Day Thirty Four: There Must Be Someway Out of Here!

Said the Joker to the Queen.

While that song goes round and round in your head, let me tell you about the morning.

It started as usual on a check out day. Meet in the lobby, load the car and drive off in to sunrise.  Well our hotel had an agreement with the underground garage for a special rate. We turn in our ticket for a spacial credit type looking card and and we get a half price . Just wave the card at the gate and you are gone. So we go to the elevator we used when we came in and no matter what we tried the door to the parking garage would not open. Of course there is a number to call but the mechanical voice on the other end is in Catalonia which only people who live here speak. Remember they voted to leave Spain 1 year ago? Different story. So I walk back to the hotel and then they tell me which exit to enter the parking garage with and then all will be OK. Enter garage and load car and figure out which exit is the Exit ( remember everything is in Catalonia not Spanish). Get to gate and it doesn't open. So I press the buzzer again and an English speaking person answers and tells me what to do. That doesn't work. Eventually a lady shows up, does the the same thing I did and you guessed it. Doesn't work for her either. She motions me to a different gate, opens it manually and we are on our way to Valencia. Of course we have to rely on the GPS because, you guessed it, all signs are in Catalonia.

I almost forgot to mention that the GPS took us through Barcelona (not around) so we drove by the Sagrada Familia church and one of Gaudi's houses. Only got a picture of the house.

The closer we get to Valencia, the brighter the sky is and the rain stops. The drive skirts the Mediterranean Sea so it is a nice ride but long. Now to navigate Valencia.

It is Sunday so there is little traffic the whole way, But it is Sunday and certain sections of old city Valencia are closed to traffic. I drive around and around in the old city enough times to qualify to be a taxi driver. Stop next to (Not in front) of our hotel, unload the bags (You take the brunette, I'll take the blond) and they  will check into the hotel while I park the car. Yes I drive around enough to now be a Valencia Bus Driver and finally find the certain underground garage for the car.  Back to the hotel. It is on the second floor and our rooms are on the third. Someone who booked this place failed to see if they had an elevator. But we get into our rooms and by now it is way past time to eat.

In France you have to eat before 2:00 PM or you are out of luck, (Remember Malemort?). But in Spain you need to eat before 4:00 Pm or wait till 8:00 PM.  we rush to the pedestrian eating area, finally find some seats, order some Sangria. But when the waitress brings us our Sangria, she says the kitchen is closed

 Plaza of the restaurant that closed its kitchen.

My Selfie from there.

. Quick up to another restaurant where the kitchen is open and we have a very nice well deserved lunch. It is now 5:00 PM and time for a rest before we go to Dinner at 9:30.

The ladies discussing what we should eat. We some great seafood, olives potatoes and oh yea 2 liters of Sangria. Best return to the hotel to rest. And here it is October 29th and we have our first chilly day where we may need coats.

Only question remaining as we head back to the hotel is:
Linda "I hope the heat is on"
Mary Ann "I hope the air conditioning still works"

Sleep and the big lunch of seafood at 4:30 PM has us not very hungry by the time Spanish dinnertime rolls around. So we go out at 9:30 PM and get some pastry and drinks and go back to the hotel dining area to eat. Didn't even finish that. Mary Ann and I watch the end of "Transformers; Age of Extinction" in Spanish with Spanish subtitles, head back to the room and to bed.

Church near our hotel at night.

Good Night.

Day Thirty Three: Cat in the Rain

t is days like this that I often think of Hemmingway;s "Cat in the Rain". Except this is Spain, not Italy.  Our window faces not the sea nor a war monument and there is no cat down below. But it is raining.
Not much to do when it rains and is cold like it is today. We will eat a couple of meals and maybe find a place to shelter besides or hotel room, but for now that is where I am. We slept in late and then went for Churros and Chocolate. At least that is what Linda and I had. Mary Ann had Cafe au lait in a whiskey glass. Don't know why they served it that way. We walked looking for Benedril for Mary Ann, Success, and nail clipper for me, No success. We walked also looking for an umbrella for me and ran into the Saturday Market which is inside. It was crowed with people doing their shopping for the weekend. Europeans tend to but their vegetables and such each day as needed. Same with the meat for the evening meal. Keeps it fresh.

