France & Spain

We landed in Barcelona after our red eye flight, picked up a rental car and headed up the Mediterranean coast to France, stopping at an absolutely amazing restaurant in Girona, Spain before making it to our first destination in Canet-Plage, France. We had hoped to last until dinnertime, but we all were passed out by 5pm local time. Feeling much refreshed the next morning, we took a stroll along the beach out front of the Air B&B to a little patisserie for some croissants and beignets. After some more sightseeing and a stop at the grocery store here for supplies, we continued the trek inland and north.

On our way, we simply had to visit the biggest cave in Europe; always need to stop for caves! We then arrived to the Medieval Walled Fortress Town of Carcassonne. Pictures don’t do any justice.

The next day, we took a tour of the fortress, saw the catherdral, and visited the Museum of Inquisition (truly horrifying stuff).

The following day, we drove out into the picturesque countryside for a tour of a wine vineyard that has been there since the Roman era, with a natural fed swimming pool and giant stone wine tanks (which were sadly scheduled for destruction to be replaced by modern tanks. Sacrilege, but the owner wants to make good wine, not be a tourist destination. C’est la vie).

Then back to Carcassonne for dinner and a late night stroll with gelato.

Looking back on the entire trip, Carcassonne was a highlight for all of us. It’s easy to imagine knights in full armor riding through its narrow streets, bakeries and shops selling their wares and people gathering in the square for a public execution. Yes, the museum of inquisition was even more brutal and shocking than expected. I knew it was hardcore, but none of us were quite prepared for the many awful and excruciating ways people were humiliated and killed during this time. In Europe this qualifies as an all ages exhibit, and why not. Take the kids. Show them how awful humans can be to each other so they can learn to be better people.

Castles in the clouds do, in fact, exist! After leaving Carcassonne, we drove south into the mountains and hiked up to Peyrepertuse and then Quéribus Castles, both built to protect the townships in the valley below separating. Followed by dinner in the small town of Cucugnan where we learned from a very strict restaurateur that “dinner in France before 7:30pm is not possible”.

Castles are very cool. Mandy was particularly enthralled with the age and remarkable construction of these defensive structures of power. While Carcassonne was a walled city with a castle within its walls, complete with moat (now dry) and drawbridge (now fixed), the other castles we visited high up on mountain tops were for protecting and defending the towns and connecting roads below. Built around 940AD, life here must have been tough. Food and water being the main concerns. Defending your lands of equal importance.

The next day we drove into the Pyrenees mountain range and did a quick hike up “Grotto of our lady of life” to a church and a cave high up in the hills. We then stoped in the little medieval city below for a lunch, where the girls were less than thrilled to have been tricked into trying blood sausage.

For our second hike of the day, we climbed the road up to the Abby Saint Matin du Canigou. Sadly, we were 30mins late for the last entry for the day, but the view was nice anyhow.

Headed back to Barcelona, we stopped off at Ille-sur-tet, which we’d describe as a very mini Bryce Canyon (Utah U.S.A.).

We loved Barcelona! Much good gelato, walking, and tomfoolery commenced.

From beaches on the Mediterranean to Gothic era streets and churches to Roman era bits that still remain; Barcelona is a beautiful big city that is best enjoyed on foot with use of the awesome Metro system. The gothic quarter is absolutely amazing. Walking its streets takes you back five hundred, even a thousand years or more. It’s pedestrian only and extremely vibrant. There is amazing food everywhere. I want to try everything, but alas, we settled on some choice spots.

While in Barcelona, we of course could not miss visiting the jaw dropping Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudí. He was a fan of nature and it shows.

Bumming around Barcelona, we went to the history museum and saw the ancient original city founded by the Romans with some of the original Roman era streets and merchant spaces. Underground now due to the city being built on top of itself for about 2100 years. Oh, and Bruce Springsteen was in town for a show at the Olympic Stadium. We heard some of the soundcheck. Seems like everyone is going to the show by the number of people we saw headed there!

The people we met and interacted with during this trip were all very kind. The people of France have a reputation for being snotty, and while they do very much expect you to respect their customs, we found them to be among the kindest and most generous anywhere. It certainly helped that Olivia’s French is very good and she could communicate effectively.

Our little German rental car got us around from town to town just fine. There are almost no large passenger trucks or cars here. It’s simply unnecessary and impractical for the extremely narrow (feels one way, but isn’t) city streets. Roundabouts are everywhere, and make up a solid 90% of the intersections. They make way more sense and traffic moves much more smoothly. Something we could easily adapt in the US.

The police don’t patrol for speeding tickets. There are mounted radar cameras. They even warn you and tell you where they are. Speed, and receive a ticket it the mail. Makes a lot of sense. The police can focus on actual Police work.

Tipping: We love the non-tipping culture. Just pay the price on the menu. No judgement, no hassle, and much more affordable to eat out. The prices are very comparable to the US as well, minus the tip, so cheaper! Staff are simply paid a living wage. Crazy right? Staff work together to take care of your table so no worries about finding your waiter. Much more efficient.

Are we saying European culture is better than in the USA? Not necessarily, but there is a lot that we love and identify with. Focus on an enjoyable life, slow down, walk, enjoy small courtyards, small plates of food and chats with your community. In France, it seems nothing opens until 10am. Breakfast is at noon. Restaurants don’t even open for dinner until 7 or 7:30pm and are closed through the afternoon. Work smarter, not harder, seems to be the mantra.

The food was fantastic. We didn’t have a bad meal anywhere. Although, we were perhaps slightly partial to Spanish cuisine over French. It was all amazing, it’s just where personal tastes reside.

There is a lot to learn from European culture and I can see an easily achievable blend we could adapt to make life much more enjoyable for all.

European cities make more sense to us. Even in the smallest towns, the houses are clustered together like a dense city and you can walk the picturesque narrow streets, lovely courtyards and gardens. This leaves more open land for farming and nature while making the entire town walkable. Transport is only needed between towns. I can’t stress enough how much we love the thought of living in any of these towns. There’s a feeling of connection here we can’t explain. Maybe it’s shadows of a former life, if you believe in that sort of thing. Speaking of which, it’s not lost on us we’ve probably visited more significant religious sites than many of our more religious friends. As atheists, we’re still fans of art, architecture and inspiration, no matter the source. The reality that people kill each other over this or that source of inspiration is a sad fact of humanity, and one we could do without. Live and let live. No one likes the Spanish Inquisition. Nobody.

These cities and towns are very old. Predating the automobile by centuries and it is evident everywhere. We are missing out on so much in the USA largely due to our reliance on the personal vehicle.