Having the kitchen/dining/living room sofa bed, I was up promptly at 7:30 am as others walked through to the bathroom. Only Michael managed to hit me as he passed, but he is forgiven as the senior group member. Only a bunch of 60+ guys would discuss SS and Medicare alternatives while enjoying a beer in Spain.
With about 40 miles to Figueres, we planned a leisure start. I discovered a thorn in a trailer tire, so we patched it before departing.
Fortunately, most of our clothes are dry, but some of the leather cycling shoes are developing a musty odor. Our planned route climbs 300 feet in the first 15 miles, then 700 feet more in the next 5 miles to the Spanish border. Then a 20 mile descent to Figueres.
We all had an excellent route, a mix of bike paths, lanes, and some busy highway shoulders on the N11. The border town extended into Spain a surprising distance. The highway was lined with larger supermarkets, seemingly catering to French shoppers. I'm not sure, but prices in Spain must be significantly lower on many goods.
Leaving the Mediterranean Coast. Our last day in France and the sun has returned.
Quiet lanes, mostly, with good road surfaces.
Harvesters did not miss many grapes. This vineyard had a mix of white and red grapes.
Robin and Larry, On Our Bike Fridays
Charlemagne Linked Monument. On our way to the France/Spain Border
First City Hall in Spain.
Border Wars. One source said that the left side of the street was France and the right side was Spain.
Another source said this obelisk marked the border, with Robin in France and Michael in Spain.
Cheap Beer. Top beer? Who knows.
Definitely Cheap Wine. They even had Tempranillo in 2 liter plastic pouches.
Maybe this is the border. We did pass a border station that was closed. While the border between France and Spain is open, security was prominent.
Roadside sculpture
While we had to ride several miles on the N11, a busy alternative to the nearby toll road, it had a wide shoulder.
Not this motorist's best day.
Dog of the Day.
Dog of the Day #2. Resting outside the Dali Museum.
Figueres is the home of the Dali Museum, only 2 minutes from our hotel. We arrived 35 minutes before closing and elected to return tomorrow when it opens at 9:30 am. Our ride into Gerona is only 30 miles so we will leave a bit later than usual. The following photos were take outside the Dali Museum.
Michael dubbed this the world's tallest oven.
Beer and Tapas. So sorry, Linda, but we are a poor influence on Robin. Too early for dinner, we enjoyed the mild, mid-70s F evening temperatures. Overall, the Figueres tapas scene was quite disappointing when compared to my experiences in San Sebastian, Barcelona, and Girona.
Modern wiring in an old city.
Seems it took two to carry this large, gift-wrapped present.
And for all dog lovers . . . in Spanish.
Bike touring and Spanish hours conflict. Restaurants close 4-7 pm, and many re-open much later. Early tapas is primarily sweets, not savory. We enjoyed walking about Figueres' downtown streets for several hours and settled on a restaurant. Good but a bit sparse for Eddy. (Yes, we have named Robin's tape worm. How else could he repeatedly eat vast quantities?)
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