldi winery at Castello di Nipozzano.  My GPS didn’t know where that was and my phone was acting up  I tried dead reckoning but soon was ready to give up.  One more try and my phone responded with good directions.  I zoomed and was only 15 minutes late.  It was a private tour and Stefania was full of information on the history of the estate and the Frescobaldi family, they have been making wine for 700 years.  The castle dates from the 11th century but was badly damaged in WWII.  When a son is born, they bottle 500 bottles of wine for him but a daughter only gets 100, I’ll bet that changes soon.  The part of their cellar that survived the war had wines back to 1864.  A totally lovely experience.  

On the way back I stopped in Arezzo to visit their archaeological  museum and its extensive Etruscan exhibit.  The museum was built on the side of the ruins of a Roman Amphitheater.   On the way back to Cortona I saw a sign for Etruscan tombs.  A short hike brought me to a small fenced area with a tomb excavated in 1950.  History on the side of the road!  Back in Cortona I ventured out for dinner and went into a cute place but there was no one else there.  Normally that would be the kiss of death but I stayed and had an fantastic dinner, truffle souffle, pasta with pork and wine, passion fruit mousse, wine, coffee and grappa, $27.

I decided to take an easy Saturday and just wander around Cortona.  The hotel breakfast room was on the top floor with a view over the rooftops and across the valley.  The piazzas were filled with truck vendors, selling fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat, bread, clothes and even cleaning supplies.  It was like an outdoor mall.  There were innumerable churches and pleasant piazzas but the streets were laid out by mountain goats, my quads ached.  I finally stopped at a hole in the wall with a few sidewalk tables for lunch.  The rest of the tables filled up with english speakers, but one couple was from Brazil.  After lunch I stopped at a wine store and the owner told me about a wine festival going on in town.  When I stopped by it was $7 for all the wine you could drink and 4 food dishes, but they did not take the food tickets so Ii tried everything.  There were 20 wineries, syrah was the featured wine and they were pouring healthy samples.  After that I didn’t need dinner.  

Lucca

The next morning when I went to check out  she said, “We have you for another night”.  Sure enough, i was booked in 2 different hotels, in two different cities for the same night.  Why can’t Expedia give me a warning when I try to do something dumb like that?  Well  I need to be in Lucca, so I just ate the extra night.

The woman at Frescobaldi said Anghiari was interesting.  It was certainly unspoiled and a main street with a 13% grade that I definitely did not want to walk, but not much else.  From there I went to Sansepolcro, which was more interesting.  It had a medieval feel, lots of churches and a great small museum of renaissance art.  After another struggle with a self service gas station, they just won’t take foreign cards, debit or credit, I headed for Lucca.

My Hotel, Villa Elisa $49 was just outside the old city walls.  Lucca is delightfully old school.  They don’t have any big hotels or parking for busses, so the tourist load is minimal.  There were many wine bars with the local potion and munchies for apertivo.  At Osteria San Giorgio I finally had some Florentine beef.  It was tagliata, grilled steak, sliced and served on a bed of arugula, it was better than anything I have had in Chicago.

The next morning I headed to Tenuta di Valgiano for wine tasting.  When I arrived Laura seemed surprised and eventually we figured out she was expecting me the week before.  After a brief delay while she got organized we started a brief tour.  The Villa was built in the renaissance and they had made it their home.  They bought it from the ancestral family and it, and the vineyards, had been in serious disrepair.  It is now what one would dream of as a house in Tuscany, on a hill with a fantastic view, lemon trees, fountains, massive country kitchen, and even a carpet made for the house.  We tried the white, which is 50% vermentino and really distinctive.  Their Sangiovese was excellent.  Since I was unexpected, I was invited to lunch and just as Laura had to run off her husband, Saverio, came in and sat down.  He had worked in Chicago for several years, and we had a great discussion across many areas.  All in all, it was the best winery visit ever.

Montepulciano

Saverio mentioned Volterra so I looked it up and decided it was worth a visit.  Another hill town with a long hike up the main street.  One of the city gates dates from the Etruscans in the 6th century BC.  The museum had the largest collection of Etruscan artifacts in Italy.  There was also really nice ruins of a Roman theater.  From there I went to Montepulciano, one of the most famous wine towns in Italy.  The hike up the main drag went past many tasting rooms.  When my legs got tired, I stopped at one.  The Vino Nobile was delicious.  I liked the reserva, but settled on a lesser bottle for my nightly apertivo.  I checked into the Hotel Due Cigni (2 swans) $45 a night and very nice, gotta love the dead season.

Wednesday I went to Siena, a more medieval than renaissance city. I loved it, i could spend several days just wandering the streets,  The Piazza del Campo may be my favorite main city plaza.  Shell shaped with a concave city hall mirroring the curve of the buildings around the piazza.  It was laid out in the 12th century on the site of an old Roman market.  They claim the city was founded by Remus and statues of the twins suckling at the she wolf are ubiquitous.  The city had the feel of the real thing.  Lunch included the best tripe stew I have ever had.

Thursday I visited my third winery, Tenuta di Trinoro.  It was several miles down a dirt road and just as I pulled up to the closed gate, an employee pulled up right behind me and it opened.  At first a guy about 6’10” came out but then they sent out Sara their brand ambassador from NYC.  Again they were not expecting me as the person who handled appointments had departed the company the previous week.  Anyway Sara gave me the best vineyard tour and I tasted some great wines.  The vineyard had been started from scratch in the 80’s and is a pretty hi-tech operation.  They cater to collectors and their prices are more than my budget for daily drinkers.  They did have a very good Cabernet Franc but it was $100 a bottle.  Their cultivation practices were more like Bordeaux then the Italian standard, including the Bordeaux varietals.

From there I visited Monticchiello, a minuscule hill town that was almost too pretty to believe.  It was immaculate, no one was there, and I could not find a cappuccino.  So I proceeded to Pienza, a world heritage site, that even had a sign that said the perfect city.  There was not much to do but shop and take pictures, so I had lunch.  I ordered spaghetti cacio e pepe (spaghetti with cheese and black pepper).  It sounds so simple but it was the most perfect pasta dish I ever had.  I found out later that Tuscans consider the pecorino from Pienza the best.  My final stop was in San Quirico, a charming medieval town on the pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome.  The most unusual thing was a public garden dating from the 1575.

So Friday I moved on to visit Montalcino, home of Brunello, one of the most famous wines in Tuscany.  I am starting to realize that in these hill towns everything is uphill, even if you turn around and go back the way you came it is still uphill.  It was market day in Montalcino but the truck vendors were almost all clothing and staples. It is a very small, pretty town with wall to wall tasting rooms. The easy route was blocked for some church reconstruction, but eventually I got to the fort.  To get up on the walls you had to go thru a tasting room.  I made it thru but got caught on the way back.  I tasted several and had a case shipped to Portland.  I thought there was a pizzeria close to where I parked but there was just another tasting room.  They opened fresh bottles for me to try and after 15 minutes their brunello tasted even better than what I had shipped.  I did buy a couple of bottles of their rosso for my evening sipping.

Since I was  really hungry from all the uphill I decided to splurge on a nice lunch at Boccon di Vino just out of town.  I sat on the terrace looking out over the valley and felt like one of the 1%.  Lunch was good, the wine better and the view beyond description.

Etruscan Coast

It was an expensive day but I finished at Villa Luci in Castagneto Carducci, $80, a room with a view in an old villa at the entrance to another hill town.  After checking in I climbed one more steep main street.  I ate a light dinner of Tartare and drank Serre Nuove d’Ornellaia.

Saturday morning I drove to Bolgheri, a picture perfect, medieval hamlet with a tiny castle and sublime wines. The approach is on a straight 5km road lined with 100 foot Italian cypress trees, immortalized in a poem by Carducci in the 19th century.  Lots of wine shops and restaurants, and peacefulness.

A little south on the coast is the small town of Baratti and the seaside restaurant Canessa.  The linguini with sea urchin was to die for.  The archaeological park just outside of town has the best Etruscan ruins in Italy.  The area was a center of ironwork in the 8th century BC.  Eventually the tombs were covered by 25 feet of slag and not excavated until the early 20th century.  One tomb was found with two chariots inside.  One could easily spend the whole day at the various sites.

