Sounds like a great trip, Ira. Waiting to hear more.

welcome back ira! you were so helpful when we went to paris. we head to madrid and sevilla in may so looking forward to your always entertaining reports!

ttt

ttt

We just returned from Spain too - visited Madrid, Toledo, Salamanca, Avila, and Segovia. All exceeded our expectations. Fabulous food (better than in France????). We visited Pau in July (for the second time). We were quite disappointed - especially compared to Toulouse, which we visited 3 weeks later (for the 3rd time).

Stu Dudley

Ira; We hope to do something very similar to your trip next year. I sse stu also did something similar. Will be waiting for your TR.

Next week we see the friends we are going with and will construct an outline of the itenerary and then fine tune at a later date. Have 17 nights to work with.

This should be fun! Can't wait to read these reports.

Also eager to hear more---the "S" towns are my favorites.

welcome home, Ira and Stu.

I've always loved going to Spain, and a large part of that is the food - I could happily exist on tapas more or less indefinitely.

looking forward to both of your TRs!

Cant wait to read all about it!

Hey Stu,

>We just returned from Spain too ....

I thought I saw a couple that looked like you and your lovely wife.

Dang! I should have asked.

Stu, you also provided a ton of information when we went to France. Do you have an official report for spain also? thank

Ire:
Waiting for another excellent report, as usual.

Joining in on the fun here too. Can't wait to read about your trip...Welcome Home!

TTT

I don't do "traditional" travel reports - just itineraries which (rather blandly) describe our favorite sites, restaurants, towns, markets, scenic drives, etc. This was our first trip to Spain (other than an overnight to Barcelona and a few day trips into Spain while we were in the French Pyrenees). I don't believe that with only a "2-3 nighter" in a city or region, I can be comfortable recommending what to see & what not to see. Ira & others are better writers than I am - so I'll "stand back" and let them post their reports.

Ira - we were in Madrid from Sept 24 to the 28th, and in Salamanca from Sept 30 to Oct 3. We hung out at the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca quite a bit, and "pounded" the streets in Madrid. We were in San Sebastian in June.

Stu Dudley

Hi Stu,

>Ira - we were in Madrid from Sept 24 to the 28th, and in Salamanca from Sept 30 to Oct 3.<

We were going the other way about a week later.

Before getting into the details of the trip, I thought that I should provide

An Ode to Pintxos.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee because you are made with Jamón Iberico, Serrano and/or Gallego,
I love thee because you are made with foie gras,
I love thee because you are made with white anchovies, sardines and pescaditos fritos,
I love thee because you are made with morcilla and other sausages,
I love thee because you are made with assorted cheeses from various places,
I love thee because you are made with potato omelet.

These are a few of my favorite things.

t

Also looking forward to reading, heading off in 8 weeks for Spain (via London, Paris, Munich & Austria!).

Hi Annhig & Stu, you've both helped me immensly on previous trips.

aussie - it's kind of you to say that, especially as I'm nothing like as expert as Stu when it comes to trip and route planning. where in Spain are you going?

Bookmarking for a delightful read later.

Hi all,

Transportation: A note on staying calm
OR Why You Should Pack a Carryon with all of Your Essentials
OR The Importance of Bringing Valium

After about 3 months of careful planning, I chose the best flights for us:
Lv ATL – Lv MIA – Arr BCN and Lv MAD – Lv MIA – Arr ATL
14:00 16:00 09:30 14:00 19:00 21:00
And purchased tickets 8 months in advance.

3 months in advance I received notice that the 7:00 PM flight from MIA to ATL had been canceled, and that we were booked on the 6:00 PM flight.

2 weeks in advance, I was informed that there wasn’t enough time to make the MIA connection, and that I had to change the MAD flight to 12:00 noon. This was done for me.

I now had a choice of waiting for 4 hours at MIA, changing to the 5:00 PM flight at an additional cost of $30 or cancelling and rebooking with another airline at a cost of $250 pp.

OK. Stuff happens. Take a pill.

We arrived at ATL without incident; went through all of the procedures; had a preflight cuppa and boarded the plane.

Two hours later, we debarked.

Four hours later we were put on a plane to BCN via Frankfurt. Our luggage was routed to BCN by some unknown route.

