Day 2: Tour de San Sebastian

Good evening! Another epic day of biking and culinary cuisine.

Today was arguably the most grueling yet rewarding day of cycling.

We biked up Mount Igeldo nl once, but twice. Over 3,000 ft of climbing with each climb taking forty to fifty minutes.

We biked into the town of Orion and eventually to Getaria. Again we dealt with major traffic issues and/or poor road conditions.

Now for the photos











Views from the top of Igeldo




Greg at Getaria

Group of kids for San Fermin cheering in the town square.

Dad at the peak of Mt Igeldo

Ultimately we biked 35 miles today and 31 yesterday.

Lunch: Mugaritz

And a select group of photos from our lunch of 12 courses:




Blue potato




Beef cooked for 120 hours




Clams




Dessert




In the kitchen with chef Antoni

Dinner: Martin Berasatagui




Foie gras amusement




Sole




Pigeon




Apple pie


Overall these were two fantastic meals.

Tomorrow we go through the Pyrenees into France.

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Location:San Sebastian

Day 1: Biarritz to San Sebastian

Good afternoon from Spain. We have just arrived into San Sebastian after an exhausting day of biking. Due to the proximity we biked towards the water, there was a exorbitant amount of traffic we had to deal with.

Today we biked through four towns: Irun, Hendaye, Irun (which is in Spain) and San Sebastian , known as Donostia in euskara.


Our pre-trip photo alongside a statue of Napoleon.






Photos overlooking St Jean de Luz.



Dad likes the view too.







Beach at Hendaye.









Views of San Sebastian from our hotel, Maria Cristina.







Dad on the boardwalk






Euskatel store

Dinner

Tonight we ate at Arzak a three star Michelin restaurant!







The amusements, including an outstanding sardine with raspberry.







Tapioca encapsulated in potato crisp







Lobster on potato







Vegetable medley







Monkfish







Dover sole




















Compilations of Three desserts







Their wine cellar with over 100,000 wines







Their spice room with over 1400 spices from around the world







All of the Arzak's with our American friend Denise.

Tomorrow we head up Mt Igueldo, a roughly 900 ft climb to Zumaia and back. Igueldo twice shall be a test but we won't have any panniers.

From the both of us good night.

- Greg

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Location:San Sebastian

Arrival in Europe

Hey everyone! We made it to France, but missed one of our flights due to traffic. We needed to get to one Paris airport to another, but the drive took two and a half hours. I guess our three hour layover wasn't long enough.

Today we are staying at one of the nicest hotels in the world : Hotel du Palais. Here are some pictures of our view of the ocean and the hotel

























Now on to the food portion of today:









A lobster and gozpacho soup



This is a turbot in a foam broth with mushrooms



Our platter of duck



Duck divided



And a delectable chocolate desert with strawberry sorbet

The old man and I are exhausted. Tomorrow we bike to Spain.

- Greg

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Location:Biarritz

Tour de Cuisine 2010 Preview

On the eve of the beginning of the Tour de Cuisine 2010, I'd like to provide a brief overview of the trip.

The Tour de Cuisine will be the second Seigel Cycling (father/son) bicycle adventure through France. The previous route took us from Biarritz to St. Lo, with some additional ridings through Belgium and the Netherlands.

This year's trip starts again in the coastal town of Biarritz, France. Upon arrival, we will pick up our bicycles and begin our journey.

From Biarritz, we will bike across the France/Spain border to the beautiful coastal town of San Sebastian. San Sebastian is known for it's world-class Basque Cuisine, and we will be eating at 3 out of the top 35 restaurants in the world!

After a day trip from Barcelona to Zumaia and back, we will head back into France, along the Pyrenees and into St. Jean Pied de Port. From there, we will go over the Col D'Osquich, previously ridden in the 2006 Tour de France, and to the rustic town of Arthez de'Bearm.

The next few days culminates with three consecutive 70 + mile days, ending in Aurillac. From there, we will rent a car for the next 5 days, and be able to bike without any saddlebags.

July 15 marks one of the most adventurous bicycle days on the trip: Mount Ventoux. Previously ridden in last year's stage, we will drive to the base of the mountain, and bike up the mountain via the easiest route. (Although a 16 mile bicycle climb cannot be described as easy.) Following our descent from Mount Ventoux, we will watch the finale of Stage 11 of the Tour de France in Bourge-les-Valence.

July 18 marks quite possibly the most scenic ride, around Lake Annecy. Ridden in the 2009 Tour de France time trial, we will embark around the beautiful lake, and the mountainous terrain surrounding Annecy.

After returning the car in Grenoble, we will bike down the famous Route Napoleon from Laffrey all the way to Cannes. In fact this year's stage 10 of the Tour de France will share about 50 miles of the route we will bike on.

Once arriving in Cannes, we will bike to Nice, and spend the evening in Monte Carlo. After Nice, we will have finished our biking for the trip and head to our last leg: Spain.

The next day we fly from Nice to Barcelona, while renting a car and driving towards Girona. During the next two days, we will be eating at 3 top 100 restaurants, and 2 of the top 4 restaurants. Our time in Spain ends with a bang: dinner at El Bulli. For 500,000 requests for dinner, El Bulli accepts a meager 8,000 requests!