Sunday I decided to take it easy and stay one more day in Castagneto Carducci.  But by afternoon I was bored and headed for Suvereto, a tiny medieval village with a crumbling castle.  When I got the Sasseta the police had the road blocked for an auto rally and pointed to a road up and to the right.  The road climbed steeply and got narrower.  The potholes got deeper.  The pavement got worse and then ended completely.  Still climbing it became more like a trail and my GPS no longer showed a road.  I did get some cell service and it showed a track that went to Suvereto so I kept going.  The trail was so bad I felt like I need a 4×4 truck.  I started to wonder about walking back but then I passed a house with a car in the yard.  As the road went down it slowly got better and I passed more houses, but they didn’t look occupied.  Eventually I found pavement and my GPS found its way.  When I pulled into Suvereto I saw that it was the starting point of the rally.  Cars were lined up on the old stone streets and the starter was just inside the stone portico.  Cars were idling with the badaloop, badaloop, of hi-lift cams, and when they reved up, there was the high pitched scream of small displacement, high RPM engines.  I loved it.  They were racing over stone streets and public roads that still had traffic.  That is real racing.  I tried to take a different way back as there was no way I would drive that dirt trail again.  When I turned off on the little road to Sassetta, it was beautiful, almost two lanes wide but no center stripe.  It was heavily wooded and the wild flowers were blooming, the bridges were NOT two lanes wide.  Then here came the racers, some singly but many groups of 5 or 6.  Fortunately I never met one on a bridge, but it sure woke me up.  Unfortunately most of the restaurants were closed back in Castagneto Carducci, so I settled for some good wine and some tripe stew at a little enoteca.

So it was time to say goodby to Toscana.  I drove into Livorno and checked out the Fortezza Nuova and the Piccola Venezia which were nice,  Then I went to the Terrazza Mascagni, wow, that had to be the most impressive seafront promenade ever. All black and white checkerboard and huge.  I wandered the length and breadth of the 19th century piazza.  Just north of Livorno I stopped for lunch.  The timbale of sea bream was perfect, I am going to learn how to master timbale when I get home.  I tried the traditional Livorno seafood soup.  It was loaded with mussels, octopus, calamari, and several kinds of fish, however the sauce was a thick spicy tomato sauce that eventually overwhelmed my taste buds.  With 1/2bottle of wine, water and espresso it was only $43.  

My last stop was Pietrasanta, a small town that has become a magnet for modern sculpture and art.  I wandered thru the center where there were many tiny art galleries and outdoor installations.  The museum was closed but I sat in a cafe with my Aperol Spritz and watched the world go by.  I scored a $50 room at Villa Tiziana in Marina d Massa. Great breakfast including eggs to order.

The Riviera

It was a long but pretty drive to Monaco.  The toll, $35 was pricey.  Monaco is the 2nd smallest country in the world (after the Vatican) and has the highest population density.  The streets are steep, narrow and confusing.  Eventually I picked a garage and pulled in.  It was immaculate.  In the reserved section there were old Ferraris gathering dust.  Many levels down in the public section I backed my dirty Opel in between a Maserati and a Porsche 911.  When I came out the elevator I was close the Palace and the Oceanic museum, but couldn’t find my phone.  I went back to the car, no phone.  I checked the stair well, no phone. Then I remembered a clunk as I had opened the car door, there it was wedged beside the seat on the door side.  I didn’t even know where I was staying that night without my phone, another disaster avoided.  It was quite a climb up to the old city and the palace.  I had lunch at the Castleroc restaurant on the plazas next to the palace.  There was a chauffeured Bentley sitting outside, so I knew it would be costly but what the heck.  Lunch was delicious, a fancy stuffed sardine starter and grilled John Dory fish for the main, $65 with wine, water and espresso.  

The Oceanic museum was established by the grandfather of the current prince.  He was an avid oceanographer and collected skeletons of marine mammals.  The museum actually had an excellent aquarium, much better than most.  Outside there was an very nice garden to wander thru.  The old part of the city was typical touristville but overlooking the sea, the mansions were stupendous.  I suppose there was a lot more to see, but I don’t much care how the .01% live.

I got back to the garage, $12 parking, but I could not program my GPS until I got outside.  When I pulled out of the exit, someone was right behind me, I turned right and right again, going back the way I came in, but a guy on a motorbike started screaming at me in German, the car has German plates, about going the wrong way on a one way street.  I went around the block, and had 2 tunnels to chose from.  The one I picked eventually lead to the toll gate on the highway.  I sat at the pull-off trying to get either my phone or my GPS to find the little town I was booked in.  After 30 minutes, suddenly both of them found it.  Nether of them could find the address.  When I got to Cap d’Ail I double parked and asked at a Tobacco shop.  I finally thought I was close and called the hotel.  They gave me the old address (the town has renamed the streets)  and I was 50 feet away.  I was only 1.5km from Monaco but you would have to have been a mountain goat to walk it.  Villa Azur was $75 and had a million dollar view of the Mediterranean.  I got an efficiency with a balcony and leopard print sheets?

When I tried to depart the next morning, I realized I should have backed in, trying to back onto a busy highway during rush hour, and on a curve to boot, was a bit harrowing.  I stuck to the coast road as I worked my way to Nice.  The vacation houses of the 1% are in abundance here and the scenery is breathtaking.  Eventually I got to Nice, it really wasn’t that far, and parked under the Contemporary Art Museum.  The French love modern art and as usual, a few pieces mesmerized me but most of it was meh.  The entrance fee was a deal, $10, and that covered 12 museums in a 24 hour period.  I had lunch at a sidewalk cafe on the plaza with the vegetable market.  I tried the local fish soup.  It was brown, and everything had been pureed, but it tasted very good.  With wine and espresso $24.

I found the elevator that went two thirds of the way to the castle ruins, but other than a great view there was not much left to see.  I thought I saw a short cut down the hill to the archaeological museum, but when I got most of the way down, the road was closed so I had to go back up and around, after 30 minutes of walking I was still 25 minutes for the museum.  But I was close to Palais Lascaris, a baroque mansion with an extensive collection of early musical instruments.  There was even an opera singer rehearsing in one room accompanied by an antique piano.  I meandered back to Cap d’Ail avoiding the toll road.  I stopped in Eze, to pick up a few things for breakfast as that was not part of the hotel plan.  They had the cutest little cantaloupes, smaller than a softball.  The baguette, $1.30, was still warm.  

Roman Provence

I opted to take the back roads to Vaison la Romaine.  It was about an hour longer, but no tolls, I got much better mileage going slower, and the scenery was special.  Once I got out of the Nice traffic, I was in a narrow canyon following a small river.  It was so narrow and deep they had undercut the cliff and there was solid (I hoped) rock overhead.  My GPS could not see the satellites.  It was stunning, the only other time I have been in a canyon that narrow was in Morocco and it was not as long.  Eventually I got hungry and stopped at a small bistro, the plat du jour was roast pork, salad, a custardy zucchini casserole, and dessert, with wine and espresso $16. I reached Vaison la Romaine by mid afternoon.  The high light is the old Roman bridge, Pont Romain, that is still used daily.  They had two Roman era excavations, one of which included a theater, and a museum.  I definitely got my money’s worth of ancient Rome. Across the bridge was the old medieval city on quite a hill.  I followed the path to the ruins of the old chateau and it turned into an expanse of rock to scramble up, the view at sunset was worth it. Dinner was at Bistro du’O, the best asparagus soup, roasted pork (again), and cheese in lieu of dessert.  With half a bottle of wine, $50.  In France they don’t charge a cover (coperto in Italian) and do give you a carafe of tap water.

Friday morning I headed out to Orange, which derived its name from a Celtic war god not the fruit.  Orange has two significant Roman sites.  The triumphal arch, which I could not approach because they were redoing the grounds, and the theater.  The theater is the best preserved in Europe.  It was undergoing some restoration but was still impressive.  The entire back wall is intact, and they have been using it for 2000 years. As I continued to drive south thru the vineyards, I saw the sign, Chateauneuf du Pape.  I stopped to take pictures of the chateau ruins, and then drove into the village.  I stopped at an open tasting room, free tastings, and picked up a bottle for my evening tipple.  The village was charming and I wanted to sit on a cafe terrace with a bottle and the plat du jour, but I would have spent the whole afternoon there.  From there I went to Glanum with its extensive Roman ruins.  The town dates from the 6th century BC.  It was originally Celtic and later had a significant Greek influence.  The excavation started in the 1920’s, and in addition to the substantial town there is a triumphal arch and a towering Mausoleum from 50BC. I had a great baguette sandwich and glass of wine for $7.  

It was only another 40 minutes to Arles.  When I got there, there was one of those hydraulic posts blocking the street to the Hotel du Musee, $80.  They let it down so I could unload.  Their parking was full but they told me to park at the train station, which was free.  Dinner at La Plaza was pricey but amazing.  The foie gras serving would have been over $100 in the states and the five lamb chops were perfectly cooked, $50 with half a bottle of wine.

