Here I am again writing the blog post that Dean was supposed to write but once again he is spending the day working on the bike so I’ve taken over!

Clearly we are having lots of fun here in Europe as you can probably tell from the lack of blog posts! I am currently sitting by a pool in our campground in 35 degree heat working on my tan (I hope I’m not making you jealous?!) That said, it will be our 10th night in a tent tonight surrounded by the rest of Europe who are all on holiday. It’s the cheapest option we have although not really cheap enough to make us feel good about it! A good night’s  sleep however is required so I have spent the last 2 hours trying to find hotels in Seville which we can afford and also have bike parking which is the main challenge. All the old towns here are beautiful with walking streets only throughout however this means no parking – frustrating!

No doubt we will end up in a tent again as it’s all too hard!

Since the last post we continued in France through the Alps down to the south coast which was stunning.

A break in the Alps

We ate French cheese, fresh baguettes and cold meats looking over mountains before heading down into the heat of the French Riviera. We found a campsite and stayed a couple of nights as Dean had to try to organise some tyres – ours were beyond bald…!

The French Alps

This was harder than expected and we ended up having to organise some in Barcelona to pick up in a couple of days. We spent some time in Nice and Cannes and made our way quicker than planned to Spain. Along the way we camped in a little town which had been recommended to us which was really lovely. It was the first time we felt we had a taste of France.  We would have like to spend some more time there but the KTM shop who had our tyres in Barcelona was closing for a month so we had no choice but to push on.

Night time Dean in Cannes…

Its great being in Europe in the summer but we had no idea how EVERYTHING shuts down and EVERYONE goes on holidays. It really sucks! Everything is busy, everything is expensive and all businesses are closed! We feel we are missing out on the usual buzz of places.

So, Spain. We spent the first night in Figures which is where the Dali museum is. After about an hour lining up for a ticket we entered and ‘WOW’ I don’t usually get excited by museums but this was something else. Such a diverse artist.. A must for anyone who ever goes to Spain!

A view of the entrance hall of the Dali museum

Dali

More Dali

The next day Barcelona, via the KTM shop to pick up tyres. Dean was hoping he would be able to fix them in their workshop but they weren’t very friendly or welcoming so he ended up having to do them in a parking lot next door to the shop.

In almost all the KTM shops we have been to around the world the guys that work there are so helpful, accommodating and interested in the bike and will go out of their way to help Dean and let him work in their workshop (and usually spend the day standing around staring at him while he works) but it seems in more developed countries they couldn’t care less which is disappointing.

After spending hours trying to find somewhere to stay in Barcelona we ended up resorting to a campsite 17 kms from the city. It was a dust bowl with hundreds of tents haphazardly pitched so close together you could touch each other and it cost us $45 a night. Some campsites here cost as much as  $90 a night – crazy!

Our campsite on a quiet day

Barcelona is a great city and we rode in every day enjoying the bars and tapas but it drained our budget – especially when night time Dean came out – Danger! We visited the Sagrada Familia which was amazing and still unfinished – another must for any Spanish visit!

Sagrada Familia in need of a clean!

Inside Sagrada Familia

So beautiful it almost makes you believe in God…

After Barcelona we rode to Valencia for a night which was really nice once we got out of the touristy centre. It was a shame to leave after just one night but it seems that Spain has more to do than we had anticipated!

Now down in the South where its bloody hot and feeling more Spanish which is really great and is making us regret  spending so much time in Barcelona. We are in Granada at the moment which is really beautiful. We were really excited to learn yesterday that whenever you buy a drink, you get a free plate of tapas with it! So 4 drinks also bought us dinner! Bargain! We also wanted to see the famous Alhambra castle here but, alas, its closed for the holidays. Of course!

Dean has finished working on the bike and feels that he has fixed the problem which is great news! A worry free Dean is a fun Dean….but it could mean that night time Dean will want to come out to play tonight and I am having trouble keeping up…! x