#385 To London

On my way through Alicante's new airport terminal I spotted this shop called Superskunk. Get high before you take off :-)

Of course if it was in Amsterdam's airport you wouldn't be surprised at all.













London's bike system (they're called Boris Bikes after London's Mayor, Boris Johnson) looks interesting, but from what I saw not many were being used, which is a pity. The problem is docking your bike once you've finished with it - if the terminal is full (like this one) you have to search around for another with an empty space.













I used my Oyster Card (very cheap and efficient way to pay for buses and tube trains) to take the bus to Condor Cycles in Grays Inn Road. I bought a saddle bag, I previously bought one of their special Condor Butchered Brooks Saddles, but that was some time ago - in 1960.


















On my way to Gatwick I dropped in at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea; this month's 'Art' was all Sculptures and Installations - not a picture to be viewed, Tut.
























Then on my way through Sloane Square I espied this warning notice that showed what a multi cultural country the UK has become. I'm guessing at English, Lithuanian? French, Polish and Romanian . . . . . .?

#384 July Ride

#383 My Mayo

Home Made Mayo:
Free-range Egg Yolks, Cider Vinegar, English Mustard, Walnut Oil
(and a few drops of Tabasco!).
























and then I cooked some Salmon wrapped in Ham (with a bit of Dill).














while at the same time - roasting some Peppers :-)

#382

#381 Ginger Dinner

#380 Stamps

I received a birthday card the other day and the postage stamp caught my eye. Looking a bit further I found that the Royal Mail in the UK has a selection of stamps marking the 50th anniversary of the Royal Shakespeare Company, designed by Marion Deuchars.

Excellent designs, in my opinion, the stamp inspired me to take an interest and *maybe* even reread Henry 5th (part 2) which I last looked at back in school in the English Lit. class.

But are postage stamps going the way of vinyl LP covers - small pieces of art that have been overtaken by the progress of pixels?

#379 Route 66

I'm now on Route 66 and to celebrate we went to my friend Chelo's for lunch.

She served her signature dish of Paella Bacalao and also a birthday cake with 66 candles! Al and Chelo are in this picture and Sally and Denise are just round the corner :-)

#378 Tri4Japan

My friend, Mike Trees, is promoting a charity to help those in need in Japan:

"Tri4japan is the charity established to help the people of Kamaishi, a town in Japan devastated by the recent earthquake and tsunami. All funds raised will be put to work to make a real difference to people’s lives".

He's a good man and will not let any donations be diverted to "overheads" - it's a worthy cause, more information here: http://www.tri4japan.com/

You can support Mike's work by buying this nice jersey or just making a donation.

#377 Dîner à la Française

The next morning, breakfast was :

#376 L'Era again

Doesn't time fly! We were last at the L'Era restaurant in Parcent with my friend Chello and her friends in April 2007 (#170) - and here we are again, enjoying another paella cooked on a wood burning fire together with Chello and her friends, four years later.

#375 Alpens to L'Avenc de Tavertet

We are back in Catalunya, this time for a week. The first day I rode 120km from Sabadell (nr Barcelona) to Alpens, it took seven and a half hours (a bit more than I planned). Met up with Sally, Carrie and Tom and on Sunday we had lunch in what looked to be a tiny local bar but had a big dining room hidden at the back. It was full with locals who must have known about the huge portions they serve.
















Alpens is a bit like the Alps, quite hilly with herds of cows carrying tinkling Swiss cow bells. The local blacksmith has a passion for dragons and nearly every house in the village has a dragon door handle - no reason, he just likes dragons and so does everyone else in Alpens it appears.

































On Tuesday Tom and I rode 58km over to L'Avenc de Tavertet where we stayed for the next four days in another casa rural (or gîte). This one had an amazing 25 metre indoor swimming pool, which I used frequently.














































Each day at L'Avenc we either rode rough-stuff biking or hiked round the rocky terrain with the house dog called Toffee . We didn't have to fear getting lost 'cos being a local dog - Toffee nose!

#374 Castle in Spain

We enjoyed our weekend cycling in Catalunya (#368) so much that I booked us a week up there. We will stay in two 'casa rurals', one in Alpens for three days then to L'avenc de Tavertet for four. The cycling in the area looks to be very nice with tiny asphalt roads and lots and lots of off-road routes.