Saturday morning was bright and clear.  The amphitheater was not far. For $11 I got a pass for 4 sites and 2 museums.  The amphitheater had significant restoration work with the local stone and original design.  They use it for bullfighting now. I sat in the stands, with no one else in sight and thought about how far and not far civilization has come.  I then went looking for the old city walls and came upon the Saturday market.  It started out with the usual clothing and junk, but soon morphed into the grandest food market imaginable, fruit, vegetables, bread, charcuterie, cheese, paella vendors, and it went on for blocks. I went back to visit the theater, not much remaining, but they still use it.  The crypt was very interesting, the ground level was 20 feet lower 2000 ago, and the arcade of roman shops was now below city hall.  As I passed by the cafes at Place du Forum, one was serving paella so I sat.  Lunch with half liter of wine, espresso, and dessert, $23.  After lunch I visited the site of the Roman baths and then Musee Reattu which had some Picasso drawings.

I was so enamored of Arles, I stayed another night.  Sunday I drove to Nimes.  The Nimes amphitheater is the best preserved in Europe,and I had bought a combination ticket in Orange that included it.  Unfortunately, it was closed for bullfighting that weekend.  I asked about the bullfighting, but was assured it was very amature and not worth staying.  So I walked to Maison Carree, a Roman temple that has stood the test of time.  The exterior was great, but inside they just showed a film about the founding of Roman Nimes, there was a settlement of southern Gauls already there when the Romans came.  I then walked to the Tour Magne.  The Jardines de la Fontaine were built on the original spring and contain the remnants of the temple de Diane and the Roman reconstruction on the Gallo tower,  It was a nice climb to the tower and a great view of the city from the top.

From there I wanted to go to Pont du Gard, an incredible Roman aqueduct. When I pulled out of the garage and set my GPS, it froze, “searching for satellites.”  Fortunately my phone worked well enough to get there.  Once there I did manage to figure out how to reset the GPS and it came back to life. I have become way too dependant on it for it to fail.  The Pont du Gard is the bridge over the Gard river portion of a 50km aqueduct, built 2000 years ago, with a 1% slope and carried 5 million gallons a day.  The bridge portion is 160 feet high and 900 feet long.  An impressive feat of engineering and construction management in any age. Back in Arles, many restaurants were closed for Sunday, but I found a small place and had the escargot (there were 24) and a perfectly grilled loup (fish).  I wanted a half bottle of wine but they gave me a whole bottle and told me to just drink half, this happens to me in Paris too.  $48 with a cocktail and cheese course.

Well I loved Arles so much I stayed one more night.  Mondays are always quiet days but the archaeological museum was open.  It was a wonder.  They had a Rhone river barge from 50AD that they had recovered not to too long ago.  It was impressive.  There were many interesting artifacts from the Roman period.  Unfortunately the Van Gogh museum was closed on Mondays, so I had a leisurely lunch on the plaza du Forum.  Salad Nicoise, wine and espresso, $23.  I spent the afternoon trying to figure out where to go next.  Dinner was at La Mule Blanche, a delicious duck breast, with 2 glasses of wine and espresso, $27.

Languedoc

I finally pulled myself away from Arles on Tuesday.  I drove down thru the Camargue, a flat marshy area that is the delta of the Rhone.  I saw the white horses that are native to the area but did not see any pink flamingos.  In the heart of the area is the old walled city of Aigues Mortes.  The medieval walls and towers are still intact and you can walk around the entire city on the ramparts. It was once a port but the whole area is pretty much silted in now.  There was the usual plethora of outdoor cafes but after a couple of hours I pushed on.  I stopped at one of the many farm stands and bought a b0x of strawberries to eat on the way. The produce all looked great especially the white asparagus, thick as a broom stick.  By mid afternoon I reached Beziers, a larger city that still had a pedestrian core.  I don’t know how they put an underground garage under a church and old houses, they probably didn’t but it seemed like it.  I walked thru the town and up to the cathedral which has a wonderful view over the valley.  Beside the church there was a small door and when I went thru it, there was an arched courtyard with many ancient architectural artifacts.  In the corner of the courtyard, was an even smaller door that led down some stairs and came out in a beautiful formal garden with a different view of the valley.  A nice find.  I tried to find an ATM but google maps struck out three times.  

My hotel for the next three nights was Hotel du Mas, just outside of Narbonne.  Nice place, free parking, and only $60 a night.  They had an onsite restaurant but I did not have high hopes.  When I went down to dinner there were 15 businessmen, mostly sitting alone, and the food was great.  Three choices each for starter, main and dessert.  I had the Avocado, tuna, and some kind of cheese mixture topping for a starter which was great, good roast lamb and the cheese plate for dessert  $25.

Wednesday I drove.the back roads to Oppidum du Enserune, a Romanized Gallic village dating from the 6th century BC.  I was standing at the gate when they opened, and had it to myself for a short while before people with kids showed up.  It was very interesting to see the development before the Romans arrived,  I then went to look for the Tunnel de Malpas, maybe the world’s first navigation tunnel.  It was dug in 1679 as part of the Canal du Midi connecting the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.  I turned at the sign, and when I came to a fork in the road I took it (thanks for the advice Yogi Berra).  The road got narrower and rougher, so I double checked the directions on Google.  I circled around and wound up back at the aforementioned fork, where I stopped and walked 200 feet and saw the tunnel.  From there I headed for the coast.  I knew if I got to the coast, I would find a waterside restaurant, I think there is a law about that.  I saw a sign for Valras Port and parked when I got there.  I saw a restaurant called “Joel et Valerie” which seemed like a good sign.  They took me into the market part so I could pick out my fish, I had a Dorade and a dozen sardines, grilled.  With 2 glasses of wine and espresso $23.  The back roads, as I returned to the hotel, were the essence of what you imagine as the south of France;  vines starting to leaf out, wild flowers beside the one lane road, tiny villages of stone houses. Dinner that night was local foie gras, followed by a perfectly grilled duck breast.

Thursday I started in Narbonne, a typical market town of the Languedoc.  The cathedral was unfinished as the economy cratered in the 13th century after a 1200 year old Roman dam, that controlled the river, collapsed and you could no longer get there by water from the Mediterranean. It was impossibly tall and if completed might have been one of the largest anywhere.  Les Halles (covered market) was reputed to be one of the most beautiful, but the food displays were so amazing that I scarcely noticed, I could have filled my car.  From there I proceeded to Carcassonne, the embodiment of an ideal medieval castle, zigzag battlements, crenellated walls, and spiky turrets. Inside it was a warren of narrow lanes, cafes, and tacky tourist shops, they get 4 million visitors a year.  The space between the inner and outer walls was not very crowded and a nice way to walk around the town. The area by the church was the least crowded in the whole place. In spite of all the people it was worth the visit and lunch was very good; escargot (6), grilled squid, cheese, espresso and wine, $23.  It was still early and I need one more stop, so I headed for Minerve.  There is an official list of the 200 most beautiful villages in France and it was one of them.  It hangs on the side of a ravine, with an ancient bridge from the highway (you park and walk across, locals can drive).  A delightful visit and almost no one there, maybe busy in the summer but I doubt it.  Languedoc is the largest single wine region in the world.  There were so many wineries as I drove along, that I had to stop at one.  Their top of the line was less than $9 and I really liked the one for $6, I should have bought 2 bottles it was so good.  

Friday it was time to push on, I was really getting tired of driving so my next stop, Pau, was going to be 7 days.  I, reluctantly, decided to start on the tollway to save half an hour, but missed my turn to the west, and had to go 20 miles out of my way, and $3 extra in tolls, to get back on the right road.  Eventually I arrived in Limoux, and it was market day.  A totally non touristy town, with free parking!  I meandered around, bought some oil cured black olives with herbs and cracked green olives with onions, and went on my way.  My next stop was Foix, and it was market day there too.  This town is a great find, a fabulous castle on the rock hanging over the town, winding pedestrian streets, lots of history, a good base for exploring the Pyrenees (next time).  I stopped at a vendor (they were closing up) and he offered some tasting; I bought 2 cheeses and a sausage.  I used google to find lunch, but should have just gone to the main plaza. Had a great salad with lardons and baked chevre.  You get 30 minutes of free parking, plus you don’t have to pay from 12 to 2 so that worked out. I think I will come back when I want to explore the paleolithic cave paintings, and the various valleys of the Pyrenees.