 Mary Ann walking past one of the many fish mongers.
As we are leaving I see umbrellas for sale and buy one. This is on the theory that if I buy an umbrella, the rain will stop. We shall see.

Long sleepy afternoon. This is what it looked like from our window. Now if this had been at the beginning of the trip, we would be out and about. But now we choose to rest. We need to eat so return to the cafes and restaurants we could not get into because of the party last night. Tonight we are luckier. Nice Italian restaurant in an old building.

 Inside the restaurant.

 Ditto.

 And some more.

The three of us after dinner. Our waiter Juan gave us some good places to eat and drink in Valencia since he used to live and work there. we shall see.

THey have thrown the puppets from last night in Jail. So sad.

And locked up the royalty.

Tomorrow we head south to Valencia for three days as our journey draws to a close.

Did I mention that Mary Ann once had a dress like the lady in the restaurant?

Day Thirty Two: A Pleasant Surprise.

We woke up and checked out of our Beziers apartment thinking we had a 5 hour ride ahead of us. But it turns out Girona is only 2 1/2 hours South. That's the kind of surprises we like. Very foggy day and my GPS takes us through the countryside instead of the Expressway. Well at least for a while.  Eventually we are on the Expressway and get to our hotel in Girona by 1:00 PM. We check in and then head to the old town for lunch.
Now here is where it gets fun. No one wants to lead. One person is map challenged, One person doesn't like to lead and one person has just driven for 2 1/2 hours. So I take the city map the concierge has given us, and start walking towards the Old Town. Thirty steps later I hear in unison, "I don't think that is the right way". I allow my companions to lead the rest of the day. Thank You Jesus.

Girona is a nice  old Spanish city with back alleyways and small streets in abundance. It also has a Romblas much like the famous one in Barcelona. And that is where we head to eat, on the other side of the river that runs through Girona. The weather here is still nice enough to dine al fresco. Nice restaurant, But I order wrong and have octopus with a sauce that overpowers it's delicate taste. I will try again in Valencia, our next stop. I do manage to get down two large glasses of Sangria, so all is right with the world. Time for some pictures.

 Our apartment in Beziers.

 A street in Girona.

 Girona's Romblas.

 A Gaudi style building across from where we ate.

 Mary Ann picking out Pig's Jowls to eat. Delicious.

 More of Girona's buildings.

 The ladies walking the street.

After Lunch we decide to walk the old town area. And guess what, There is a Cathedral there which we just have to go and see. Only 5 Euros each to see both the Baptistery and the Cathedral.

 Outside the Baptistery.

 Inside.

Also inside.

School girls come to see the church. (And get out of school)

Stairs that someone said inspired Jim Morrison to write "Stairway to Heaven"

Cafe where someone said Jim Morrison was sitting at when he was inspired.

 Inside the Cathedral.

 Impossible to calculate the number of South American Indians who died in order to make this alter.

View from the Cathedral's bathrooms.

 After exploring the Cathedral.

 Why I don't join any tourist groups. Tour guide said this arch was something important so everyone took a picture.

Boy scouts on their way to the Cathedral where the school girls are. What could go wrong?

Another Girona street scene.

It is said that if you kiss this lion's statue's Ass you will come back to Girona. I prefer throwing coins in a fountain.

We went back to the hotel to rest, but they threw us a parade so we couldn't rest.

 People dancing with sticks. And making music.

 Normal sized figures dancing.

 The royal Procession.

A bit taller.

Even Scaramouch gets into the act.

View from our hotel window.

Fireworks to celebrate our arrival.


So we walk to the Rombellas to eat and what should appear but a full scale street party, Girona style.

 Over sized heroes as puppets.

 People watch from balcony's.

 Bulls/Dragons are here too.

