The Cathedral in Llança

Holly scores her first Sangria! Well, maybe she had two—jugs!!

Salad & pizza after a long journey.

Starting off for a short hike toward Portbou and back to Llança. 11.3 kms.

Enjoying the coastal walk.

So many beautiful beaches along the way.

We did not go to the nudist beach!

Then the trail went thru a beautiful forested area.

Out from the forest and back along the beach. So many varieties of flowers!

Judy dips her feet in the Mediterranean!❤️

After breakfast at our hotel a quick stop for bread at the bakery.

First part of the hike is along the Mediterranean.

VIDEO—Along the beach.

VIDEO—Holly along the Coastal walkway.

A stop for coffee in El Port de La Selva.

Heading away from the coast to the mountains.

VIDEO: Long steep climb.

Up, Up & Up!

Terrain gets very rugged.

Enjoying the stone fencing along the way.

Signage is very good. Following the red and white.

Soon we will start the long, arduous downhill.

Cadaqués in the distance.

VIDEO: Dolly on the downhill.

After dinner a short stroll in Cadaqués where we see the statue of Salvador Dali who lived in this area.

VIDEO: walking out of Cadaqués

VIDEO: Leaving Cadaqués and enjoying the views.

VIDEO: Start of the climb over the mountain.

Several descents to the beach and back up again.

Holly enjoying a well-deserved break.

Back down to the beach.

Some beach walking.

VIDEO: More beach walking

Nearing Roses a series of stairs up and down.

VIDEO: More stairs up

Several more kms to our hotel.

Well deserved dinner. Judy likes her pizza cutting tool!

Seafood paella for Holly. Lots of seafood on the menu.

Rich ordered a seafood pasta dish. We will all sleep well tonight after a challenging day on the trail.

Sant Pere Pescador

Boardwalks along the beach

Walked by Roman ruins as we got close to L’Escala

Olympic statue of 1992 games in Barcelona

Entering L’Escala

Beautiful view from our hotel balcony.

Holly’s friend, Maite, who lives nearby met us for dinner. Her choice of restaurant ( La Tagliatella) was amazing and we were all thrilled with the food, presentation and service.

Holly and Maite (short for Maria Theresa)

After 4 kms the climb started.

Difficult terrain. Rocks were slippery.

Gortex on and off several times.

At times trail was close to very steep drop-offs.

Kept having to check navigation.

Slow going. One kilometer was 34 minutes and the next 33 minutes.

Trail very close to the edge!

Gortex on again. Raining heavily at this time.

Easier going here but absolutely soaked!

Arrived earlier than expected at our 1300’s hotel.

Wet and very happy to be at our hotel. Doubtful that things will dry by morning.

Started off with jackets in our packs hoping for better weather than yesterday. We did \240get some rain later in the day but nothing like the day before.

Today we had lots of road walking. Not much traffic on roads past farmlands. Also, thru forested areas on gravel and sandy trails.

Entering Palau-Sator

Coming into Pals

Enjoying a break and Cafe con Leche

After checking in to Rosa Hotel & Spa in Begur we hike up to the castle.

Great view from here. After being inland last couple of days we see the Mediterranean again.

Enjoying the walk back to our hotel after dinner.

Back to the coast.

Challenging, rocky path.

Up from Tamariu

Palafrugell

Steep rocky path

Finding our way over the rocks

Steep sections

Route marker near steep drop-off

Back in the forest

Beautiful views

Negotiating tricky steep switchbacks

Thankful for the fence!

Snack time

Thru agricultural land

Holly pointing to her dream villa!

More steep sections

Hilltop castle

Beautiful flowers

Lovely viewpoint

Stairs…and more stairs

Tunnels along the way

Narrow trail

More tunnels

More stairs!

Climbing again

Entering Palamos

Well-deserved beer (coke for Judy) at our hotel in Palamos

Lovely dinner. Holly scored another Sangria!

Most of the day was along the coast.