We arrived in BCN about 16:00 on Friday. One suitcase arrived Saturday. The second suitcase arrived Tuesday morning, about an hour before we were to leave Barcelona.

But wait. That’s not all.

We left MAD, courtesy of Iberia, about 15 min late.

We arrived MIA, about 85 min late.

AA staff greeted us with new boarding passes in bright red envelopes and “quick, quick, quick”ed us to and through passport control and Customs to our new flight.

We made it to the gate with almost ½ hour to spare.

Anyway, the very beginning, and the very end of the trip didn’t ruin the middle.

the joys of air travel, Ira.

hurry up and tell us what happened in between.

what PP said
"in between" is what counts
we are leaving for Spainin in a few hours - via CDG.
Cannot say I am looking forward to that portion of the trip.

Have a great trip, danon!

thanks, lin

Annhig,

Whole family (2 daughters & their fellas) meeting up in London for a few days.
Dh & I catching train to Munich with one night stop over in Paris, for dinner "Kids" flying direct to Munich.

Couple of days to have a look at the xmas markets in Munich, then we all head to Mayrhofen in Austria for 5 nights over xmas. Kids will then head off in different directions & dh & I will fly to Madrid, we're picking up a medium size motorhome and will have 17 days to take a drive. Sticking to the coast line mainly and just deciding from day to day where to go. Obviously a lot will depend on where we can find to pull up for each night or two, but we do love the unknown.

Ira: what a finger-biting beginning you had on this Spain adventure. Sounds like the middle was better? I sure hope so!

hi Ira! Looking forward to your travel tales.

I would add to your ode to Pintxos:

I love thee because you are made with delicioulsly crunchy golden croquettes

I've got my glass of cava ready waiting for your report.
Bring it on!

& dh & I will fly to Madrid, we're picking up a medium size motorhome and will have 17 days to take a drive. Sticking to the coast line mainly and just deciding from day to day where to go. Obviously a lot will depend on where we can find to pull up for each night or two, but we do love the unknown.>>

aussie - i know that they are in the wrong direction for you, but we loved Salamanca, and Avila is very interesting as well.

Hi all,

My apologies for being away for so long, but Real Life has intruded.

I'll get back to the report ASAP.

Hope all is well.

Thanks, Iris.
Just very busy all of a sudden.

I did manage to write a little bit.
..............................

Barcelona to Roda de Isábena to Pau, FR.

Friday, 9/21 We finally arrived in Barcelona.

OK. It was late afternoon instead of early morning: we had only our carryon: the ATM machine at the airport had rejected 2 of my 3 ATM cards, and we used all of our euro to pay the cab – but, hey, we were in Spain – right?

At the marina View B&B (www.marinaviewbcn.com/) we were warmly welcomed by Patrick, who quickly settled us in, made us comfy and gave us time and space in which to relax.

(I cannot commend Paddy McAree enough. He was a consummate host, a reliable guide and a most accommodating and helpful concierge, who went far above the call of duty to help us retrieve our luggage. However, I don’t wish to embarrass, the man by seemingly fulsome praise.)

We had booked the Columbus room, which you can view at the website. The window on the left of the image looks out at the marina. There is a small balcony from which you can view the Columbus Monument after which the street, Passeig de Colom, is named. This same view was painted by Picasso (Passeig de Colom, 1917) and is on view at the Picasso Museum. (I think it interesting to note that Columbus is pointing toward Africa, not the New World.)

That evening, reasonably rested and no longer vibrating from our odyssey, we walked up to C/ Ferran to see the parade of gegants, beasts and performers that, for us, opened the La Mercè Festival
(http://www.bcn.cat/merce/recursos/docs/ProgramaMerce2012.pdf). On the way back, we had dinner at Sinatra (http://restaurantesinatra.com/en/), a not uninteresting restaurant/lounge with decent jazz on the PA and “Some Like It Hot” on a large screen. One of us had charcuterie and, the other Oriental pintxos and sea bass. The house white wine was well balanced with enough body to stand up to the charcuterie – 67E.

Saturday morning was bright and sunny. Breakfast of Spanish croissants (shaped more like the horns of a bull, and augmented with a bit of honey), Danish pastry (not Wienerbrød), pan al chocolate (pain au chocolate), toast, cheese, butter, jams and jellies did little to reduce our waistlines. Paddy also offers a reduced calorie breakfast of fruit, cereals and yoghurt, which we had for the rest of the visit.

