Life in a Motorhome with Marie and Rex

Boring days in Paradise!!

2010-11-11T22:07:00.008Z

So, it's now November 11th and we have been here for 12 days. Apart from 1 rainy day the weather has been gorgeous! Temperatures around the 20 mark during the day - much cooler at night - but after all it is winter!
1st November - a walk to the beach and then west towards El Palmar.

2nd November and we walked to the beach then along to Trafalgar.

We saw a beautiful Chameleon on the campsite - he was very patient while I took lots of photos!

It's been nice enough to eat breakfast outside almost every day too!

We've hired a car for a month so we can zoom about a bit! Had a trip to Vejer de la Frontera - lovely as ever!
Last Sunday Maureen was 70 so 10 of us went out for a Chinese at lunchtime - what a great group of friends we have out here!!

October 2010 - the long goodbyes start again!

2010-11-03T21:15:00.012Z

Monday 4th we woke up to a wonderful blue sky and sunshine - we decided to get the train to Manchester and spend the day photographing anything and everything around the city. We wandered around aimlessly - had a ride on the big wheel and snapped away up there too!
We walked miles around town and ended up walking along the River Irwell to Castlefield and Granada TV Studios. We spent an hour at the studios wtahcing people walking in and out and were rewarded by the sight of two Corrie stars! Took their photos of course!
We had a great day out - not shopping or doing anything we needed to - just enjoying the city!

11th October - we met Stuart and took Alfie to the play park. Crazy boy! He's so funny!
Jake met up with us too after school then he went and got ready to go to ACF
(Army Cadet Force) - he looked great in his new uniform!

The long goodbyes started a week before departure day - Saturday 16th - Jean and Danielle came over and we went out for a meal to the Wren's Nest in Glossop. Sunday 17th - Angela and Bren and the kids came over - we went to The Peels for a meal. Monday 18th we had a rest! Tuesday 19th we took the boys out to the Outside Inn for a meal - chaos!! But great!!

Wednesday we went to The Wheatsheaf in Old Glossop with Janis and Bill - Thursday was the Peels again with Wanda, Phil, Kathie, Brian, Maria and Rose. Lovely to see old friends!

Friday 22nd we left Glossop and drove down to Oxford - Saturday we met Diva and had a lovely day with our gorgeous granddaughter!

Sunday 24th we went to Maidstone to camp at Bow Bridge Marina and see Sue and Steve - had a lovely couple of days there! Monday we went to Whitstable for fish and chips!!

Tuesday we ehaded for Portsmouth - stopping at Winchester services to meet Jan (NannyJan) who was following us to Zahora. Stuart (Capinpugwash) Came to see us in the car park! How nice is that? Jan had a terrible drive from Bishop's Stortford - M25 clogged up as usual!

We went to Portsmouth and had a meal at Port Solent then moved to the port and stayed there for the night. Early next morning we joined the queue for the ferry to Santander. We were soon on the boat and settled in to our cabin. Very smooth crossing - amazing!

We arrived in Santander and quickly exited the port and drove the 20 miles to Santillana del Mar for the night. We had a nice walk to the medieval village in the sunshine!

We set off the following day for Zahora - 1st stop Salamanca - it rained all the way and blew a hoolie! Not a pleasant journey! Stayed at Camping Regio. Jaded tired site but easy to find and behind a hotel doing cheap nice meals!!! Oh and free wi-fi in the foyer too!
Saturday we drove to Caceres - again rain and wind - what a journey!!!

Sunday we set off for the long journey to Zahora - luckily the rain eased off and the wind too - once we reached Sevilla the sun came out and the rest of the journey was great!

Arrived at Camping Pinar San Jose about 4.30 to be greeted by Mary, Derek, Trevor and Elaine who arrived a few weeks ago.

So that was October!

September 2010 - wherever did that month go???

2010-09-29T15:38:00.005+01:00

It's been a busy month one way and another - not a lot of photo opportunities though really!

Met up with Mary and Derek at Cheshire Oaks on the 2nd for a day of catching up and retail therapy for Mary and I! Didn't spend much either! Nice to see them both but it made us realise how much we want to get back to the peace and quiet of Zahora! Not forgetting the sunshine of course!

