Bem-vindo a Lisboa! (With Brian!)

The last week in September Brian came to Lisbon (Portugal, not Iowa)  for a conference.  Marcio and I decided to take the opportunity to go check out the city! And see Brian, I guess...

Lisboa Arrival!

Take another look at that picture!  Do you see the MOOSE!  Moholt left me at the end of July, but he's BACK!!!  He's a little bigger now, since he grew older and more mature over the course of his Spirit Quest.  I believe this is natural.

Lisbon is a cool city, and we stayed from Wednesday to Sunday.  We arrived and  met Brian for dinner Wednesday then wandered the town Thursday.  Lisbon is a really cool city, since it's a big, urban capital, but it's split into semi-autonomous neighborhoods, giving it the feel of a set of smaller cities clustered together.  We started in Belem (the west part of the city) and saw St Jeronimo Monastery (where Vasco da Gama is burried!), the Monument of Discovery, the Tower of Belem (at the entrance to the port), and  Pasteis do Belem (bakery where they created - or at least perfected - pasteis do natas - see picture below; I ate 3...). From there we headed into the main city and saw the castle, the old convent, the pantheon, and all the squares along the main drag of Lisbon.

Moholt with Pastéis de Nata

Monumento do Descobrimento 

Moholt at the Tower of Belem. It used to be
out in the river, but it´s sedimented in now...

Vasco da Gama!

Alex & Moholt in a castle overlooking...the Golden Gate? 

Friday we went to Sintra, a city in the forested hills just north of Lisbon where the nobility would spend their summers, with all the Berkeley folk from the conference. It's full of palaces, estates, and an old Moorish castle.  We visited the palace on the highest hill (Palacio Pena) and the Moorish castle and tried Travisoras do Sintra (it means "pillows", but they're actually pastries!) before heading back to Lisbon for the night.

Moholt fears Triton's Portal

Palacio Pena

The Crew in the Moorish Castle

Saturday we went to Sintra again, but this time we skipped the touristy palaces and hiked about 20 km through the forest to Cabo de Roca, the western-most point in continental Europe (Ireland beats it by just a little.  And Iceland, but that doesn't count... And I guess Greenland is officially part of Denmark, but everyone knows that's a joke...  whatever).  The view from the cliffs was great, and it was neat to see real swell again (on an Ocean!  not just a silly Sea.)

The Crew at Cabo de Roca (looking west)

Alex & Brian at Cabo de Roca

Moholt making sure he's at the REAL western-most point

Beautiful rocky coast

------------------ BACK TO BARCELONA ------------------

Sunday Marcio and I flew back to Barcelona so we could make it to Monday class, but Brian stayed one more day in Lisbon before coming to Barcelona to visit!  We went to Park Guell (Gaudi's work) Monday afternoon and climbed the hill behind it, from which you can see a lot of Barcelona.

Park Guell - find the moose!

Tuesday we walked all over the city. We circled from Montjuic through Gothic/Ramblas then the beach and finally back up to the house through Eixample.  Long walk.  Wednesday we went to Ciutadel Park then up to Tibidabo, and you can REALLY see all of Barcelona from there!  On the way up we passed Av. Tibidabo 32, of Shadow of the Wind fame. :)

Fountain at Ciutadel Park

Brian 1, Pig 0

Brian is in Apostolic Thinking Position

Moholt and Christ the Redeemer (on Tibidabo)

View from Tibidabo (you can see Park Guell, the Bullet,
the Sagrada Familia, and pretty much the rest of Bcn.

On Thursday Brian packed up and left for Lisbon, whence he'll catch a plane to SFO.  Adios, Mr. Brian!  And now I have to start my thesis for real....

Rockin' Out in Madrid

The second weekend in September Marcio and I went to Madrid to check out the city and see a music festival at the university there. We stayed with my cousin Sylvia, which was great, even though she was out of town until our last morning in town. Madrid is a desert city, which made for some excellent sunsets, and it has some great parks, too.