Off to the Picasso Museum (www.museupicasso.bcn.cat/en/) by back streets of interesting old buildings. The Museum occupies five old (13th – 15th C) palacio and houses a collection of, mostly, early works by the young man who would become PICASSO. An interesting couple of hours.

Lunch just down the street at Xampanyet, more accurately on the street outside – very crowded and lively. Pintxos of white anchovy (this became my favorite), ham, breadsticks with lardo, 3 Estrella beers (very good) – 15E.

Further along, we visited the Santa Maria del Mar church (http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/Santa-Maria-del-Mar/_3Ngb8YjSpL3U56ScBHOWcxpDev_Vr2xe7rhAgUa92B0), a pure example of Catalan Gothic. We found this inspiring, but not overwhelming.

In the late afternoon, we wandered about, caught the parade of beasts, which we think would be more interesting to a younger crowd - say under 12, and went to dinner at Gelonch

More to come.

hi Ira - thanks for taking the time to bring us to Barcelona with you, despite being so busy.

nosy as ever, i was dying to look at your B&B, but the link you have given doesn't work, at least not for me - any ideas?

Hi Annhig! not that I am Ira; but I suggest you go with :
http://www.marinaviewbcn.com/ this works to me.

thanks, jelopez! - that works.

looks like a nice place.

annhig - Many posted links on Fodor's tend to include the last ) so they don't load. Next time you click one, in the browser bar, remove the ) and it will load.

thanks, ky - I'll try that next time. [and I'll try not to include any ( ) in any links that i load, too!]

Hi KY,

Thanks for pointing out that clicking on a link in (......) can include the final ).

One should check for and remove it.

A short walk from the B&B took us to the Drassanes metro stop where we easily purchased tickets from the machine. Took the train to Placa de Gracia and walked, and walked, and walked to the L4 for one stop to Girona. Very incompetent pickpocket try to remove my note pad from my back pocket. We quickly came to an agreement: I wouldn’t beat him with my umbrella and he would behave himself. (Note: A fold-up umbrella makes a handy weapon. I learned that from a lady on a bus in Florence. If you wrap a tire iron in the umbrella, it makes a formidable weapon. I learned that from a spy novel.)

After carefully studying the map at the Girona station, I managed to lead us out the wrong exit and had to go an extra 3 blocks to the restaurant. Minor problem. (Note to self – remember to bring compass when leaving hotel.)

Gelonch (http://www.gelonch.es) is done in a minimalist style (all white with bits of color here and there), which we later found to be not unusual, but was relaxing and pleasant. Service was amiable, without being over friendly, and professional. (I give extra points when the wine is poured with one hand behind the back.)

One of us wanted the 10-item tasting menu and the other the 16. We couldn’t do this because the timing would be all wrong, the maitre d’ explained. He suggested, instead that we both have the 10-item menu and share three of the a la carte items that the chef would choose for us from what would be on the 16-item menu. This worked out very well.

You can see the menus at the website. I shall not provide an item by item critic, but limit myself (with some difficulty) to a few items that we particularly enjoyed:

Shitake broth with spider crab ravioli and iberian ham D.O. Extremadura
Black turnip with veal marrow, egg yolk and black truffle
Beetroot gnocchi, veal sweetbreads, codfish tripe, padrón pepper cream and carrot - passion fruit drops

All three were very imaginative combinations of flavors and textures that we both felt we would be happy to have more of.

The wine chosen for us was a Jean Leon Penedes – Good body, full flavor with nice minerals.
With coffee and tip – and some little goodies - 200E.

Figuring that my sense of direction would be even less reliable returning than coming here, and not wishing to take that long walk through P/de Gracia again, we took a cab back.

Sunday, 9/23
Another pretty day. After breakfast, we strolled about the marina before taking the metro to Gaude’s Casa Batllo (pronounced Bye yo) (http://www.casabatllo.es/). An intriguing fantasy of being on, in and under the sea.

Afterward, we walked back to the hotel via P/de Gracia and La Rambla, stopping for a bit of refreshment at several small establishments along the way.

“Estrella” and “San Miguel” are very good beers. Octopus, Morcilla sausage, foie gras, iberico ham and various cheeses make very tasty tapas and pintxos. (They are not identical.)

