We went all the way to Crewe on our first day - took us all of an hour!!! Seasoned travellers we are!!!
We visited our motorhoming friends Nikki and Paul and their kids George and Harley and their Newfie, Tara. Very pleasant evening was had and their tales of us forcing them to drink Whisky and making the kids late for school the next day are totally unfounded!!
The following morning Paul, being younger and nimbler than Rex got up on our van roof and washed it for us - he's a star!! Thanks Paul!
From Crewe we drove all the way to Stoke-on-Trent - phew another 1 hour drive - I don't know how we cope!! There we visited more motorhoming friends, Kay and Graham and their daughter Chelsea and also their ferocious (???) Doberman!!! He's a pussycat really! Another very pleasant evening and despite what they say they were very eager to drink alcohol!! Even concocting their own version of Gluhwein!
The next morning after a hearty porridge breakfast made by Graham we drove a very long way - all the way to Upton-on-Severn - guess who turned up there? Nikki and Paul and gang on their way to Cornwall for the half term hols.
Saturday was spent with Angela and Richard in Martley near Worcester. Angela is an old friend of ours from our teens - we were at different schools together! Great to see them and their eldest son, Lance, was visiting too.
Sunday we drove to Oxford and the Camping and Caravanning Club Site near the Park and Ride at Redbridge - very handy for getting into Oxford!
Monday we got the bus into Oxford and met our gorgeous 16 yr old grandaughter Diva.We had a lovely day wandering around and visited the Pitt Rivers Musuem - excellent place - very interesting and not stuffy or boring for a 16 yr old!
Tuesday we headed off to Maidstone and camped at Bow Bridge Marina - lovely tranquil spot. We had two nights there and spent 2 great afternoons catching up with cousins Sue and Steve.
Up till now the weather had been quite pleasant if a little chilly. All changed on Thursday when we awoke to a misty day!
In the afternoon we set off for the Channel Tunnel rail terminal near Folkestone. We were booked on the 20.20pm train but managed to get on the 19.15 instead.
Arriving in Calais at 21.00(French time) it was pea soup fog! Luckily we were only going 2 stops on the motorway and parking up at the Franglais wine warehouse for the night - we did about 30mph max on the motorway - it was even worse when we got onto the normal roads!
We awoke on Friday morning and the fog was starting to clear - by the time we set off it was quite nice - dry and not too cold.
We spent our first proper day and night at Honfleur - had a wander around the town - paid a fortune for 2 beers!
The following day, Saturday, we had intended going to the Pegasus Bridge at Caen and then camping in Bayeux on a free car park for the night - the trip to Caen went as planned but when we got to Bayeux there was no way we could get on the tiny car park so we drove through the town and parked up on a street. We went and saw the Bayeux Tapestry which was definitely worth a visit then retrived the van from a side street and tried to make our escape from the town - between Rex and the Sat Nav I ended up driving down narrow shopping streets thronged with people until in the end I ignored both of them and followed the Toutes Directions signs!
We drove on to Le Mont St Michel - we stayed here for one night in August but it was very busy and hot then and we thought it would be a bit boring for Jake so we didn't investigate it.
We stayed on a campsite and decided to visit the Mont the following day, Sunday.
Got up Sunday morning and it was raining - quite heavily too! So off we set to walk down the causeway to the Mont. It stopped raining while we were walking but it was very cloudy and none too warm!
The Mont is an amazing old place - I took loads of photos - most people take lovely sunny photos of the place but mine are dark and moody!!
We went to visit the Abbey and had a pleasant surprise - from November till May(I think!) entrance is free on the first Sunday of the Month - it was 1st November!!
While we were there we had a huge cloudburst - luckily we found somewhere to shelter!
Monday morning was cloudy and miserable to we set off south hoping to catch better weather - no - the clouds just followed us!
Tuesday was spent at our favourite vineyard - Domaine de Chateau Guynot in Tesson - north of Bordeaux - we stocked up on their cognac bubbly for Christmas!
Wednesday was another vineyard - this time near Toulouse - but we couldn't by any wine!! No one around to sell us any!
After Toulouse the rain started with a vengeance and the wind too! We crossed into Spain on Wednesday afternoon and were very pleased to see that there wasn't any snow on the Pyrenees - much improvement on last winter already!
We stayed 2 nights at Roses on the Costa Brava - one of our favourite places but we hadn't really got time to spend any longer there if we were to keep to our schedule of arriving in Portugal the last week in November!
As soon as we arrived we were accosted by motorhoming friends Anne and Colin and Heather and Ted who we first met in Spain in early 2008. Another 2 couples were there who they knew - Joan and Mike and Alan and Eirlys.
Thursday night we were invited to dinner at Joan and Mike's van - they have a 5th Wheeler - huge thing! There were 11 of us under their awning for a great chicken meal made by Joan and Mike.
Afterwards as it was getting a bit chilly we all de-camped inside the van - yes all 11 of us - I said it was huge didn't I??? At one time there were even 5 of us dancing to Abba!!!
