Border Patrol: Visiting Spain and France

After a good-sized day of sightseeing and bus riding, we arrived in the town of Carcassonne in southern France. After checking in to a small hotel, we walked down a long hallway on the second floor, with rooms to the right and a view of a nondescript building on the left. 

After some unpacking, we opened the curtains on the windows. There, lit up and seemingly hanging over a river valley, was the fortress city portion of Carcassonne. It was, simply, the best view outside a hotel window ever ... at least for us. No wonder the hotel only had rooms on one side of the building. We almost couldn't wait for light to come at dawn and illuminate the sturdy structure and the river below. 

Yes, we were exploring again. Before this trip, Spain was completely unknown territory to us, at least in terms of setting foot in it, and we hadn't seen this part of France. So we waited for the weather to cool down a bit so we could avoid summer's heat, and took off for 13 days of traveling ... taking notes as we went.

There was plenty to notice and to like. Barcelona and Madrid are vibrant, beautiful cities. It's a pleasure just to walk around and be enveloped by the architecture. The harborfront of Biarritz felt like a tiny national park, while San Sebastian is a fine tourist stop. Bilbao shows how to do urban redevelopment right, led by the Guggenheim Museum as the centerpiece of a massive overhaul of the riverfront.  Other stops also had interesting attractions.

Time, then, for another recap. The usual rules are in effect here. Posts on this blog contain overall impressions of the region and the trip. Soon, I'll add photos of some of the major attractions we encountered along the way.

The boys and girls on the bus

 

This was a little different than the other trips we've taken - not Ecuador rain forest different, but different. It was all done on a bus. Old-timers might remember a mediocre 1969 movie about such a tour called "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium." This was a little like that without Susanne Pleshette.

Admittedly, no one travels over large distances in a group without the help of a bus at times. It's the vehicle of choice for tours of cities and for short-hop rides to slightly distant attractions. But in terms of convenience, it's not exactly a boat - where you can walk around, sleep, eat, etc. while the vehicle is in motion. The bus gets you there in a relatively convenient manner if planned properly, and these were. But there's not much to do in such journeys. Even the wifi on the bus was limited in terms of time. Besides, no one felt like singing "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" in English, French or Spanish.

The group members showed up with portable reading or listening devices, became chatty with their new best friends on the bus, and tried to make the most of the situation. Such rides are on the tiring side as travel experiences go, but it's worth the trade-off to see different attractions. And as the map above shows, we stayed a minimum of two nights at each of the destinations, so we weren't packing and unpacking every single spare moment - merely every other spare moment. It helped.

This was also our first trip on the touring company known as Gate 1, which does a ton of such journeys each year around the world. It's a professional outfit and treats guests accordingly thanks in part to a guide who knows his (or her) way around. Gate 1 offers less information and more small extras than Grand Circle Travel, our usual hosts, and a little less service. For example, Grand Circle supplies a booklet that has plenty of information on the areas in the itinerary. We missed those features, but it wasn't a deal-breaker by any means. About our only complaint with Gate 1 is that we had a horrible connection flying home. After flying from Madrid to Newark, we had to spend the next nine hours killing time in the terminal, flying to Washington-Dulles, killing time in the terminal, and flying to Buffalo. We had complained before the trip about the arrangements, but were told it would cost $1,000 each to change the flights to something more direct. Sigh. Overall, though, we'd probably use the company again if a particular trip worked out in terms of stops. 

* What the map above doesn't show is that we drove right around the tiny nation of Andorra, which is stuck in the middle of the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. I love visiting these small states, a leftover bit of land from the time when Europe was divided into city-states hundreds of years ago. Andorra is mostly known as a place that has plenty of good skiing and a large number of banks that will discreetly hold your money. Somehow, I don't think I'll get that close to it again.

* The guide offered an interesting approach to the bus rides, at least at first. He came up with the idea of rotating assigned seats during the course of the trip. In other words, we were in the fifth row, driver's side one day, and then in the fourth row, guide's side the next day. This is done because some people like to sit near the front of the bus in the hopes of obtaining better views, and those some people can be territorial about their location. However, I learned long ago that the cool kids always sat in the back of the bus. Besides, there were 16 people in our group, so there was plenty of room for everyone. So we lasted about one short city drive in the assigned seat, and then retreated to the back where we had our own row of two seats. Some others followed, so everyone was reasonably happy.   

