It was only appropriate that we cross the Pyrenees on our way into Barcelona. Why not conquer the final Mountain range in Europe, as we in our trusty A5 mobile had done to all the other ranges on the continent? The French Alps from Chamonix all the way down the Route Napolean to Briancon in the South Alps; the Swiss and Austrian Alps; the Julian Alps in Slovenia and the Tatra Mountains bordering Slovakia and Poland. I didn't count the total number of mountain passes completed but it feels like at least 5,000 of the total 14,000 kilometres were spent on windy narrow roads, hairpins bends and often in poor visibility. But we survived them all (somewhat of a miracle with Konrad behind the wheel) and I have a new appreciation for mountain ranges and would now like to think of myself as somewhat of an Alpine scenery expert. For the record, the Chamonix Valley is definitely the most spectacular, the Austrian Alps some of the prettiest and the Swiss and French Alps the biggest and most impressive. But they were all great and I definitely have a bias towards spending my holidays in the mountains - winter or summer! :)
So after a very foggy cross over the Pyrenees we arrived in hot, dry Spain and were very happy to finally get a taste of the European summer we have been longing for since April! Also great to have the opportunity to work on our tans - being still somewhat pale after 6 weeks in the poor excuse of a summer in most of central Europe.
After our best argument yet over directions in Barcelona (I'm not sure how I am supposed to know where I am when the street we are on is not on my map of "Central Barcelona" ... where is that GPS unit when you need it?), we arrived at our apartment and were greeted by Dany & Clare with the other crew delayed in London due to bad weather!? Even more appropriately, they promptly disappeared for a few hours in search of the address of Barcelona Fitness First (definitely the first thing I look up when in a new city) and Konrad went on his usual mission to find a bottle of Gin and some tonic! Needless to say the next 3 days were spent drinking Gin & Tonics, Sangria, partying, eating and throwing in a couple of the city sights. Saturday night after a rooftop party on our apartment building with Leszek the Polak entrepeneur landlord (I knew polish was the international party language) we danced the night away in a club for Bel's 30th. And while we all slept off our hang-overs the next morning, the award goes to young Donato Gruosso who went for an early morning jog!? Good on ya mate!
On Monday we said good-bye to most of the crew and took a flight to the beautiful island paradise of Menorca with Mick, Bel and Jo. We stayed in a hacienda near the town of Ciutadella with Mick's friend Richard and his lovely girlfriend Isabel. Here we were delighted to find a local brand of Menorcan Gin, which was introduced by the British in the 17th Century and has since been improved over the centuries (as is usually the case). Needless to say over the next 5 days we created a bit of a fiesta for ourselves and lazed in the sun, swam, ate and drank lots of local gin. In between all of that, we also managed to catch an island festival involving a horse show of local landowners and their workers, and a beach fashion show. Menorca is a very beautiful island with pristine white beaches, amazing blue water and beautiful coves everywhere! I think we could each have spent a month there enjoying the sun, sand and sea! (and the gin of course).
After an early morning flight on Saturday back to the mainland we headed north to the the coastal retreat of Cadaques, before crossing back into France to Avignon, then to Cannes to visit Connie and Fabian for a couple more days of beach and sun.
After 84 days on the road, our trip ended appropriately in Val d'Isere where we spent a week with Phil and Alex in hotel La Galise. Here we were blessed with typical mountain weather - 4 days of rain, fog and yes some snow! (really in August) and 3 days of beautiful sunny weather ... life at 1850 hey? The top temperature was 33 and four days later it hit a chilly 4 degrees!! Just nuts. But we did manage a great hike up the mountain, some golf and lazing around the pool at Clochetons restaurant in the Manchet Valley. When the sun was out it was incredibly beautiful place to be! Almost as beautiful as when it's covered in snow (but not quite:)).Thanks guys for a fabulous week and we look forward to seeing you again in February 2008.
We are now in Solothurn, Switzerland and leave for London tomorrow morning. The car has been returned and we are now staring down the barrel of an office job and a 'real life' for the next 6 months. I'm somewhat looking forward to having a home again and I'm sure once the money starts flowing that we will start to enjoy ourselves.
Till next time ...
