Sightseeing in Valderrobes and Morella

Our first stop of the day was Valderrobes, and it's castle overlooking the old town and village

But not before driving our car through some more tiny streets!

After visiting the castle, we headed into town for lunch, in the small main square just past the gate.  I was amazed to see car after car negotiate a 90 degree bend in a tiny road to exit the village.  I think I would have removed the side of our car if I had tried.

Next, a short drive to Morella, a somewhat more touristy town with a hilltop fortification.  The kids, and Alex in particular impressed me by walking all the way up without any grumbling or carrying!  Okay, there was a small bribe involved, but still.

Along the way, there was a very extensive and dismaying array of medieval torture devices

The depth of savagery that humans are capable never ceases to surprise me.

After our adventure to the citadel, it was snack time.  We had passed a place from which delicious grilling smells had been emanating on the way up, and decided that would be a good place to stop.  The guy was ridiculously nice and it was a pleasant respite from the heat and mounting child unrest

After a little window shopping where chloe sampled many honeys and Alex had a full meltdown, we headed back.  I stopped in valderrobes because I had somehow not brought *any* jackets or hats.  I bought a ridiculous hat and sweater.

And then ... back to Horta!

Dinner was pretty grim.  It was a new pizza place, and they started by serving us the most lamentable plonk you can imagine.  For a wine producing region, I don't understand how they could possibly think that wine was even drinkable!  I took about one sip and gave up, not wanting to wake up in the middle of a the night with a headache.  The pizza was square, and mostly salt.  It made up for the over-saltedness by having a limp and soggy crust.  I've had better pizza out of a bag.

The wind continued to howl through Horta all night, slamming things around and whistling through the shutters.

Siurana/Horta

Mom agreed to watch the kids while Chloe and I went climbing at one of Spain's most famous crags: Siurana.  It was a windy and somewhat vomitous 1:30 drive to the crag, but through some beautiful countryside and more picturesque towns, like Porrera.   We eventually ended up in the not very pretty town of Cornudella de Montsant, found a bakery (and bathroom!) and then jetted off into the gorge east of the town that is home to the famous crags. 

We both got our butts kicked on the climbs -- I can't decide whether the grades are tough or I am out of shape, but I haven't done that badly on 7a/7a+s for a long time.  It was great to be on the rock though.  Also worth mentioning is that the road that winds up through the canyon is spectacular, and would be pretty awesome on a bike

We drove back in the early afternoon and then hung out with the kids.  Chloe and I took turns with them while she went for a run and I went for a ride.  I discovered a short but absolutely beautiful road that connects Prat de Comte to Bot.  

Towards the end of my ride, I got a flat tire, and as I was dealing with it, and old craggy man with a stick and a teenager came out of nowhere, waving their hands and speaking so fast that I couldn't even interject that I didn't speak Catalan (or Spanish!).  It was clear that they wanted me to move though, so I did.  Soon enough a large flock of sheep and goats crested the hill and bore down on the road.  Then they saw me and stopped dead in their tracks, which happened to be in the middle of a sharp turn in the road.  

I was beginning to think it would be goat for dinner, but then another guy came out of nowhere and convinced them to move on.  I eventually made it back to Horta, and we all had dinner with Mel and Leta down the street.  I had some kind of Spanish meatballs which were pretty tasty.

Barcelona, Day 4

Well, half day.  Check out was 11:00 so we spent the morning getting everything together and bringing it to the car.  The previous day we had all agreed that it would be a good idea to eat at Joan Noi again, so we did.

I will never go to Barcelona agin without eating there.  Never.  From there, we did some clothes shopping for the kids and went back to Olisal to buy many liters of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  After a brief cafe visit, it was time to drive to Horta de Saint Joan.  After a not very long drive, and no wrong turns (yay)! we rolled up into the picturesque hill town of Horta.  We gave Mel a call who came down to meet us, and we all walked back up the hill together so he could show us around. The kids fell in love with Mel and Leta instantly, which was adorable.  I had been hearing about their place for years.  Mel and Leta had bought their first house there thirty or so years ago and have been fixing it up every since.,  More recently, they bought a second house right across the street with fewer stairs, and use the first house for guests.  