Eventually I had to get back on the tollway.  The service stations on the tollways are used to tourists and usually pretty easy.  I pulled in and tried to used the “pay at the pump” but it didn’t work.  I went inside and paid and tried again, no gas.  I went back in and they fumbled with the machine, I went out and no gas.  I went back in and they sent someone out with me.  He tried but no gas.  He went back in and came out and tried again, no gas.  He went back in, voided my original transaction and came back out, no gas.  Just as he was putting the nozzle back the pump made a noise, hallelujah, it worked.  So it took 30 minutes to get gas.

Pau and Southwest France

I navigated into the center of Pau (pronounced Po) and came to another one of the hydraulic stanchions which went down after I pushed the intercom button and explained who I was.  The Hotel Bosquet, $50, was super accommodating and soon I was settled.  When I returned from parking my car, I saw that the half bottle of wine I brought had lost its cork and spilled on the bed.  When I explained it to the desk clerk, he asked if it was good wine, I assured him it was and he said then it was OK.  I was tired, so I bought another bottle of wine and ate some of my market treasures in my room.  

Saturday was cool and overcast as I started my discovery of Pau.  Pau is barely 1000 years old and its main claim to fame it it is the birthplace of Henry IV, King of France in the 16th century.  When I got to the Castle, $8, the tour was only in French but they did give me an English handout to follow along.  It was fully furnished and even had the turtle shell which was used for Henry’s cradle.  It was definitely one of the most striking castles I have toured, the tapestries were huge, covered every wall and superb.  From there I stopped at Les Halles, the covered food market, for some pate and strawberries.  Just outside the market, I saw a guy shucking oysters.  I sat down and had a dozen and a glass of white wine for $15.  In 2003 I paid $60 for a dozen oysters and a glass of champagne in London, OK it was at Harrods, but still.  The hotel recommended Le Berry on the Place de Clemenceau for dinner.  It was brightly lit and full of locals.  I had the onion soup and the largest serving of tartare I ever saw.  With wine and espresso, $31.  Easter was sunny and bright but the town was dead.  I had a nice stroll along the Avenue de Pyrenees overlooking the river and a view of the mountains.  And even in France people stop me on the street to compliment my hat.  Lunch was a nice sole meuniere and a nap was the highlight of the day.

Easter Monday is a holiday in Europe.  They don’t do anything special, just take the day off.   I had a great lunch but when I went to the mini mart later for wine, I had left my wallet on the bed, so got a few extra steps to go with my embarassment.  Tuesday started cloudy but cleared up quickly.  I made it to the tourist office, but had already figured out all the sites in town but they gave me a great map of day trips in the area.  I went to the Museum des Beaux Arts, but it was closed on Tuesdays.  I stopped at the food hall again, I already have my favorite vendors, and then found a Breton creperie for lunch.  Breton crepes are made with buckwheat flour and mainly savory.  Salad, mushroom and lardon crepe, and wine $10.  After lunch I visited the museum Bernadotte.  He was the second most famous person born in Pau.  He enlisted in the army and after the revolution his career took off.  He became a general under Napoleon.  He treated some Swedish prisoners kindly at one point.  When Sweden was having issues with succession, they decided to elect an outsider to be king and picked Bernadotte.  His descendants still reign, small acts of kindness can pay big dividends. Wednesday, I made it back to the Musee des Beaux Arts and was very impressed with the quality for a small town museum.  Before WWI Pau was a popular winter retreat for the British.  I walked to the three remaining mansions , one occupied, one shuttered, and one being renovated into luxury apartments. They still have very nice formal gardens which are open to the public.  

By Thursday I was finally ready to drive again.  I headed south into the Pyrenees and the Aspe valley.  The Pyrenees are strikingly beautiful and very steep.  The road wound and twisted thru many quaint villages.  The best was Aydus at the end of a spectacular canyon.  Eventually I came to Canfranc and the train station on the Spain/French border.  It was inaugurated in 1928 and is the 2nd largest station building in Europe but it now sits abandoned.  I missed a few of the sites listed on the map because as I came around a bend on a very narrow road, there was a pile driver blocking the entire road and I had to managed a U-turn.  

Friday I wanted to visit an armagnac distillery.  I first stopped at Labastide d’Armagnac which was a very cute village, but every business was closed.  I then found Laberdolive, a distillery that Olivia at the hotel said were friends of his.  It was all closed up but a blond woman, who spoke no English, and a big dog, convinced me there was nothing to see there.  I tried several more places that had signs on the road but all were closed.  I got to Condom, (the name comes from a Gallic word meaning the confluence of two rivers) about noon and had a lovely lunch at Le Balcon, overlooking the town plaza.  Both Armagnac places and the Musee d’Armagnac were closed.  As I left town I tried a few more and all were closed.  I detoured to see a Roman bridge, but it had been completely rebuilt and looked brand new.  When I got to Auch, the capital of Armagnac, even the tourist office was closed for the day.  So after wandering the old city for a while, I stopped on the plaza for a drink.  I don’t understand the economics of these cafes.  How can they sell me a drink, Pastis, for $2.25 and wash the glass and clean the table and still make money?  For me the economics work out just fine!

I had extended my stay in Pau as I loved the town, but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do on my second Saturday there.  I stopped, again, at the Cafe Crystal for a cafe au lait and a croissant.  By this time the waiter knew what I wanted so I didn’t even have to order.  Their croissants are light as air.  I finally had figured out that in Pau, if you order cafe au lait, you get a cappuccino, if you order cappuccino they put whipped cream on it.  Anyway as I finished up I felt something wet on my leg.  When I reached back I discovered that the whole butt of my pants had separated, washed too many times I guess.  I got back to the hotel, holding my pants.  Then I drove to Oloron Ste Marie which was a pretty little village.  I could not go in the cathedral as there was a wedding just starting.  The medieval part of the city was extremely steep, but where the two rivers came together  was very pleasant.  Back in Pau, I had dinner outside at a 70’s themed place.  Pretty soon 9 girls showed up with identical t-shirts that said (in French) the burial of the life of a young girl, so I guess the one in the diaper and the baby bottle full of wine was getting married.  They were having a great time.

Sunday was my last full day in France, and I took a long walk in one of Pau’s many parks.  Lunch was going to be a light salad.  I ordered the Henry IV salad, which came with smoked duck, sauteed duck hearts and a huge slab of foie gras, with 2 glasses of wine and espresso $23.  Monday I said au revoir to Pau.  The first toll station would not take any of my credit cards and they had to send a person to take my cash.  The second toll station took my card, no problem, go figure.  I drove thru Biarritz, a 1900 era wintering spot for royalty and the 1%.  It has seen a revival since the 1970’s and the fin de sicle (end of the 19th century) mansions were awe inspiring.  I walked the beach for a bit and then went to Ascain for lunch.  Ascain is a bit unusual with a 2000+ years history and half timbered houses.  One of the best parts of driving the back roads of France is the trees.  They plant evenly spaced trees on both sides of the road and the branches create and arbor effect.  

Basque Coast

I crossed a bridge into Spain but there is not even a sign to mark the border.  I stopped at Hondarribia, which looks across the estuary to France, and I struggled to find the old part of the city.  Eventually I parked and took an elevator up.  The elevator was the size of a room and had a bench in it.  The old city had a castle that had been converted into a Parador (nice historic hotel) on the main square.  The cobblestone streets and relatively new looking apartments were combined with many cafes and tiny hotels, a pleasant, sleepy village.  By late afternoon I arrived at Casa Rural Jesuskoa, an agriturismo in the center of the Basque Coast, $50.  It was gorgeous, old stone walls, wood floors, marble bathroom, set in park like gardens.  It was out in the countryside but easy day trips from everywhere.

Tuesday I drove to Bilbao, toll road most of the way.  The center of Bilbao has lots of bridges.  Soon I was parked underground and walking down the river.  There is an unusual Calatrava foot bridge which I used to cross over.  The Guggenheim Museum can be seen from almost anywhere along the river, I was surprised to see that it was actually tucked under a bridge at one end.  There were a couple of shiny Jeff Koons pieces outside.  Entrance was only $6.  They had several very nice Jackson Pollock works and a couple of Lee Krasner pieces.  I have never been able to get Mark Rothko, and as to all the Motherwell…I’d rather not say.  The building was magnificent and there were enough works that I liked to make it enjoyable.  From there I walked to the Musee des Beaux Arts, which was closed on Tuesdays.  Then it started to rain, so I thought about lunch.  I looked in the windows of several places and settled on Jardines which had a nice crowd but not packed.  Three tapas filled me up and with 2 glasses of wine I got change from a ten.