Quite by chance it seems that L'avenc de Tavertet is quite famous for being bought and refurbished by a well know English chap called Mathew Parris. He is a political commentator and journalist and has written about L'avenc in The Times and even written a book about the project.

I found a secondhand copy of his book on Amazon UK (for 1 penny + £4.03 postage :-) and spent the day after it arrived speed reading to find out what I had let us in for - all good I hope.

#373 Granola

I have been making this same Granola recipe for the last 40 years!

Set the oven to 160 centigrade. Baste a big baking tray with a little sesame oil. Mix 6 big scoops of Jumbo Oats with an equal amount of nuts & seeds.

Such as:
Hazelnuts in bits, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower seeds, Dried coconut, Cashew nuts, Pumpkin seeds.

Stir in half a jar of Barley Malt syrup. Pinch of salt.
Spread thinly (about 1cm) Bake for 20 - 30 minutes till golden looking.

Take out of the oven and add a scoop or two of sultanas. I sometimes add different nuts or seeds or dried fruit but I always use Hazels and Sesame seeds. Don't use any other sweetener, only Barley Malt, it is absolutely essential in this recipe.

I serve mixed with Greek yogurt (diluted with a little milk).

#372 Beach Cruiser

Here is a pic of José our (ex) next door neighbour as he passed by on his mean machine. I used to have a mountain bike in the shape of a beach cruiser. I imagine his is a bit heavier than my old titanium Merlin Newsboy.

#371 London Books

Grayson Perry by Jacky Klein.
New Oxford Book of Food Plants.
John Water's Role Models.
London Calling by Barry Miles
and also by Barry Mikes, Frank Zappa.

#370 Fallas

Our local district, Baix El Mar, won this year's Fallas.
I didn't mean to, but woke up at 2:30 and was wide awake.
(must be my subliminal alarm clock).
So we got up and watched the fireworks and the burning.
The firemen are there to keep the buildings wet - it wouldn't do to set the neighbourhood on fire.

#369 African(ish) music

Fire up your Spotify and enjoy these two double recordings. 10/10.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Friends.
Orchestra Baobab - La Belle Epoque.

Then may I recommend a Brazilian film:
Estômago (A Gastronomic Story). Tasty.

And a very old, classic American film:
Jazz on a Summer's Day. Cool.

#368 Vias Verdes etc

Last weekend we took our bikes up into the hills of Catalunya. First by train to Ripoll and then we rode up the Via Verde del Ferro i del Carbó, after that a tiny little rural road to Olot to stay the night.









Sunday, all the way down the Vía Verde del Carrilet (1) to Girona railway station where we took a train back to Barça. 100k of tracks and trails - excellent!







































Sunday night we stayed with Carrie and went out and ate Japanese.
















Monday morning went to the market and bought some Iberico ham as a present then drove into France to visit our friends Brian & Maureen. Next day we went with them and lunched with Madame Valette at her Auberge Lou Bordié (we were there last year - #344). I had to pull rank to get a table, she was originally "complet" so the ham was a little thank you present.



















Wednesday we drove south and visited David & Jackie, had another long lunch. David has an extensive wine cellar (if you read this Snowy you can click on the pic to enlarge it, read the labels and shed a small tear).
























Thursday back to Spain but we took the scenic route over the Pyrenees near to Andorra, dropped down the other side and stayed the night in the Parador de Alcañiz (very chi chi) and came away quite surprised that my credit card was accepted ;-)

#367 Full Marks = Trek & Vittoria!

Have to report excellent customer service from both Vittoria and Trek. I got personal replies to my questions straight away. Good for them (and me).

You wonder how other companies can be so rubbish and not reply to a customer who wants to buy their products. Over the past year I still haven't had a reply from; Icebreaker clothing, TRP brakes and Velocity rims, so boo to them.

#366 Amazoning Again

I must be keeping Amazon in *profit! - four more books just arrived:

Pardon My French by Charles Timoney
Come & Gone by Joe Parkin
A Dog In A Hat by Joe Parkin
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes

*I calculate that I have bought 31 Amazon books in the last 12 months, not counting the freebies and charity shop purchases - no wonder I need new reading glasses.