May 22 – 27

After breakfast we set out for our third day of riding, hoping for the best and planning for the worst.  Unfortunately, this was far from being a good day.  Here is my Strava narrative:

Another day of frustration as we keep being directed onto rutted and overgrown farm roads, heavily cobbled dirt roads and nary an open stop for coffee all day. 

To make matters worse, the GPS directions kept sending us to turns that didn’t exist and in a if that doesn’t beat all moment, landed us at what we thought was our final destination, only to find out it was a hotel that had been used in prior years and was no longer in service.  We were able to discern what and where are lodging for the evening was and using Google Maps did the extra five or so miles to get there, stopping along the way for the second of our two gas station snack breaks, only having had one coffee in a town along the way.

We would finish the day with 25 miles of riding and 636 feet of climbing and were delighted when we pulled into Moli Del Mig in Torroella de Montgri a 15th century mill restored by the architect Josep M. Deulofeu.  Our room would be in a new addition to the hotel, a series of modern individual rooms a short distance from the main building.  And, as with all the other places we had stayed at so far, this nice accommodation was reasonably priced, likely between $120 to $200 a night depending on the time of year. 

While Joanna spent some time relaxing in the small patio of our room before dinner, I made my way to the hotel bar to enjoy a glass of a local white wine.  She soon joined me and we sat for our last evening meal of the tour and again weren’t disappointed.  We ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and began with our starters, a salad for Joanna and a Macaroni and Cheese dish for me. 

For entrees I would enjoy roast pork tenderloin and for Joanna, the, well, we can’t remember and the picture below is of absolutely no help whatsoever.  But she ate all of it so it must have been good.  Dessert was simple, a nice fruit salad for both of us. 

We had another substantial breakfast buffet to send us on our way and soon hit the road.  We decided to take a different approach this day, our last on the bikes as I explain in my Strava post for the day:

Tired of the nasty dirt sections we’ve been forced to ride the last three days, we took matters into our own hands and crafted a route that was 90% on pavement.  Some of the sections had narrow shoulders, but the drivers here are very courteous so it wasn’t so bad. 

As with the day before, we used Google maps and paused midway in the small town of Pals, climbing up some steep hills to get to its center, then a little further on, with about thirteen easy miles to go, stopped again in the town of Palafrugells for lunch at Frankfurter Gretel.  We sat outside under an awning and split a bratwurst with melted cheese, an order of Patatas Bravas and quickly consumed a beer apiece, for a total tab of 17 Euros ($18.60).

The next hour or so passed quickly and we entered our final stop of the bike tour, the town of Palamos on the coast, having that day accomplished 21 miles with 1,000 feet of climbing.  We did turn on the GPS for this final leg and it led us to our home for the next two nights, the Hotel Trias where tonight’s cost would be covered as part of the tour and where we had booked an additional night for 115 Euros ($126).  For that low sum, somewhat explained that it was a shoulder season, we got a spacious third floor room with a view of the harbor, a large bathroom with separate toilet and walk in shower. 

After relaxing a bit with a drink or two from the mini bar, I set out to the local Bonpreu to pick up some supplies for the next day or so and upon returning, Joanna and I walked down the boardwalk a bit to stop in at Le Creperie for a light dinner.  Still full from our late lunch and a bit of snacking in the room we ordered two sweet crepes, one with chocolate and one with honey and some liqueur I can’t recall.  It ran us all of 10.50 Euros ($12) and it was the perfect way to end the day. 

The next morning, we enjoyed the hearty buffet breakfast provided with our room and then set out for the weekly multi block street market behind the hotel, which was full of lots of clothing, accessories, and other miscellaneous items for sale, but not much in the way of produce and fruit.  Quite crowded that day, we strolled leisurely for an hour or two, finally splitting off to grab a snack at Casa Moner where we thoroughly enjoyed a piece of cake and two café con leche’s for a total of 8.20 Euros ($9.27).   

We returned to the hotel with a free afternoon in front of us and so Joanna went for a walk along the beach and to do some last-minute shopping while I had a massage in the room.  The hotel arranged it for me and put the cost on our bill, just 60 Euros for a full hour.  The therapist was quite entertaining, a youngish guy who had some connection to the Spanish Olympic team, either as a competitor or as a therapist.  All I know is that it was one of the better treatments I’ve experienced.

After Joanna returned and a glass of wine or two, we headed out to find a place for dinner that appealed to our sense that it would be one of our last meals of the trip.  After walking around a bit, we settled on Restaurant Canpaco, which was crowded and had a decent selection of menu items.  We decided to just work our way through the appetizers and to fuel our way, ordered a bottle of Senorio Nava Duero, at 18 Euros a price we would never see in the States.

We started with Melon with Iberian ham, a gigantic serving which was followed by a bowl of the Gazpacho Andaluz (Andalusian gazpacho cold soup with croutons).  Next up was a large serving of Patatas Bravas (with spicey sauce) and a side order of sauteed Assorted Vegetables (Verduras).  To close out the meal Joanna had the Mussels in white wine sauce while I worked my way through a portion of the Albondigas en Salsa (Meatballs with sauce and rice). 

Too full to order any dessert, we did enjoy a glass apiece of a complimentary cocktail which put the finishing touch on a fine meal that cost us all of 62.70 Euros ($69).  We waddled out of the restaurant and back to our room, ready for a good night’s sleep and to prepare for our not quite two-hour bus ride to the Barcelona (Bus Terminal Nord).  There we would experience one of the most incredible stories of this or any trip, but that will have to wait for the next post. 

Links

Moli Del Mig: https://www.urh-hoteliers.com/en/moli-del-mig-by-urh/

Hotel Trias: https://www.hoteltrias.com/

Frankfurter Gretel: https://frankfurtergretel.com/

Casa Moner: http://casamoner.com/

Le Creperie: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-cr%C3%AAperie-de-la-vila-palam%C3%B3s

Restaurant Canpaco: https://restaurantcanpaco.es/ingles/