2013 Euro Tour - Beginnings of another Experience of a Lifetime

Originally Posted by Doinitmyway

Lots of things coming together - and coming apart for this years trip!

Time booked off work - Check!
Chunnel bookings made - Check!
Bike booked in for service - Check!
Another Org'er joins in! - Bonus!
Another mate drops out - aww frip
Checks £ against EUR - oh ffs and it's still heading south
Do you dont you sort out a bit now......

Nothing will blunt the eagerness taking over though - really looking forward to going 'back'. You got any firm ideas on places???

Chris

The route down isn't fixed in stone but from the ride back I think this would be a good route to start as it gets progressively more involving as you travel down South. Nothing for the route back yet, but there's loads of time.

Haha, I know what you mean about best laid plans. Its always tricky what to put the money in so far in advance - do I, don't I book the Ferry now? And risk seeing a better price in a month (or vice versa). When do I get the new tyres that I'll (inevitably) need before the trip? etc etc

I'll keep an eye on your thread as its always good to get some good tips from other doing the same sort of thing.

That's it!

Ticket is now booked, from Portsmouth to Le Havre on the 13th July. Return on the 27th July. So this trip is happening

Itinerary and videos to follow.

So here's a brief video of the sights and sounds of Barcelona:

This is the route I took:



The Loire valley is rich in beauty, nature and culture. From Tours, to Poitiers to Limoges, the surroundings were filled with heritage and history. The vast open spaces and great grand trees, encouraged a serenity with the surroundings that truly took you away from it all.

From the numerous vineyards and farms to the decadent Chateaus, the serendipitous tourist's "mana" so to speak. I really should have lingered here, got off the beaten track and explored. But, alas, intimidated by my lack of French language skills and in the determination to get to Barcelona for my 'A' Team style Mallorca mission, I went against instinct and pressed on ...

... I nearly didn't get there.

Reaching the border was fascinating. I would never have imagined such a stark difference could be experienced by crossing an imaginary line between two countries. Yet on approaching the mountain border there was an instant change from the calm greens and blues of the surrounding landscape to the yellows and reds of the gaudy shop fronts and colourful market traders all enticing you to stop for some food, or drink, or just to purchase some of their trinkets.

It was such an odd experience in so many ways, almost surreal. There I was on a black SV650 in full leathers under an increasingly hot sun and suddenly gone from no traffic to bumper to bumper stuff, whilst the border sellers and traders literally stop you in your tracks. We were not yet in Spain but this was adequate preparation for what was to come.

The privilege of a bike meant being waved through without a search. Great! That was easy On entering the gates of Spain two things were instantly noticeable - Traffic and Prostitutes. It turns out that this mountain pass was the HGV highway to Girona ala Barcelona which made for a frustrating afternoons riding after the glorious tranquillity of the Loire Valley.

Not to mention, all these truckers required some 'sustainance' eagerly supplied by the variously conditioned (from not too bad to very bad) ladies of the day who brazenly showed a bit of skin to anything that moved. There were a lot of Parked HGV's here with curtains closed. And the hard faced border police no more than 10 yards away were not bothered in the slightest. Maybe this is the way they do things in Spain. I didn't know prostitution was legal here? Surreal. But this was to become a regular feature of my commute to Barcelona.

Border passed, I refocused on planning my route to Barcelona. But time was moving too quickly and the same could not be said for the traffic!

Not fancying another night spent out in the wildnerness, especially surrounded by dodgy individuals and, frankly, more dodgy prostitutes, I pressed the SV into eager action and some "risques" overtaking ensued. But the roads of Spain, at least this part, were nothing like the pleasures of France and truly worked my budget suspension and budget skills. "Close call" became my middle name as I finally made it to Girona.

It was now six in the evening and the panic started to set in. How long will it take me to get to Barcelona in this traffic? There are no streetlights on these Spanish roads, will I be stranded in the middle of nowhere without lights? I tried to stop in a town, but rode right through as it had the feel of that town in the Movie From Dusk Till Dawn. But now I was truly cacking myself. No idea how far from Barcelona. But I must be close! The suns started to set and I started to replay images of huddling next to my bike to keep warm.

And then ... like a sign from god [insert revered deity or appropriate Atheist phrase here e.g. "... ask luck would have it"] we turned a corner and there was the sea! Oh the beautiful sea, how I loved thee then

I figured, at the worst I could sleep on a beach somewhere, but that thought instantly went when I realised a few things: The roads had suddenly become a lot better; there was a resort, campsite or hotel literally every mile down the coast and I remembered that the European evenings are longer down South so the sun sets late.

So with a relaxed and euphoric state of mind I leisurely pressed on to Barcelona and ignored the cornucopia of available accommodation.

This nearly came back to bite me in the ass as I realised the closer I got to Barcelona the more expensive it would be. Nevertheless I was determined to say I'd reached Barcelona! ... We'll in any case I got as far as Badalona before the sun set down on me.