After a needed nap, Roberta was coming down with something from being sneezed on at an airport, we walked up to Avenida de la Catedral for the Correfoc (Gates of Hell) fireworks parade. After the monsters come roaring out of the pit, there is a parade in which demons and sundry other fiends spray the onlookers with hellfire. (There is a good picture at http://suitelife.com/2012/09/19/barcelona-festival-la-merce/).

We followed the smoke and noise of the parade down Via Laietana for a bit, avoiding the hellfire as best we could, and headed for
Gilda (http://www.gildabybelgious.com/en_home.html)

More to come

Ira - it happened again. I had more success this time:

http://www.gelonch.es/

very nice restaurant. i wish I could get DH to go to places like that, if only once in a trip, but tant pis, or whatever the spanish equivalent of that useful phrase is- I'll just have to enjoy it through your descriptions.

BTW, we found the Barcelona metro one of the worst for long "correspondences" between lines - i felt I'd walked under the whole city some days. in the end we gave up using it unless we could avoid changing lines.

Hey! I'm in Barcelona at this very minute. Took the finiculare to Montjuic this afternoon (gloriously clear day) and watched the Sardana dancers at the Cathedral this evening. Finished the day with tapas and then gelato from Amarino (mascarpone with candied figs). We leave on Tuesday, flying from BCN through FRA nonstop to SFO. Totally love this vibrant city.

Bookmarking.

Ira - I somehow had the impression that you only traveled to France?

Most of the links won't open for me - "Page not found". Oh well still a great report. Hope that sneeze didn't do too much damage for Roberta.

Hey Betsy,

> Finished the day with tapas and then gelato from Amarino ....<

Isn't BCN wonderful?
.......................................
Hey M,

When you click the link, check the URL at the top of the page. If it has a final " ) ", erase it.
..................................
Hey tg,

On occasion, once a decade or so, we have been known to go somewhere else.

Ira - When entering links, use the space bar before entering the last ).

Hi Ky

Thanks for the tip.

Gilda is a pleasant, local restaurant with an interesting menu, a friendly staff, very nice service and good food. The grilled salmon with a “contorno” of horseradish ice cream was enticing. The hake was also quite tasty. We had a bottle of Clos Montblanc Xipella White which was dry, with good minerals, and lent a sensation of being at the seaside. 85E with tip.

However, what makes “Gilda by Belgious” outstanding is that they make the best Perfect Manhattan in Barcelona. (I taught them.)

Side note: For some reason, because of the name “Gilda by Belgious”, I envisioned the proprietor as a short, paunchy, stocky fifty-something Lebanese. As it turned out, he is a tall athletic young man from Belgium. “Belgious”, the name of his company, is a combination of Belgium and delicious.

Fortunately, his sense of direction is better than mine, otherwise instead of heading for home, we would have gone in the opposite direction.

Monday, 9/24
Low light of our visit. We had the misfortune of being trapped on the metro by a group of demonstrators, many of whom were drunk that morning, blowing horns and whistles, pounding drums and doing what they could to disrupt service.

They succeeded.

It wasn’t until one young woman succumbed to an asthma attack that they let us off the train. Despite people calling on cell phones, no help arrived.

Not long after, the whole metro system came to a halt.

We took a cab to Casa Milà (La Predrera) (http://www.lapedrera.com/en/home ), another Gaudi site. Prior to visiting, we took some time to calm down from the jolt to our senses at the La Predrera Café, a very pleasant room, done in the same style as the rest of the building. Jazz on the pa system, a couple of glasses of wine and a quiche restored our mood. (However, Roberta’s hearing didn’t return to normal for several days.)

The tour of Casa Milà begins with a ride to the roof, which is a real fairy land, and continues with a walk down toward the one apartment which is open to the public. Unfortunately, my Lady Wife’s vertigo kicked in and she could not continue beyond the elevator. Returning to the ground floor, we sought the aid of a staff member who could help us despite our almost complete lack of Spanish.

The staff was very helpful. In less than a half hour we were on our way up in the private elevator, quite plush, to the apartment to continue our tour. Quite an interesting piece of architecture.

Following La Predrera, we completed our pilgrimage to Gaudi Land with a short cab ride to La Sagrada Familla.