 

The rain had let up so I crossed back over the river and wandered thru the old city for a bit.  I almost went back to the hotel but detoured to the suburb of Getxo.  There were some nice mansions by the water but the main sight was the Vizcaya bridge.  This was the world’s first transporter bridge built in 1893 by an associate of Eiffel.  There are 4 towers supporting a high suspension bridge from which hang 36 cables attached to a gondola which holds 8 cars and several pedestrians and it goes back and forth across the river.  It is a World Heritage site and amazing to watch.  I drove thru Zumaia, the village by the hotel, looking for a wine store but could not find one. Back at the hotel they weren’t serving dinner but I got them to make me a ham sandwich and give me a bottle of wine.  Spanish ham is the best in the world, bar none.  Wednesday was another cloudy, misty day. I elected to drive west along the coast road.  The views were dramatic and there were many stunning secluded beaches.  Unfortunately they had let developers run amok in the tiny fishing villages.  They had torn down almost all of the old houses and put up 8 story condo blocks right next to each other.  It was hard to find any of the old towns.  I did manage lunch at Asador Portuondo with a spectacular view, the tuna belly was excellent.  I tried to take the quick way back to the hotel, but the GPS led me up over a mountain on a one lane road, then I took a couple of wrong turns when the GPS was unclear about the intersections.  I would have been just as well off backtracking and saving the tolls.

Thursday was sunny and clear and I took the train the San Sebastian, $5 round trip and free parking at the Zumaia station.  San Sebastian has been a seaside resort since the late 19th century.  It probably has the best city beach in the world, a 3km arc of soft sand.  I walked to the west end and took the century old funicular up to the view point overlooking the city and the two islands in the harbor.  I was torn about lunch, San Sebastian is reputed to have the best Pintxos in Spain and is second to Kyoto for Michelin starred restaurants.  Eventually I settled on Bodegon Alejandro which just got its star this year.  The soup, fried artichokes, and strawberries with mascarpone were superb but the anchovies, not so much.  Still it was less than $50 with two glasses of wine.  I picked up some ham, cheese, bread and wine for supper in my room, $10.  

I was not sure what to do on Friday but Ramon suggested a few things.  First I stopped at Getaria, whose old town sits on a rocky peninsula and avoided the developer’s lust.  The town has two famous sons, Juan Sebastian Elcano, who captained to only ship in Magellan’s fleet to finish the first circumnavigation of the world (Magellan died enroute) and the couturier Cristobal Balenciaga.  The latter has a huge museum dedicated to his work.  It reminded me how much of 1960’s fashion he defined, and how his work only worked on short women.  From there I drove past San Sebastian to Pasaia where they were working on a replica of a 16th century whaling ship that had been built in Pasaia and foundered off the coast of Newfoundland.  For $.75 you could take a passenger ferry across the estuary to an unspoiled traditional fishing village.  I walked out to the lighthouse and back to Casa Camera, which hangs out over the water, for lunch.  Wow, white asparagus starter, perfectly grilled Hake steak, and armagnac ice cream, $50.  On the boat ride back across, a gust of wind took one of my favorite hats.  That hat had been to Newfoundland, Poland, Morocco, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and even Monaco.  It was getting a bit pilly and was losing it’s shape, but it was not discarded.  It chose when it was time to go and was last seen floating majestically in the Bay of Biscay.

Saturday it was time to leave the Basque country, I struggled with how to get to the east coast of Spain and did not finally resolve my route until I was actually driving.  I meandered east along the foothills of the Pyrenees, seeing some great scenery and passing thru small villages.  I stopped for lunch in Huesca, a nondescript industrial town.  I drove past a few places and finally saw Dona Taverna.  It was 1:30 and the place was empty, but the seafood case was packed with goodies.  I had the Menu del Dia, Assorted Mariscos was a platter of Mussels, Langoustines, Jumbo Shrimp, and Razor Clams.  The main course was roast suckling pig and desert was a cheese torta with fresh berries.  With a bottle of wine and coffee it was $28.  When I left at 3pm it was packed.  I finally rolled into the Salles Hotel by the Girona airport after way too many hour on the road.

Sunday was windy and I went to l’Escala to see the roman ruins.  When I got to the town, there was a Marathon race going on, and it took 30 minutes to get around the course to the parking for the ruins.  For unknown reasons the entry was free that day.  First there was the ruins of a Greek city from the 6th century BC which had been extensively excavated.  It was a couple hundred yards from the beach (and the start/finish line of the race) with a great view.  The Roman city dated from the 2nd century BC and was uphill from the Greek ruins.  It had not been excavated so much.  The Romans had come initially in 218 BC during the 2nd Punic war.  The wind eventually got to me and I left for Figueres, the birthplace of Salvador Dali.  I had tried to buy a ticket to the Teatre-Museo Gala Salvador Dali online but the site said to get one in person.  I easily found the Museo but the line was an hour long.  So I did the next best thing, I had lunch.  I found a highly rated Tapas place on a side street, it was 1:30 and no one was there, when I left at 3 it was packed.  The first course was morels in a foie gras cream sauce with a soft poached egg.  Next was a braised octopus tentacle with garlic mashed potatoes, then oxtail in a marrow sauce, with dessert coffee and wine $51, I felt like it was a bargain.  Jocelyn was coming the next the next day so I quit early to get caught up on my blog and email.

Down the east coast of Spain

May 1st I picked up Jocelyn at the Barcelona airport.  I thought Monday would be a good day to visit Montserrat, forgetting that May Day is a major holiday in Europe.  We got almost to the top, and the traffic came to a complete halt.  After 30 minutes with no movement, and no place to pull off, we turned around.  Fortunately Jocelyn had a book of Backroads of Spain and we set off to Santes Creus to see an old monastery, founded in 1180.  While we were there, we picked up some cheese and sausage at an outdoor market.  Then we drove to Montblanc, a walled medieval city with 31 towers.  There was a huge Medieval faire going on with people in costumes, loads of kids, and sausage grilling everywhere.  All the outdoor places were packed and seemed to be serving the same thing, ribs and sausages.  Eventually we ate at the Andalusian Cultural Center.  They were grilling on the sidewalk and we sat upstairs  at old tables with the local families.  The blood sausage was great, and lunch with 2 beers was $25.  We visited the cathedral and the walls before heading to Tarragona and the hotel Astari, $110 with parking.  We walked up to the old walled city, which was very pleasant in the evening.  We have adapted to the Spanish rhythm, lunch at 2 and dinner after 9.  We found a place on the plaza, just outside the walls with a fixed price, including wine of $17.  My first course was seared pear in a tortellini with wild mushroom sauce and Jocelyn’s was duck confit in a cannelloni.  The entire meal was a deal.

I woke Jocelyn up early (8:30) because there was a lot to see in Tarragona.  We walked down to the main circle where there was a great statute of Catalonia’s new favorite sport, human pyramids (bullfighting has been outlawed).  From there we stopped at the ruins of the Roman forum.  As we headed for the park we passed the old bullfighting arena and asked what was there to see on the guided tour?  It turned out that only on Tuesday at 1:30 there was also a Flamenco show.  We signed up for the tour and show.  I was not expecting much but it was a terrific show that lasted 1.5 hours.  After that we skipped the park and went to the necropolis which spanned the Roman and early Christian eras.  It was discovered in the 1920”s when they were building the tobacco factory which was a cluster of Beaux Arts buildings.  The necropolis was immense, well presented and much more interesting than you would think.  Going down into one of the old crypts was a highlight.  From there we went to the old port for a drink.  Dinner that night was again amazing, a tower of fried sardines and some baby octopus in sauce for starters and Jocelyn had squid Paella and I had a cioppino with monk fish.It was $85, with a bottle of cava and dessert but OMG good.

Wednesday started out overcast, and we walked to the Archaeological museum, which had lots of Roman artifacts from the many excavations in the area.  The whole town had bits of Roman buildings scattered everywhere.  On the way out of town we stopped at the Roman Aqueduct which was in the best shape of any I have seen.  We then took the long drive down the Delta d’Ebre and the small town of Riumar.  We thought we would see lots of birds, but just saw lots of rice paddies.  Riumar was a delightful, one story, resort town at the end of the road.  Lunch included razor clams and a $7 bottle of wine that was delicious, followed by a walk on the beach.  The sand was extremely fine and almost no one was about.  Tortosa was our next stop and turned out to be quite nice.  Some Roman remnants, a nice cathedral, and a great castle with a view over the city and surroundings.  By then It was almost 5 so we turned for Valencia, a large, but ancient, port city.  Our hotel, Mediterraneo $113, was in the heart with public parking right across the street.  The restaurant owned by the hotel was disappointing, but they made a adjustment in our hotel bill when we checked out to compensate us.