On the 3rd we went to Newark for the Motorhome Show with the Funsters - yet another weekend of mayhem!

The following week was a medical week - consultant at hospital about my shoulder - Mammogram - Dentist for us both - Chiropodist for me - Pre-op assessment - phew! Enough of that!!

Jake started back at school in his newly designed uniform - a backward step into shirts, ties and blazers!

Sept 12th was Padfield Plum Fair and once again the rain kept off!

The following week was visitors and vehicles themed! Van MOT, car service, some electrical work done on the van and in between we had visitors! Fred and Marina on Tuesday - we hadn't seen Fred for 19 years and it was lovely to see him again and meet his lovely new wife!
On Friday Mary and Walt arrived and stayed at the Windy Harbour Hotel overnight. First time we'd seen them this year! We had a lovely meal in The Wheatsheaf, Old Glossop - definitely recommend that place!!
On Saturday we had a day out in Castleton and Edale. They went home Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday Sandie and Tony came for lunch - first time we've seen them this year too!

Sept 23rd was Alfie's 3rd birthday - can't believe how fast he's growing up! He's a smart cookie too!

A couple of days rest and then we were off to Lincoln for the last Motorhome Show of the season.
Not very good weather though so most socialising was done in the entertainment building while being drowned out by the various entertainments! At least they were free!

Funsters doing what funsters do best! Drinking and talking!!

We're house and cat sitting now for a week - Janis and Bill have gone off to Turkey for a week of walking along a coastal footpath.

We're trying to sort the van out now ready for our trip to Spain - don't know when we're going yet as I'm waiting for an operation on my shoulder - best to be ready though!

Let's hope October brings some changes and I get my shoulder done and we head off to the sun!

Summer 2010 - Part Three - August

2010-09-09T21:58:00.019+01:00

Well that's August over and done with and I'm actually nearly up to date! Miracles!

A brief stopover in Ambleside at Miller Field with the Funsters on the Friday night then down to West Timperley near Manchester for the August Bank Holiday weekend to visit Angela, Bren, Ciara, James and Malachy.
Afternoon out in Dunham Park brought back many happy memories of when we lived in Stretford and used to take Siobhan and Stuart there!

The Byrnes and the Turners

25th August we were off to Paisley and Anne and Mike. Day in Glasgow - never been there before - really enjoyed the city and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Lovely time with Anne and Mike and Poppy!

Jake trying on a mask in the Museum!

We left Dingwall on 24th August and started the journey south - stopping off at Portnellan near Crianlarich for 1 night with Trevor and Elaine. Rex and Jake went kayaking in the loch and came home very happy but very wet!!!

They're somewhere out there!!

After a night at Boat of Garten we went north up the A9 and across the Kessock Bridge to Dingwall. Here we met up with a Funster friend, Ray, who very kindly took us out to the west coast for the day on the Sunday. Ray is a brilliant tour guide! He knows every blade of grass in the Highlands!!! Applecross is a beautiful place very remote!

Rex, Jake and Ray on a windswept viewpoint on top of the hill going to Applecross!

We had a day trip Thurso by train and a day trip to Kyle of Lochalsh also by train.

We left Edinburgh on 19th August and drove up to Boat of Garten. On the way we stoped at the RSPB reserve at Loch Garten. They had two Osprey chicks within sight waiting for food! Great stuff!

From Consett we went to Edinburgh - C&CC had a Temporary Holiday Site at the Royal Highland Showground near the airport. Only £6 a night too. Bus stop just outside the camp into Edinburgh. We wad a whirlwind 3 days in Edinburgh visiting Our Dynamic Earth, The Castle and The Royal Yacht Britannia. Had a great meal in Hard Rock Cafe too! Brilliant!!

Friday 13th August we set off for Scotland via Consett, Co Durham. We had a brilliant weekend with Helen, Sara, Hannah, Darran, Harrison, Mollie and Freya!
Day out at Shilden Railway Museum was ace!

The Turners and Kitcheners!

11th August it was back to Windy Harbour for a couple of days to prepare for our trip to Scotland with Jake!

