# France and Spain: Bikes, cars etc..



## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Here are some (hopefully) interesting pics from our trip to France and Spain this past fall.

Paris:
The Louvre
Interior of the Galleries Lafayette
Luxembourg Gardens
A cool looking Fiat


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

An Orbea
I don't know what kind of car this is but it looks neat
Commuter bikes of Paris


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

*The French Countryside*

Loire Valley:
Chambord
Chambord moat


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Loire Valley:

Gardens at Villandry
Dining Room at Villandry
A cyclist fights the headwind
A moat at our wonderful little B&B near Amboise


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

*The Massif Central*

Puy de Dome
There's a plaque there commemorating Fausto Coppi's win there in the 1952 Tour
It was a foggy day


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

A fall day in the Massif
One of the grandest views ever.
Conques, a pilgrimage destination

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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

*The Basque country, Spain*

The countryside in the town of Axpe
A San Sebastian Orbea
Tapas in Bilbao


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

*Lagos de Covadonga, Spain*

There was a cycle tour climbing this beast of a mountain when we were there. Here are some photos of the riders.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

More Covadonga rider photos.

The lake at the top.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Santiago de Compostela
Plaza Major in Madrid
Damascene souvenirs in Toledo


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

*Barcelona*

la Sagrada Familia
Submarine at the Maritime Museum
Pinarello commuter
A BH lugged steel bike
Bike taxis


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

il sogno said:


> ...One of the grandest views ever....


No kidding!


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

*London*

We missed our flight home and were re-routed through London. Sigh...nothing to do but to have a pint at a pub and snap a pic of this groovy London commuter.

End of photo show. Sorry for the out of order threading.

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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

outstanding shots.....That submarine is amazing...I'm not sure I'd want to try that one


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Dave Hickey said:


> outstanding shots.....That submarine is amazing...I'm not sure I'd want to try that one


Yeah, it takes a special breed to get into one of those things.


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

Very nice. No cycling for you two?

I've been (but not to Spain) several times in the spring. Now the fall looks pretty attractive.

(The car? I think an old Volvo.)


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Riders along the Basque Coast


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

I would have had to bike at least somewhere during that trip. Those fall colors are unbelievable. I'll add that area to another place I can't afford to visit!


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## knucklesandwich (Feb 23, 2007)

Awesome. We go to Gers and Biarritz most years, usually via London or Paris, but this year I am really hoping to fly to Barcelona and do a loop that includes Bilbao, San Seb, St Jean de Luz, and then back thru the Pyrenees. These photos only reinforce that.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

sometimerider said:


> Very nice. No cycling for you two?
> 
> I've been (but not to Spain) several times in the spring. Now the fall looks pretty attractive.
> 
> (The car? I think an old Volvo.)


We did not cycle. We took the trains and had a couple of rental cars. A Citroen and an Audi A3. 

It was a whirlwind of a trip. Two countries, no _three _countries in 18 *ahem* I mean _19 _days.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

il sogno said:


> We did not cycle. We took the trains and had a couple of rental cars. A diesel Citroen and a diesel Audi A3.
> 
> It was a whirlwind of a trip. Two countries in 18 *ahem* I should say 19 days.


BTW we got 65 mpg on the Citroen.


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## botto (Jul 22, 2005)

il sogno said:


> The countryside in the town of Axpe
> A San Sebastian Orbea
> Tapas in Bilbao
> 
> ...


they're not tapas, they're pintxos!


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## dave2pvd (Oct 15, 2007)

botto said:


> they're not tapas, they're pintxos!


I was going to say the same! Ask for tapas and you will go hungry.

Great pics, all of them.

Which Citroen did you rent? The C2? I rented one there last year; similar mpg numbers, even though we were cruising at 75mph.

When will Sagrada Familia be finished? It looks like there is a whole new center section being added.... It will be over 100 years of construction by the time it is finished!