 This one is controlled by children inside.

How they do dance.

At the Plaza having Tapas with everyone else in town.

So here it is 11:00 Pm on a Friday and everyone including their children are out walking and heading home after eating. I know of no other country where people eat so late. Not snacks, but their Dinner. And it is so nice to see everyone out walking at that time of night. But then again this is just some tourist talking.

Now tomorrow calls for rain, so we shall see what we do in the rain in Spain that falls mainly on the Plain.
I think I've got it.

And also, my direction would have taken us where we wanted to go.

Day Thirty One: Last full day in France. Where has the time gone?

So we wake up in Beziers ready to see this town. Albeit a little late in the morning. But the shower in our room only puts out hot scalding water. Neither I nor Mary Ann can fix it. So we call Dominique the house keeper and she says she will be over in 30 minutes. Mary Ann and Linda go to the Bakery for croissants and coffee where I will meet them once the shower problem is straightened out.
Dominique shows up and gets the shower straightened out in no time making the water just the right temperature. But she insists that we try the shower together. After all this is France. We lather up................
Well you know that didn't happen. but Dominique did set the shower to the correct temperature and I went to have a croissant with Mary Ann and Linda. They only had chocolate left, but went out and bought a plain one for me. So nice. Did I mention it was another sunny warm day?

We walk to the Cathedral of course in a round about way, but get there and have not only beautiful views of the town, but also of the valley below.

Some Pictures.

 The hallway into our apartment.

 The fountain outside our apartment.

 Mary Ann at our breakfast cafe.

 The Plaza of the City Hall

 Walking towards the Cathedral.

 Cafe at the Cathedral.

Fountain outside the Cathedral

We walk to the overlook in front of the Cathedral and then go into the Cathedral itself.

 From the terrace.

 Looking at the Medi Canal

 Two Celebrants atoning for their sins.

 The Rose window and the Organ.

 Could this be a sign?

Well you know if there is a tower you can climb in a church in Europe, yours truly will accept the challenge. Good test for the new knee too.

Half way up. Had to be out by Noon. Don't know what would have happened if I hadn't come out by then.

 View of the top of the church.

 Yes my Apple Watch had my heart rate up.

 I am making it around. No one else in the tower.

 The town below.

 Nice wide step! Looking down

 Looking up.

 The Rose window from half way up or down depending on your point of view.

 Ditto.

 Back down at ground level at the Cafe. If you look close, you can see that the door on the left leads to the "House of Justice" as well as does the place to it's right.

Here is a better look at the nice lights they have all over Beziers.

 Well maybe only a little better.

 Mary Ann at one of the "Take Picture here" Spots

Walking to the Midi Canal.

We have a nice lunch and proceed to walk to the Midi Canal. This is the Canal that linked the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, many many years ago. It is not as long as that but connects to rivers and other canals that flow into the Atlantic.

 Where we ate lunch.

 Strange trees with many different leaves.

 Ditto

Ditto

And then we walked to the canal. We hoped to hop a ride but luck was not with us.

 At a Lock.

 Looking down the Midi

A lock filling up raising the boat. Brings back memories of doing this with friends in France some years ago. Maybe again real soon.

 Someone is always selling a boat.

 And using pretty ladies to get you to buy.

 Won't be long before the Canal is closed for the Winter.

 Now this is my kind of French Car.

If only we had known. we could of booked a room there.

We get back to the Apartment and the ladies rest. I go out for a beer and end up buying supplies for tomorrow's ride. I also manage to buy 5 bottles of Medoc Wine for the rest of the trip. If it doesn't get drank, I will bring it home.

We go to a restaurant we had seen earlier in the day near the Cathedral. It had a "Cabaret" theme. Ambiance was nice but the food was lousy. Guess we will have to come back to France for that one last great meal. Off to Gironda, Spain tomorrow. Don't expect a great blog. It is a 5 hour ride without stops. But you know we will stop somewhere. AS for Beziers, We all give it an A+ and if we come back to this area, it will be to Beziers.