6th August we had a brief trip to A S Air Suspension in Warrington to get a niggle fixed by Phil and Kath and then it was off up to Morecambe to camp on Bryan and Suzy's drive for 5 nights.
Bryan, Suzy and I were all feeling poorly for one reason or another so Rex became "the carer"!
We had a very relaxing time and at the end of it were a few hundred quid worse off! Rex and Bryan had spent the whole time on the internet looking for a new camera for Rex! They found a Nikon D5000 and Nikon lens! On the way back to Glossop we ahd to go to Dewsbury to collect it!

Rex and Bryan in typical pose!

On 4th August we went to Thurstaston on the Wirral for a couple of nights. Withernsea is about as far east as we can get from here in Glossop and we left there to go as far west as we can go! Lovely C&CC site by the estuary and long distance footpath.
Had a walk along the beach into West Kirby then back along the footpath.

This is a view of the estuary looking over to Wales.

2nd August 2010

We started the month by going to Withernsea near Hull with Ray and Joan to visit Maureen and Michael.

I've decided to do this month back to front as I'm getting fed up with the way Blogger works and the difficulty in getting photos and text where I want them!! So we'll see what August looks likes! Rant over for now!!!

Summer 2010 - Part Two - June, July

2010-09-09T20:49:00.018+01:00

We actually managed to stay put for 18 days in Padfield!
It was great to spend some quality time with Stuart and Jake and Alfie!

We left Padfield on June 24th and spent the weekend at Wrenbury near Nantwich with the Funsters. That was like a 4 night party! Phew!
When we left there we went to a very quiet site on Dartmoor and relaxed for 2 nights before carrying on to Cornwall and 11 nights full on family!!

It was great in Cornwall! Jane and Mike were visiting from Vancouver and Sue and Steve came over from Kent. BBQ at our van for 15 on the Saturday!

And here are some of us in Fowey and Charlestown!

From Cornwall we travelled back up north visiting friends along the way. Maria and John now have a pub near Chepstow - Maria was away but John was holding the fort and we had a very pleasant evening with him - parked on the car park next to their RV!

A night in Monmouth was followed by a visit to Angela and Richard in Martley near Worcester. Richard was away but Angela was there! Are people going away when they realise we're in the country???

Back to Padfield for one night then off to Knutsford for the Northern Motorhome Show with the Funsters! Another party weekend!! How do we do it??

Back at Windy Harbour for a week then over to Tibshelf near Chesterfield to meet up with Ray and Joan and Stephen and Lesley. Nice couple of nights there, great walk over to Hardwick Hall
and back.
Ray and Joan came back to Windy Harbour with us for a few days and we had some great days out! The Trafford Centre, East Lancashire Railway and a ride on a steam train and also an 8½ mile walk around Glossopdale - up and down big hills too!!

This is us on the approach to Doctors Gate.

Summer 2010 - Part One

2010-07-25T15:55:00.018+01:00

I can't believe how long it is since I put anything on this blog!

We left Zahora mid April and spent nearly 6 weeks travelling before we got back to Glossop! Could have walked it quicker!

We stopped off to see friends and family along the way of course!
Liz in Seville, John and Zoe on Aguadulce, Patricia and Tom in Sayalonga, Diane and Roy in Sucina and Frankie and Steph in Toulouse.

Marie and Liz in Sevilla. Standing on Liz's balcony in the heart of the city. Sevilla is a fascinating lively city - the real heart of Spain. Flamenco, oranges, wine - great place.

The beautiful Embalse de Negratin near Baza
This is near to the campsite we stay on when we meet up with Vi and Steve in Baza. Beautiful unspoilt area.
Follow this link:- http://www.cavehousecountry.com/

With Steph and Frankie at Chateau de Foix.
We had a great 2 days in Toulouse with them.

A statue of Cyrano de Bergerac in the old town of Bergerac on the Dordogne.

Our van parked in the aire at Montreuil-Bellay. Lovely little town with a pointy roof chateau and a pretty river!

St Valery en Caux - we stopped here for lunch and a look at the view. I managed to trip up (over nothing!) and hurt my shoulder, ribs, knees and elbow! Pathetic or what???
Nice little town - very busy.

Last day in France - tomorrow we're on the train through the tunnel and into England.

13th May - now and England and first stop was Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Narrow Gauge Railway. Never been there before - very interesting!