Crystal Palace

Sunset over the lake in the park

Don Quixote statue at Plaza de España

There's a transplanted Egyptian temple in Madrid (because every European capital needs something stolen from Egypt), and it's a great place to watch the sunset, since it looks west out of the city. Marcio and I went there one evening and, while waiting for the sun to sink, we met GANDALF! An old man with a long, white beard, simple gray clothes, and crystal blue eyes sat with us on a bench and talked with us about anything and everything for over an hour. Actually, he didn't speak - he was under a vow of silence, so he borrowed my notebook and wrote to us. I can't decipher his script now - I think it's probably elvish, which I was temporarily able to understand since I was close enough to Gandalf.

Egyptian Temple - one of Gandalf's regular haunts

The concerts were pretty sweet. The first night we saw Sigur Ros, and the second night we saw The Kooks and The Killers. All three were great, though Sigur Ros was (of course) pretty different from the other two!

It's really a pity, but I didn't get a picture with my cousin. However, it was fun to stay in her place with the 5 cats and the 9 turtles!

Fellow boarders at Sylvia's

 

 

Holy Toledo!

So, when Marcio and I moved out of Delft we sent. Bunch of our stuff (anything we didn't want on the bikes) with Isa, who lives in Toledo, had a car in Delft, and had to leave it at home before flying off for the summer. Thus most of our stuff was still sitting in her folks' house in Toledo. It was a pretty quick plan, but we decided to rent a car for 3 days and go see Toledo, collect our things, and stop by Zaragoza on the way back.

Crossing the Meridian!

The drive was kind of long, but we made it without any major hiccups. Isa's parents were REALLY nice, and the city was beautiful. What was really challenging was trying to function in a social setting in Spanish. This truly stretched my brain and left me very tired, even though I didn't say much. We went to the far side of the river and looked at the city from one of the surrounding hills - it's really a beautiful city. We had a marvelous home-cooked Spanish meal, courtesy of Isa's mom, too. :)

Toledo - it's really pretty!

Bridge into Toledo

The following day we wandered around the city of Toledo, including the really impressive cathedral and the Jewish Quarter, then we hit the road and drove to Zaragoza. Once again, no real trouble along the way, though I think we were all glad to be driving only half way.

Zaragoza by night

In Zaragoza we went to the Aljafería, a former Islamic palace converted to a christian palace then a military fort (with moat!) and now the parlimentary seat for Aragòn. It was a remarkable combination of cultures and architecture. We also went to Nosotra Señora de la Pilar, a HUGE basilica in the center of town. It was impressive for its size, but it couldn't match the cathedral in Toledo for impression.

Islamic-style arches in Aljafería

After that we drove our way back into Barcelona, where Marcio and I unpacked, turning our shell-like rooms into home at last!

Canada?

 

EBT Epilogue - Barcelona

On 25 August 2012 we arrived in Barcelona! We got there in the afternoon and hung out in the park near the Sagrada Familia until the time came to meet Aline and our landlady so we could get keys for our new flat. The flat is HUGE, and the location is great! We settled a bit then slept like the dead.

Arrival at the Sagrada Familia

My room! It's HUGE!

The next day Marcio and I went up to Montjuïc to see the arrival of the Vuelta de España, completing our cycling vacation.

Arrival of La Vuelta

It's pretty crazy to be settled... Though we still don't have all our stuff - there's some in the mail, and we need to pick up the rest from a friend in Toledo; however, we've got a plan to go there quite soon!

 

EBT Chapter 4 - The South Coast

Toulon to La Ciotat

From Toulon we rode west to La Ciotat, taking us up over the cliffs. The views were great, but the climb was a bit intense in the heat. We went to the biggest Carrefour I've ever seen to get dinner food - seriously, it was bigger than a Costco. Unfortunately, we were both still feeling a little sick from our bout of heat exhaustion, so we had to keep to simple food.

Cliffs!

La Ciotat to Cassis

We had a serious climb into the hills to get back to the cliffs on the way to Cassis. The view was great, though the climb was HOT. At this point we decided to change our travel timing so we could stop cycling at 10am (when the temperature got up over 30), thus we started waking pretty early and planning routes carefully.

Cliffs!

Cassis to Port-du-Bouc


From Cassis we decided to take a train to Marseilles and cycle from there. Marseilles was a bit industrial for us (the route out we took, that is), and it didn't take long for our route to take us off the coast en route to Martigues. The ride was actually really gross, since it's a series of industrial precessing plants, each accompanied by its own terrible scent. When we got to Martigues, they tried to send us south 15 km for camping, but we decided to try out luck west, since that's where we were going. We ended up camping in Port-du-Bouc.

