Ah, Barcelona
By Bob Roll

Barcelona,  Spain is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and one of the very few to be currently  building a monumental cathedral that people can watch being built. It’s been nearly 100 years in the making so far and apparently at least another 30 or 40 years to go. La Sagrada Familia, The holy family is the name of the cathedral and is currently an absolutely gorgeous example of modern technology reflecting the old cathedral traditions. 

Barcelona is also right on the Mediterranean.  The Costa Brava  is chalk full of thrill seekers and people looking for a chance to get out of the cooler climbs of northern Europe  and enjoy fun in the sun. The industry here is mostly agricultural and industrial, but mostly tourism is what pays the bills now for this part of the world, the stage that will traverse these roads is an absolutely gorgeous race starting in what has become the American cyclist’s home in Europe. 

In the town of Girona Lance Armstrong himself  pioneered living here, Lance sold his house when he retired the first time and no longer has permanent residency in Europe, but he does do a lot of commuting and when you have a private plane, it is  a lot easier. 

The public transportation to Barcelona is perfectly adequate- so no private  plane is needed to visit one of the most beautiful cities in all of Europe. 

While you are here maybe take in the Montjuic Castle, built by the Bourbons in the 18th century  on top of the ruins of a fort dating from the 1500’s which was destroyed in the 1700’s incredible history everywhere you go. Christopher Columbus, one of the first Europeans to visit North America, also has a square dedicated in his honor. 

One of the largest town plazas in all of Europe is called the Catalonia Square it’s 5 acres on the inside. An absolutely gigantic square and a beautiful place visit. No visit to Barcelona would be complete however, without visiting the Old Town. A very well preserved old town and it’s great to see the difference between the old architecture and all of the new monuments in one of the most beautiful cities in the world Barcelona, a great place to visit if you are going bring your bicycles, the surrounding roads are used by all the American professionals in their training. 

From Girona to Barcelona it’s very tough to go wrong when visiting Spain, it absolutely gorgeous.