This Girl & Her Dog's Traveling Adventures: From Paris to Barcelona!

I arrived at the parking in Paris to my camper van still in its spot, after loading it up and getting ready for the drive, I was off!

Sunday is definitely the day to drive in Paris as the roads and sidewalks were bare, hardly anyone on the streets – they must all be in church, ha ha! But this meant that there was no traffic and I was on the road much sooner than I thought and heading south for Limoges.

After about an hour on the road, the hills started to roll in and I mean they really rolled in with some of the big ones being 5/6% grade in 1000 meters, but I just went in the slow lane and puttered my way up the hills only to go down the other side and build up as much momentum as I could on the other side to get up the next steep section. I even had transport trucks passing me, ha ha!!! But the beast seemed to handle it and we made our way through. The hills were lined with trees and pastures for livestock and it was really pretty to see.

After about 5 hours of driving I arrived on the outskirts of Limoges at my campground for the night. Arriving in late afternoon to 20+ weather was great! There were a lot of people out and enjoying the weather, when I checked in the guy mentioned that this was very warm weather for this time of the year – so I was happy to hear that. The campground was right next to a big park with a walking trail that went around a large lake, so it was time for Mocha and I to explore the park. There were lots of people out doing the same thing and having picnics along the lakes edge, it was beautiful.

As soon as the sun went down, the cold crept in and it was a cool evening. The next morning it was a quick wash of a few items of clothes and then off on the road again. I thought I may stay the night in Toulouse, but I changed my mind and decided to go as far as I could so that it would be less driving to Barcelona the next day and more time to see the city.

From Limoges to about 30km north of Montauban the road was all hills. The hills were so green and rich with trees, amongst them were pastures for cattle and sheep. Through the trees you could see the tiny villages by the rooftops and mostly because of church steeples and old castles. On top of that the trees were starting to turn for the fall and the yellows and oranges started to speckle the land. It was a beautiful day to be on the road until the road started to get flatter between Montauban and Toulouse and the wind started to pick up. Especially around Montauban the landscape started to change and there was less trees, less green grass replaced with vineyards, a variety of fruit trees and dirt ground.

Around Carcassonne the hills started again, but they weren’t as green as the north. Still lined with grape and fruit trees, brown grasses and trees, rock and dirt ground – but it was really interesting to see the change in landscape. I knew I was in Carcassonne as the huge castle emerged on top of the hill. I wanted to camp around Perpignan, but it was time to call it quits for the day and find a campground elsewhere as my head cold started to sink in. My handy little GPS found a campground near by and off I went.

Getting off the toll road to pay, the only money I had was a 50 Euro bill and this machine didn’t give any bills back, so I had a lot of change to fill my purse! After a bit of what looked like a farm road, I arrived at the little campground nestled between vineyards. I pulled in and parked for the night admiring the sunset as it went down. The campground had lots of palm and tropical trees planted all around and in it. But the evening was much warmer than the night before in the north and I was happy for this.

I little stuffy the next morning, I wasn’t up as early as usual and took a bit more time to get ready and on the road, but finally we were off! It wasn’t till on the road that I realized just how close I was to the Mediterranean Sea and that I was only about 3 hours drive away from Barcelona! As I drove the sea offered stunning views here and there and as I got closer to Perpignan, the Pyrenees Mountains started to come into focus and a little worry came with that. How was the camper going to do getting over the Pyrenees?

But thankfully as I approached and crossed in to Spain and over the Pyrenees I was very surprised that it was a lot easier than the hills we had passed through in the North of France. I knew I chose the flattest part to pass through! And so Mocha and I were off and into Spain!!

There were still hills to drive on, but the roads seemed to have been made easier and the valleys below were deep and lined with villages and farm land. The longer I drove the warmer the weather got and the more the humidity went up, especially in the beast who had no air conditioning. Tons of the farmland was dedicated to vineyards and a variety of fruit trees.

After a short drive I arrived at the first campground, beautifully situated in a forested area with lot’s of trees and cool temperatures at the top of the hill. But after about an hour of setting up I realized that there was no public transport from the campground and nowhere to walk along the road to the bus stop. With it being a steep and curvy road, I didn’t think it would be safe to walk on it – especially with the Spanish drivers! So I was off to find another campground and see if it would better suit my needs.

I took the windy road to Mataro where the next campground was to be located; arriving at the campground I was pleasantly surprised. The campground was across the road from the Balearic Sea. They also offered free shuttle busses every day to and from the city center of Barcelona, so this was going to be the place!

The front desk staff spoke Spanish, French, English and even some of them spoke Dutch and German, that tells you right there how popular Spain is for the Dutch and Northerners. My campsite was perfect, nestled under some trees for shade and up a bit higher to get views of the sea! So as I settled in and looked around the campground, I decided to head in to Barcelona for a few hours and come back on their last bus at 8pm. I also decided it would be a good idea to book a ticket with them for the Sagrada Familia.

At 5pm I boarded the bus and off I went to explore Barcelona in the evening! Twenty minutes later and we were dropped off at the center of Barcelona right outside the Hard Rock Café. Once I sorted out where I was on my city map, I was off on foot and on the popular street “La Rambla” which was lined with street vendors and souvenir salesmen. There were a lot of people out as in Spain from 2-4 most things close down for siesta and everything opens till late in the evening, included the typical Spanish diner time being between 7-9pm.

I made my way past the Liceu Opera House and then decided to take a turn and off I was in through the Gothic area and through the thin streets with shops and a variety of ice cream, yogurt and cold treat stores. The light was starting to fade and the building lights came on and lit the pathways – I started to see why they called this the Gothic area. After a bit of time I stumbled upon the La Cathedral and the history museum. It was a fantastic time to be there at night as the old buildings took on hauntingly beautiful impressions and gave it the true Gothic look. The golden lighting inside the buildings made it even better. On top of that there were street performers out along the buildings to listen to and watch.