Leaving Marseilles

I'm not proud, but There we actually stopped at a McDonalds for internet (and ice cream) and planned the rest of the trip. You see, when it's hot and you've been feeling sick, cycling isn't really as much fun. We worked out a one week end game.

Look at that table. Who brings that camping?

Port-du-Bouc to Arles

We rode on a National Route in the morning heading for Arles, but it was pretty busy (truck pressure waves suck, btw), so we switched to some back roads. We found a campground about 10km outside Arles and decided to stop. Arles is next to the Camargue, a huge wetland park, which means the whole area is thick enough with mosquitos that you can choke on them if you take too deep a breath. It was also obscenely hot. We spent all day sitting inside the tent reading then jumping in the pool for a few minutes and repeating. Btw, paying for camping with pool that day was one of the better investments along this trip. We got an email from a CS host near Beziérs, too, which set us up nicely for the rest of the trip plan.

The Wastes

Arles to Vandres Plage

We rode into Arles pretty early, but there were mosquitos before dawn... After our stay there I looked like I had a nasty pox... We took the train from Arles to Beziérs then cycled south to the coast and met our CS host, who was to be a Salsa Party Organizer by trade and informed us that there happened to be a salsa party that night! We spent the day hanging out on the beach then went to a salsa party on the beach in the evening. This meant we didn't sleep until around 2am, in spite of being exhausted, and we needed to manage our morning time pretty carefully to catch a train in Narbonne.

Beach city! With our CS host.

Vendres Plage to Carcassonne

So of course we overslept. We rushed out and cycled like mad, but we made it with 30 min to spare! We caught a train from Narbonne to Carcassonne, which is really a neat city. It's a fortified old city (it used to be an important one on the Spain-France border), and it still looks like a castle out of a movie. We spent the day wandering the city and its fortifications and concluded by eating some delicious cassoulet (white beans, duck, and sausage all cooked together).

Carcassonne :)

Storm the Castle, Marcio!

Carcassonne to Cerbére

From Carcassonne we rode to Narbonne again then caught a train south to Cerbére, the last town before crossing into Spain. We camped there and hit the hay pretty early since we needed to get up around 4:30 to cross the Pyrenees before it got too hot.

Last campground!

Cerbére to Barcelona

We woke, packed, and set out so early that we had to use our bike lights. However, this meant I got to see my first sunrise over the Sea - while cycling over the Pyrenees. No words. The crossing wasn't easy, per se, but we'd basically been training for 4 weeks, so it wasn't nearly as hard as I expected. We crossed the mountains near the sea (beautiful) then cut inland to Figueres, home of Salvador Dalí. From there we decided to take a train into Barcelona instead of looking for camping. Also, much of North Barcelona is industrial, and we really didn't want to ride through that.

Crossing the border at last!

Sunrise over the Mediterranean while cycling over the Pyrenees - Priceless.

Dalí museum in Figueres

The final train

EBT Chapter 3 - Southward Bound

Dijon to Beaune

We arrived in Dijon on the 8th and rolled through the city pretty fast. We saw the Maille mustard shop (with mustard on tap!) and got a nice route recommendation from the Tourist Office, then hit the road to Beaune.it was about 45 km through the Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy, which started out pretty, but you can get pretty bored of vineyards, especially when the temperature gets over 30C. We camped in Beaune tired.

Cycling through Burgundy

Beaune to Cluny

The next day was a long one (over 90km), running from Beaune to Cluny, but the route was very nice. The first stretch was more vineyard, but then we caught a canal running south and followed a nice bike path all the way to Cluny. We passed Taizé on the way, but only stopped for a photo. No week long meditation camp like Justin did, though I've heard it's a great experience. Best thing of all: the campground in Vluny had a swimming pool! After cycling all day in the sun, I just can't describe how nice a pool is.

Bow before me, feeble flowers!

Poor Marcio doesn't know what's coming

Cluny to Macon to Lyon

The next day we went to the Abby in Cluny, which was the largest church in Christendom prior to St. peter's in Rome. Unfortunately it was mostly torn down around the time of the French Revolution. They have a neat "augmented reality" thing to show you the reconstruction, though. At places throughout the old cathedral floor plan there are screens which turn on 2 axes (pitch and yaw), and as you turn them you can see a 3D image of what you would have been looking at in that direction in the original cathedral. Very cool.

