Be sure to click on the map and view the other blog entries since Toledo!

12.17.07 Barcelona

What an incredible last couple of days; Incredible in several different ways. So in my last real blog, I mentioned I was off to stay in Granada and Cordoba before spending a couple of nights in Madrid. Well the beauty of a motorcycle and endless time is I can change my plans at any moment.

I left Malaga and headed to Granada and Cordoba where I was completely unimpressed so I moved on.And boy was I glad I did.I found the amazing city of Toledo, had an awesome Chinese dinner and found the best hostel to date.Pictures are now uploaded so you can see the castle I got to stay in.The hostel was great, but the city was amazing and very different from Cordoba and Granada where I could have stayed.These cities were just blobs on the map with maybe some interesting monuments.The cities were not impressive, but the country side getting there was pretty cool.I saw more olive trees then I have ever seen in my life.The hills as far as the eye can see on the way to Cordoba were filled with olive trees.From Cordoba to Toledo was an equally impressive ride.Coming over hills so that you can drive through 5 miles of a valley that is just grass land with another row of hills in front.Just incredible.

After Toledo I had planned on spending some time in Madrid and because I had pressed on to make Toledo I arrived in Madrid in the morning and had all afternoon to hang out and find a place to stay.Well I broke my rule again….don't arrive in a big city on the weekend!The roads to the center were all blocked by the Policia and my hostel that I was going to check into was way hard to find.I finally found it and the fact that they were full was a sign.I quickly made my way out of the city to something a little more appealing!

I looked at my map and found another city with a blue box around it, A World Heritage City, Cuenca!Wow again, I am so glad I did not waste time in Madrid.I stumbled across a diamond in the rough.What an amazing city.The perfect size, and something other than shopping streets and lots of people.Monuments are okay, but a cities vibe and layout is far more interesting to me I think.

Well it does not stop there, I planned on staying in Valencia and low and behold another blob of a city not even really built around the water even though it is on the coast.I am glad I did not waste a night staying there because I would have never stayed in Tarragona.Now this is a cool city with character.Tarragona was founded in 215BC and filled with Roman ruins and is built around the water.The perfect size and a city I could actually see myself living in.I found a great church for Sunday services and found a great place to stay centrally located. I walked all over the city and especially the waterfront that was filled with 100 foot sailing yachts.My kind of city.

So I have learned a couple of things from these past little experiences.One is that a big city is great to see and say you have been, but how boring.Now don't get me wrong, London, Paris, Rome…these are cities worth staying in and spending time.They have character, they have charm, they are pictured in movies and endless books.These are the places your imagination has run wild in.These are the places you will see at the cinaplex and say ooohhhh ooohhhh I was there!Cities like Madrid and Valencia are big names and we know them, but really have they captured your imagination.At the end of the day for me these cities and I am sure many more that I will visit to say I have seen it, are just blobs on the map where the masses have congregated so they can by their Prada bags, and Gucci sunglasses.Endless streets for shopping and endless faces with no smile and feeling!Now yes these cities have monuments and museums and maybe that is your cup of tea, but not mine.Cities like Toledo, Cuenca and Tarragona are what I crave.Character, something not so big that you get lost trying to just find the ocean (Like Valencia).A city where the people actually smile at you and want to be helpful.A city that really is impressive when you see it on a post card.My pictures I don't think really captured much of that because I was too busy with my jaw on the ground.I was very lucky to have timed things to be able to see the big city, but then really be able to see these great cities and the countryside in between.These cities remind me of Charleston, cities that have something more than just the masses!

So here I am in Barcelona.I am not sure if I would have pressed on here or not, but this is a city with life for sure and I am seeing it from a very different perspective.I arrived in town just hitting the 6,000 mile mark since I left Edinburgh, Scotland.6,000 miles means time for another service!Not only did I need the general service, I had already worn through a set of tires, a footpeg was broken, front rim warped and the throttle a little sticky.You should have seen me pulling into the dealership.I had just come through a rains storm on very dirty roads.The bike was filthy and off course packed with all my belongings.I coordinated the service with lots of waving a pointing as no one spoke English, man I hope they are fixing the bike and not selling it or something!So for the first time I had to unzip my backpack straps and pack everything on my back.I headed out to Barcelona with a different perspective; The perspective most "Europe Backpackers" have.I found a great hostel and toured the city.It is pretty cool to see the town with a little different perspective.

Barcelona is such an alive city.The waterfront is fun and the city is very well laid out.With no map I was able to find the dealership!I am looking forward to walking around tomorrow while my bike gets fixed.

So I said in the beginning of this not so short blog that the last couple of days where pretty incredible in several different ways.Well, as you can see from the excitement of the great city finds it is obvious how that was incredible.I had another different sort of incredible though also.In the midst of all this I have gone through several temperature changes which means figuring out what cloths to wear.Well this is not so easy, I start out loading the cloths on, long johns, pants and shirt, two socks, fleece, riding jacket and pants inner linner, riding jacket and pants, henry loyd foul weather gear top and bottom.Then roast to death as I load the bike and start to head out.I layer down and then start riding.Off course thirty minutes later I have to stop and put more cloths back on.It is a never ending cycle of cloths on and cloths off and the pants don't come off unless I sit and take the boots off.Let me tell you stopping to get gas or anything is a lesson in patience.If it is particularly cold, but sunny I have to fight my sunglasses which fog, then I open my face mask and then freeze close it and then fog, again a never ending lesson in patience.

While I was taking some pictures in Toledo I parked on a slight incline and my bike just fell over twice.I now have a nice little dent in my starboard panniers.A little character I guess, but you know when those things happens it is one of those ugg under your breath short bursts of frustration, because remember just before it fell, I had to get off take some cloths off and then bam.So not only patience, but calming yourself when life's little frustrations are thrown at you, but also not everything has to be perfect…yes I know.I kinda like my little dent now.Makes me really feel like I have been places although I am not sure why I have to make myself FEEL that way because 6,000 miles says that I have actually been places. So, you never know what is around the corner, but getting there requires a lot of patience and calm nerves.Once you are there the journey is worth it.

It is going to take a lot more than patience to get me to Paris though.I am kicking myself for not buying heated grips before leaving Scotland.I have been looking at temperatures, experiencing temperatures and am not quite sure how I am going to get to Paris with my fingers in tact.I have decided to skip Andorra which is at the top of the Pyrenees Mountains where it is very cold and all I see in my atlas is little men on skis everywhere which means SNOW!!!Snow and motorcycles don't mix so I am going to go around the mountains and follow the coast.I came through the mountains when I entered Spain and have seen them so around I go.The good thing is there is another city beside Andorra that I had circled that happens to be on my route so it all works out in the end.It was either Andorra or this city, I could not do both so here we are and the timing works out great to make it to Montcaret to have some relaxation time before heading north!