We spent a week at a CL in Wateringbury near Maidstone.
Lovely site on Bow Bridge Marina.
By the side of the River Medway.
Next to a railway station.

We saw quite a lot of our cousins Sue and Steve which was lovely - had a great day out with them in Whitstable - lovely fish and chips!

We also had a day out in London - by train - doing the tourist bit!

We spent the following weekend at the Motorhome show in Newbury with the MotorhomeFun gang - great fun as usual! We also met up with our gorgeous granddaughter Diva on the Saturday - she got the train over from Reading. It was so lovely to see her - we don't see her anywhere nearly enough!

After that we managed to drive up to Glossop!! Stayed a week on Windy Harbour then picked up Jake and went to the Stratford Motorhome Show for a week!
This is always a great week with the funsters camped on the racecourse, close to the river and the short walk into Stratford-upon-Avon. Jake enjoyed himself playing silly games with all the other kids camped with us! The weather was fantastic all week!

When we left Stratford we returned to Padfield and spent a couple of weeks house and cat sitting for Janis and Bill while they went off and walked the Pennine Way! Basically, they got a bus to Scotland and walked home the hard way across lots of hills!!!
We met up with them one weekend near Appleby and gave them 2 nights of decent sleep in the van and plenty of food!

So that's the end of Summer 2010 - Part One! Part Two will follow very soon!

Springtime in Zahora

2010-04-12T10:35:00.012+01:00

Well the winter is over and we've had a few weeks of dry weather at last!
March 3rd we went to Barbate and had to dodge the waves - on the promenade! - spring tides combined with high winds!

March 4th our friends Joe and June gave a BBQ for us all as they were leaving a few days later. We had a great afternoon of sun, good company and fabulous food!

On March 7th we went to Montenmedio to see the horse jumping tournament - it's only a few miles from here and a fantastic place to while away an afternoon.
There was an international horse show on for about 3 weeks - top riders - Olympic champions etc! Free entry, free parking - freedom to wander around the place and watch the jumping and dressage, have coffee or a meal, browse around the (very expensive!!) stalls. What would it have cost in UK and what would security have been like?????

March 11th we had a day out in Jerez with our friends Lynette and Terry - we went to the Royal Equestrian School to see the dancing horses then had a trip around the Tio Pepe Sherry Bodega - very interesting day!

March 17th - St Pat's Day and another excuse for a party! We had sausages, bacon, mash, fried onions and onion gravy - lovely puds too! Irish music, Guiness and a quiz!

19th March we had a day trip to Seville - lovely city which we never tire of! I love the city and Rex loves Flaherty's Irish Bar where he has an Irish breakfast! Say no more!

We visited the Bull ring and had a tour around the arena and the museum - very interesting place and fantastic costumes on display!

March 22nd we had a day out in Arcos de la Frontera - very interesting little hill town perched on the edge of a cliff. Very narrow streets in the old town but the car drivers don't seem to notice that!!

Easter Sunday and guess what??? It's PARTY TIME again!!

Our numbers are decreasing as several people have left now - doesn't stop us partying though!

Pancake Fest - Feb 2010

2010-02-25T20:22:00.005Z

Saturday Feb 20th we had a Pancake Fest on the campsite - 28 of us congregated around a couple of vans and awnings and brought dishes for a buffet lunch. Four of us cooked fresh pancakes for everyone - Yummy!!!
We couldn't do it on Pancake Tuesday as the weather was too bad. Saturday was the first warm and dry day for ages!

We had a great afternoon with fabulous food and great company!

2 old men in beige?? Where's Terry Wogan???

Cadiz Carnival 14th Feb 2010

2010-02-25T18:23:00.010Z

Sunday 14th Feb we had a coach from the campsite to Cadiz Carnival. Choirs go through the narrow streets on trailers - they sing humorous satirical songs - just a pity we can't understand the words!
Lots of people get dressed up just to wander the streets - even dogs get dressed up! The streets are very very narrow and full on people and tractors and trailers - gets quite scary at times - we nearly got mown down by a tractor at one point - the huge front wheel was only a couple of inches from me and I was leaning on the people behind me!

Does anyone know this blue haired man???

Some of the campsite gang - we roamed the streets like a load of teenagers - drinking sherry and being daft!

He's here again and he's nicked my hat!

