May 2, 2016

Montpellier and Girona


Last night in Montpellier: a little hill to challenge a little rider.



The beginning of bike trips are often busy for me, and jetlagged, and while this has been easier than many, still it has been occupied. One of my hopes for this particular little adventure is to slow down, think, observe, not be as goal driven as I have become. Thanks for that, to good friends at home and their good advice.

Some photos for you, I have as yet done no riding.

Last night in Montpellier, a city I am very fond of, and to which I will return in a few weeks. The big square, Place de la Comédie, at night: well lit, and blue.



Today I took the train from Montpellier to Girona, where I was meeting friends who live in Paris, to ride and see a bit of Catalonia. After that I aim for Collioure, over the border back in France. From there I hope to ride north, into the Mediterranean Pyrenees and then across to Montpellier. I kept a keen eye out the train window, both to the sea and to the north. It took only one look at this mountain to change my plan. My apologies for the poor photo quality, the image was taken through the moving train window. I had planned to ride, then hike, up Canigou, an important and beautiful mountain to Catalonians in Spain and France, with a very old abbaye. But S.T.O.P. look at that snow! No way do I want to ride there ... really truly hard, most especially with snow,  is not on the itinerary.



And many thanks, should they see this, to these new friends from the Barcelona and Madrid areas. They boarded the train in Perpignan to return home after a tour in France. We got to talking, and they helped me so, with steps and new-to-me train systems. They told me the time to ride Canigou is July to September ... not now. One of the very best things about traveling by bike is meeting other riders, even in brief encounters, and finding that thread of common experience that ties us together. The planet needs more of that.



I am now arrived in Girona, a medieval Catalan city near France and near the Mediterranean. It will be fun to explore! And I learned another thing. My French is by no means fluent, although I get by. But there is nothing like being in a country where I speak, well maybe 12 words, the most useful of which are "Hola. No hablo espagnol." to make my French feel quite excellent. I learned that the language spoken here is not in fact Spanish, but Catalan. I came to think that many residents prefer speaking English to Spanish, though since I speak neither Catalan nor Spanish that is only an impression.




10 comments:

  1. Beautiful pix! And lucky you, your weather much better than ours.

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    1. Thank ypu! It is getting warmer, and the wind abating. My friends from the train told me people had abandonned riding because the wind was so strong as to be dangerous.

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  2. By the way, with my spanish (more than 12 words...), I would be an asset!

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    1. You absolutely would be! Nonetheless, you would have to ride Canigou alone:-)

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  3. Hope you have some fun exploring. Not been terribly warm down here recently but it's looking like warming up soon.

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    1. Glad to see you are still reading, thanks! You are in France, or Spain?

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  4. The adventure has begun (again). May the roads be smooth and may the sun be ever present. I know what you mean about speaking French (though yours is far superior to mine). Leaving Italy and coming back into France was like coming home.
    (It is I, Tootlepedal. I don't know why your comments won't let me use my Wordpress name.)

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    1. I wish it would take your name, I don't understand the problem. Glad you are metaphorically here. It would be very fun to see you and Mrs. T on smooth little roads in sunny southern France again!

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