Ha! I was thinking that it looked like a hawk, not a buzzard. Thanks for the explanation.

Thanks!

"In birding circles many older birders have had their feathers ruffled by the name changes"...

I see what you did there. :)

I'll try to recalibrate my old brain...

Buzzards are members of the genus buteo. Although vultures are commonly called buzzards north of the Rio Grande they are not closely related at all. To complicate matters, many American's refer to various true buzzards, ie. members of the genus buteo, as hawks. The International Ornithological Congress (https://internationalornithology.org/) has homogenized naming conventions around the world but old habits die hard. In birding circles many older birders have had their feathers ruffled by the name changes that have been brought in to ensure that names are uniformly used.

Ah the joys of language. I have always equated "buzzard" with "vulture", never knowing until now that the term also applies to varieties of European raptors. Thanks for broadening my eddication!

Rachel, sorry to bug you with a nuts and bolts topic, but you are now 14 days into your Orange SIM, I think. Their topup website will not tell me what options are available until I type in a valid one of their phone or sim numbers. Can you say now what happens when you try to extend your 14 day SIM? What prices and features, if any, are on offer?

One of the B&Bs we stayed at in Andalucìa had a beautiful garden with orange trees. Al asked if he could pick a couple but was told they wouldn’t be ripe for another month or two, depending on the variety. So it seems citrus fruits ripen around the winter equinox.

I thought so too. It’s why I took that shot. We’ve seen a few trees with lemons on here, which amazes me. I wonder if they could be hanging on from last season.

Lisbon next week! What a great time to be in Southern Portugal. We’ll be watching you, of course.

How late in September do you expect to start? We were here in mid-September 25 years ago and it wasn’t too busy as I recall - but 25 years is a long time and we didn’t go to Cadaqués then of course either so that’s probably not too helpful. I’d be open minded though - I didn’t really find it a very scary or difficult pass.

You might make note of how we crossed over into France (today’s post). If we came this way again I’m sure we’d go this way.

Any rough idea of your timeline for crossing southern France? We’ll be crossing it in late fall ourselves on our way to Nice, though we’ll likely be behind you.

Morning Scott and Rachel, we are very much enjoying your blog once again. We fly into Lisbon on the 4th, can't wait! We are planning a fall trip from Barcelona along the coast, then the south coast of France into Italy. I wonder how the traffic might be to go to Cadaqués in September? Your pics are wonderful, the place looks amazing, just wondering about the cars. It looks like March is the perfect time for the ride. We may have to delay our visit there until a quieter time of year. Just sayin' , you guys are such an inspiration. Wow! Just love following your blog, every day! Thank you!

So odd (to me) to see blossoms and fruits at the same time!

Yep. One of my favorite photos. Some of my strongest memories of him at a young age are of biking around town together.

I seem to remember an iconic photo of you giving Shawn a ride like that.

Yep! We were in France when the mask mandate finished, and nobody has seemed keen to continue wearing them. I didn't actually know about the vaccine pass - nobody mentioned it, and I think only once or twice in Spain were we asked to show proof of vaccination.

Sounds like a good theory. I should have taken a photo of the Fremont, which includes a small entrance to that you’d have to crawl on your hands and knees into.

They were great walks, well worth the stairs! However, I did have to soak in the tub afterwards.