Barcelona - 23 March

Today is our daughter's birthday. This she shares with her fiancee. Happy Birthday Amy and Dan.

Spring is in the air with blossoms and the years first buds showing on the skeletal trees. Having spent yesterday enjoying the country side, then why not repeat the experience today. Closing my eyes and putting a finger on the Google Map, the township of Vic (pronounced 'bic') becomes the centre not only of its region Osana's attention but, also of ours. Vic is just under 70km to the northwest of Barcelona and nestles under the Pyrenees Mountain range. It is famous for its sausages amongst many things.

We take a train to Vic and watch the temperature guage, which all trains seem to provide on the digital information board, plunge from 15c to as low as 10c as we near our destination. Looking outside the window of the train we can see the beautiful snow capped Pyrenees in the near distance. Memories of our inadequate clothing during the freek snow storms in Athens and Istanbul coming flooding back. However, with the sun shining the temperature at Vic was more than tolerable.

Ron quickly asks directions and we find the tourist information centre. Hiring audio guides we follow the waking route through Vic's medieval town centre and enjoy several churches, facinating building facades and another huge Cathedral. The interior of the Cathedral de Sant Pere is very different to the decorations that we have become used to. The columns supporting the roof are square not round and the painted murals on the walls are dark with images of pain and suffering. There is very little use of gold leaf. This gives the cathedral a foreboding and cold feel.

The businesses of Vic follow the traditional Spainish timetable of closing at 2pm then reopening at 4pm to finish business at 8pm. The only shops that remain open are the food outlets. Our walking tour ends just before the 2pm closure so we take that as a sign to find a good restaurant.

The tourist information guide points out some promising options and we choose a restaurant called El Caliu located in one of the many small medieval streets. An english language menu is dutifully provided and we choose a local meat brooth soup followed by a Goats Cheese, Lettuce, walnut and pork salad. Both taste very different to what we are used to but delicious all the same. I did think that the salad required a sweet ingredient, perhaps pear, to give it the full flavour. I will put the recipe on the blog for those that are game to try.

Leaving Vic we journey back to Barcelona on the return train.

Ron and I are beginning to suffer from sight seeing exhaustion. As Ron says, you can only keep up the pace that we are keeping for so long before it takes you down. Perhaps tomorrow we will take it easy and recouperate.