It’s cherry blossom time in Barcelona! Mary noticed the first pink blooms on a road ride up and over Tibidabo (tallest hill in Collserola Park) en route to Molins de Rei, which means “Windmills of the King” in Catalan. Sometimes she rides solo and sometimes with Victor who conveniently uses a Garmin thingamajig so you can see from graphic below just how hilly the ride is. I think it is longer than 27 kilometers, thingamajig was not recording right from the start of the ride:
Mary’s usual mountain bike route also goes through Collserola Park, on dirt roads and single track. On the last descent back to Barcelona’s city streets, she rode through a tunnel of cherry blossoms this week:
But remember, desert plants pop up amid the grass, like this prickly pear behind the flowers:
On the trail, Mary saw an elderly man with clippers and practiced her Spanish “Que es este planta en su mano?” What is this plant in your hands? “Asparugu” he replied and continued in Spanish telling her there are only a few days when you can gather these tender shoots. She said “Es simbolo de la primavera” to which he replied “Si, si, si.”
Mary in Catalan: “Adeu.” He in Spanish: “Vaya bien.” Spanish success!
Mary is pleased with her progress after 10 days of Spanish, 2 hours per day. At least her confidence has improved, although she continues to scramble for vocabulary. What is the word for garden clippers? Tijeras de la huerta? (garden scissors?)
Mary looked for asparagus further down the trail, but saw none. Either she was going so fast she didn’t see it, or our intrepid forager had already gathered it. Probably the latter.
There is asparagus hidden among the grasses and shrubbery, with view of the city:
Below is a map of her usual mountain bike ride. Be sure to be impressed by the over 1900 feet of elevation gain. If you want to search for cherry blossoms and asparagus, and need more details, click here for MapMyRide.
© 2014 by Lisa Howells and Mary Reynolds. All rights reserved.
Barcelona Adventuring 