Thursday we started walking around, and the architecture was really nice.  The old Silk Exchange building  was quite elaborate and a must see.  We wanted to see the weekly water rights tribunal but the crowd was too much and we finished up with the Ceramic Museum.  We got back on the road about 1:30.  We only had time for one stop so we went to Xabia, a very pleasant beach town.  Unfortunately all the historic sights were on the bicycle route not the car road.  We did drive up into the hills above the port where the 1%  had their summer houses and the road was so steep and narrow I don’t  know how they paved it.  After some very boring highway driving we arrived at the Parador de Lorca.  It was within the walls of the castle perched on the hill above the old town of Lorca, a truly four star hotel.  Dinner was great and we were tired.

We opted for a relaxed day and drove down the hill to the old city of Lorca.  In May of 2011 there had been a massive earthquake and they were still recovering a bit.  We walked pedestrian area of the old city and visited the local archeological museum.  The magnificent Cathedral of St Patrick was closed.  There were many plazas with cafes and we had a light lunch with an amazing salad of tomatoes, and tuna, and 2 kinds of anchovies, and capers and other stuff.  In the early evening we walked to castle grounds, it started as a Moorish castle and became a christian castle of the border with the Moors.  There were almost no other visitors and the displays were quite well done.

The South of Spain

Saturday we managed to get on the road by 10 and headed for Granada.  The city of Granada was founded by the Moors and has no Roman roots.  The name comes from pomegranate, the city symbol.  We got there about noon and tried to navigate to the old part and drove down many very narrow streets eventually we pulled into a very narrow, very old garage.  We actually had found the center of the old city,  We walked to the cathedral and thru the squares where there were several weddings and other celebrations.  Up the hill a bit we came to the old Moorish section with its whitewashed houses all jammed together in the typical chaotic manner.  The city definitely had a different feel.  Late in the afternoon we drove up to the Alhambra.  Some guy tried to wave us into a parking lot, and when I said we were going to the Parador, he said to wait as it was complicated.  He then led  us up and around to the gate and tried to shake us down for $20.  

The Parador San Francisco is actually inside the walls of the Alhambra, ($450 a night but a once in a lifetime experience.)  They had sent me an email saying they could help with tours of the Alhambra, but the desk clerk said they couldn’t.  He was quite rude compared to any other desk clerk I have dealt with on this trip.  He gave us a map in Spanish and we had to go to the tourist office to get one in English.  We walked down to the ticket office but there was nothing and they said you had to line up at 5am to get a daily ticket.  So after a drink stop, two wines, a beer and a bowl of Gazpacho for $12, we walked around the outside wall.  It was a beautiful walk although downhill.  In about 15 minutes we found ourselves back in the Moorish section of the old city.  We took a cab back to the hotel which was a great tour of the back streets, and I wa glad someone else was driving for a change.  When we got to the restaurant for dinner, the desk clerk had not made the reservation!  They did give us the last available table.  Dinner was wonderful, a cod and orange ceviche, the most tender fat octopus tentacle, dessert and a great bottle of wine.   Even after the 15% coupon the last Parador had given us it was $97.

The morning desk clerk was really pleasant and quickly arranged for us to join a tour at 10am.  The tour guide Taraqi was originally from Cairo but now a Spanish citizen.  It took  a bit to get organized but the tour was way better than most group tours.  The Alhambra was a Moorish citadel on the hill opposite the old city.  It was the last Moorish city to fall in 1492.  Originally Ferdinand and Isabella were buried there.   We started in the gardens which were outside the walls and had a view of the fort and the old city.  From there we visited the palace that Charles V built but did not finish because he expelled all the converted muslims had then had neither the taxes or the labor to finish it.  The exterior was Baroque and the center was circular.  We then visited the old fort and the three palaces.  Washington Irving had stayed in one of the palaces when he was the ambassador to Spain.  Over the years the palaces fell into serious disrepair but, more recently have been carefully restored bit by bit.  The tour lasted almost four hours and was well worth the $50.

The drive to to Malaga was thru olive country with trees on the hills on both sides.  Hotel Sur, $100 was on a pedestrian street and a bit hard to find but we did find the garage entrance and followed another car in.  For a two star hotel it was quite nice and excellently located.  The first thing we came to as we started walking was the Malaga Gastronomy festival.  Loads of food and wine booths and several bands.  A little further along we came into the Parque de Malaga, a 250,000 square meter botanical garden with trees from all over the world.  We stopped at a stand by a playground for a great Pina Colada with fresh fruit, $6.  The walk by the port had a branch of the Pompidou Contemporary Art Museum.  From there we visited the city Beach which went on forever.  The bodies playing beach volleyball were not memorable nor was their play.  Dinner was on the plaza in front of the cathedral.  Outdoor cafes, guitarist playing, perfect temperature, fried anchovies, ox-tail meat balls and a killer salad, $44.

Monday we went by the Cathedral and paid the $5 entrance fee.  It was quite impressive including an organ with two banks of pipes, it must really roar when they play it.  Then we went to the Alcazaba which was sort of a mini Alhambra.  Set just above the Roman Theater, it was in much better shape than Alhambra and very few people early in the morning.   We clambered up, down, and around all parts of it, taking lots of pictures.  Picasso was born in Malaga and they had a nice museum with his work and the house where he was born is a museum too.  Close to the port we came to a line of horse drawn carriages, $30 for a 45 minute ride.  We did pass the Bullfighting arena and the weather was perfect for a ride around the park.  Our hotel was in a district called Soho where artists had painted some large murals on the walls, so we wandered around taking pictures of them at the end of the day.  La Barra, close to the cathedral was our choice for dinner.  Steak Tartare and Blood sausage for starters, an arugula salad wrapped in thinly sliced salmon next, tripe stew with garbanzo beans, and the a dessert of very thin wafers layered with cream Catalan and crispy almonds, a nice bottle of Rioja Crianza, and espresso.  We were stuffed for $48.

We were very indecisive about where to stop on the way to Seville but finally settled on Gibraltar.  The Garmin and Google maps got into an argument which we settled after a series of U-turns.  There was a line to get across the border into Gibraltar, and they were checking passports.  Gas was 20% cheaper than Spain so we filled up first.  We parked and started walking down Main Street.  The center of the old town is strictly pedestrian and teeming with people.  Surprisingly there was quite a bit of litter.  We saw the historic buildings and walked to the cable car.  $13 each for the 6 minute ride up, 1500 feet elevation.  The views we spectacular from the top.  We went right from the top station, passing several lookouts and battery emplacements, because we wanted to see the caves.  It turned out they were part of the Nature Reserve option we did not add to our cable car ticket.  Looking in the entrance there were a lot of colored lights and we probably didn’t miss much.  It seemed like we were halfway down so we kept walking, the views we great and the macaques (a kind of monkey) were cute and ubiquitous.   It took about another hour to reach the town center on mostly paved roads and paths, but there was a steep rocky part.  Back in the car we decided to do the loop road and completely circumnavigated the Rock of Gibraltar!  Two hours brought us to the four star Hotel Cervantes in Seville, $90.  It was in the heart of the old town and had an elevator to take the car down to a 13 space garage.  The hotel was gorgeous with multiple courtyards and small public rooms.

The Western Plains

Wednesday was cool, cloudy and misty as we headed out.  Our first stop was Iglesia Del Salvador an elaborate baroque church built on the site of a mosque.  From there we went to the cathedral, the largest I have ever seen,  Fortunately we bought a combined ticket at the first church and could skip the huge line.  The tomb of Christopher Columbus is in this cathedral.  The bell tower is the minaret from the previous mosque.  Then we went to the Real Alcazar, (royal castle) which is still the official residence of the royal family.   It was an OMG beautiful place.  The buildings were amazing but the 17 acres of gardens were the true spectacle.  Half way thru Jocelyn and I got separated but after half an hour we found each other again.  You could easily spend the whole day there and no see it all.  After several hours of wandering thru room after dazzling room and gardens inviting contemplation we broke for lunch.  Sangria, gazpacho, olives and a tomato salad with mackerel $16.  Finally we visited the Palacio de la Condesa Lebrija, still family owned and occupied until 1999.  The tile work, from Roman mosaics on the floor to Moorish walls was truly amazing.  The countess spent 13 years from 1901 putting this master piece together.  The $9 included a private tour of the second floor.  The day ended with dinner and a Flamenco show at Tablao Flamenco El Arenal,  $60.  The show was great, dinner not so much and the wine even less.  