Friday was a difficult day - we had a long drive ahead and both of us were slightly the worse for wear! Luckily it was my turn to drive and I hadn't drunk anywhere near as much as Rex!! The weather was dry but very very windy - my arms were aching like mad when we stopped!
We arrived at Benicasim and had an early night!
On Saturday we drove to Sucina, near Murcia to visit our friends who live there - Diane and Roy. We had a lovely 2 days with them then set off again!!!
Monday 9th we were in Freila, near Baza and met up on Tuesday for lunch with my old school friend Vi and her partner Steve. We had a lovely lunch at Los Banos by Embalse de Negratin - stunning views, then we went back to their place for coffee - they live in a cave house in Baza - great house! It's a fabulous area and quite undiscovered really. Vi and Steve have a website dedicated to promoting tourism in the area - there's a link to it on my Blog Page - Cave House Country.
On Monday evening we had some very sad news from Padfield. Our very dear friend Mike Doy had a massive heart attack on Monday morning (9th) and died. Such a sad time - he was a lovely guy and was just enjoying life after a number of very difficult years. He will be sadly missed by all his friends and his lovely partner, Carol. Our thoughts and prayers are with the many people he has left behind and now have a huge gap in heir lives. So sad we won't be able to get back for his funeral but will remember the wonderful evening we had with him and Carol late in September when they came over to Padfield for the weekend.
Wednesday 11th we set off again - this time for Orgiva and a week of much needed R&R. We had been on the road for 3 weeks only ever stopping for 1 or 2 nights and sorely needed a rest!
This was the first day of really good weather - hot and sunny!
The first thing I did when we arrived was to put some washing on! Oh and get on the internet - that's been nearly as scarce as washing machines! At least at camping Orgiva the wi-fi is free and I can get it in the van!
Friday we got the bus from Orgiva to Bubion and then walked down the rough track to Pampaneira - only 1 km but steep and rough - my legs were like jelly when we got there!! We then had a late lunch and got the bus back.
We had a lovely week in Orgiva - didn't really do much except the odd walk into town and another trip up the mountains on the bus. Camping Orgiva is such a peaceful relaxing place - perfect when you've been on the road for a month!
We left Orgiva Friday 20th Nov and went to Seville. No-one in their right mind drives anywhere near Seville except on a Sunday! We did it Friday afternoon! We had the campsite in the sat nav but we still kept ending up on the wrong road! Eventually we got through the gates and breathed a sigh of relief!
Seville is such a beautiful elegant city - we never tire of seeing it. On Saturday we went in on the bus and once Rex had had his full Irish breakfast at Flaherty's he was happy! We sauntered around town - did a bit of shopping in C&A and then did a trip around the magnificent cathedral. It's the 2nd time we've done it and we found parts we hadn't seen the first time! Had our tea in McDonalds then got the bus back home.
On Sunday we got the bus in once again and this time met Liz Manning who I used to work with at MANCAT. She now teaches in a language school in Seville. Her boyfriend, Adam, was over for the weekend so we all went for drinks in a nice little Spanish bar. Good times!!
Monday morning we left Seville and headed west to El Rocio - an fascinating little village about an hour from Seville. It's a pilgrimage centre and an equestrian centre. During the week it's very quiet but at weekend it's chaotic! There are groups of pilgrims from all over Andalucia and horse riders and horses and carriages and cars and coaches and bikes. The amazing thing is there are no tarmaced roads - it's all sand - better for the horses. No road markings or even give way or stop signs! Everyone just drives around quite carefully avoiding hitting anyone else!
Wednesday we crossed the border into Portugal to meet up with Joan and Ray in Monte Gordo. They left UK about a week before us and travelled down through Portugal staying mostly on the west coast.
When we arrived in Monte Gordo we had a quick look arounf the municipal campsite. Firstly we were put off by the reeptionist who insisted we leave a form of id ( I gave her my driving license) and told us that we could only wander around for half an hour - presumably after that we would be charged as visitors! We wandered around but couldn't find anywhere suitable to park 2 vans without sinking in the sand! Been there - done that!!!
So we retrieved my driving license and wandered across the road to a car park where about a dozen vans were parked up. We decided that as we were only staying a few days we'd wild camp there for free!
Ray and Joan arrived and agreed to wild camp. We had 4 nice days in Monte Gordo - reminiscing about our first Christmas away in 2007 and how we were there when our house sale went through!
We paid a visit to Vila Real de Santo Antonio to watch the Christmas lights switch on - that was fun!
Sunday 29th Nov we left Portugal again and went back into Spain - it rained most of the way and when we arrived at Zahora and Pinar San Jose it was pouring!!
We had a lovely welcome from Carmen in reception who wasn't expecting us until the Tuesday! We went to our pitches where we promptly got stuck in the wet sand! Hey Ho! It happens!
So that's our journey south - we're here and settled now for the winter - or 3 months anyway!
Photos from the places we visited are on Flickr:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/16531440@N07/ and also in my Facebook albums.
