We woke to a glorious morning.  The rain had washed away the hazy skies and hot temperatures.  Though the thermometer showed 70, it felt much cooler with the wind and the only thing left of the clouds were the ones that hung on the mountain peaks like snow.  That’s the good news!  The wind was in our face and the climbing on very busy roads began within two blocks,

but the cool air made it so much more bearable.  Despite the conditions it was gorgeous.The conditions being climbing,climbing and more climbing,but did we mention it was an absolutely gorgeous day?

At our stop last night, we had the option to take the coast road or go inland, inland being the “easier” course. Can’t imagine what the coast road was like if this was easy! The inland route afforded us rich farmland

and beautiful green.Sometime before noon, we had about a half an hour on a country side road that was blissful;even saw sunflowers for the first time in weeks.Passed through Girona, the only city along the course today; obviously steeped in history and architecture.There were other tempting sights on the hills and through the pastures.By 2:00, as we started to drop from our last climb of the day, we got our first glimpse of the Pyrenees in the distance.They are breathtakingly beautiful, though they grew larger and larger as we continued to bike.We were checked into a hotel by three, after a particularly tough 54 miles with the mountains and wind.  But there were sights to see in the city, so off we went.  Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domenech was born here in 1904, and his museum typifies him and his quirky (if not, somewhat disturbing) art.The city streets were narrow and filled with people by the time we got to town.  So we joined them in their late afternoon stroll, until we spotted a towerwe had to explore.  The Parish Church of Sant Pere (Saint Peter) is from the 13th and 14th centuries;it’s inside is simple and yet grand,

the stained glass breathtaking.

Found a quirky little place for dinner

(those are ink pens that line the wall).  Since it was our last day in Spain, we decided on paella for dinner, which was outstanding,  Of course, there was a bottle of wine (we will miss Rioja) and delicious salad, an appetizer of stuffed ‘something’ with cheese and topped with a divine sauce, along with tuna empanadas.  All in all, a great evening for our final night in Spain.  Tomorrow we climb these mountains.

We will miss Spain and it’s people (and wine), but on to the next country and adventure.