And our trip will end with a flight from Barcelona back to Tampa.

I look forward to posting photos and videos of our trip. On behalf of myself and my father, I'd like to thank all those who will take time out of their day to read our blog.

We'd love to read your comments too!

- Greg and Larry

Packing

Hey guys. I just wanted to upload some photos of our packing for the trip.


This is my stuff for the second part of the trip, in which we will ship out separately and begin with fresh clothes for the second half of the trip.


This is my dad's pre-packed clothes


This is my packed panniers. I weighed them at 27 total pounds.


Oops, I almost forgot my helmet.


Can't go to France without a dictionary and some batteries.

Until next post

Greg

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Location:Harvest Moon Dr,Palm Harbor,United States

iPhone post

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Food Review: Per Se

We had a special treat on Saturday, with an exquisite meal at arguably the greatest restaurant in the United States: Per Se.

The meal consisted of a 9 course meal including highlights such as:

• Their signature oysters and pearls dish
• A terrine of foie gras
• An incredible scallop with gnocchi
• The most tender American wagyu beef
• A unique presentation of an expresso ice cream

Oysters and Pearls

Duck Foie Gras

American Wagyu Beef

Mango Sorbet with Jasmine Foam

Peanut Butter Cup

In terms of an overall review, the service and food were paramount to none other. The choice of products were intelligently selected, with an emphasis on sustainable, locally grown/raised products.

The dishes were so complex, but had a functioning purpose. Some of the highlights I will recall from this meal was the incredible American Wagyu Beef, which has both the favorable qualities of American Angus and Japanese Wagyu.

Not to mention the beautiful scallop dish, and the ensemble of delicious desserts such as the peanut butter cup and the mango sorbet, Per Se is King in the Big Apple.

Until Next Post,

Greg

Only Four Weeks Remain

With only four weeks until the Tour de Cuisine 2010, I thought it would be an appropriate time to post our tour schedule:

July 4
Fly from Tampa to Paris via Atlanta

July 5
Fly from Paris to Biarritz, France

July 6
Bike from Biarritz, France to San Sebastian, Spain

July 7
Bike from San Sebastian to Zumaia, Spain and back.

July 8
Bike from San Sebastian to Saint Jean Pied de Port, France

July 9
Bike from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Arthez de Bearn

July 10
Bike from Arthez de Bearn to Eugenie le Bains

July 11
Bike from Eugenie le Bains to Puymirol

July 12
Bike from Puymirol to Saint Cirq Lapoppie

July 13
Bike from Saint Cirq Lappopie to Aurilliac
Pick up rental car
Drive from Aurilliac to Laguiole

July 14
Bike Tour of Laguiole
Drive from Laguiole to Valance

Juy 15
Drive from Valence to Sault
Bike from Sault to the top of Mount Ventoux and back
Drive back to Valence, then watch the end of Stage 11 of the Tour de France
Drive from Valence to Saint Bonnet le Froid

July 16
Drive from Saint Bonnet le Froid to Roanne
Bike tour of Roanne

July 17
Bike tour of Roanne (different route)
Drive from Roanne to Vonnas (lunch)
Drive from Vonnas to Lyon

July 18
Drive from Lyon to Annecy
Bike loop around Annecy
Drive from Annecy to Uriage les Bains
(return the car in Grenoble)

July 19
Taxi from Uriage les Bains to Laffrey
Bike from Laffrey to Gap

July 20
Bike from Gap to Chateauredon

July 21
Bike from Chateauredon to Cannes

July 22
Bike from Cannes to Monte Carlo, Monaco
(End of bike portion of the trip)

July 23
Fly from Monte Carlo to Barcelona, Spain
Pick up rental car
Drive from Barcelona to Sant Pol de Mar (lunch)
Drive from San Pol de Mar to Girona

July 24

Drive from Girona to Roses

July 25
Drive from Roses to Barcelona Airport
Fly from Barcelona back to Tampa via Atlanta

----------------------------------------------------

Until Next Time,

Greg

40 Days Til Departure

With only 40 days left till we leave for France, I wanted to fill in everybody with some recent updates.

As you can see in the picture below, we have received our custom bike jerseys courtesy of Champion Systems. For clarification, the better looking one is to the right!




In addition, my father and I are heading to the bike store tomorrow to check out our touring bikes, which have not seen the light of day since we packed them up in Amsterdam in 2007. Hopefully, I will be able to ride the bike with the greater cushion!


I'd also like to thank Mack Cycle for the new University of Miami (TriCanes) bike jerseys. We will be sporting these jerseys during our first few days of biking in Spain.


Most importantly, we are both doing our best to get into the best shape possible for the bike trip. I have a brand new Specialized Tarmac to train on, and I'd like to commend my father, who's currently in the best shape he's been in for some time. Keep up the work!


However, I cannot forget to include my mother, who will be having the greatest vacation out of any of us: 3 weeks without the boys!


And I almost forgot... we are going to be able to watch the finish of Stage 11 of the Tour de France. And not only that. We are hopefully going to bike up Mount Ventoux earlier that same day.


It's getting late over here, so it's time to end this post. Be on the lookout for an itemized route of the 2010 Tour de Cusine in the next post.


- Greg