Last September we set off for the winter in Spain but went the long way round via Italy and Sicily - well it gets a bit boring always going the same way!
The weather was fantastic all the way from Dover - we went down the eastern side of France stopping off at Beaune (the capital of Burgundy) Avignon ( fabulous place!) and Port Grimaud on the coast. We had a boat trip into St Tropez - nice but that was all!
We followed the Med coast into Italy staying first at Pietra Ligure before heading north to Venice. That is one magical place!
From Venice we followed the Adriatic coast down to the foot of Italy than across to Sicily.
We weren't keen on Sicily at first as we were staying in Catania and found it dirty, noisy and intimidating - strange as we're usually pretty comfortable in cities!
We moved to the north coast and found a campsite at Finale near Cefalu - it was heaven! We stayed for a week as we really needed a break from driving for a while and we knew that the next few weeks would be pretty hectic - They Were!!!
After Sicily we headed for Pompeii where we stayed for a week exploring Sorrento, Capri,The Amalfi Coast and the Pompeii ruins. It was fabulous!
Then we went further north to Rome - that was gobsmacking with all it's history both ancient ruins and the Vatican City. We walked and walked and walked till our feet were sore!
We intended going to Florence and Pisa from there but we were all cultured out by this time and decided to head for Spain.
Impressions of Italy? Busy, noisy, terrible roads, crazy drivers, gorgeous pizza, culture, history, FUN!
We went to Spain via Monte Carlo where we encountered our first really bad weather - took a trip on a tourist land train during a thunderstorm - well it was better to be there in bad weather than not be there at all!
We followed the Med coast through Spain stopping at Roses, Oliva, Sucina ( to visit Roy and Dianne) and then Baza.
In Baza we met Vi and Steve - Vi and I had been great friends at primary school but had lost touch and not seen each other for about 50 years! We found each other on Friends Reunited!
They live in a cave house in Baza and have now built a website about the area. It's in my LINKS area.
After Baza we went south of Granada to Orgiva. We love that place - it's crazy - full of Spanish farmers, artists, therapists and hippies from all over Europe and everyone just gets on with life alongside each other.
After a week of rest we moved south to Nerja for a few days - Brits abroad but with a bit more class than most of the Costa Del Sol!
So, November 30th found us back in Conil De La Frontera where we met Ray and Joan and settled down for a 3 months - or so we thought! The weather was very wet and windy - we needed fleeces most of the time and the campsite was very muddy. The van got stuck in mud when we arrived on our pitch and it was 2 weeks before it dried up enough for us to move it!
Some people told us about another site about 10kms away which was much better tended and more sheltered so we went for a look and booked ourselves in for Jan and Feb!
Stuart and Jake arrived on Dec 17th and the weather improved - thank goodness! We had a lovely Christmas with them - Christmas dinner was a Chinese at a restaurant in the town - different and very enjoyable!
On Dec 30th we moved to the new campsite, had to be pushed off the pitch as we'd got stuck in the mud again!
Camping Pinar San Jose at Zahora was lovely and had only been open for about 6 months. They're very keen to please the British as they need us there if they want to stay open through the winter months!
Dec 31st the boys flew home after a great 2 weeks and we settled down for 2 months. It was the worst winter weather in living memory on the Costa De La Luz but it was still much better than England!
We had some great days out while were in Andalucia - Cadiz for the carnival, Vejer de la Frontera, Gibraltar etc.
March 1st we were off on our travels again - east to Torrox Costa for 2 weeks of Costa Del Sol - why? I don't know!!!!
While there I got in touch with my cousin Patricia and her husband Tom who live in a little village in the mountains - it was lovely to see them - 1st time in 9 years!
We left there and went to a campsite called Don Cactus near Motril - not very impressed with it so after 4 nights we headed for Orgiva again! Another great couple of weeks of sunshine, warmth and friendly folk! Ray and Joan stayed for a few days then went off to the coast but we stayed on in the mountains! We enjoyed our stay and met friends old and new! Lynda and her lovely dog Tasha and Jo and John. We enjoyed the "explosions" outside the church in Orgiva - they have to be seen to be believed! We had a day out in Granada, a day out in Trevelez and a day out in the Poquiera valley - all on the bus!
After that it was Baza to see Vi and Steve again, Murcia to see Roy and Dianne again then a mad dash north to France!
En-route we stopped in an aire at Mimizan Plage and Camping Courte Valle in Airvault.
Then it was Calais and the ferry home!
Or so we thought!!!
When we got to Calais we got caught up in the French fishermens' blockade of the ferry port. We were given a free transfer on to the train by the nice people at P&O but Ray and Joan had to wait for the boat as they have a fixed LPG tank which isn't allowed on the train.
We'd arranged to stay at their house in Surrey that night - we got there about 9 hours before them! Luckily a key had been left out for us!!
Favourite places on this trip? Venice, Rome, Cadiz, Orgiva, Granada, Avignon, Vejer de la Frontera. Roses.
Photos from this trip are on my Flickr page:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/16531440@N07/ and my Facebook albums.
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