Rocket and Me: Viva Catalonia: Gerona

The group gathered in the parking garage to head out to Gerona.

We made this a group ride, at least to the first stop. Traffic was light in Barcelona as it was a holiday. But that holiday caused road closures along the way so we went around in circles at times.

At the first stop, Ken offered to lead the small group with Walt and the two of us. We stopped at the first small town where they were having a celebration. The Catalonians want to separate from Spain and a small choir was singing the separation song. It was sweet. We watched until they finished, then got coffee.

We then rode witha few stops stops until we came into Gerona, where we enjoyed a modern hotel where we snacked on tapas and drank beer and wine before heading to dinner in the Placa de la Independencia. The place where we wanted to eat was closed for the holiday, so we settled on a tourist place with tapas and pinchos.

The next morning Sarah wanted to visit the Dali Museum. Walt and his wife Hellen wanted to see it as well. Because Hellen didn't have a scooter or helmet, we decided to take the train to Figueres. Walt and Hellen were very interested in seeing it as it compares to the Dali Museum in their hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.

We spent a couple of hours enjoying the displays, then had lunch in town. There was a Dali jewelry display that we checked out before walking back to the train station.

Gerona has an Old Town section of the city that is walking friendly with many restaurants. We walked there from the hotel and looked at many restaurants before settling on Mimolet, a very different place from the usual touristy fare. It was a little pricey but worth it. Walt found a very fine bottle of wine to cap it off.

The next morning had us riding with Ken and Walt to lunch in Cadaques, a seaside town near the border with France.

On the way there we stopped at Gala's Castle, the home of Dali's wife Gala. It was a small museum but a fine place to spend some time.

We had a few more stops as well. One in a small town where we rode through tiny streets to a public square. Another to see a field of sunflowers.

Lunch was in a beachfront restaurant where we had beer and the usual Spanish food.

The ride back was through the mountain range separating the sea from Gerona, then fields and forest.

When we got back we dined at the hotel where they had a very good restaurant. The favorite dish was tortellini with gorgonzola and pair. I had scallops that were great as well. Nice town.