This baby was only 5 months old! She was fast asleep in all the chaos going on around her. Checkout the shoes!!

Brings to mind the old saying "if you can't fight wear a big hat!!"

Isn't she gorgeous?

Stormy February!

2010-02-25T18:01:00.004Z

We woke up on 4th Feb to very high gusty winds - looked out of the window and couldn't see one of our tents! Went outside to investigate and found it had tried to go for a walk!! It was still anchored by 1 peg but even the heavy duty pegs had been pulled out!Luckily it was the storage tent and not the kitchen one - we keep the bags of dirty washing in it - amongst other things and I had visions of walking around the site and finding our dirty underwear scattered around! However we were lucky and nothing had been scattered! Some things were very wet but it had actually stopped raining by the time the tent disappeared so most things were dry!
It didn't take us too long to get it all back together and nothing was damaged - even the tent was OK. Those tents were a good buy from Decathlon!

The tent is now anchored even better with more heavy duty pegs and it's even tied to the tree! More gales are forecast this weekend (end Feb) so we'll have our fingers crossed!

Soggy January!!

2010-01-17T20:20:00.006Z

It's now 17th January and it's been a wet and soggy New Year! Rain and thunder like we've never experienced before! It's brightened up a lot in the last 2 days so we've got our fingers crossed!

We've been trying to get our tv fixed after the Christmas Day Massacre! We found a Motorhome dealer in Seville who could do the job (it's factory fitted onto a bracket - very swish!) They wanted to charge us €1176.00 - not even gold plated at that! In the end we went to Media Markt ( a bit like Currys!) and bought a Monitor / TV for €199.00 Much better! It doesn't fit on the bracket at the moment and we can't play the van media system through it but we can work around those problems!

The campsite had a lot of problems with the wi-fi system and we only got it back in the van on Tuesday this week.

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January was an awful month weather-wise - not as bad as UK obviously but as far as Spain is concerned it was catastrophic! The area we're staying in had 3 years worth of rain in one month!!! That's a lot of rain! There has been a lot of flooding in the region.

We didn't do a lot all month - spent a lot of time watching TV!

The highlight of the month was Burn's Night - January 25th - we had a wonderful evening with a traditional Burn's Supper in the restaurant organised by Trevor and Elaine - our resident Scots! Musicians were flown in from Scotland for the evening - Jock the Box on Accordian and Duncan Mackinnon on pipes ( bagpipes and border pipes) Rex joined them with his Bodhran and we all had a great time!

The campsite owners have come up trumps yet again! There's a small gallery / mezzanine over the bar and they've kitted it out with sofas and tables and chairs, a computer and book shelves for us to put any books we want to swap - only for campers use - it's very swish! The "girls" now meet there every Monday afternoon for coffee and a natter!

We've also started to have quiz nights on a Wednesday which are proving popular - around 20 people each week turning up - some of us are taking it in turns to set the quiz.

There are more people on the site now than there were over Christmas with some Dutch and Germans staying too - most of them only stay a few nights - the core of the campers are still us long-stayers!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-20T19:57:00.003Z

Our Christmas started on Thursday 17th when Stuart and Jake arrived in Spain. We hired a car for 2 weeks and went to Malaga Airport to meet them. The plane arrived on time but unfortunately someone mistakenly took their suitcase and left their own behind! Stuart had to report it and leave his phone number and address in Spain. So, it took us quite a while to get free of the airport!

Friday morning at 10 the suitcase arrived at the campsite - well done to Malaga Airport. Whoever had taken it had returned it and they promptly brought it to us!
We went out shopping to Bahia Sur in San Fernando in the afternoon.

Saturday we were invited to Elaine and Trevor's van for brunch - 16 of us in an awning! They made a super lunch - don't know how they managed it! Then we spent the afternoon sitting outside in the sun drinking Cava etc!!

Sunday we went to Medina Sidonia - a white village on a hill - very pretty but we couldn't find anywhere for a snack! So off we went to Conil De La Frontera for lunch and a walk down the beach!

Tuesday 22nd Dec we went off to see the Roman ruins at Bolonia - only trouble was - they were closed! So, off we went for a drive further along the road into the hills. Lovely views and we stopped at a viewpoint to take photos of the bay. Great huge sweep of a bay - then we truned around and saw about a dozen vultures were nesting in the rocks - WOW what a sight they were! We stayed there for quite a while watching them and taking photos.

