Stage 11: home sweet home (Galicia)

After 12 hours of riding, really 8 hours riding plus some time for technical stops, maintenance and supplies... :), and after 5000 km, i am now at home!
Today i woke up early in France and came directly to my home... Just little stops to take photos like in Desfiladero de Pancorbo (Burgos), a "field of gold" in Leon and a sign of the "Camino de Santiago".
By the way, i came riding along the way to Santiago almost all day...
I have learned some things of this experience, as an example it would be great another travel plan, i mean, less stops, to use complete days for riding and moving faster between places where i would stay complete days... And It would be great to meet with friends around the trip, i missed this... But may be next time.
Anyway i finished with a huge grin...
Probably my mobile phone will be switch off until friday because i need vacations of this vacations... I am seeing my bed now... i am going to have a good rest right now. I know that my bed missed me... :)
Tomorrow, when i wake up i will start planning any new adventure!
Thank all of you that support me in this trip.
Cheers
This blog was closed in Galicia (Spain) , wednesday, july 3th, 2013.

Stage 10: Tarbes (France)

Wheater: hot.

I will stand tonight in Tarbes... Near of Spain, just crossing the Pirineos, and even nearer of Lourdes...
i should go to Lourdes, but i am not into religious tourism... So "not now, tomorrow" or for spaniards, this is what Jose Mota says: "pero ahora no, Mañanaaaa" ;)

Today i continued crossing France going down towards Spain. I did just 1 stop before i get in Tarbes.
My stop was Toulose, and i am happy to have been there, the right size of city for me, a pleasant stroll, it was nice.
I dont know to much about Touluse, but may be i come back in the future. I left some photos of the river "la garonna" and the main square.
Well to say the truth i stopped to in a highway rest area... You pay a lot of taxes for using the highway, but the rest areas are really ideal for resting, little public parks by the highway. I had a sandwich there and i enjoyed, it was quite near of the Pirineos ...
And finally, Tarbes, a little city with some interesting public spaces. I saw it in a hurry because i think a storm is coming...
And tomorrow the forecast is rain from here to Miranda de Ebro. 4 hours of rain, i missed my waterproof stuff ;)
So let see what happens.

Photos:
Tolouse 2
Rest area
Tarbes 2

Cheers

Stage 9: Lunel, near Montpellier (France)

Weather: sunny and hot.

I woke up in San Remo and ended up my today's trip in Lunel.

I only made two pit stops...
First in Monaco, i had to feel how it is riding in the very streets used in Monaco's F1 grand prix.
To say the truth, Monaco is just a bunch of streets and there are a lot of traffic, so i couldnt ride ad fast as i expected ;)
And nothing more to do there and even if i wanted i didnt have the money to leave the high level of this city...
So l leaved Monaco towards Marseille.
In Marseille i ate something and i had a good dessert (dame blanche) with some balls of ice cream, chocolate sirup... You known what i am talking about? Ñam ñam...
Then i went to Marseille's port where the Jack Cousteau's ship "Alcyone" was sometimes... ;) and of course i wandered around the city center taking some photos.
And that was it in Marseille...

Later i rode in the highway again... There are sooo many tolls here in France... I have one or two hundreds toll tickets... ;)
And in the end i arrived to the camp site where i  going to stand tonigth. It looked great in internet, with a good area of swiming pools and wifi access...
I asked for the wifi and i had to pay a voucher, well all rigth, wifi is an extra ... But the swiming pool is included!
So at least it worthed to bring here my bermudas shorts!
But dont you know? Bermudas shorts are forbidden :o
I think this is a stupid rule in a camp site swiming pool...
So i am 2 metres of a swimming pool, it is the first day really hot since i started the journy and i can NOT swim!

I had a shower instead, but it is not the same...
Anyway i am hangig out writing this.
And the summer is long, i could show my perfect body, swimming agile as a dolphin... in any other swimming pool ;)
Photos:
Monaco, Marseille, Lunel's camp site

Cheers

Stage 8: San Remo (Italy)

Weather: sunny
Min: 17
Max: 30

I woke up early and stop in Milano and Genova in my way to San Remo.
I think it was no a good decision... Milano and Genova are big cities, too much traffic (even in sunday) and you are not going to see anything in a so short "pit stop"...
But i did it ,and i have some photos and the sensation inside that Genova worth another trip... And Milano is more "city", i didnt find it so interesting... But you know, they were short pit stops, so may be i am completly wrong.