First obligatory masterpiece photo

Last trip we saw lots of wildlife; this trip we saw plenty of the works of famous painters. 

You might have guessed this is a painting done by Pablo Picasso. It is a portrait of Jaime Sabartes, done to make him look like a 16th-century royal courtier. The joke is that Sabartes was something of a courtier to Picasso, serving as an assistant in several different locations. It was finished in 1939.

Barcelona hosts a Picasso Museum that dates back to the early 1960s. The idea came from Sabartes, fittingly enough. Picasso donated several works, including his first two major projects, to it. 

* While at the museum, we may have had a look at "influencers." Being an old out-of-touch guy, I had never heard of the concept. Four young well-dressed women were walking around the museum in nice clothing, posing every so often for a photo or six. 

I guess the idea of influencers is for them to direct trends in such areas as fashion, beauty and travel on social media. By coincidence, we saw a magazine called "Influencers" in a hotel later in the trip. All I know is that if this concept had been around in the 1970s and I announced to my father than I was going to be an "influencer" for a living, he would have not-so-gently urged me to consider another profession ... or another home.

Away from the political storm

The end of October was a good time to get out of the country and head to Spain, and that's not another reference to the mild weather there. 

It's been a difficult year in American politics, due to the unique tone of the Presidential election. No matter what your affiliation, it's been impossible to avoid the bombardment of advertising messages through television and other media. This is particularly true if you live in one of the battleground states. 

There is little American television available at European hotels. International feeds from CNN, Bloomberg and CNBC were available at most hotels, but they didn't air any political ads. Which was fine. 

Talking about politics in the group during the trip had a "walking on eggshells" feeling. People tended to make sure they were speaking with a like-minded individual before revealing their views at length. I wonder if international travelers are more likely to vote Democratic right now, since the Republican brand is more isolationist. It felt like it, at least, although I don't think it was unanimous.

As for the photo, it was on the front window of a fast-food restaurant in Toulouse, France. I looked it up, and found this translation of the ad campaign by Papa's:

"Discover the new seasonal burger… You may have already seen him on television or in a reality TV show… It is indeed Gronald Trompe, an accomplished businessman, or not… Known for his escapades, conquests and other electoral frauds, he has often made the headlines of the scandal press. A ladies’ man, megalomaniac and bad loser, Gronald Trompe has many faults. But he at least has the merit of having invented the best burger! ... I promise, this burger won't make you orange... So, shall we give it a try?" 

* Spain has more than its share of interesting politics. We spent time in two regions of the country that came across to visitors as filled with potential for trouble. The first is Catalonia, which surrounds Barcelona. It was a separate country for a while, and eventually merged with the rest of the country under the Spanish flag. There's still talk about independence there, based on how many more Catalonia flags we saw than Spanish flags.

Then there's Basque country, centered around Bilbao. There's a tradition in independence there too. I asked a local tour guide if the people considered themselves Basques first and Spaniards second, or the other way around. She said it was rather mixed, with a good-sized middle. Hmm. Plenty of regional flags there too. 

It all reminded me of the relationship between Quebec and Canada. All three regions have their own languages that are different than the rest of the country, although many in the Spanish regions do know and use Spanish. There may be bumpy roads ahead in those relationships.

Second obligatory masterpiece photo

Let's get out the obligatory pun here. Hello, Dali.

Salvador Dali was born in Figueres, Spain. A theater in the town was burned out during the Spanish Civil War, but Dali wanted to pay a little tribute to his hometown. So he had some refurbishing done, and created this museum to his work. We paid it a visit.

This piece is entitled "Inaugural Gooseflesh." As you might guess, it's considered part of the Surrealist Movement, and was painted in 1928. Do we know what is shown in the painting, or what the point of it was? Well, not exactly. 

But if it was designed to blur our perceptions of reality, well, I guess it succeeds.

The not-so-World Series

The 2024 baseball season was winding to a close during the time of our trip. Let's just say that Spain and France weren't too interested in the outcome. None of the games were on television in any language. Sports bars probably weren't going to earn much money showing the games, in part because the contests began at around 1 a.m. local time. 

