http://lookingthroughtheturn.com Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:46:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en From the windows of our airplane, I can see the Mediterranean glistening in the morning sun.  Another sparkling day in one of my favorite European cities.  Today, people will walk the La Rambla, shop in the Mercat, eat paella, marvel at Gaudi’s architecture and indulge in some incredible Rioja wine.  ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/28/405/ Too soon we have to leave this haven, and our ride from here descends out of the mountains through busy towns and on bigger roads.  The promise of the coast awaits and everyone is eager to see the famous Costa Brava, the Catalonian coastline along the Mediterranean Sea.  This should ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/28/costa-brava-the-magnificant-mediterranean/ After our final hearty breakfast of the trip, we head out Saturday morning for our ride to the Mediterranean coastline and then back to Barcelona.   With each passing mile we leave the Pyrenees behind us. Our first break is the last place we stop in the mountains, and as it turns ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/28/beautiful-beget/ About eight or ten of us close out the evening singing and playing guitar.  We have the hotel’s lounge area to ourselves except for a family playing checkers with their kids at the other end.  Our young Oxford law student, Charles, takes a turn with the guitar singing a song ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/27/midnight-serenade/ Our room has no phone, so Raye and I walk into town to find a payphone and call our children for the day.  Due to the time change, we can’t seem to catch them or my dad, who is undoubtedly ferrying them around somewhere this afternoon.  By my calculation, they ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/27/phone-home/ About another 90 minutes of riding through a few more small towns and we arrive at Col d’Ares, the mountain pass that is our gateway to Spain.  A quick fill-up on gas, and we cross the border back into the country where we started.  I make a mental note: No ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/27/leaving-france-behind/ After getting our fill, four of us decide to hike through part of the canyon to a nearby monastery we have spotted clinging to the side of the mountain.  Minutes before we had driven right over where these small buildings were attached just below the road, and we would never ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/27/hidden-house-of-worship/ As we did yesterday, our group met in an intimate garden courtyard for breakfast sitting at small iron tables with white tablecloths and iron chairs.  The food is the same everywhere we go, and I have grown very fond of fresh fruit, cheese, smoked meats, baguettes and espresso to start ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/11/27/goat-trails-and-gorges/ Since today is technically a rest day, we ride less than 100 miles and head back to the chateau from here.  Fortunately, though, it is not the end of the day, but only a welcome stop to change into clothing more suited for the hot afternoon sun.  Several of ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/10/24/la-cite-french-fortress/ The road out of town leads us directly into forests complete with winding turns and a dense overhang of trees.  The shade is welcome, and these roads remind me of Highway 23 in Northwest Arkansas – the well known Pig Trail, so named because years ago it used to be ... http://lookingthroughtheturn.com/2008/10/24/french-pig-trail/