I’m sorry to say that we did not care for this work, either as architecture or as a house of worship. To us it was too much a monument to how much money can be wasted at the altar of God. Later on, I shall voice a similar opinion of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum – too much money wasted at the altar of Art.

Returning to the Marina View, we had a bit of wine and took a nap before going out for our Barcelona Tapas crawl.

Following La Predrera, we completed our pilgrimage to Gaudi Land with a short cab ride to La Sagrada Familla.

I’m sorry to say that we did not care for this work, either as architecture or as a house of worship>>

Ira - i can but agree with you about this. we were very underwhelmed. Friends of ours however spent 4 hours there and say that they could have spent longer. there is absolutely no accounting for different people's opinions, is there?

We spent a very long time at Sagrada Familia also and loved seeing the colors from the sun shining through the windows upon the tree trunk-like columns. We took an elevator and then walked up the rest of the way through one of the towers. The close-up views of the animal & fruit carvings and their colors were amazing. Wish we could go to a service there when they have mass choirs! Wow!

Hey ann,

>... there is absolutely no accounting for different people's opinions, is there?<

Nope, as gz can attest.

It does make travel interesting, no?

I had planned a visit to various well-known places, but the incident on the subway did dampen our enthusiasm somewhat (or we are getting old?), so we shortened our program and stayed in the neighborhood.

First stop: Los Pergaminos, C/ Ample 17 (http://www.lospergaminos.net )
Sardine with olives in a spicy sauce, smoked salmon stuffed with cream cheese (very traditional Spanish dish?), 1 glass house wine - 13E. Limited selection

O'Pescador, C/ de la Mercè 7. A clean, well-lighted place with blues and R&B on the pa. Cuttle fish (VVG) and prawns (VG), with wine for 2 - 29E

La Plata, C/ de la Mercè, 28. A small, popular place, but not very crowded that night. You can have sardines with white wine or with red wine, or you can have either red or white wine with your sardines.

I think that if you are a regular, you can get a "racione" of sausage and a "bota" of wine.

A 2/0z glass of house wine was 1E. The sardines are VVG, the wine is not unpleasant, the atmosphere is "acogedor". (My machine translator says that is Spanish for "gemutlich".)

Recommended - 10E

Tasca El Corral, C/ de la Mercè, 17. Old style place, 50's Spanish music, 8 gentlemen of a certain age sitting at 2 tables, smoking, drinking and playing cards. The owner speaks no English, his son translates.

Hand carved Iberico ham, several types of Chorizo sausage, about 6 cheeses, tomato with olive oil, olives, bread - good beer. A shot of "pink panther milk" before we left. Very pleasant. 35E.

Back to the B&B for our last night in Barcelona.

Tuesday, 09/25
Our suitcase came during breakfast.
"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"

To be continued

Enjoying your enjoyment of one of my favorite cities and thanks for posting.

As to that well-known variety in tastes you mentioned, I have to say your "Beetroot gnocchi, veal sweetbreads, codfish tripe, padrón pepper cream and carrot - passion fruit drops" is the perfect example.

love the sardine place - a choice of white or red wine, imagine that!

sardines used to be big in Cornwall, now you are very lucky to find them. next time we have them, i must remember this way of serving them!

please continue away...

Nice report, Ira.

Ann: We are currently in Andalucia, having moved on from Sevilla, which is one of the best eating cities in Spain and probably the one with the most tremendous value..full, multi-course meals at top tapas places for 35 euro for two of us, with wine.

We are in an apartment in Gaucin, and coincidentally, caught the program, Great British Food Revival, on TV last night, about Pilchards, now known as "Cornish Sardines. Highly recommend!
Giorgio Locatelli offered a few recipes that looked enticing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nrh4d

So enjoying this........I hope theres more to come????

ek - my favourite recipe with sardines/pilchards [which we can get fresh from time to time in Cornwall] is the sicilian one that combines the fish with onions, sultanas, fennel, breadcrumbs and pasta.

here's a good version:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sicilian-Style-Pasta-with-Sardines-106272

sadly the pilchard factory in Newlyn [which was the last of the many businesses that used to preserve the fish and export them, mainly to the Ligurian coast] closed down about 5 years ago. I don't know where the Ligurians get their pilchards now.