The following day the weather was really bad - in fact it had been bad on and off ever since the boys arrived! We had torrential rain at times and lots of thunder storms - in the afternoon we drove out to Sancti Petri but it was very grey and damp - got some good photos though!

Christmas Eve the weather perked up and we went to Trafalgar for a walk along the beach - a few kite surfers out and even a guy swimming in the sea - not warm enough for that!!!

Christmas Day we had a mammoth Christmas Dinner - well it started with nibbles and Cava at John and Tina's bungalow then we all went to Trevor and Elaine's awning - they were in Scotland for Christmas but very kindly let us borrow their van and awning for dinner - they have a huge awning and there were 18 of us for dinner. The campsite loaned us some tables and chairs and at 2pm we all sat down for a great meal - everyone had cooked something and with military precision we all turned up at the awning with the hot food at 2pm! It was great fun apart from the weather!
The rain lashed down, the lightning flashed and the thunder roared - overhead quite a few times - the rain came in the awning and we all sat with our feet in water!
The boys went back to our van after dinner and found that our tv wouldn't work - we have cable tv here and presumed that the system was down. Wi-fi wouldn't work either!
It wasn't until later that night that we realised out tv was not working at all - wouldn't even switch on!
The storm had apparently hit something nearby and we have since realised that there was an electrical surge down the tv arial into the tv which "fried" it! 2 other vans were also affected - one had it's fridge / freezer fried and the other it's sat reciever and tv tuning system! Expensive storm! We were totally unaware sitting there eating our dinners - so glad we weren't in the van at the time!

Over the next few days we had some bright spots in the weather - one day we dropped Stu and Jake off at the vulture nests while we drove a little further to Tarifa - quaint little town - great views of Morocco.

The boys had to fly back to UK on 30th but the day before we had a trip up tot the hill behind the campsite - it's in the Brena National Park - lots of pine trees! Great views of Trafalgar and the beaches from the top!

30th Dec we took the boys to Malaga for their flight back to Manchester and the snow! It was lovely having them here even though the weather let us down!

New Years Eve we were back in Trevor and Elaine's awning - this time they were with us! They returned from a snowy Scotland that day. 20 of us had a party and welcomed the New Year in twice - 1st time at Spanish midnight and then at UK midnight!

Baelo Claudia, Bolonia

2009-12-15T21:11:00.008Z

We had an afternoon out today with Ray and Joan. Went to the roman ruins ( Baelo Claudia) at Bolonia on the way to Tarifa.

Here's a link to the ruins:- http://www.andalucia.com/province/cadiz/bolonia/baelo-claudia.htm

It's an amazing place - was quite a big town with a fish salting factory. Was a link over to Tangier in Morocco - all between the 1st and 6th centuries!!! It was abandoned in the 6th century!!!

The excavation is on-going and unlike in the UK (where it would all be hidden by hoardings) you can see the current work - looking forward to visiting it over the next few years so see the progress being made!

Bolonia village is very nice - tranquil in December but I bet it's busy with surfers in the summer!

Pinar San Jose - Dec 09

2009-12-14T22:23:00.003Z

Well we arrived in rain - got stuck in the wet sand - dug out and settled down for the winter!
We haven't done a lot since we've been here - we've actually been quite tired! Looking back over the year we've been on the go ever since we left here in March! The longest we've stayed anywhere is 4 weeks and most of the time it's been a week or even less - SO - we needed a rest! We've festered for the last couple of weeks!

It's lovely to be back on this campsite - the family who own it are so friendly and helpful - there's a nice bar and restaurant - a super supermarket run by the lovely Mila - one of the family. We had such a lovely welcome off everyone when we arrived - after spending 2 months here earlier this year we were made to feel like old friends when we got here! It's a lovely tranquil place - only about 9 vans on here at the moment with plenty of space between us!

We've been down to the beach a few of times and went out in the van one day last week into Conil De La Frontera. The council has put up no parking signs for motorhomes on the big car park on the prom so we can't do what we like to do which is drive the van into Conil - park up - do the shops - go for a walk - have lunch etc! We'll have to investigate how we can still do it!
Stuart and Jake are arriving on Thursday for 2 weeks hols - can't wait to see them!
We're hiring a car for the 2 weeks so will get out and about a bit more - I'll need another long rest once they've gone home!

