If I look we'll die

So it was goodby to Barcelona. A truly lovely city in many ways and one we probably could easily spend a fortnight in and not get bored. Though we had planned to we did not visit a single of the city's museums, not even the chocolate one.

On our way to pick the car we were again targeted by thieves. This time I spotted them and pulled back to separate and they spotted that I spotted them and bailed. That we will not miss.

Got a little Polo and with a sense of trepidation headed out. GPS was not working as the satellite was lost in the underground car park. That got the heart beating. What really got us going was turning into a street only to find we were going against the traffic. Luckily there was no traffic. I blame the stupid system of roads. If the GPS says turn right and you turn right into the right hand lane, you SHOULD be right. Imagine all those rights being left in Melbourne. Anyway, having calmed down we got onto the major roads and out of town without incident. 

Drove past Montserrat which looked awesome from the road. I told Marjan to look, to which she replied "if I look we'll die". She had obviously calmed down enough to talk. That was a good sign. Had an argument with the GPS about the route. I was right but it was chucking a hissy fit and told me I was going to die.

Pretty uneventful till Ainsa which was our lunch stop. Sometime you just get things right. Ainsa is the old capital of the Sobrearbe kingdom. This was amalgamated into the kingdom of Aragon sometime in the 11th century, and of course as you all know Aragon joined Castilla to drive out the Moors during the Reconquista and hence begin the state that became Spain. As you drive in you see the lovely old town at the top of the hill (a not uncommon sight by the way) then as you get closer it becomes just another town in a beautiful mountain settings but we stopped and headed up the hill to the old medieval town. One of the most beautiful towns I have ever visited. 

Lunch in the plaza mayor, we here we had the €15 tapas special, was pretty much on par with the location. We eschewed the beer to appease Liz and had a white wine and a Jerez respectively. The highlight was that only one of the dishes was not a highlight. Walked around the old town to work off some of the food and climbed the bell tower of the 12th century church. Luckily it was only two when the bells went off and I can still hear Marjan if she screams at me. If we had gone at twelve I would require bionic ears.

It was time to head to Torla and into the pirineos (Pyrenees ) proper. The road was narrow and lots of long weekenders were heading the other way. Marjan's jaw set in a horrified scream position and the only words I got out of her when I pointed out the awesomeness of the view were "if I look we'll die". Anyway suffice to say we survived. Well we had another minor incident when the GPS tried to send me up a narrow street with a 15 degree climb. The locals had fun watching me manoeuvre myself back down without incurring an excess on the damage insurance.

Torla, whilst not quite up to Ainsa standard, is also lovely. It has the advantage that the mountains are screamingly magnificent. . Lovely room, comfy bed, will soon succumb to sleep. The last shot is the view from our room as the last rays of the sun hit the top.

After Marjan takes some of my blood pressure meds we will be walking into the valley bordered by those mountains. Good hey!

We have stopped reading the Aussie papers so we are assuming Abbott hasn't already sold the place off to some mates in fancy suits. Still if he has we may just stay right here.