Trixie Traveler in Catalonia: Day 10 - Cycle Sant Julia de Vilatorta via Vic and then to Caldes de Montbul

We have a lovely breakfast at our hotel before setting out to Vic where we will have a tour of an artisan sausage "factory." It isn't really a factory but rather a small family run business that is in the hands of sixth generation family members. Many different types of sausages typify this region. The one we will make today is called butifarra. A young man meets us, takes us upstairs where the sausage is made and asks us to don plastic raincoat type garments and cover our hair with a shower type cap. This place where they make the sausage is above the busy store and restaurant below. Everything is handmade, very labor intensive. We go to one end of the room where there is a big vat of ground pork seasoned with nothing but salt and pepper. The cleaned intestines from the pig are used for the casing. We are shown how to thread the casing onto a post thing. A large receptacle on this machine is filled with the pork. You press with your knee and hold the casing with one hand while guiding the stream of ground pork with just the right amount of pressure into the casing. Most of us try this and do a pretty good job. (See pictures below.)

A town of ancient Roman and Iberian origin, Vic is a busy market town which retains a medieval flavor. It preserves one of the few Plaza Mayor's that is still dirt but booths from a huge market cover the plaza so we can't really see it. Our cycling from Vic goes from one valley to the next, up and down but with no major hills, and many beautiful vistas, as we make our way toward Barcelona. We can still see the mountains in the distance. We leave the foothills of the Pyrenees as we pedal down to Caldes de Montbul, an ancient Roman hot springs. I feel tired today. My legs are tired and I am tired, probably from the accumulation of hard cycling the past two days and a less than satisfactory sleep last night. I am slow and sluggish. We stop for lunch at 28 km and the food helps to energize me some. Eventually, we reach the top of the climb and it is a nice downhill from there to the hotel. The last mile or so is on very bumpy cobblestones which shake our teeth and rattle our brains. We have ridden 58 km today. This is our second to last day of riding. Doesn't seem possible the trip is almost over.

This hotel is a spa and we have an appointment at 5:00 to enjoy the services of the spa. We are given a robe and slippers and taken to an area that has a choice of spas with different water temperatures. I didn't bring a swimsuit but I borrow Kathy's shorts and a tank top which makes a fine suit. The whirlpools feel wonderful on our tired muscles.

We walk to dinner and have a delicious meal of tapas including razor clams and other clams which I discover I really like. The main course is hake, a kind of fish, or duck. I have enjoyed having fish quite frequently on this trip. On our way back to the hotel, we come upon a square where people are doing the "sardana," a Catalan dance performed in a circle. It is one of those dances that anyone can join in. The steps look fairly simple. The sardana was banned during Franco's time.