Christmas Day is promising to be fun - we're having a huge lunch party on site - 18 of us! All in an awning for lunch! Thanks to Elaine and Trevor who are going back to UK for Christmas and loaning us their HUGE awning!! We're all doing our bit towards the lunch - I'm making some roast spuds, braised leeks and whisky trifle! Watch out for the photos!!!!

The Journey South - Winter 2009

2009-11-14T15:36:00.013Z

Wednesday 21st October we set off for pastures new and hopefully some sunshine!
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.

October 2009 - Say Hello and Wave Goodbye!

2009-11-11T21:06:00.006Z

October was a busy month! Catching up with people and then saying goodbye for the winter! Doing last minute things like doctors and dentists and chiropodist and hearing clinic and financial advisors!! House and cat sitting for our friends Janis and Bill. Then finally travelling! Don't know where the summer has gone - so many people we didn't see - so many things we didn't do! Will have to make more effort next summer!!

We had a lovely evening out with Wanda and Phil and Joan and Geoff on the 10th at the Skillet in Hayfield - got proper dressed up we did!!!

On the 14th I had a great afternoon out with my old friend Alicia - we were at primary school together and hadn't seen each other for years - at least 30! Seem to remember we bumped into each other in Stretford Arndale once but neither of us can remember when!! Anyway we had lunch in Didsbury and then we went back to her house for coffee. We must do it again when we're back in England!

We were still house sitting for Janis and Bill until the 21st when we set off for Spain!

So, to all those people we saw over the summer - it was great catching up! To those we didn't see - we're so sorry we didn't see you and will try and make sure we do see you next summer!

I've been wondering where the time went and I reckon we were in UK for about 28 weeks and 12 of those were spent wandering!! Cornwall, Stratford-on-Avon, Wales, Morecambe and France to name but a few of our wandering places!!

Photos from the places we visited are on Flickr:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/16531440@N07/ and also in my Facebook albums.

September 2009

2009-09-26T15:20:00.007+01:00

Well September is nearly done and autumn is closing in - time for us to start planning our escape to the sun!

We started September with a birthday bash for Rex with some friends - it was a belated one as his birthday was Aug 31st - but we couldn't get everyone together until the weekend after.

We had a bit of excitement too when our lovely grandson, Jake, started at his new school - can't believe how grown up he is now. He looked great in his school uniform!

On the 8th Sept Rex went on a Manchester Ship Canal cruise from Manchester to Liverpool with his friend Ray Evans. I went shopping! They thoroughly enjoyed themselves even though the weather was cold and wet! I shopped from 10.am until I picked them up at 7.30pm! All I bought was a skirt (surprise surprise!!) a pair of croc flipflops and a nice little strappy number for the hot weather!!! By 4.30 I was getting quite bored! So it was Cafe Rouge for a leisurely meal!

11th September we uppped sticks and went to Morecambe. The weekend was spent at Bay View Caravan Park at Bolton-le-Sands with the MotorhomeFun crowd. Suzy and Bryan had organised the meet and boy did they do us proud! Suzy is a domestic goddess and provided a BBQ on the Sat night and breakfast Sunday morning - I'm never going to organise a meet - I couldn't compete with her!
There was a festival on in Morecambe and the weather was fantastic - unfortunately it was bad over in Lincolnshire so the promised "Battle of Britain" fly past didn't happen - shame!
It was a brilliant weekend with excellent company - I think I can safely say a good time was had by all!
By Sunday lunchtime most people were leaving so we de-camped to Bryan and Suzy's drive for a few days! During this time they introduced us to the TV series 24! That's it now - we're addicted! By Friday we'd watched all 24 1 hour episodes! We've downloaded the next 3 series but we're going to wait to watch them - we need a week of doing nothing for each series!

We left Morecambe on the Wednesday and went cross country to Selby. Nice campsite "The Ranch" at Cliffe Common, also it's the home of Star Spangled Spanner aka Duncan. He installed a Nature Pure water filter for us on Wednesday afternoon - great job, very well done.

