Originally Posted by cyclezealot
We were in Cadaques, Spain- the home of Salvador Dali- three days ago. It was an education. In the south of France, scooters are not that numerous. The buzz of scooters, gives one a headache. They come at you from all directions. Maybe being a beach town, scooters rein on those narrow cobbled streets. The way they dart at you from all directions, makes driving a chore.
Similar situation in Sitges, Spain and probably in other Costa Brava towns, as well. I agree, there are more scooters in Spanish Catalonia than French Catalonia. Also, my experience was that the Spanish probably have lower standards for their scooters than the French do - the Spanish scooters are both noisier and dirtier than their French counterparts. Lots of seemingly unmuffled small 25 and 50cc two stroke scooters in Spain, buzzing like mosquitoes everywhere. Kept us up 'til all hours of the morning in Sitges...In Cadaques, there are lots of steep narrow streets that can't be used by cars, but are accessible to scooters. Bicycles don't fare too well on those cobbles, either.