Long story short, I found an accommodating hotel with the bike friendly owner doing me a favour and giving me private parking which would have otherwise cost E15 per night! That night, I slept like a Baby.

I was finally in Barcelona

Barcelona Teaser Pics:

Bacelona Barcelona! I'll keep this post short and sweet. I actually do have some video footage which needs to be edited down and hopefully will come soon, but here are my impressions of this city.

First impressions

Don't ride or drive in Barcelona. There's little point. The roads are dominated by traffic and mopeds. In fact the mopeds were the most dangerous as everyone rides like a lunatic. Its like London but warmer and with better looking chicks on bikes.

And that brings me to the MASSIVE plus of Barcelona. I have simply never seen so many women riding bikes and scooters. And they were hot! But! They never wore any protective gear other than a helmet and sunscreen. It wouldn't be unusual to see a girl ride past you in a Bikini or a beautiful young woman dressed up for a club or a late dinner in high heels! What an eye opener.

The traffic system is a nightmare for travelling motorists. There are so many one way networks and diverting junctions that a sat nav will get you easily lost unless its completely up to date and reliable. Of course I used a road map which was next to useless as you can plot a reasonable route which does not account for the myriad "no right turn / no left turn" signs that you suddenly encounter. Not the best way to see Barcelona but I'm sure I did a couple of loops around the city centre.

Public transport also seemed a better way to travel and is apparently cost effective. The city is "generally" clean and safe etc etc etc ... this is as much as I'll say about the boring stuff.

Good and Bad Mistake

Here's where doing your research can save you time and money. A friend insisted prior to my trip that I get a Hostel Card and use hostels. Now, I can rough it with the next guy but I didn't fancy a hostel with all my gear and staying with a bunch of strangers that I didn't know or trust, in a foreign country with a language I don't speak (More on these things later).

So I ignored this advice and considered camping or hotelling in Barcelona. As mentioned in previous posts I made no plan for Barcelona beforehand, made no booking for accommodation and, other than a few places to see, had no clear directions of where I wanted to go/stay.

First night was spent in a hotel in Badalona on the sea front. Due to the debacle with my lights not working and my late arrival in Barcelona I bit the bullet and paid more than I wanted to after a couple of frustrating hours trying to find a place to stay with parking. Of course this was almost impossible in the city centre during the height of the holiday season!

But I eventually found the place mentioned, and the manager was extremely helpful in giving me a reduced rate, free parking in their secured car park and free use of the wifi. The room itself was small but had air conditioning and a shower. It was clean and most importantly, the bed was good cause as I soon as I touched that sucker I was gone in 2 minutes - knackered!

It turned out to be a great night's sleep, only disappointing in the fact that I'd had images of going out that first night for a walk around the city and to sample the cosmopolitan food and lifestyle on offer. Next morning, I used the wifi to plan where I would stay.

The plan in Barcelona was to get the ferry to Mallorca with the bike and possibly catch up with some friends. It was a long shot because I had no idea where to find the ferry or how much it would cost, but I figured it must have been cheaper than booking from the UK where the price was about £160 return with the bike for a few days. In the meantime, I had to find somewhere to lay-up until I got to Magaluf.

I went for camping sites and found one which seemed reasonably close to Barcelona (it wasn't). I arrived early and the signs looked good. The setting was beautiful with manicured tropical type trees lining traffic less roads which on either side had numerous cafe's and shops which were patronised by locals who appeared incredible relaxed. Yes, Locals!

It appears I'd stumbled unto an area outside the city where the locals come to play, away from the hustle and bustle non-stop activity in Barcelona. The beach, which was within sight of the main roads/cafe's etc was spectacularly beautiful. I just wanted to jump straight in. But, to find this place first.

So here was the mistake. Here's the place I found:



The campsite was reasonable enough, but camping was going to be 20 Euro a night including the bike and, as I had no tent, I would have had to purchase one from the shop on site for a further 30 Euro. I didn't fancy spending 50 Euro for one night when I wasn't sure if I would use the tent again as I had no designs to lug one around for the rest of my travels so opted for the cabin accommodation @ 30 euro a night.

For this I expected some civility - not the Ritz, but something more comfortable than a tent. Well, all I can say is What A Joke. This was a portacabin type thing with walls seemingly as thin as sheet plastic which would sway if you blew on it. The bed - well, mattress on a plank - was ridiculous. It wasn't clean and there were of course no pillows. That was extra you see (unbeknown to me at the time). But I considered that I wouldn't be spending much time in the room, with the beach on my doorstep and the promise of my first proper night in Barcelona.