Hi all,

After breakfast, and the first of several “goodbye”s to Patrick, I took the metro up to Tetuan and a short walk to the Europcar office where I picked up a Peugot 308 Diesel. Good car, drives well, 45 mpg in the mountains, which is very nice when you have to pay 1.32 E/L for diesel. Gasoline was about 0.45 E/L more.

With the aid of my, usually, trustworthy TomTom GPS I returned to the hotel where we said “goodbye” to Patrick again, loaded the car and drove around the block so that I could retrieve my hat and say “goodbye” to Patrick again.

We followed the A2 to the N230 to the A1606 onto an unexpectedly, well-paved access road leading up the mountain to an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, very old, recently restored town where we had to stop to pull in the side mirrors before negotiating our entrance through an arch onto the central plaza and La Hospedería de Roda de Isábena (www.hospederia-rdi.com/ ), which I can highly recommend.

The drive up, on very good roads, was quite scenic – much like visiting the American West. Scrub land, mixed with fertile fields, mesas, buttes and noble mountains in the distance. The major difference was that it took only 3 hours to get to the mountains.

Highlights of the journey, other than the beautiful mountain views – the castle at Benabarre, a mountain shepherd, with his dog, tending a flock of sheep, and a partridge flushed from cover beside the road.

The Hospederia is a very nice, well-kept, comfortable lodging, sharing the plaza with the Romanesque Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Roda d'Isàvena, consecrated in 1067 but dating back to before 984.

Our good-sized, comfortable room on the first floor (US second), with French doors onto a little balcony overlooked the valley and the Isavena river. (The bare stone wall behind the twin beds was a nice touch.)

We arrived and settled in just about the time that a storm, which had been following us up from Barcelona, arrived. Slowly, but steadily, the mountain across the valley disappeared behind a gray mist of cloud until everything – mountain, valley, nearby vegetation – had disappeared. Heavy rain lasted only an hour or so, but there was steady precipitation all that night and the following morning.

No problem. We went downstairs to the little pub for some wine and a snack. We spent a pleasant hour or so sort of communicating with local folk who spoke only a Spanish with which my Lady Wife was totally unfamiliar. Taking some bread and cheese back to the room with us, we got ready for dinner.

For those interested in cost: Wine was 4.5E for 150 ml, artisinal bread was 1.9E for a ½ kg loaf, and locally made Manchego cheese was 14E/kg.

The hotel’s restaurant is in the old refectory. Here we dined in Abbot-like solitude, attended by a very pleasant young woman with only rudimentary English. (Side note: The Cathedral was both a Bishop’s seat and an Abbey. The Bishop had a palace, while the Abbot lived with the monks.)

The 16E menu provided an appetizer of duck liver pate, “fish brochette” – 3 charcoal-grilled skewers of fish, shrimp and scallops with roe over rice – and flan for one of us. Roberta had the spinach salad with pine nuts and raisins, grilled breast of chicken and ice cream.

The food was good, the portions were generous, the service was pleasant and competent, the ambience was enjoyable. 7E for a bottle of Vinas del Vero Rosada. 3E for a liter of water. 2E for a bottle of beer.

We walked back to the hotel in the rain.

Wed 09/26

Gray and cloudy, with shrouds of mist wafting about the mountain across the valley. Still raining gently.
We walked under our umbrellas to the refectory, where we were the only ones for breakfast.

There was no menu.

We knew enough to ask for coffee. The waitress, same woman as last night, brought us a platter of croissants, toast, jams, jellies and juice. We thought this was sparse, but not unreasonable.

She then asked us something in Spanish, which we didn’t understand. Crestfallen, she asked several more questions, and left when we didn’t understand. A few minutes later, however, she returned with a tray on which were:
melon, several kinds of fruit, ewe’s milk yogurt, two kinds of toast, some cheese and a few eggs.

After a breakfast fit for a bishop, we packed up and checked out of the hotel – 127 E for all that I have described.

We had expected to visit the cathedral, but a sign on the door said that it wouldn’t be open until 1:00 PM, too late for us.

Fortunately, as I was about to go for the car, a small group of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela arrived. It seems that they had arranged for a tour at 11:30 AM. We were quite happy to join them.