Several climbs

Lots of stairs

Several sections on sandy beach. Shoes filled with sand.

Passed thru many tunnels

Views of the sea were so beautiful

So many stairs!

More beach walking

Some selfie stations along the way. Strategically placed holder for your phone.

Lunch break

Back to beach walking

Boardwalks

Our 1898 hotel for the night

Steep climbs

Hiking over big rocks

Heavily eroded section of the trail

Steep downhill here

Not sure what this is but appreciated the signage along the way

Can see the Mediterranean again

More climbing

Archaeological site

Our destination is in sight

Long 6 km downhill

White wine for Holly at the first bar we got to as we entered Tossa de Mar

A beautiful grilled vegetable plate for Judy

Lobster ravioli for Holly

Rich & I shared a salad and wood fired pizza

A little walkabout after dinner.

Vila Vella (Old Town). We will walk up there tomorrow.

Statue of Ava Gardner who filmed, ‘Pandora and the Flying Dutchman’ with Frank Sinatra in 1950 and fell in love with Tossa de Mar.

Lots of stairs!

On the trail

Beautiful views of the city and Mediterranean

Almost back to Tossa de Mar

Judy’s huge salad with egg & tuna

Rich is happy with the Tagliatelle

Minestrone soup for me

Steak and potatoes for Holly

Great food, great service! Bus to Barcelona in the morning!

Off to explore

Saying is that if you drink from this fountain on the Ramblas you will return to Barcelona

Theatre

Inside the Betlem Church

Frederic Soler

Port Authority Building

Columbus monument

View from Holly & Judy’s room on the 5th floor

Our tour guide—following the white head!

Barcelona Cathedral

Martyrs’ monument

Bisbe bridge

Roman Temple of Augustus

Royal palace

Rooftop Happy Hour

El Corte Ingles Department Store

Tapas & pizza for dinner

Judy’s first glance at the Sagrada

Sagrada Familia designed by Gaudi was started in 1882. It is still under construction. When completed it will be the tallest Christian church in the world.

After our visit we enjoyed a walk to find Casa Batllo.

Casa Batllo, also designed by Gaudi and is considered one of his masterpieces.

Strolled thru the Boqueria Market

Betlem Church

Enjoyed a fabulous lunch. Rich had Tuna Salad

Caesar Salad with chicken for Holly

Judy had a Green Salad

My lunch was a delicious Smoked Salmon with Roquefort Cheese.

Train to Madrid—2 hrs 45 minutes. Up to 300 kph!

Train station in Madrid is huge

Holly & Judy joined us for Happy Hour in our room. Excited for a full day in Madrid tomorrow!

Our last visit to Madrid was in 1971.

King Charles III

Plaza Mayor.

Mercado de San Miguel

Church and Covenant of Corpus Christi

Oldest door in Madrid, Circa 1480

Former town hall. Plaza de la Villa.

Admiral Don Alvaro de Bazan who defeated the Turkish Ottomas in 1571. Height of Spain’s empire.

Assassination Attemp Memorial. Attempt to assassinate King Alfonso XIII and his bride. Instead killed 28 civilians.

Almudena Cathedral.

Inside the Cathedral.

Royal Palace.

King Philip IV

Opera House

Casa Gallardo

Monument to Miguel de Cervantes

Royal Palace entrance

We had tickets to visit the palace

Judy’s souvenirs of Spain

Dinner at La Tagliatella. Rich had Tagliatelle with Ragu Antico

I had Rigatoni with Calabrese

Holly had Pappardelle with Marbonara

Judy had Tricolore Pizza

Lovely ambience

Cinema

VIDEO: Evening stroll to the Puerta del Sol.

Constantly amazed by the stunning architecture surrounding us.

Many of the crosswalk symbols show 2 men or 2 women hand in hand to commemorate Pride Day implemented in 2017.

Enjoyed our visit to The Prado!

Churros & Chocolate!

Celebrated our last night in Madrid hitting up two bars for Tapas & Beer, (white wine for Holly, water for Judy!)