Monastery Of St. Peter of Rhodes, 1

Not far up the coast, high up in the mountains, is the 9th century Benedictine monastery of St. Peter of Rhodes. Most of the ruins are 10th century, but that's pretty old for Medieval Europe, and the complex includes a fortress as well as the village that supported both monastery and fortress. Here, as the literature explained, you have the three basic estates of the emerging Medieval world: those who fought (the bellatores), those who prayed (the oratores), and those who worked (the laboratores). Not much room for de-classed intellectuals.

The fortress, pretty ruined, Verdera

The monastery, pretty much intact, with modifications to
prevent further ruin; also a restaurant, gift shoppe, etc.

On the Camino, of course

Remains of the village,Santa Creu, on the right; the distances, and the lateness in
the day, required we focus on the monastery

Terrain; once heavily planted in vines, until phylloxera showed up

All roads lead to Santiago de Compostela, as we know, and some pass through
St. Peter of Rhodes

Official doggie parking

The two towers of the monastery...the bell tower and the keep

Helpful illustration; and in English too

Corballed ceiling in the wine cellar

Lamb of God

Pretty basic Romanesque, or even pre-Romanesque, if you like; love the thousand
year old barrel vaulting

View from narthex

Original capitals on the port side; the starboard capitals were a bit more
weathered but still impressive

Vicki about to perambulate

In the small ambulatory

Only painting we saw, in the chancel

Monastic view

Aerial/angelic view of fortress

Leaving the ambulatory

Chancel

On The Road Again, To Cadaques

The train got us to Figueres in good order, Le Duc was waiting for us, and after some repairs and refurbishings, and a long and long-anticipated visit at the Carrefour, we were on the road the next day, October 5th. But only as far as the Albero campground near Capmany, where we spent a couple days and nights. It takes a bit of time to move back in, clean, reinstall items like the solar panel Trimetric, plan, and make sure everything is working, etc. For once, no problems! Interestingly, there are a couple of minor megalithic complexes (dolmen, menhirs) in the vicinity. Unfortunately, all seemed far off the road and in difficult terrain, so we decided to leave them for next time. Why were our neolithic ancestors so inconsiderate?! Anyhow, it was time to begin moving on, toward Rome. Our first stop was the nearby coastal village of Cadaques. We had been near it in previous years, visiting Dali's Port Lligat home in the next cove.

Hiking up the hill

Ah, the Mediterranean!

Today's wedding: a peek into a church that is normally closed

Favorite son

Catalan flags everywhere

At the market

Plane trees...for the next several hundred miles

Reminders of Africa not far away

Above Cadaques

Return To Barcelona, Again, 2017

So we were last in Barcelona, very briefly, in June, after storing Le Duc at the Caravan Center in Figueres and en route back to the States. This time, October 3-4, we were again passing through, en route from Capetown/Dubai to Figueres, to pick up Le Duc and begin a seven week re-positioning drive to Rome. We arrived in the evening of the 3rd, spent the night at a mediocre little hostelen on Disputacion, but then the balance of the next day walking various sights in the great city before catching the train to Figueres. Even a few hours in Barcelona warrant bit of a tour.

The tapasization of the city continues apace;
pretty soon visitors will be able to buy them
from vending machines

Gaudi is still there

But also spreading

Line to get into Casa Battlo

We opted for second breakfast at the cafe at
Casa Amatlla

The election had just occurred and there were signs everywhere;
almost emerging disappointment and bitterness...

After rambling on La Rambla and stopping in at the mercado,
we thought we'd go for another jamon lesson at the Jamon
Experience

All sold out for the day...to cruise ships...the Cruisifixion of
Barcelona continues...

A second Amorino's has opened in Barcelona, perhaps two
blocks from the other one; after a sub-optimal experience in
California, we had to give it a try; what a difference a continent
makes!

Roman necroplis we'd missed before

The city pretty well covered, not only with Catalan flags, as
always, but with political banners...the dust and debris are still
in the air as I write

Fortunately, some things don't change too much or too quickly

Entrance to our hostelen 

Reserved For Africa: Out-Takes And After-Thoughts

Reserved For Africa: Violet

Reserved For Africa: Signs