January Road Tripping To Spain

Two week road trip to Spain

With dos semanas until our next house sitting opportunity we thought heading south may bring some much needed warmth and sunlight. 

We departed from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, FRA in mid January. Sassy was running like a top after a spa day at Classic Bike Esprit.

Keep to the Mediterranean coast where possible when passing through and heading west of the Parc Naturel Regional de Camargue.

The roads are well maintained and there were glimpses of flamingos as we cruised the parkway.

Béziers for a night

Béziers, FRA was our first stop over. We were happy to find our bed as the first leg of this road trip was quite a windy day. Our local connections had said the Tramontane winds were particularly strong this January; they were right.

One of our reasons for buying a Ural Gear Up sidecar bike was the stability to combat inclement weather and road conditions. Sassy holds up well in the wind.

Motoring southward the next day, we passed through the Narbonnaise en Méditerranée Natural Regional Park. With sweeping views of the Pyrenees to the west and excellent roads, this is a picturesque area to ride through. Check out the video link above for a flight over the area we travelled through.

The landscape’s beauty extended all the way into España at Le Perthus, a busy border town filled with tourist shops. We shot down the N-11 and on to a town called Salt (just outside Girona) where we stayed for night two.

Keep in mind, similar to Italy and even France, in Spain you should watch where you pull off at side roads or pullouts. We started to notice ladies waiting to provide a service to those passing through. You wouldn’t want to have a misunderstanding as to why you stopped off!

Ahhhhh……Barcelona 

We made the final push to our 5 night Air B&B accommodation in the Gràcia area of Barcelona, ESP. As one would expect roads start to pick up with traffic the closer to Barcelona you travel. Drivers are generally calm and patient with us. Often we often see other motorists passing by recording or taking our photo! 

In places the roadways were stacked on top of each other, layer upon solid concrete layer, 2 and 3 lanes deep; bridges shooting off in every direction.

We noticed shanty towns in the hills surrounding Barcelona. The homes look to be made of tattered tarps and re-purposed building materials. Also, there are gypsy caravan camps along the side of the road on the out-skirts of town. 

Air B&B Gracia, Barcelona

Salvador, our host, met up with us and assisted in carrying the bags up to the fourth floor attic apartment. We had a bedroom and bathroom to ourselves and use of the kitchen, living room and terrace. Just right for a five night stay in Barcelona. Then he assisted in finding secure parking for the duration of our stay. 

We ended up parking at the Marina garage

Thank goodness for Salvador’s assistance as I had been denied parking there earlier. As everywhere, people are afraid of the unknown and a sidecar bike all dressed up for travel could be a target for thieves. I think the security guards were concerned about being able to keep an eye on her. In the end, Salvador contacted the head office for the company and they allowed us to park.

The people make the trip

We were able to spend a bit of time with our hosts Salvador, a paramedic, and Andrea, a Psychology student, on the first night. A bottle of wine and some intriguing conversation were the ice breakers. Once again, it was fantastic to get a local perspective.

We learned Catalonians hold themselves to a different language and cultural ideal than the rest of Spain. For example their views on bull fighting, how the sexes interact and even opinions on recycling are often issues of contention between Catalonia and the rest of Spain. These issues are overshadowed by language and an independence movement for separation from Spain.

Barcelona days

Each morning started the same, up with the sun and off to our favourite little café just down the street. Lliso Café which means ’smooth’ in Catalan. A delightful mix of sweet and savoury choices for food and cafe con leche. Fresh bread was also on offer here. We would recommend this place should you happen be staying in the area. The staff were very nice and quite patient with our rough Spanish.

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The rest of our time in Barcelona was spent negotiating the ups and downs of walking in the city. A lot of up and a lot of down as the city is built on hills.

This pair have cornered the market on bicycle sidecars in Barcelona!

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Street view

We walked a good part of each day in this fantastic and oh so vibrant municipality. Sam and I like to leg it and experience things at ground level. By strolling the streets we saw the Gothic quarter, Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell, Aquarium Barcelona and St. Josep market la Boqueria on La Rambla. Of course these iconic locations were not the only things we took in on the roads of Barcelona. For us it’s all about the sensory experience of a place. Just like life on a motorcycle, it’s the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and feel of a place that creates the holistic experience.

A few shots from the Aquarium Barcelona

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Our Barcelona gastro experiences

We had fresh fruit smoothies at the market on La Rambla, tapas at La Candella and El Mirador, and paella at Chipirón on the docks. By far our favourite place for lunch was Comida de Olla. Comida de Olla in Catalan is cook food, eat homemade food. They definitely lived up to their name. We had a wonderful lunch which equated to a Michelin star home cooked meal. We did eat at home a couple of evenings but mostly partook in the local fare.

South to Tarragona

The ride from Barcelona south to Tarragona is amazing! Stay close to the coast  and you will experience the Costas del Garraf road. What a beautiful ride!

On the day we passed through we took in the stunning vistas on this winding hilly road. We had full sun and no wind! A perfect days ride. If you ride a Ural, watch out for cyclists overtaking you on the downhill portions. Don’t worry, you’ll get em back on the uphill bits!

Onward to Salou near Tarragona

Sam and I booked a week in a self catering apartment at the Estival Park property in Salou. A washing machine and a well equipped kitchen were a welcome sight! This was a fantastic break for us. There was barely anyone around and a two and half kilometre beach to enjoy to ourselves. We walked or ran on the beach everyday; it was truly a sweet bonus.

Heading back north to Montpellier

After a week of chill time in Salou we set off north for a house sit near Montpellier, FRA. This was a two day ride for us via the Costas del Garraf road again and with a sleep in Figueres, ESP. We experienced the super winds at the end of the first day but a lovely ride into Vailhauquès for day two.

We truly enjoyed this brief interlude to Spain. Making it down to as much of the Iberian Peninsula as we can in the spring and summer is on our list.

Thank you for following along as we continue to travel around on our Sassy sidecar motorcycle. If you like what you see here please share it with your friends and subscribe for updates so you know when a new post is put up!

Take care and keep on travelling,

Dan&Sam

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