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## LO^OK (Feb 1, 2008)

il sogno said:


> I don't know what kind of car this is but it looks neat
> 
> 
> 
> .


Nice photos of an even nicer trip  
The classic car on the Parisian street is the Pininfarina penned Peugeot 304 from the mid 1950s


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

botto said:


> they're not tapas, they're pintxos!


Pardon me! :blush2: 

The pintxos were the best part of the trip. My favorite was this modern pintxo bar in San Sebastian's old town called Fuego *****. 

We went to a foodie pilgrimage restaurant in the Basque country called Etxebarria. It is in the town of Axpe where I took the pic of the Basque countryside. Excellent food and not too expensive. Lunch for two was $125 including wine and dessert. They served up dishes like grilled oysters, grilled mussels, grilled bacalao... yeah the place specializes in grilling over artisanal charcoal.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

dave2pvd said:


> I was going to say the same! Ask for tapas and you will go hungry.
> 
> Great pics, all of them.
> 
> ...


We rented a C4. A very nice little car. We got the mileage while cruising at 100mph! 

They say Sagrada Familia will be done by around 2020. The workmen were hard at work while we were there. 

Here are a couple of pics of the interior. 


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Chenonceau:
Chenonceau - the chateau
A portrait in Chenonceau
Chenonceau - view of the river from the gallery
The kitchen


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## cycleaddict (Dec 24, 2002)

*Il sogno....thanks for the photos!! You covered a ton of ground*

in a short time. I have spent quite a lot of time cycling in the region west of Bilbao. The climb up to Covadonga (and on up to the lakes) is always one of my favorite highlights.
Did you get to see the Picos de Europa?


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

cycleaddict said:


> in a short time. I have spent quite a lot of time cycling in the region west of Bilbao. The climb up to Covadonga (and on up to the lakes) is always one of my favorite highlights.
> Did you get to see the Picos de Europa?


Unfortunately we did not get to see the Picos. Covadonga was as far as we got. 

That day we started in Santillana del Mar. We did the drive up to Covadonga then made it to Oviedo for lunch. We made it to Santiago de Compostela at about 8:00 pm. That was a lot of driving. 

I've been to the top of Mont Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez(driving). The climb up to Covadonga looks like it's harder than Ventoux or the Alpe.


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## Balderick (Jul 11, 2006)

Nice photos.

I am about to do something similar, in late April/early May. Italy for one week (trains only), France (Provence region mainly in a rental car - get to ride a 14kg rental up Alpe DD'Huez - and a day or two in Paris), then 3 and a bit week cisiting relatives in Scotland and England (I will have a bike in SCO). Your phtos have made me even more excitied about the trip.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Nice shots. Thanks for posting. Is there a photo of your Citroen in there? 65 mpg is amazing!


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

tarwheel2 said:


> Nice shots. Thanks for posting. Is there a photo of your Citroen in there? 65 mpg is amazing!


Here it is. It's the car on the far right.


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## GeoCyclist (Oct 31, 2002)

*Great photos!*

I think I took a few of the same photos last year while I was cycling in Catalunya and through the Pyrenees. Great countryside to cycle through! Thanks for sharing!


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

Unbelievably beautiful SHOTS!!!! Well done!!!
I went to France about 7 years ago when I was working for Remy Amerique....now I want to go back but financial can't....


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## Beethoven (Jul 28, 2005)

I pretty sure that's an old Peugeot.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Beethoven said:


> I pretty sure that's an old Peugeot.


I think you're right.


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## orbit (Feb 7, 2007)

I just found this thread - lovely shots sogno. :thumbsup:

I cycled the Loire Valley a few years back and visited some of the same castles (as you would) - made me feel a little wistful. I never thought I'd think this, but the Loire area is sooo flat that cycling there nearly, just nearly becomes boring. Stunningly pretty countryside of course, but after a while, I was begging for a climb to change the pace!


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## Dajianshan (Jul 15, 2007)

Great photos!


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