The docent spoke a Spanish which Roberta didn’t understand, and the tour guide translated into a French from the Pays Basque, which I didn’t comprehend, but there was didactic material in English, so we did get, at least, the gist of what were being shown. (http://www.romanicoaragones.com/2-Ribagorza/990361-RodaIsabena00.htm )

After our visit, with a little help from the hotel staff, we loaded up the car and slowly drifted in neutral out of town and down the mountain for about 5 miles before having to put the car in gear.

more to come

"who spoke only a Spanish with which my Lady Wife was totally unfamiliar"

I guess you would be generally in the Catalan or Aragonese
language area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Spain

Hi again,


We took the A1605 SB through Graus to N123a, the A2211and the N138 through Sobrarbe, and then headed NW to the Sallent de Galagos from whence we headed NB to Pau.

I have in my notes: “Really, really beautiful drive along lakes, through mountains and valleys, gorges and chasms, rivers, streams and waterfalls. Gauss to Oloron was particularly scenic”. One item of special interest was the hot springs at Eaux-Chaudes. I hadn’t heard of thermal springs that high up (2300 ft).

Soon we were pulling into the parking lot at the Hotel Bristol (www.hotelbristol-pau.com ) in Pau (pronounced Po as in “po boy sandwich”) where we were met by M. Charles who took charge of our luggage and car, checked us in, deposited us in the room and made sure we were completely comfortable – all in a very pleasant, even charming, manner.

[Side note: As an American, I am not comfortable with being waited on (See Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition, vol. 4 [1840], chapter 5 a: How Democracy Modifies the Relationships of Servant and Master), but M. Charles persevered. Eventually, I came to realize that It was his job to ensure that my Lady Wife and I were properly served, and it was my job to stop trying to do his job. In short, the service at the Bristol is discreet and efficient.)

We stayed in Rm 403, which had a small balcony equipped with table and chairs, a very nice view toward the mountains from the bed and bath room, and was pleasantly furnished in “traditional” style, ie, it was not too modern for us. The bed was comfortable. The shutters kept out the morning sun. Wine with bread, cheese and fruit on the balcony was enjoyable.

Breakfast, downstairs, was the usual selection of meats cheese, breads, croissants, cereals, fruits, juices, yogurts, coffee and tea, all of which were fresh and tasty. There were trays available for bringing a breakfast up to the room if one wished to do so.

Items to note: The room was “cozy”, but the bathroom was large. One needs to speak some French or have a phrase book handy as M. Charles and Mme. Michelle’s English was only a bit better than my French. Overall, a very, very nice stay - highly recommended.

Dinner that evening was at a popular brasserie a few blocks from the hotel called “Le Berry”. Roberta had Onion soup and escargots, both of which she declared to be very good, while I herring (very very good) followed by “ris de veau”, which was the best I have had in a very long time. (Ed note: The last time the author was able to get ris de veau was in 2008.)

Wine was a dry white from the Jurançon AOC – soft and fruity on the front of the palate with a salt, aharp finish – very good with both the seafood and the meat. With coffee, 57E.

time to go vote.

Your accommodations look loevly! Good job! I'm taking note!

Hi All,

I'm sorry that I have not been giving you a proper trip report, but I think that I picked up a really nasty something on the plane back from Spain.

For nearly 2 weeks I've been on antibiotics, anti-spasmotics, anti-infectives, anti-depressants and god-knows-what else trying to stop terrible abdominal cramps and associated unpleasant other effects.

I'm finally recovering, but I'm rather worn out.

I shall update the trip report as soon as I can think more clearly.

Ira, we're really enjoying your report, as well as the ideas others have contributed. We liked Spain a lot, including Catalonia, and are considering a return in March of 2013.

On our last vist, in September of 2010, we experienced a few of the frustrations with travel that you described. But, as you said, the time in between was great.

We hope you're feeling well real soon.

Ira - get well soon.

we need you to shine your light here and in other dark places.

Montezuma' Revenge in Spain perhaps?

well how about more updates of this great reprot from one of IMO Fodor's Hall of Famers!

Ira, 10 days past and still no word. Hope you're coming up for air soon!

Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time.

I dislike the air on planes. I usually get a terrible cold. Get back your strength soon.

Hi folks,

I'm sorry that I have written, but the meds they have given me (6 kinds) make me dizzy, sleepy and fuzzy headed.

I am recovering, however, and hope to be able to provide a shortened report on just restos and hotels over the weekend.

Happy Holidays to all.

Ira, get well soon.