For our Memorial Day holiday we rented a car and took a little weekend trip north to the Pyrenees. We drove through the countryside, trying to find unusually-named towns (see above) and talking to the animals mostly cows but a few horses, which either didn’t understand an American “mooo” or “whinnee” or, being French, simply refused to acknowledge tourists. Gen and I have very different methods for calling to the animals; I’d consider it different dialects (Ohio versus….Queens…okay not so many cows in Queens). Being in a car again was nice and the country was beautiful.
Along our way we saw people hunting through the grass fields. Regular people, not farmers or laborers. Turns out it’s mushroom season and they were picking mushrooms. We saw families, older people (one man was picking from a prone position, pipe in his mouth) – and it appeared they would just walk onto a property and start staring at the grass for the ‘shrooms.
We also found the most peaceful place on earth. Because I don’t want it spoiled I’m not going to give out written driving directions. Honestly Gen was directing so I probably couldn’t anyway. We just drove until we found the end of the road. It’s a little town in France called Valcebollere just down the hill from Spain. (If you look up the top of the mountain is the border.) Stone buildings, steep sloping hills, babbling creek, and we had tea in a quiet little place (appropriately enough part of the “Silence Hotel” chain). And actually it’s probably only 3 hours from Barcelona.
We drove by this interesting site. I didn’t know exactly what it was, only that it involved solar energy. Some quick research revealed to be a solar furnace – by reflecting the suns rays via panels on the hill to the building and then focusing them on a single point, this array can provide temperatures up to 2,000degrees. Without electricity or oil. Not too shabby.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_furnace
Along our way we saw people hunting through the grass fields. Regular people, not farmers or laborers. Turns out it’s mushroom season and they were picking mushrooms. We saw families, older people (one man was picking from a prone position, pipe in his mouth) – and it appeared they would just walk onto a property and start staring at the grass for the ‘shrooms.
We also found the most peaceful place on earth. Because I don’t want it spoiled I’m not going to give out written driving directions. Honestly Gen was directing so I probably couldn’t anyway. We just drove until we found the end of the road. It’s a little town in France called Valcebollere just down the hill from Spain. (If you look up the top of the mountain is the border.) Stone buildings, steep sloping hills, babbling creek, and we had tea in a quiet little place (appropriately enough part of the “Silence Hotel” chain). And actually it’s probably only 3 hours from Barcelona.
We drove by this interesting site. I didn’t know exactly what it was, only that it involved solar energy. Some quick research revealed to be a solar furnace – by reflecting the suns rays via panels on the hill to the building and then focusing them on a single point, this array can provide temperatures up to 2,000degrees. Without electricity or oil. Not too shabby.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_furnace
On our way back to Barcelona we stopped to see Montserrat, a monastery built up in the craggy mountains North of the city. Below are some photos. The mountains there are dotted with small churches and monasteries, with trails for hikers. We were just there for the day (or afternoon) so we didn't hike at all. Next life.
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