Two Wheels Over Catalonia
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'Touched with humorous and historical anecdotes along the way, Guise's journey offers readers an informative and light hearted read.' --Living Spain, April 2011
`...everything from cynical locals to nudist beaches... might just encourage you to take a bike ride of your own.' --St Christopher's Beds and Bars Live Your Life e-zine, June 2011
`...explores the back roads of Catalonia by bike, uncovering its history and cultural peculiarities in the process.' --First Edition/The Bookseller, 5th May 2011
Featured in Thomas Cook Travel Magazine, May/June/July 2011 issue.
--Featured in Thomas Cook Travel Magazine, May/June/July 2011 issue.
`...everything from cynical locals to nudist beaches... might just encourage you to take a bike ride of your own.' --St Christopher's Beds and Bars Live Your Life e-zine, June 2011
`...explores the back roads of Catalonia by bike, uncovering its history and cultural peculiarities in the process.' --First Edition/The Bookseller, 5th May 2011
Featured in Thomas Cook Travel Magazine, May/June/July 2011 issue.
--Featured in Thomas Cook Travel Magazine, May/June/July 2011 issue.
Product Description
Sixteen years aòÊ er fi rst moving to Catalonia, Richard Guise fi nally fi nds time to slow down and explore the back roads by bicycle. With over 400 kilometres of sparkling Mediterranean shoreline and an interior dominated by the Pyrenees, it∞fs a spectacular journey from wind-blown headlands to the glitzy costas, and from bustling Barcelona to remote hillsides where only wild goats grazing and chirruping cicadas disturb the tranquillity. Dipping into the unique history of this fi ercely independent nation-within-a-nation, he uncovers many of its cultural peculiarities, such as why the sardana dance is not as easy as it looks and what to do in a bugaderia. Chancing upon nudist beaches, ancient Iberian sites and revolutionary road-sweepers, this slow cyclist revels in authentic Catalonia.
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Format:Paperback
Starting from Portbou, a little north of his second home in Llançà, this journey follows the Catalonia's coastal roads to Saint Carles de la Ràpita, before finishing with a couple of forays into the Catalan interior.
Richard's steady pace and uphill bike pushing, necessary to protect an iffy knee, give rise to detailed observations of his surroundings. Observations that enrich the reader's imagination with tales of vineyards, fig trees, orange groves and hillsides sprinkled with delicate flora and fauna.
But, there's so much more to this book than simply a bicycle journey. Richard's 16 years experience as a part-time Catalan resident, combined with his inquisitive enthusiasm, ever observant eye and gentle wit, lift this book well above the typical travel narrative.
For a start, many historical references provide a backdrop to the country and its people. A backdrop that's enhanced by personal anecdotes and destination-specific tales or traditions. There's even an engaging lesson on some of the subtle differences between the Catalan and Spanish languages.
An occasional geological interlude takes the country's history to another level entirely. The rather special Cap de Creus and its 450 million years old ptygmatic folded, tourmaline crystal studded rocks being particularly memorable.
Whether encountered on the journey, or in the end-of-day towns and villages, the oft mentioned food and drink is a chance to discover some of the local dishes, wines and brews, including their 'sin' beer. And it offers the reader another opportunity to pick up a few more useful Catalan words.
Then there's the many interesting, and invariably entertaining, cultural references: from anchovy museums to wild boar hunts, from vague timekeeping terms to a propensity for late night eating, and from the home of Salvador Dali to the rather shady proceedings involved in purchasing a Spanish property.
Even passages chronicling the country's transportation systems threw a few surprises for this reader, especially the Iberian peninsula's strangely non-standard railway track gauge.
In conclusion this beautifully absorbing, highly entertaining book delivers a real taste of Catalonia, its diverse landscapes, traditions, foods and, of course, its people.
Richard's steady pace and uphill bike pushing, necessary to protect an iffy knee, give rise to detailed observations of his surroundings. Observations that enrich the reader's imagination with tales of vineyards, fig trees, orange groves and hillsides sprinkled with delicate flora and fauna.
But, there's so much more to this book than simply a bicycle journey. Richard's 16 years experience as a part-time Catalan resident, combined with his inquisitive enthusiasm, ever observant eye and gentle wit, lift this book well above the typical travel narrative.
For a start, many historical references provide a backdrop to the country and its people. A backdrop that's enhanced by personal anecdotes and destination-specific tales or traditions. There's even an engaging lesson on some of the subtle differences between the Catalan and Spanish languages.
An occasional geological interlude takes the country's history to another level entirely. The rather special Cap de Creus and its 450 million years old ptygmatic folded, tourmaline crystal studded rocks being particularly memorable.
Whether encountered on the journey, or in the end-of-day towns and villages, the oft mentioned food and drink is a chance to discover some of the local dishes, wines and brews, including their 'sin' beer. And it offers the reader another opportunity to pick up a few more useful Catalan words.
Then there's the many interesting, and invariably entertaining, cultural references: from anchovy museums to wild boar hunts, from vague timekeeping terms to a propensity for late night eating, and from the home of Salvador Dali to the rather shady proceedings involved in purchasing a Spanish property.
Even passages chronicling the country's transportation systems threw a few surprises for this reader, especially the Iberian peninsula's strangely non-standard railway track gauge.
In conclusion this beautifully absorbing, highly entertaining book delivers a real taste of Catalonia, its diverse landscapes, traditions, foods and, of course, its people.
Format:Paperback
This is a strange little book that was not difficult to read, but hard to give a glowing review. It is travel writing at its gentlest and most comfortable, peppered with amusing anecdotes and historical asides. There's nothing amazing or challenging about the itinerary (which is the major failing) and by the end it just feels a bit "meh".
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Contemporary "unknowns" with that rare literary gift often miss out in Marketplace Amazon as they're too busy working on their craft to plunge into the messy business of self-promotion (meat-and-drink to the legions of mediocre scribblers). This is an excellent all-round read, the first of its kind (with the possible exception of Lewis) in taking on the 'county' on the teetering brink of nationhood. Guise has balls and style as well as wheels. When it comes to British travel writing, it's as if Andalusia is all there is south of the Pyrenees. The prose is by turns beguiling, funny, full of insider info, and - rare treat - beautifully turned. Not a dud sentence. By the way, Richard (if you read this), Lewis's "Farol" is Tossa (where he summered from 1950 to 1953. It's in the doorstopping bio). I hope "Inland Catalonia" is in the works (despite killing gradients). No end of surprises and enigmas to this overlooked gem of a country. Forget boring linguistic politics: España(the Maghreb?) meets Europe with a vengeance here, a conundrum that you can really sink your teeth into!
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