The trip, then, became something of a throwback to childhood. Remember when you were sent to bed before a particular game ended? Upon waking, I'd race to find the newspaper or turn on the television to discover the outcome. In this case, I rolled over in bed, turned on the phone, and looked at the former Twitter feed for a fast recap of the game. 

(Footnote: I would have continued my journey into childhood at breakfast if Sugar Frosted Flakes were available at the hotel buffet. However, I usually had to settle for basic corn flakes.)

And speaking of baseball ... Kevin Lester, the Buffalo Bisons' official scorer and a star of the movie "The Natural," usually asks people to buy him a baseball when they travel internationally. I struck out, so to speak, in that quest in Ecuador in the summer. I did get a little excited when I saw this ball in a shop in Biarritz. Alas, the store was closed on this Sunday morning. Oh well. The photo will have to do, Kevin.

My biggest laugh of the trip

We were visiting the little town of Mirapoix, about an hour away from Carcassone, when we spotted a small car in the parking lot near our bus. The back bumper said it was a Picasso car. 

Someone asked, "What makes it a Picasso car?" I quickly answered, "The (head) lights are on the side." Big yuks followed; you never know what people will find funny.

Citroen made Picasso automobiles for about 20 years, but production seems to be decreasing as some lines have been discontinued.

Video village

Antoni Gaudi must be Barcelona's most famous architect. He designed a huge cathedral as well as a park, both of which attract tourists by the boatload. Gaudi also drew up the plans for a large house in downtown Barcelona, which to say the least are unique. 

After touring the multi-story facility, guests have the chance to go into a relatively small square room (maybe the size of a typical basement) and watch a movie. The idea is that a computer put together billions of bytes of data to create a unique visual experience. 

Here's what a little of it looks like; be sure to blow it up to full screen to get the maximum effect:

This reminded me a little of a 1982 movie, "Koyaanisqatsi," which translates to "Life Out of Balance." It is a series of clips on parts of life, either slowed down or sped up. Philip Glass added a unique soundtrack. I liked it a lot, but such films sometimes were called "Drug Movies" because there were those who thought some "help" was needed to fully enjoy the experience.

The oddest of good-luck charms

They called a "caganer." It's something of a Spanish regional tradition that dates back to the 1700s - a statue of a pooping person at Christmas. It's said to be a sign of fertility and good fortune, perhaps because farmers often used their own, um, fertilizer on their fields. 

We've gotten more specialized now when it comes to these toys. Souvenir stands have statues of all sorts of celebrities with their pants down, doing their business. Some of the figurines have poop on the ground behind them, some don't. 

Celebrities are said to be honored when their likeness appears on a caganer. I saw a photo of a Barack Obama figure in that position. On the base of it were the words "Yes We Can." Nice. I chose to honor (if that's the word) Bruce Springsteen here; that's Angus Young of AC/DC and Mark Knofler of Dire Straits next to him. 

We didn't buy anything in that store, but others did. 

The football connection

Thanks to the joys of smartphones, people who wanted to keep up on their favorite football teams could do so rather easily. While watching the games live was difficult with the time change (five hours from the east), updates were easily obtained. And, naturally, fans could text their friends back home for "reserved and knowledgeable" commentary. OK, maybe not so reserved in some cases.

And speaking of football, the sport came to mind in a strange place. The photo here was part of some sort of abstract piece in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. To me, it looked like something from the old days of the American Football League. To be more specific, I wondered if it could be from a Bills-Jets matchup. 

Guesses are welcome.

Flash mob

Upon arriving in San Sebastian, we walked on the beautiful streets of the city on our way to lunch. Soon we heard what seemed to be a band down the street, with accompanying spectators supplying support and applause. 

Eventually we caught up with the group, which had settled along the oceanfront on a plaza. The band was trying to promote a swing music festival, and was giving pedestrians a bit of a free preview. What fun. Here's what it looked like.