The Abby at Cluny

From Cluny we rode to Macon and caught a train the rest of the way to Lyon. There we met a friend of Bruno's (from Paris) who lives in a house of 10 students that looks a lot like a Berkeley coop, minus the intense paint job. It was pretty hippie and pretty cool. We played bochie ball down by the river with some other couch surfers there.

Cathedral in Lyon

Lyon to Grenoble

We spent most of the next day in Lyon enjoying the city. We went to see the big cathedral on the hill (dedicated to Mary for saving the city from the plague) and the old Roman amphitheater behind it then wandered down into the city to watch the Olympic Football Finals, only to figure out they started an hour later, so Marcio and I had to pack and leave. We caught the train to Grenoble and cycled out into the suburbs to meet our CS host.

The family there was really nice, and there was quite a barbecue going on when we arrived. The son, Remy, had recently returned from Colorado and had a bunch of friends over, plus the rest of the family was there, so there were about a dozen of us. In classic French style, dinner came over many courses, including barbecue meat, cheese, dessert, and fruit. Btw, fresh plums are about the best thing in the world when you haven't had fruit in a while.

Hello, alps!

Grenoble to Le Bourg-d'Oisans

The next day we planned to cycle to Le Bourg d'Oisans, at the base of l'Alpe d'Huez, but our host invited us to go hiking in the Alps, and we just couldn't turn it down. After hiking a trail formerly to a lake which now goes nowhere on account of construction for a new water line, he drove us out to Le Bourg d'Oisans. We camped there to be ready for the next day's climb.

Hiking in the Alps

Campsite before climbing Le Alpe d'Huez (right behind my head)

Le Alpe d'Huez and to Grenoble

We got up early the next day to beat the heat climbing l'Alpe d'Huez, a climb from the Tour de France. It's a 14.4 km set of 21 switchbacks that rises about 1130 m. It took us about 1:45 of serious climbing (we left our gear down at the campground), but the satisfaction of finishing and the view from the top were worth every stroke. We rode back to camp, packed up, then took a bus back to Grenoble to stay at the same place there. It was on this bus ride that my poor turtle bell was decapitated... It was just Remy this time (the others were actually vacationing in Delft!), and we made burritos to say thanks.

The foot of the mountain

Climbing!

Victory!

Grenoble to Castellane

The next morning we rode along the river to get back to town and caught a bus to Castellane. There were some tense moments when the driver said he night not be able to fit the bikes, even though we'd reserved space, but it was all okay. We camped off the road outside town - all sneaky like! - which was great (our first real savage camping).

Cruising the river near Grenoble

Sunset in the Alps; sneak-camping outside Castellane

Castellane to Verdon

In the morning we rode through the Gorge de Verdon, following the river through some beautiful geology to a big lake. The lake was nice, but kind of (really) crowded. We found a campsite, but they put us on a nasty hill, the water source was a long way away, and they had no TP. I'm okay with camping in the wild under such conditions, I just don't think it's reasonable to charge for them. Silly camping monopolies.

Le Point Sublime

Looking back on the gorge

Verdon to Brignoles to Toulon

When we first looked at Verdon, we planned to stay for a couple days, since it looked nice and wild, but since it was so crowded we decided to just roll on out in the morning. We tried to start early, since it's REALLY HOT this far south, but there were some silly complications with the camping front office. Silly camping monopolies. We rode until about 13:00, when the temperature was around 40C. This is not a good climbing temperature. Really.

Leaving Verdon

This stretch was really crazy because it was JUST like the mountains near San Diego (the Lagunas). The same trees, the same smell, the same heat, the same look and feel... But better goat cheese :-p

We got to a little town called Brignoles only to find out they shut down its train station, so we took a bus, though we had to argue with the driver to let us put the bikes on board, even though we'd called ahead to clear it. This is beginning to look like a pattern. In Toulon we met up with our CS host, swam in a nice pool, then had a delicious barbecue dinner. The bus pattern is kind of lame, but I could get used to the barbecue pattern!

At this point we've cycled about 1000 km. (One device says 992, the other 1015). Wow. On to our coastal chapter now! And it's going to be HOT.