As I emerged from La Cathedral I came out to a square that was having a antique market and the steps of the main entrance were lined with people sitting on them. It was a great atmosphere! As I made my way back for the 8pm bus, I wondered through a local artist market and popped in for a hot chocolate before boarding the bus and heading back to the campground for the night. Early to bed to get some sleep and get rid of this head cold with extra help form some OJ.

The next morning I was off on the bus and one of the other campers had given me their Metro ticket – so I was good to go and make my way to Placa d’Espanya museum and Montjuic Park. The Metro was a bit more confusing than Amsterdam and Paris, but I made it there in the end – even in the super warm tunnels, I would hate to be there for summer. A short walk through the fountains and around some of the old museums I arrived at the museum.

The museum is made up of typical Spanish style homes and architecture from all provinces of Spain for people to see. At the main floor of these buildings there are a variety of restaurants, cafes and local artist shops. Many of the art shops also have their studios onsite and you can watch them create their beautiful artworks. I had the opportunity to watch a man in the final stages of creating what appeared to be a bull from blown glass in his workshop. It was pretty interesting to see the tools he was using to do it and how he had to use them in order to get the horns, tail and other features of the bull into his work. Eventually I stopped in one of the little restaurants and had an empanada, it was fantastic and I forgot how much I miss them!

After some time, I decided it was time to go check out Montjuic Park and get to the top where the castle was. After taking the Metro it indicated that the lift to get to the park was not in service and that alternatively there was a bus. The bus took a bit longer and you probably didn’t get to see as much as you would have from the lift, but eventually I made it to the bottom of Montjuic Park. From there I took a tram up the mountainside all the way to the top of the park. There were stunning views just from the tram and you could see many of Barcelona’s famous buildings including Sagrada Familia. Once at the top of the mountain, you had views of both the city as well as the sea. Unfortunately you had to pay to get into the castle and it wasn’t really worth it, I thought. Most of the rooms were closed off and there were only 2 rooms open with some old photographs and videos on the history of Montuic and its people. A staircase took me to the top of the castle, which was completely open, and you could have views all the way around you.

Back to the center of Barcelona for some wandering around and a bit of shopping on the side for some must need items. Just in time to catch the bus back to the campground and Mocha and I were off for a walk. A great day in Barcelona!

The next morning as I was getting ready to head out for the day, the couple camping next to me came over. They had seen my license plate and started speaking Dutch, I had to interrupt them and explain that I was in fact Canadian and had bought the camper in the Netherlands. They were making there way to Portugal to do some woofing at a farm for the winter. They barely made the morning bus with there large backpacks that they were hitchhiking with and even mentioned that they had to send a few heavier items back home to the Netherlands as it was too much weight.

I had a booking for the Sagrada Familia at 2pm, so after parting ways off the bus, I thought I would check out Barcelona’s Arc of Triumph. Not as impressive as the one in Paris, maybe because it seemed smaller and instead of being in the center of a huge ring road, it was at the beginning of a small square that led to a park. But still it was lovely and the park after it was nice and peaceful. After that I decided to head to the Sagrada to make sure I had lot’s of time to get there as this is one thing I didn’t want to miss.

Arriving early and being pretty amazed by the building itself from the outside I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like in the inside, so while I waited I wandered through the stores and streets around it and into the small park located across from it to have a little sit down. A lovely old Spanish man with his homemade leaf fan (not because of the heat, but because of the flies) allowed me to share a bench with him and watch the street entertainers with there bubbles. When I say bubbles, I mean it. Having two long sticks with a string attaching them, they would dip the string in the solution and create very large bubbles to entertain the kids and families.

Finally it was time to go into the Sagrada and the building amazed me; it’s features, carvings and use of light through stain glass were mesmerizing! I don’t know how long I was in it just looking at all the details and being overwhelmed by it’s beauty. This is by far my favorite church that I have seen. Maybe it’s mainly because I am not a church goer and this seemed more like an artist version of what resembles a church by not having more of the traditional (a little dull like and too common in my mind) style and feel to it. I really enjoyed the building and popped down below to the museum section of it before heading out.

As I made my way back down near the center to find the Picasso museum, I bumped into the Dutch couple from the morning and they were just making there way to the Sagrada at that time. A quick hello and we were off in opposite directions again. Maybe it was me, but it seemed hard to find the Picasso museum through the windy streets, but eventually I made it. It was really interesting to see his progression of works to the style that he has become very famous for. Even as a child he was quiet talented and even did his own life like portrait around the age of 8 and I was blown away by it. He actually started out doing more life like paintings, going through a few different fazes including one where the paintings would pretty much only uses of different tons of blues and greys. They even had a section of photographs on him and his family that a close friend had taken over time. He appeared to be quite the character and like a lot of painters and artists; appeared to have a messy home strewn about with paintings and art materials.

After leaving the Picasso museum I was headed back down to La Rambla Street when I came upon it’s famous food market, so I of course had to go in and see. There I bought a variety of fresh olives, different styled empanadas, fruit, nuts and some typical chocolate of course. Then I was set for the next few days! As I got back to wait for the bus and eat some much needed diner, I was pleasantly surprised to see a group of 5 men entertaining people with there music. Even more fantastic, was the fact that there were people dancing to the music – this is one of the reasons I love the Spanish people, they love to dance. This was a fantastic way to end my final night in Barcelona!

Camping in Limoges: