CHAPTER 19. SPAIN PART ll CONT.

Leaving Barcelona in ‘85 we drive our little rented red Citroen Visa north in rain thru very green country and hills with rock outcrops. After a late and very good lunch at a roadside restaurant we arrive in Vic, call the Parador and they have a room for us, so we drive the 15 KM to it on a scenic side road by grain crops, hills, and forests. It is a new building in a beautiful site overlooking a lake in a rock rimmed canyon. Even tho this parador is almost empty, we have the manager call the La Seu Parador for reservations for tomorrow.

There is much twisting and turning on the very scenic road along the Ter River north to Ripoll. There we see the church and cloisters of the monastery where ancient learning, via the Moors, was preserved for us today.

After leaving Ripoll the road begins twisting and climbing, and soon we are in deep snow. The fir trees are heavy with snow; it’s very pretty and bright, even tho it’s still snowing as we pass the over 1700 meter summit. At La Seu we check into the Parador, and it is the one disappointment of all the Paradors we have seen; the construction and furniture are new, but the room has rubber mat flooring, with no comfortable chairs, a light is missing, and the tub takes 1/2 hour to drain. The dining room doesn’t open until 9 PM so we go to the Michelin one star Castell Motel Restaurant and have a fine meal.

From La Seu we go into Andorra and SW France (#16). We return from Quillan, France via Andorra early in June ‘85, and go to Barcelona by a more direct route with fewer mountains. Entering Spain we go south, then east on a beautiful new road via Solsona, where we phone the Cardona Parador and reserve a room. This parador is a remodeled castle isolated on a high hill with a 360 degree view of the surrounding country. It is interesting just to explore the old castle with its’ many rooms and stairs. An elevator connects the main floors, but it is necessary to negotiate two flights of stairs to get to the dining room. This is a long room with arches, and fits our conception of a medieval castle banquet room.

It is a short trip from Cardona into Barcelona, and on a Sunday the roads are crowded with traffic and large groups of bicyclist . We go back to the Hotel Montecarlo for three nights before flying home.

We return to Barcelona for three nights of hot and muggy weather in mid September ‘87, staying again at the Montecarlo, enjoying good food, and strolling the Ramblas as we recover from jet lag. We visit the Museu D’Art de Catalunya by taxi, and the taxi ride is a disaster. He drops us at the front, with the building many flights of steps up a hill, and says he can’t drive up there. After we wear ourselves out climbing, we see many cars and tour busses parked there! It is an excellent museum with some very good medieval paintings, sculptures, and pieces of old buildings.

Leaving Barcelona in ‘87 we take the direct route to Andorra via Solsona, with a stop at the Cardona Parador for lunch. We call ahead to make sure the Hotel Como has a room for us, and arrive there about 6 PM, relieved to be in cool and nice weather after the heat and humidity in Barcelona. We stay two nights before going to SW France to see our friends in Quillan, then on to Toulouse and Lourdes before crossing the Pyrenees via the Col du Pourtalet back into Spain near Jaca and the Monastery of Leyre. We will come back to this point later to continue our ‘87 trip thru northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, but now have a few more words about Barcelona.

In mid October of 1994 we return to Barcelona at the end of a trip that starts in Paris, Brussels, and Brugge (#8), continues south thru Normandy (#9} and SW France (#16). Arriving by bus from Perpignon we call the Montecarlo from the bus station and they have a room for us. The hotel has been completely remodeled (for the Olympics) and tho its’ cost has doubled it is still in our price range.

Our last visit to Barcelona is in 2000 when we take a transatlantic cruise on the Maasdam from Ft. Lauderdale via the Azores and Casablanca ending in Barcelona. We reserved a room for 4 nights at the Montecarlo by e-mail and FAX, and reserved a rental car for two weeks to drive up thru Andorra to visit our friends in Quillan, France. We also visit Stes. Maries for a few days before returning to Barcelona for two nights at the Montecarlo, which has recently changed its’ name to Hotel Mercuré, and is now a member of that chain. While at the Mercuré we have a nice visit with Sacramento friends Joe and Betty Clancy, who at our recommendation are also staying there before starting an European cruise.