Thursday was sunny and we skipped the $10 breakfast at the hotel and found a spot where the toast of the day was a toasted roast pork sandwich, with coffee $3.  We started at Hospital los Venerables in an historic building with great chapel and the organist was practicing.  Unfortunately only one gallery was open, it was great with a few by Velazquez but not much for the price.  The Flamenco museum kept asking Jocelyn “you are a senior yes?”  Finally she said yes and we got in for $6 each.  It was very good with interactive exhibits and lots of flamenco art.  We then visited the Palacio de Salinas, a wonderful 16th century palace still occupied by the Salinas family.  The matriarch still lives there at age 98, she has 12 sons.  We had a private tour, $6 each, and the tile work, Roman mosaics, and moorish architecture were amazing, a very special place, not on the usual tourist track.  After a nice lunch; 4 tapas and 2 glasses of sangria, $16.50, we went to the Torre del Oro.  The first two floors were a maritime museum and up 112 steps was an observation deck.  We took the one hour river cruise $16 each, but it was not the most interesting.  We tried to have dinner at a nice looking fish place but they said they were booked 10 days out.  Two doors down was La Pitarra, fried anchovies, tomatoes with tuna, grilled pork, a bottle of Rioja, and some Pedro Ximenes  $45.

Friday was sunny and we went back to our $3 breakfast place before leaving town.  I’m starting to get used to driving streets so narrow the side mirrors need to be folded in.  Our destination was Merida with the best Roman ruins in Spain.  Our hotel was in the heart of the sites, Hotel Merida Palace, 5 stars $103 with breakfast.  We walked to the Alcazaba and bought our combination ticket for all sites $7.50.  The Alcazaba was built by the Romans, renovated by the Visigoths, Moors, and Christians.  During the Spanish civil war it was used by both sides.  One part has been converted into offices of the regional government.  There was a great view of a Roman bridge with a Calatrava Bridge in the background.  The best part was going down in a building with an underground cistern.  From there we visited the Visigoth museum, the first Visigoth artifacts I ever saw.  The stone carving was unique.  I was raining so we opted for a nap until the sites reopened at 5.  

In the evening we visited an old Roman villa and then circus (hippodrome), which was huge, over 1500 feet long.  The archaeological museum was one of the best and across the street was the Roman theater and amphitheater, both in pretty good shape.  Dinner included mushrooms stuffed with Roquefort

and ham that were incredibly rich.

 

Castile

 

Saturday was partly cloudy and we saw four more Roman sites, including the Temple of Diana before we checked out.  Caseras Is a bustling town north of Merida with a medieval heart, narrow cobblestone lanes, and great sandstone buildings.  There was a festival going on with lots of street musicians.  We finally got to Salamanca by 6 and checked into the Estrella Albatros hotel.  Apparently I was supposed to make a separate reservation for parking, so I had to find a public garage.  Salamanca is a college town with beautiful buildings and churches built out of golden sandstone.  The whole pedestrian core has a golden glow.  We  wandered the streets taking pictures.  There was a book fair going on in the main square.  We picked a very traditional place for dinner.  The cold cut platter was enough for 6 people as was the side of green beans with tomatoes.  Our mains were grilled kidneys and tongue stew, the best we ever had.  Dessert was lemon sorbet served in a hollow frozen lemon. $91 for two.

 

Sunday we drove the “Spine of Castile.”  Our first stop was the old walled city of Ciudad Rodrigo, by the border with Portugal.  It was a significant player in the war with Napoleon.  We walked in the footsteps of Wellington on the ramparts, visited the palaces and churches, and had a coffee on the Plaza Mayor.  We also saw an old Roman bridge from the walls.  From there we went to La Pena de Francia, the highest peak in the area, 1700 meters, With a dominican Monastery on the top.  The views made you feel like you were on the top of the world.  There is a nondescript grotto where someone claimed to have seen a vision of a black madonna.

 

La Alberia, a Spanish national monument, is a sleepy village of half timbered stone buildings.  The stores selling ham had scores hanging from their ceilings.  The main plaza is worth a stop for a glass of ….  Miranda de Castanar is perched on a hill, with a crumbling 15th century castle and great views.  Candelario was steep with wood framed, whitewashed houses, traditional architecture, and small stone canals carrying water on the sides of the streets.   Back in Salamanca we visited a museum of Art Deco and Art Nouveau.  It had some exquisite glass work and several paintings by Celso Legar, whose work I really liked.  Dinner included pimentos stuffed with shellfish and sauteed sweetbreads.  

 

Monday started with a long drive to Cueva de Valporquero, an extensive cave system north of Leon.  For $7.50 each we got an almost 2 hour tour including 22 flights of stairs and 2.5 KM of underground paths.  There was a great waterfall at one spot and the sound of rushing water could be heard in half the cave. It was very dramatic and well light, though the guide’s narrative was in Spanish.  All in all, an excellent diversion.  Back in Leon we did some speed sightseeing.  The most prominent building in Leon was Done by Gaudi in 1893.  It was quite subdued but very elegant.  We also visited the Palacio del Conde Luna with its city museum, the Basilica de San Isidro, and the cathedral, which was just closing.  Dinner was spinach croquettes, octopus Galician style, and a mashed blood sausage that was like a pudding and was the best I have had.  Hotel Conde Luna was four star, $65 and the nicest room of the trip.

 

Tuesday we headed back south stopping first in Tordesillas to visit a Palace built in 1344 and later converted to a convent.  The convent was also used to dump unwanted Queens so the King could play around.  One room had some very early keyboard musical instruments and another part had some gorgeous baths.  The city is famous as the place where Spain and Portugal negotiated the treaty that divided up the new world.  From there we went to Avila whose walls extend 2.5 Km with 88 towers and 9 gates.  Total enclosed area is 77 acres and you can walk most of the way around on the walls (free between 2pm and 4pm).  I don’t often pay to go into a Cathedral having seen many, but the one in Avila was worth the $4.5.  Very interesting architecture and historical displays.  We stopped on the plaza for a Pitcher of Sangria, $10, before heading to Segovia.

 

Segovia is a world heritage site, perched on a hill with its walls intact.  We checked into the four star Casa Mujedar, just steps off the main plaza. $49, and started walking.  They have a spectacular Roman aqueduct that has 167 arches and still extends over a KM.  There are two founding myths; it was founded by Hercules, or a son of Noah.  There were even Roman Ruins in the basement of the hotel.  Dinner at Jose Maria was and appetizer of sardines and anchovies, Jocelyn had the amazing suckling pig and I had a huge veal t-bone.  With wine, dessert, coffee, and Pedro, $100 and well worth every cent.

 

Wednesday we found another $3 breakfast place and then found how to get up on the walls, the tourist office gave us the code for the gate.  The Alcazar was a fairy tale style castle with turrets and towers and dungeons.  The tapestries  and furniture were impressive and the views over the valley were too.  They also had a large weapon exhibit.  Overall it was quite well done, if you could pace yourself to avoid the groups.  We learned that there was also a subterranean part of the aqueduct.   On the way to the cathedral we stopped at the gastronomic museum of local products, nicely curated.  I picked up a sparkling carrot cider for a friend.  The cathedral was interesting with several side rooms of exhibits.  It sprinkled rain lightly in the afternoon as we walked about taking pictures of several ancient houses.  One convent had the tower of Hercules with a statue of him inside, but it was not open to the public.  The museum Rodera Robles, free on Wednesday, had a good exhibit on the history of graphic prints.

 

Thursday started out misty.  Our first stop was the church of Vera Cruz, and octagonal building, erected by the Knights Templar similar to the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.  It was very unusual and there was a great view of Segovia’s castle from there too.  La Granja de San Ildefonso, built 1720, was modeled on Versailles.  It is smaller but the gardens are every bit as good including 26 classical fountains.  The interior alone was worth the stop.  Unfortunately it was raining when we got there and foggy when we left so we didn’t get great pictures of the Gardens.  Aranda de Duero is known for its underground bodegas, but they turned out to be the only bars in the country to close at lunch.  It was a lovely town for wandering and we sat in a plaza for a glass of rose`, $1.30 each!  Penaranda de Duero is a cute town with an abandoned castle on the hill above and a winery co-op that had good inexpensive local wine.  Clunia Had extensive Roman ruins, including a theater and baths.  We were the only ones there.  We finally arrived at the Hotel Soria Plaza Mayor and had a room overlooking the plaza.  Dinner appetizers, ham with melon and white asparagus with two sauces were great, but our mains not so much.  In the morning we walked to the ruins of the monastery of San Juan which had the most beautiful set of arches around the former cloister.  There was also the shell of the old chapel and the column capitals was all different and delightful.