So onwards to the beach! Nudist beach?! Oh yes, fellow orgers. Everything was indeed all hanging out! I had my camera with me and would like to say I took some pictures/footage. But at risk of being arrested for voyeurism I decided it was best to leave the camera off. Needless to say I looked very out of place with camera in hand and fully clothed (beach wear). Beach (credit to Obslord):



I gather this is were the locals and Spanish come to get away from it all. The only interruptions to the tranquillity were the lapping waves and the occasional 20 ton pieces of metal flying quite closely overhead. Again, would have liked to have taken footage or photo's but camera stayed off for the reasons above.

Of course I had a long walk down the beach and must confess to making "eye contact" with a few gorgeous (half) naked ladies. The men, I wasn't really so fond of (ewww). After a while of feeling like I was cramping everyone style as I wasn't quite prepared to go starkers, I decided to have a wander back to the camp and try out the bar.

What a f*cking desolate place that was! It turns out my campsite was akin to a family/retirement home. In the bar were about 8-10 people, none of whom were under 60. This gves a good idea:



Around the compound was the same with the other inhabitants being parents and young children. Not exactly the 18-30 I had in mind then! Anyway, the next day I would hopefully be heading to Magaluf so got drunk and had an early night.

Mallorca

Didn't get there.

Barcelona

Okay okay, I'll explain (clearly I've decided this isn't going to be a short post).

Eventually found my way to the right Ferry port only to find that they didn't open until 12 because, silly me, nothing important in Spain is open until late in the day!

Waited patiently for some time in the queue, roasting my nuts off in my full leathers (which was no doubt providing great comedy value to other customers) only to discover that the cheapest crossing to Mallorca was in fact 180 Euro return! Not exactly cheaper then.

For 3 days in Magaluf, where I would also have to find accommodation, parking and food and then proceed to get smashed for 72 hrs with a bunch of football lads, I made the not terribly regretful decision to give it a miss and spend the cash in Barcelona instead. Yes, gutted about not seeing my mates but I knew they would soldier on without me. In the meantime, I had unfinished business and Barcelona wasn't exactly a bad second prize. Onwards and upwards then!

After that sh!t camping experience, I thought I'd actually start paying attention to the advice I was given and find a hostel. It couldn't be any worse than the camping accommodation and tbh I was desperate to be around younger people of a similar age. So the nightmare of navigating around Barcelona on a bike continued. To be fair, it was much better this time around not being in a rush to find somewhere to stay and simply enjoying the fantastic, varied architecture and pure vibrance of the city.

I found Equity Point @ Passeig de Gràcia:

Ahhh, what to say? Lesson learned is the first thing. Anyone travelling to Barcelona could do a lot worse than stay in one of these facilities. For a start they are utterly modern, with free wifi, Rooftop terrace bar playing reggae music, massive communal lounge with large screen TV's and self catering cooking facilities (including free use of Fridge Freezers etc), clean rooms and bathrooms/toilettes, great staff and best of all a great location, all for a reasonable price.

View from the Roof Terrace:



one more

Barcelona continued ...

It was the best decision I had and would make all trip. Buy a Hostel card for 10 Euro's or something and you can use it in any hostel which is part of the backpackers network, giving you a saving of about 5 Euro per night. I Paid 22 Euro per night in a 6 bunk room (I think) which was never fully occupied so for most of my four days it had maybe 4 people in there. So a total saving of about 20 Euro (10 minus the cost of the card) over 4 days.

Lockers provided, all linen and towels sorted. Clearly this company knew down to a tee what travellers wanted and needed. And, it was full of like minded young people! What a relief. It was truly a great experience as most of the travellers came from all over the world including Canadians (great fun), Americans (good laugh), Coloradians (they get their own category because they are frickin awesome and up for anything), ze Germans (with whom I sang many a football song), the Aussies (hardened "Party Hard" travellers), the French (there is a funny story involving the French later) and of course the Spanish.

Parking was an issue in that officially there was none. But as the saying goes "when in Spain ...", I chose to follow my fellow Moto bretherin and parked wherever there was space (conveniently, right in front of the hotel). Security chain on and there the bike sat for 4 days in all its fly murdering glory!



From then on, I became a proper tourist. Another friend of mine who lived in Barcelona also gave me a list of things to do. Needless to say it is almost impossible to do anything but scratch the surface in 4 days. All I will say is you cannot be bored in this city.

I'd deliberately planned this trip to coincide with the European Football Championship and I especially wanted to see the atmosphere in Barcelona when Spain was playing. These are not my pictures but here's an idea of the general atmosphere:





I leave you with that for now, but the story just gets better from here on out ...

Nice write up man.

[littleoldman2]

Originally Posted by Skybaba

Nice write up man.

+1 he's got me looking at tickets for this years Barcelona motogp.

Didn't quite get around to finishing this blog and some of the pics have been moved (sorry). But I have a new plan

My new trip begins tomorrow! I'll try to update at the end of each day* in this format - 1 Photo or video, A very brief description of the ride or the surroundings, and a short final assessment of the day behind and the day ahead.

Wish me luck!

* Internet access permitting.