Day 10. Valencia to Girona

We had a fairly relaxed schedule, with the train not due to depart until 1pm. So we had a relaxed breakfast with the others, strolled around and then checked out and took the short walk to the station.

The train to Girona was uneventful. These medium-fast trains (around 200kph) are not pressure sealed and they generate quite a bow wave in tunnels so that our ears were popping at each one. The service was good, and Keith and I headed off to the cafeteria car to get lunch for us all.

The train made only a few stops and Keith and Julie got to see this section of the Med coast for the first time. From Barcelona onwards the landscape got more hilly and a lot greener. A stark contrast to what we had been riding through inland of Valencia.

The other obvious difference is in terms of population density. No wide open vistas here... lots of towns and villages with small agricultural lots and plenty of industry.

This complex set of supports is required because one building has been
demolished and supports are needed to hold up the neighbouring ones.

When we got to Girona it was straightforward: into a big enough taxi and up the hill to Hotel Historic to sign in and be shown the way to our apartments (about 50m away) at Casa Cundaro. The old town of Girona is definitely hilly, so I am glad that we didn't even contemplate walking from the station! At the apartment there were a couple of flights of stairs but after a few trips we had all the luggage up and unpacked.

The apartment was quite comfortable. That is until the cathedral bells started almost overhead at 6am :-) Actually I didn't mind. It is a pleasant sound and I am already awake at that time.

A beer in La Rambla, which is lined with bars and restaurants

A classic Girona view in the evening

After dealing with arrival and unpacking we headed down the hill to explore. Lots of typical narrow, twisty streets, but here many of them have stairs. It reminds me somewhat of Cortona. The town is very photogenic, especially the buildings and bridges along the Onyar river, with the cathedral towering overhead. Everywhere we went there were lots of sightseers, camera at the ready but it was nver crowded unlike Barcelona!

 I made a quick visit to Girona Cycle Centre to confirm arrangements for the next day. There we met Dave and Saskia and bumped into Chloe Hosking, ex Canberra cyclist. All seemed in readiness so we agreed to return in the morning for fitting etc.

Plaça de la Independència

We had dinner of tapas at one of the many restaurants that surround Plaça de la Independència on the other side of the river. It was a comfortably warm night, quite suitable for eating outdoors and listening to the buskers - of varying quality who went from one group of tables to the next.

Then the stroll back over the bridge and back up the hill to the apartment to finish the day.

Lots of people out in the street, enjoying a drink
or just socialising.

The entrance to our apartment

Day 9. Segorbe to Valencia

As we had previously planned, Christine and Julie set off to the station to catch the train down to Valencia with the dead bike. However bike problems were not yet over... the rear tyre on my bike was a little flat. This was with a new tube, having carefully checked the tyre for shap objects etc. the previous eveing. Not too bad, but down a little. So I rolled down the hill to the service station to fill it. Bad news. It was now going flat instantly. We had no spare tubes, so I sent Keith on his way and started the walk down town to the bike shops. More bad news, one not opening and the other not open :-( So I rolled around to the train station to discover that it was a LONG wait for the next train. Pretty pissed off I called a taxi and took it all the way to Valencia Nord. This was amusing as the drive spoke no English, so we conversed via my bad Spanish. Turns out that she is a supporter of Los Che so we talked football.

Meanwhile Keith successfully found the route to the Les Valls railway station (past the end of the via verde) and caught the train in from there. The rest followed along on more or less the same route :-) Actually as I walked to the bike shops I passed a signpost with the shortest and best route back onto the via verde but by then it was too late to be of assistance to the others who chose various longer ways to get out of town.

Julie and Christine had waited for me at Valencia Nord, so the three of us rolled our laden bikes around to Orange Bikes. I explained to the guy there that I wasn't happy with the bikes and tried to explain why. No, he wasn't going to listen. No, he wasn't going to say "how unfortunate, I'm sorry it didn't turn out well". It was all about how it was our fault and I didn't know what I was talking about. It was all about charging us full retail for the broken parts. It was all about "as soon as you leave the shop with the bike it is your problem". So it is now my mission to explain to others via the internet how shoddy the service was. This poor service was brought into stark contrast by the excellent service that we were to get two days later in Girona.

From the bike shop, still pissed off, to the hotel, the Sorolla Centro. This hotel is in a great location, a short block from the station and in an area surrounded by restaurants and cafes. We checked in, showered and washed, and then the three of us went downstairs to a restaurant for lunch and to wait for Keith. He had also been around to the bike shop and was no happier than I was! Anyway enough of that, on with enjoying Valencia...

Valencia

The ride in by taxi had shown me some more of the lovely vistas of large buildings that are a hallmark of the city. That and the Turia Gardens make Valencia a very attractive city. Although Valencia is a very busy port, perhaps the biggest container port on the Med, the old city is a fair way from the coast and the industrial elements don't intrude. However they do provide the economic activity that is needed for a large city. So in the afternoon we did some more walking and sightseeing and looked forward to our dinner booking at Restaurante Riff.

