Girona through Andorra, my favorite ride yet!

It has been so long since we have updated this blog! Apologies....but the good news (or bad if we start writing too much of course:-) is that we finally have our own computer, own keyboard, and will only need to find internet to post pictures and writings of our adventures. This also means we now have skype for anyone who wants to chats. I'm quite excited!

As 2 months have passed since we last shared our story, I must go back in time and try to recollect my thoughts and memories. For any riders who are looking for a future biking trip in Europe, I would highly highly recommend Girona, Spain to Andorra. First off, Girona is simply amazing! Another walled city lined with cobbled streets, lined with shops and restaurants along the river running through town. I can see why Lance Armstrong has spent much of his time training there. As we left our camera on a park bench, we shifted plans and decided to head to Andorra. This would get us over the Pyrenees as well. I love to climb oddly enough:-)2 days of riding west of Ginora, we stopped in Ripoll at the officina de tourismo (they are so resourceful), and the women working suggested we ride through the more difficult, quieter hills for better views, small towns and less traffic. Wow! We are now in Austria and it is still the ride that stands out in my mind the most.
Reaching many passes and muscle straining climbs, we found ourselves in little Catalon mountain towns with great food, amazing views like I have never seen, and of course a culture that many in the world don't even know exists, the Catalon culture. One of my foundest memories is stopping for lunch in the quant town of Gosol. This is a pictueresque town of maybe 100-200 people. In search of a market, we instead found ourselves in the locals bar for jamon and pan con tomate. All I can say is delicious! Once we plant our feet and find our next home, we will have a party to share our new found love of foods and beverages discovered along our trip. This will definitely be one of them. Pan con tomate is toasted bread, a fresh garlic rub, juice from a fresh tomato, olive oil and a pinch of salt. It is true, you will never want to use mayonaise again. With a fantastic lunch, we asked to the best of our ability where we could purchase some water. The woman looked at us like we had about 20 heads. As she rocked her little girl in the stoller in the bar (such a different culture that the a baby spends her day in the bar), she pointed to the fountain in the middle of town that was once painted by Picasso. I have never tasted such pure, crisp water. It was so refreshing and ice cold! My first of many water fills from random wells. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures to share but will always rely on the ones implanted in our minds of this amazing week ride that led us over the Pyrenees.

After a new camera purchase and a few days rest in Andorra (including a camping spot amongst mountain horses the size of small buffalo, waterfalls, and a valley filled with flowers and rolling green hills, but it was free!), we climbed over the Pyrenees. Our first true mountain pass! I was actually quite nervous about getting over these as we met a couple our age on bikes (the only couple we have come across our age in 4 months actually) right before Andorra who was much more fit than us that turned around and came back down because they didn't want to climb that high. What?!?!?! I'm screwed is what I was thinking! Up we went when the clouds and fog moved in, which might actually have helped as we never knew how much farther we had to go. Turning on our rear lights for visibility as it was reduced to meters, a touch scary but of course we were fine. We reached the top at 2406 meters, snow and 3 degrees celcius. Yes, we have changed our measurement scale to meters, kilometers and celcius. It's finally making sense 4 months later:-) As it was just above freezing, we stayed only for a picture before our cold descent to Andorra de Vella, the shopping version of Vegas.