The "Pilgrimage" to Girona

Prior to coming to Spain we located a coffee shop on the Internet in Girona owned by professional cyclist Cam Meir & his wife Amber. They are both Canadian and he rides for the Australian Orica Greenedge team. Many cyclists train in Girona during the off season and they wanted to create a cyclist-friendly cafe. If you are interested you can read more of their story on their website. http://lafabrica.cc/1-home

We found that Girona was just a a few metro stations down and a 30 minute ride on a high speed train from Barcelona. Thanks to Margaret's great planning and deciphering of train connections and times our journey was seamless . We were off on our pilgrimage to Girona. This small town Is described as "charming" by many and it did not disappoint.

We located Cafe Fabrica in the old section of town tucked away in a quaint cobblestone lined alley. The best part was that Amber was there and she greeted us with a hug and treated us as if we were old friends. The coffee was delicious and we declared that the oatmeal was some of the best ever tasted. It was so exciting to have read about this place from our respective homes and be able to see it in person.

Amber directed us to BikeBreaks", the best local bike shop in town. "It's just three streets down and to the left" she advised, "and ask for Dave." This is another family owned business run by local cyclist Dave and his lovely wife. They are both full time shopkeepers and each of them are part time mechanics.

They were extremely friendly and informative and were proud to show us their store. Not only do they sell, rent and service bikes they also sell team clothing, new and used, by professional cyclists. They offer massage and showers for riders and also sponsor a Grand Fondo and cycling festival each June for the general public. We purchased official BikeBreaks Bicycle club jerseys and a few other miscellaneous items.

We were going to visit the local Basilica but it was closed for filming of an episode for the Game of Thrones. It was pretty sealed off so we had to be satisfied by walking the perimeter along the old city walls. This little jaunt offered us some pretty spectacular views and keeping with our apparent love of climbing, had plenty of stairs.

After all the walking and we did a little shopping and treated ourselves to beer and lovely salads at an outdoor cafe. Girona perfectly fit the description of a quiet and charming town and it was a lovely way to wrap up our Barcelona adventure.

Today we leave our luxury accommodations and take the train to Bilbao. There we will do a bit of sightseeing before we meet up with our friends to begin our cycle adventure. It is good to slow down a bit and have a bit of forced relaxation.

BYE BYE HOTEL ARTS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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