This was the second Michelin starred restaurant that we were to visit in Valencia and I had high hopes. It was only a short walk to the restaurant and after a bit of effort (it isn't well signposted and doesn't look like a restaurant) we found it. It is a bit strange in that you ring a door bell and wait for a staff member to come and escort you down a corridor to the restaurant. My high hopes were somewhat met. The good? The chef is very friendly and spends a lot of time talking to customers. The decor is subdued and tasteful. The menu is short but with good coverage of meats, fish and vegetables. The staff are well trained. Last but not least the food is adventurous and very tasty. The bad? I'm sorry but it wasn't relaxing at all. We had chosen to have wines matched by the chef for each course. This meant a complete change of cutlery, plates and glassware for each small course so it seemed that there was always someone buzzing around the table. As a culinary adventure it was great, but as a meal it wasn't so good. Waiting on some food photos from Keith :-)

Day 5. First, and very short, day on the bike.

Thanks to the work that Carlos did we had train tickets and authorisation for our bikes all sorted. We took a couple of trips to ferry our luggage and bikes down the hill to Valencia Nord. We decided to leave the bags in lockers at the station, but we didn't know that we would need exact change in coins to make the lockers work. We eventually got that sorted and had time for breakfast before the train.

The via verde goes over a viaduct.
As seen from the train window.

On the train we hung three bikes from the vertical hooks and just stacked the 4th one against them. The hooks have built-in security cables so it was all fairly comfortable. On the trip we were able to see the via verde for a large part of the route, including some of the high viaducts that we would ride over. We could aso spot our accommodation for several of the nights as the train rolled past.

Ready to roll.

The conductor was very solicitous to ensure that we got off successfully at the right stop and so we arrive at Torrijo del Campo without incident. From there it was a short and easy ride for the four of us to Monreal del Campo, through the town and out to the Hostal. As per the arrangements that I had made they were prepared for bike storage and we checked in. Over the course of the next couple of hours we were joined by Peter and Sandy and Jeff and Gerda who had stories to tell of their cycle touring.
The Hostal featured fairly ordinary truckstop food and drink but it was OK. The rooms were fine and there was no traffic noise to speak of.

Day 4. A day in Valencia

The Mercat Centrale in Valencia.
A good place for breakfast and to buy provisions.
The best chocolate croissant ever!

We got up early (assisted by  the jet lag) and headed down to Mercado Centrale. The building itself is lovely, with stained glass windows and a nicely decorated dome.

Here we had a very satisfactory breakfast of fresh chocolate croissants and good coffee and then bought some provisions for lunch.

Fresh food markets are always a wonderful introduction  to local food and this was no exception. I love seeing the different foods in different countries and regions.  Pan! Figs! Jamon! Quesos! On our way back to the apartment we didn't go past a bottle shop so we had an Albarino and a Ribiero del Duero to wash down the lunch.

Horchata - a traditional drink of Valencia.
Made from a local nut ground to a paste, with sugar added.
Served cold it is very refreshing.

The old part of Valencia has some very impressive large buildings, many built around plazas and small parks. Not much use of colour, but very solid building. A lot of the footpaths are red marble pavers which looks great. We stopped in at a Horchataria for a glass of Horchata.

The afternoon was spent sorting out  the rental bikes and mobile phone plus data plans.  I didn't have a very good feeling about Orange Bikes and our experience there was not great. It was all a problem and all very hard. The bikes themselves seemed to be OK but the customer service left a lot to be desired. Then on to Vodafone which was not much better. A LOT harder than in Dubai! The guy in the shop gave us a bum steer in the morning and it took research over lunch and phone calls to Vodafone support before we were able to sign up for what we wanted.

In the evening I had pre-booked dinner at La Sucursal restaurant. It is a tasting menu of around eight courses. Some really sensational dishes, a great balance, great fresh ingredients.

We seemed to get through cava and a couple of bottles of champagne with dinner. The restaurant had a lovely casual feel with good service. It was a lovely evening for the walk there and back as well.

All four of us were impressed by this Michelin-rated restaurant.

Day 3. To Barcelona and down to Valencia

A very early start at Dubai but that's OK because our body clocks said it was much later. Dubai terminal 3 was the usual bustling throng although we sailed straight through luggage checkin, immigration and security. A nice breakfast at The Hub upstairs and we were on our way. The fed us more or less continuously on the plane and very good food it was. Once again the plane was a 777 which I prefer to the A380.

Barcelona airport was easy enough to deal with, minimal queues. We took the bus from the terminal around to the other terminal where the train station is, a suburban train into Barcelona Sants and then the Euromed train to Valencia.

Since the last time that we came along this coast (2003) the change was quite noticeable. A lot of development, mostly apartments, mostly ugly and many empty. A real disaster. It was a warm day and the Med looked very inviting, but I couldn't get them to stop the train for a swim :-(

It turned out that our Valencia accommodation was not ideal. A fair walk from Valencia Nord to collect the key, then a fair walk to the apartment, then a lift followed by a flight of stairs to the apartment. Most of the distance on cobblestones... a bit of a workout for suitcase wheels.  Once we got there it was OK but not great, so we cancelled our later stay and decided to find a hotel closer to the station for when we returned to Valencia.

K&J got in fairly late but we connected up OK and I even had a cold beer waiting for them :-}

Our Trip

If you stumble on this blog and and wondering what it is about...

In September 2012 I have organised a group of eight to  do some cycle touring in Spain, using the "vias verdes", or rail trails as we know them in Australia. This blog is set up as a shared day by day account of the trip. It is a team blog so that each of the members can recount their experiences and upload photos.

If you would like more information about the trip, especially the planning, route and logistics, head over to the planning wiki where this is all described.