 

We finally left Castile and stopped in Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon.  The basilica was unusual with many colored tile roofed domes and a couple of frescoes by Goya.  Goya was born in Zaragoza and the Goya museum had 500 of his etchings on display.  The third floor had an exhibit of Spanish painters influenced by Goya that we enjoyed.  There were a few Roman ruins including a nice unrestored theater.  They really shut down from 2 to 5 and even turn off the fountains.  We decided we didn’t have time for the Moorish palace and drove on to Lleida.  We only picked Lleida to stay because it was close to Barcelona and as far as I wanted to drive in one day.  There was not much to see but we did find dinner after a nice walk. The Kimo was a high end Tapas place.  They didn’t have an English menu and it took me a bit to understand the  menu was in Catalan not Spanish, Google can do both.  We started with tempura eggplant spears accompanied by a nice sauce and honey, which actually worked with the spears.  The best dish was very succulent grilled beef atop risotto with porcini mushrooms.  The last dish was sliders, seasoned with teriyaki and ginger, topped with a wasabi mayo.  So we had 4 plates, dessert, a bottle of Rioja, coffee, and a glass of Pedro Ximenez, $53 total.  

Catalonia

Barcelona was less than two hours away.  I dropped Jocelyn off, as I had spent a week there some years back, and drove to Besalu.  This is a great medieval town with a spectacular bridge leading into it.  The Hotel Comte Tallaferro, $90, was right on the main plaza.  Garmin said to turn but it looked like a sidewalk so I kept going, I turned around when I could not find another way into the old city and saw someone turn into the narrow lane that did not seem like a place for cars.  I followed, winding down very narrow walkways and tight turns, and eventually arrived at the hotel.  The guy who checked me in spoke no English.  I got settled, fund the free public parking, and started wandering and taking pictures.  The church was busy, first with a christening and then a wedding.  As I sat in the plaza sipping my wine I watched two young boys, one maybe six, display some impressive ball control with a soccer ball.  Dinner was a splurge at the restaurant Pont Vella, overlooking the ancient bridge into the city.  The $2.50 cover included bread, water, olives, a kir royal, and two “snacks”, one a foie gras mousse with a quail egg and one a house smoked salmon with blood orange. I started with morels in a foie gras cream sauce and then had roast pigeon in a prune sauce.  I miss my travel buddy already.

Sunday morning a flea market was setting up on the plaza.  They had some very nice old stuff, but I don’t need stuff, so i found a sunny cafe for breakfast.  For some reason I decided to stop in Olot and found a free parking place on the plaza.  I wandered around taking pictures and headed for the main square.  There they were setting up for an human pyramid competition.  There were many teams and suddenly one started going up.  Counting the two little kids at the top they were 8 people high.  15 minutes later another team went up and this time as they came down they left a totem of 4 single people on each other’s shoulders.  I could have stayed all afternoon, but left after three teams, the last of which, I videoed. I wanted to see the monastery at Ripoll but they had the streets blocked for a race.

Andorra

I finally got to Andorra by early evening.  I stayed at Hotel Pitiusa, $35, an acceptable two star in the heart of the capital Andorra la Vella.  The town seemed like a giant shopping mall.  The liquor prices were eye popping, about ⅓ of what we pay in the states and half what I payed in France.  Dinner was at Marisqueria Don Denis; Razor clams followed by a great roast lamb.  In the morning I walked to see Casa de la Vall, the seat of government built in 1520.  There was a small pedestrian neighborhood surrounding it providing the only quaint part of the city.  When I went to get my car, the parking machine did not take credit cards or bills larger than a ten.  I asked a few people for change and finally one pointed out a bank.  The bank would not break the 20 because I didn’t have an account.  So I tried looking for a store but they were not open yet.  Finally I found two guys sitting outside a cafe that was not open yet but they kindly gave me change.  The road north wound thru several ski areas with typical looking ski condos.  Tourism and skiing are the main commercial activities in Andorra.

Toulouse

When I crossed the border into France, the road got narrower and much steeper, with hair raising hairpin turns.  After almost 2 hours to go 86 Km I arrived at the Niaux cave, one of the few caves with paleolithic paintings that is open to the public.  The only English tour, $12 book online, was at 1:30 and there were only 9 people.  The two other Americans were from Portland too, small world.  The guide tried to talk me out of going, saying it was slippery and dark and you had to walk very fast and you could not touch the walls and there was nothing to hold on to and I could not take my walking stick or my water.  He did not offer to give me my money back.  He passed out torches (British for flashlight) and mine gave a feeble yellow glow.  The first 600 meters were not too bad and there was handrail in a few places.  At that point we saw some red geometric designs painted down low.  From there we scrambled up a sandy rock slope for another 200 meters where we had to give up our torches, it was completely dark.  He led us to a handrail and then illuminated the first group of 17,000 years old paintings.  WOW, there were horses, and bison, and an Ibex.  The next group had more bison and the third group had more ibex but were only 16,000 years old.  They had done radiocarbon dating.  The farthest painting from the entrance was over 2 Km into the cave.  On the way back out I got a torch that actually put out good light and had no trouble, but the younger woman behind me was complaining she could not see, I guess she got my first torch.  

My hotel in Toulouse was the Cousture, $75, just on the edge of the old town.  After I unloaded my luggage, I went to drop the car off, I could only find self service gas stations and none of them would take my credit card, and there was noone there to take cash.  I dropped the car off with Hertz and they said fine, later they emailed me an invoice for $355, they charged double for the fuel and added 19% on the drop charge and the fuel, ooff.  The tram back was $1.60 and a pleasant ride and a nice walk from the last stop to the hotel.  Dinner was at  Le Colombier, specializing in local dishes.  I had Foie Gras two ways (both yummy), duck breast, and a lovely cold souffle.  I was thinking about coming back the next night until I got the bill.  I asked for a glass of Armagnac, and they had given me a $20 glass of XO.  A memorable meal nonetheless.

Toulouse is known as the rose city for all the pink brick buildings.  Tuesday was overcast but pleasant as I wandered the city.  There was a convent where the Dominican order was founded and Thomas Aquinas is buried. The city basilica was nothing fancy.  Wandering the streets, looking at the old mansions, and having a coffee in a cafe, make for a perfect day.  I discovered that on the first floor above the market there were several small restaurants serving what they had sourced right below.  I had a salad with foie gras and duck, a grilled Dorade, and strawberry tarte, wine and coffee $20.  I tried to buy a couple of whole foie gras but the clerk  talked me into getting canned, did not want to have them confiscated.  Dinner was at Bistro Emile.  Again foie gras, then cassoulet, and a raspberry macaron with lemon ice, $48.  I now understand what the fuss over cassoulet is.  This one was pure ambrosia.

Since I had wasted money by not filling up the car, i decided to take the airport shuttle instead of a cab.  I lugged my bags 4 blocks and waited for 30 minutes at the stop with the big airport shuttle sign  before I asked a bus driver and he said across the street.  Since I had not seen one go that way either, I took the elevator down to the subway.  A security guy walked me to the right train and showed me on the map where to change to the tram.  When i got off there was an elevator up to the bus level but only an escalator to the tram level.  I did not think things thru enough and part way up my bags, all 100 pounds of them, started to tip.  I could not let go and over I went.  Now I was below my bags and here they came and over again I went.  It seemed like at least two somersaults with bags going everywhere and my glasses parting ways.  Someone grabbed my glasses and a couple of guys got the bags and I went up on my back.  I scooted off the top and took a couple of minutes to get my bearings.  Eventually I got up, and gathered my stuff and hobbled to the tram.  It looked like I spilled wine on my sleeve but finally I found out I had a huge hole in my arm, and my shoulder was very sore.  Later my side started to ache and I think I cracked a rib.  The tram was packed but I squeezed in, no young person would cede a seat.  At the airport, I checked in and flew to Frankfurt, of course the check in and the gate were at opposite ends of the terminal.  In Frankfurt I found a clinic where they cleaned me up and bandaged me for $55, the bandage started slipping off in 30 minutes but I did feel better.  My Bose headsets died, new batteries did not help, but at least it is a nonstop flight, 11 hours.  I took Uber instead of MAX when I got to Portland, so there went my savings from Toulouse not to mention the clinic in Frankfurt and all the pain for the next week or so.

Eleven weeks, 11,000 Km of driving, 6 countries, uncounted bottles of wine, great food, interesting history, and I met some very nice people.