The houses are lovely, and both have patios that look out over the planes and mountains. 

Fantastic!  We unpacked, and Chloe and I planned where we were going to go climbing the next day.

Barcelona, Day 3

We started the day with pastries and then did a little shopping, being lazy

 and wandering around before it was time for an early lunch.  On the last trip, we ate at the market, after having gone on a tour with the excellent Aborigens food tour.  It was a fantastic meal -- one of my all time favorites and I was determined to repeat it.  Although the little cafe that we had eaten at was filled with retirees, Chloe scoped out another place:  Joan NOI

which was a fish market WITH A GRILL AND DEEP FRYER RIGHT NEXT TO IT!

Despite being very busy, they were incredibly welcoming and kind.  But the food is spectacular.  If you order something not already in the dairy case, they just walk over to the market side, weigh out cockles, for example, bring them back and cook them.  

Amazing Tuna

Perfectly grilled sweet shrimp (Alex's favorite)

Scallops

Squid, in a light garlic sauce

The freshest cockles I have ever tasted.  Light and subtle, rather than heavy and rubbery

We were all blown away

It was one of my favorite meals ever, particularly being there with Chloe, mom and the kids.  My only regret is that dad wasn't there, because he would have adored it.  Things like this are still hard for me -- I miss him most when I experience things that I know that he would appreciate.

Next, some metro-ing down to the beach, where a pickpocket managed to open mom's purse but not steal her wallet or phone.  Hopefully random credit card charges don't show up later!    The walk to the beach was a bit of a death march, but we eventually made it and the kids loved it.  

I was shocked and appalled to see beautiful Spanish ladies sunbathing topless.  Appalled!  Also worth noting is that there is free wifi on the beach, provided by the city.  After a brief sandwich pit stop near the beach and a Metro ride home, I went for another ride, this time over the hills and then back via another road.  Lovely riding, really, and so close to Barcelona. 

 I've never seen so many people riding bikes.  Some very helpful locals helped me get back to the city after I managed to get lost in the land of roundabouts west of the hills.  Chloe and I had dinner at a nice place near the apartment which specialized in food from Tarragona.  I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Romesco sauce.

Barcelona, Day 2

Chloe had been yammering eloquently holding forth about a delicious Catalan pastry she had encountered on her penultimate vacation conference which had been in Barcelona, so we all went off in search of them

It turns out they are made with lard, which explains some of their deliciousness.  I was not as enamored with them as Chloe, but they were pretty damn good.

At this point, we split up and Mom and I went to La Pedrera which was a block away from the cafe.  The wrought iron gates are wonderful, and this museum was a turning point for me in my appreciation of Gaudi architecture.  I had never really been that interested in Gaudi -- the structures that he built looked ostentatiously random and almost sloppy to me.  When mom and I arrived on the roof, however, I began to see the beauty in the sloping lines and delicate arches

 but it wasn't until we went into the attic that I could see just how perfectly engineered and fabricated all of those ostensibly superfluous bulges and curves were under their glittering skins

I feel a little embarrassed that the underlying structure was what really won me over, but there it is.  Further down, they had opened up and staged an apartment, which was lovely.

Next stop, Mom and I took the metro to las Ramblas, and I managed to flub the entry through the turnstiles and opted to buy another ticket instead of hopping the turnstiles. We walked from las Ramblas through the Gothic quarter to the Picasso museum, where we met up with Chloe and the kids (who were returning from the dreaded aquarium).  I love the Gothic quarter, with its dark streets and elegant emaciated trees.  I think I could spend a lot of time just wandering around there.  

The Picasso museum was great, but a little mobbed.  The kids were by this point completely exhausted, so we stopped into a cafe for refueling.  Nest stop was a really terrible lunch at a Tapas place near the water.  My phone had died, so no Tripadvisor consultation was possible (The app seems to kill batteries at an alarming rate).  Although the decor was really nice, the constant dinging of the microwave was not, and the food was expensive and (much) worse than even French autoroute food.    I got a quick ride in with some expats in the Barcelona hills, which was pretty cool

And then we inadvertently wandered into a FRENCH restaurant for dinner... ARGH