I am in San Remo, in my opinion this is the italian version of Sanxenxo in Galicia: port, yatchs and tourists... There are beaches too but i think ours are better ;)

Anyway all this area is beatiful if you want sun and sea merge... What i needed sooo much.
And here, at last, the summer has come for me! Not too hot to go swimming but perfect for walking or biking.
So, I released my sun protection, my tshirt and my short trousers and i rent a bike! ;)
There are a lot of little villages and you can visit them by bicycle...
There is a road, prohibited for any other than persons and bycicles, and it is a nice ride by the sea shore.
It was really pleasant.
And just to mention it. The hotel is really nice for the price. Kind people, nice views, free wifi, ...
Just ask me for the name if you want to come :)

Ah and to be a good tourist i had a pizza for dinner...
:)

Photos:
Milan, genova, san remo 2

Cheers

Stage 7: Melano, lake Lugano (Switzerland)

Weather: full rain during 3 hours... Then cloudy ;)
Min: 10
Max: 23

I did not remember a so rainy day like today in the morning. It was pouring in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Lietchestein...
But my waterproof clothes almost did their labour... Almost ... ;)

In any case the landscapes in the high mountain that i had to cross today are super. A must to see. It would be better with a sunny day because my camera got so wet and the lens so foggy, that i couldnt get many good photos...

Lietchestein (vaduz) was a stop point. A really courious state, as big as, lets say half Ourense...
I had a good hot "Schokolade" there, just to feel that i still had hands ;) And yes, i still have then ... I am writing this, am not i?

After this stop, the weather was better and better... The deeper i get into the valleys, the warmer and drier the weather was.
And somewhere people started to speak Italian! But i dont speak Italian either, damn it! :) Now i am in the camp site near Lugano. When i arrived some people were in the lake (inside the water) having a bath! The truth is that it is summer here! But i still feel this morning's cold inside me.
Anyway I spent 1 hour visiting Lugano, but today's journey was hard and i am tired, so i am in the camp site again,resting.

After dinner i will walk a bit by the lake Lugano side, another little sea inside Switzerland... And then i will try to rest because tomorrow i want to arrive early to my next destination: San Remo.

Cheers

Stage 6: München (Deustchland)

Today was sunny! Yes!
So i spent all day wandering. Basically the day had three different parts:
"Eins" (1): in the morning i went to the city center on foot and take a lot of photos... By the way there were a million (or 2) of tourists around me...
But i enjoyed the visit. München could be the capital city of any imperium. A lot of singular monuments, big avenues,... Impressive.
As far as i know this city was completly destroyed during the second world war, so i think almost all is new or reconstructed, anyway it is impressive.

"Zwei" (2): i couldnt leave this place without eating something typical. "Bratwurst" with "Kartoffelsalat".i had a good "Weissbeer" too and as dessert i had some kind of warm "Apfel" roll.
I felt like eating this should be like if a german guy comest to Galicia and eats "churrasco, viño da casa e tarta de santiago"
And it was tasty... ;)

"Drei"(3): i spent all afternoon visiting Allianz Arena futbol stadium and of course the BMW museum. It was great! And i have thousands of photos...

And that is it. Now i am exhausted but i get profit of my day in Munchen.It is a nice city... Now i am eager to know other places in Germany... But my trip is in its middle so tomorrow i will leave Germany... :( i have to come back to Spain and it will last me 6 more days.
Fortunatly i am going to the south so, may be i will be able to use for the first time my nivea sun protection!

Cheers!

Stage 6: Bregenz (Austria), München (Germany)

Weather while riding: rainy
Min: 10
Max: 16

A rainy day received me in Austria... I stopped in Bregenz in order to take some photos but it started to rain. I ended up eating something there while i was waiting to the rain stop...
But it did not stop. It is s pity, the views of the Bodennse lake were astonishing but i did not take any good photo because it was pouring on me :(

Anyway i continued the trip and now i am in München!

It is a big city but the hotel is really near the city center. Today I aim to explore this area on foot, just after a little break to rest... because my back is telling me that i need to rest a bit... And who am i to say No to my back?

Tomorrow i will be the perfect tourist again. I hope, God will provide a reasonable good weather, besides, i have waterproof clothing ;)

Just a last thing. I want to say hello to a german friend. He knows who he is... ;) it is a pity that we can not meet here in Munchen. I will have a beer for you!

Cheers