 

Quick hits on the trip

* I am willing to appear in court to testify that the people in our group were fearless. Why? Because they ate a little of my "cooking." We took part in a class in Barcelona that prepared some Spanish recipes that eventually became a multi-course lunch. I didn't think I could poison everyone in the group if I minimized my role, so I did a little chopping and sipped on Coke Zero while watching others who knew what they were doing. A finished product is shown at right. I plan to stick to Five Guys - which had some stores in the major cities.

* Speaking of food, the hours for eating dinner can be a little odd in these regions. The French seem to be in no hurry to have you finish a meal, while the Spanish get a late start to the proceedings. 

In other words, senior visitors shouldn't look to Spain for early-bird specials like they might have in Florida. The old American standby of the 6 p.m. dinner (when Dad gets home from work) is somewhat ignored.

* We missed some fun in Toulouse, and maybe that's not a bad thing. An urban opera called "The Guardian of the Temple - The Gate of Darkness" took place on the last weekend of October there. During our visit a few days before, organizers were setting up huge mechanical figures such as Asterion the Minotaur and Ariane the Great Spider (pictured on the right as it was raised to the roof) on the streets of the city. Toulouse hosted a similar event in 2018, and it seems to have been a big success ... so an encore was planned for this year. More than one million people were expected for this latest rendition. In other words, that's not the time to go sightseeing downtown. Some of the satanic references in the show didn't go over well with the city's religious leaders. An archbishop called it "a sad spectacle."    

* It's worth noting that the museums on the trip generally were really, really crowded. There were a few places, such as the Casa Batllo (designed by Gaudi), that probably could be considered oversold. In other words, they were a super-spreader event waiting to be unleashed.

* When we checked into our hotel in Bilbao, the lobby was swarming with people. It turned out that there was a big conference of doctors starting up the night we arrived, and the participants were all carrying around the cheap tote bags handed out by the organizers. It seemed like a great set-up for a sit-com episode of some sort, given a plot line to go with it. I was tempted to yell out, "Is there a doctor in the house?" at breakfast, but I wasn't up to getting the line translated.

* I was told that I had encountered this before, but I hadn't remembered that some public toilets in France and Spain do not have toilet seats. Here's a photo I took of one in Biarritz. I have a feeling that skinny people might go in for some business and then never be heard from again. (Yes, I did feel a little odd taking a photo in a toilet stall, but my readers deserve the full story.) 

* Students of highway rest areas will be fascinated to know that the ones in this part of the world have an interesting collection of merchandise. We stopped as one that featured everything from casseroles to fleece jackets.

* For your information, daylight savings time ends a week earlier than it does in North America. So we picked up an hour on a Sunday morning. That normally would be good news, but we were supposed to leave early for our next destination. A wake-up call had been set up for 6:20 a.m. in the new time, but we wanted to get up earlier than that. Therefore, we had to be sure to get up early. But that was tough, because the clock in the room couldn't be set by guests. And you never know about devices that pick up the time from the Internet. Naturally, I slept fitfully and was awake well before 6:20 .... but I made the bus. 

* Ever wonder if anyone who is traveling on Halloween dresses up for airplane travel? I'm the man to answer that question, since I was in the Madrid Airport at 9 a.m. (Euro time) that morning and in the Buffalo airport at midnight EDT. In all that time, I saw three people - one couple and a solo act - in costume. Let's assume they got through security that way.

Third and final obligatory masterpiece photo

The Prado Museum of Madrid has all sorts of great Spanish works of art in its rooms and halls. This makes it an excellent stop for those interested in the subject. The Museum also has made an interesting decision about an entry regulation. Guests are not allowed to take photos of any of the paintings or exhibits. This has the effect of forcing visitors to look at the works, rather than taking a photo and moving on. Everything in the building is shown on line if you want to own a photo of it. 

There is one exception to the rule. It's the "Defense of Zaragoza" sculpture by Jose Alvarez Cubero.  This is in the big hall of the museum, which also contains a snack bar, restaurant, gift shop, admission booths, etc. Photos are OK there.

The sculpture depicts a moment during the period when Spain was fighting for its independence against Napoleonic France. It's of a son protecting his father in the city of Zaragoza. 

I suppose it might have been easier if the kid had on a uniform - with underwear - and owned a weapon, but it sounds like there was a happy ending.

(Follow Budd on X.com via @WDX2BB)