Friday, August 25, 2017

Another Return To Middle California, 2017

At the end of June we flew from Barcelona, by way of Helsinki, back to the Bay area, to retrieve our North American camper, Le Sport, and to spend some time with loved ones there, daughter Rebecca, son-in-law Jeremy, and grand-daughter, Penelope, now six years old and eagerly anticipating first grade. Retrieving and restocking the camper took some time, as well as a couple minor repairs, but at length we were ready to get out and have fun. It seems my vacation from the blog included a vacation from the camera, but I do have some few representative pix.
Le Sport parked in front of Rebecca's house

P showing off at bicycle class, one of several camps she attended
this summer; she has become an avid bicycliste, alas, an activity
she cannot share with grandpa or grandma

Working on a bug-house project with me at Home Depot

Reaping the rewards of carpentry excellence,
at the nearby Ikea

Shoes like Mommy's

Inventing a robot at The Tech in San Jose

On the boardwalk at Santa Cruze

With Grandma, who still has a taste for these things

On the beach at Santa Cruz









































































































At length, it was time to move to the annual family camping
trip, with friend Ed and others, in the eastern Sierras; and for
grandma and grandpa to head on to Missoula


Thursday, August 24, 2017

Real-Time Update #119...

...finds us in Johannesburg, South Africa. I took a bit of a vacation from the blog in July and August, which we spent in Middle California and Montana and points in between. I'll endeavor to recount some of that time shortly, hopefully before our African odyssey gets fully underway. More about that anon.
Us "yesterday," August 22, just before departure, with first-grader
Penelope

Sunday, July 9, 2017

End Of 2017 Iberian Campaign

So ended our three months in the Iberian peninsula: sorting/inventorying/packing/cleaning at the Carrefours and the camper storage place in Figueres, and in the heat; and then a pleasant evening at a hotel in Barcelona, air conditioned even. And then the flight back to Middle California. It was another great trip, the past three months, and I think we both enjoyed Spain and Portugal even more than we thought we would. We'll be back in Barcelona and Figueres in October, after American and African travels, touring back into France and then Italy, storing Le Duc in Rome. And we'll be back again in the spring, after a month in the States and the winter in New Zealand, for more of Italy and then of France. Catch you later on down the trail.
Fridge magnets acquired on our 2017 Iberian campaign

Andorra To Figureres

The route to Spain and Figueres took us across another pass--not so steep as the previous one, and with a breath of cool air at the top--and then through scenic valleys, past Girona, and ultimately to Quart, where we would spend the night before proceeding on to Figueres. Storing Le Duc in Figueres would require another couple days of sorting, packing, and cleaning before the bus to Barcelona and the plane to San Francisco. We wound up in Quart because we had failed to appreciate the need for reservations at the campgrounds near Figueres. It was a national (Catalonia) holiday and a 4-day weekend, and very hot, and everything was completo. We paid the price.
Leaving Andorra; big-time ski resorts nearby

Another hill climb


Another beautiful Roman bridge




Down the road, another bridge and young people beating the
heat

And another big Medieval bridge

Gothic, no less

At Quart, the fireworks started at about dark and lasted until 3 in
the morning

Next morning view of the remains


Saturday, July 8, 2017

Andorra

So at last we made it to Andorra, the town of Julia-something, which we initially mistook for the capital. The TI-babe set us straight on that. After spending the night at the nice aire at Julia-something, we decided to drive the length of Andorra to the French border and then back to the Spanish side to shop at the LeClerc there. 6k. The upscale shopping was on the French side, we understood, but not needing anything upscale, we headed back toward Spain, and Figueres. We actually liked Andorra though we hardly did it justice, touristically. Maybe next time.
In our excitement we missed the actual welcome sign

What Andorra is about, mostly, is shopping

And outlets

Street scenes


It really is just this valley/canyon





Not too small for yet another Romanesque church


Tobacco...there's a museum of tobacco in the capital...tax-free
tobacco?

A river runs through it

Building up, out of the valley


Biggest LeClerc ever..and why not, catering to Spanish, French,
and international tastes

Life-sized animatronics

For sale, too...11k euros; just what your toddler's playroom needs

Killer wine section

Single malts

Why so many Spanish pigs have hearing disabilities

More animatronics for sale

Cigar department; I almost wished I smoked again

Someday I'll post a YouTube of the roaring T-Rex at the LeClerq
in Andorra