Retirement trip - Day 26

 A day late as I had prepared everything then the hotel wifi kept dropping out!

I planned leaving Barcelona today, a city I really enjoyed and one I will return to. I'm going to book a hotel and fly here some day. One place I won't be going back to is the apartment I stayed in. The first night was fine, but the place was a bit warm and stuffy due to my room only having a window that opened into a narrow courtyard. Also, I had a run in with a young woman who turned up and seemed to be in charge over using the washing machine. When I booked in, other guests were using the washing machine and dryer, so I assumed it was free to use. She stroppily informed me you had to ask permission in advance and there was a 5 Euro charge for both the machine and the dryer. I thought this was a bit mean as I was paying 70 Euros a night for a prison cell sized room. Didn't tell her I'd put two batches of washing in the machine and dryer the day before! Payback for making me wait hours to check in!

The rooms in the apartment were let out on a daily basis so the guests kept changing. First night was quiet, second night was a bit noisier and the third night there was a group of surly Spanish speaking young men who were experts at shouting and slamming doors late at night.

I was up and ready to leave by 8:00 but got caught up in Barcelona's commuting traffic, it took me a hour and a half to clear the city and its suburbs, I was soon out in the countryside and heading towards my first destination, Museu Moto Bassella. Website A great museum and well worth a visit if you're in the area.

From there it was into the Pyrenees and some stunning scenery. I managed to miss the border with France, I saw a sign saying 'Francia 1km', then went through a built up area, round a double roundabout and under a canopy over the road. A little further I passed the entry to a town sign with a French name and signs in French rather than Catalan, so I must have crossed the border. I assume it was at the canopy where vehicles would have been stopped, passports checked, etc, but now you just drive through.

The scenery greatly improved on the French side of the border with some magnificent mountain roads.

You know it's going to be good when you can see the road ahead and it looks like this!

I carried on along a lot of roads like this and could see a narrow gauge railway making its way through the mountains on an amazingly engineered line. I stopped at a viewpoint that had a monument to the railway builders.

The Line is known as 'The Little Yellow Train' and looks like a great way of seeing the mountains. Another thing on the 'to do' list for the future. Website

Eventually I made my was to my destination for tonight, Argeles sur Mer. A very pretty seaside town and one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in so far this trip.