Thursday it was back to Glossop and Windy Harbour for a week's rest after all our gallivanting!

The rest of September has been fairly quiet with doctor and dentist visits and catching up with friends!

On Sunday 27th we went up to Consett in Co Durham by car to visit our niece Helen and her lovely daughters Sara and Hannah and Sara's fabulous husband Darran. Sara has 2 gorgeous children, Harrison and Freya and Hannah has a beautiful 4yr old daughter, Mollie. We had a lovely day with them - don't see enough of them! Our sister-in-law, Mary was visiting them from Essex. We haven't seen her for 2 years , so it was lovely to go up and see her!

On the 25th our friends, Janis and Bill, set off for a 5 week trip to India. We are now house and cat sitting for them. Very strange going upstairs to bed!

We want to set off south in October so need to get ourselves organised!

Who knows where we'll be when I do the next blog!

3 Weeks in France

2009-09-07T01:15:00.008+01:00

In August we spent 3 weeks in France with our gorgeous 11 year old grandson. Jake. Yes he gets spoilt by Granny!

The object of the trip was twofold - Rex wanted to visit some WW2 sites and we were also booked in to a campsite in the Limousin for a 4 day MotorhomeFun meet.

We set off on August 7th and visited our friends, Walt and Mary, in Desborough on our way to Dover. I was driving and apart from having Ermentrude (our silly cow of a sat-nav!) shouting at me I had Rex with a map and Jake in the back of the van also with a map! I kept cool and ignored all 3 of them!

Saturday we set off again for Dover - we were booked on the ferry for Sunday morning and intended to spend Saturday night parked up on Marine Parade but this was not to be - there was a festival on and the road was closed - Yikes where to go now? We went back up the M20 to a service area we had seen for early port arrivals - that's OK if you're in a car or a lorry or a coach but in a motorhome it's a no no! So we went back to Dover, changed our ticket ( at a price!!) and caught the 7.30pm ferry to Calais!

There we were in France a day early and at 10.30pm - so off we went to the Franglais wine warehouse and parked up for the night for free! They're in the France Passion scheme for camping cars and very happy for members to camp for the night!

Sunday morning we bought a bottle of wine in the warehouse and thanked them for the free parking and headed south ish to St Valery sur Somme.
On the way we realised we were very short of diesel and being a Sunday we weren't sure of how many petrol stations we would find open! We decided to leave the Autoroute at Le Touquet and see what we could find. As luck would have it there was a fuel stop at the peage station on the slip road - it was an automatic one so we had to use our credit card - first time for everything and why not do it on a Sunday??? Luckily a Frenchman was there filling up and he showed me how to use the machine - lo and behold we were full of diesel once again - what a relief! It's not recommended to run out of fuel on a French Autoroute - it's an on the spot fine from the cops!
We got on the aire at St Valery sur Somme and stayed for 2 nights. St Valery is a lovely old fishing village with a narrow gauge steam railway to Le Crotoy - of course being with Rex AND Jake we just had to go on it! It was fun!
There was a festival of the sea (Fete de Mer) on in town too and we saw some of the very well decorated cottages and saw a band performing in the street - all adds to the atmosphere!

Tuesday we went to Arromanches - the site of one of the D-day landings in 1944. This is where the Mulberry harbour was sited. We couldn't get in the aire as it was heaving! Backtracked through the busy town centre and arrived at the Municipal camp site just behind the aire. We camped next to a British couple, Gordon and Paula with their daughter Elisabeth (otherwise known as Princess). They are members of MotorhomeFun - (thechesters). Jake got on well with them all and went into the town to see the carousel all lit up at night.

We didn't do the museum but did do the 360deg Cinema which was very well done and enjoyable. We bought a DVD of the film "The Longest Day" and watched it on the Tuesday night. Good idea to watch it while we were there - brings it all home to you more!

Wednesday, Rex and Jake went swimming in the sea - amongst the bits of Mulberry Harbour!

Thursday we headed further south and spent the night on the church car park at Laigne-en-Belin just south of Le Mans. OK apart from the church bells ringing every 15 minutes!!!!

Friday we arrived at Parc Verger, Champagnac La Riviere for the MotorhomeFun meet. We were just about the last to arrive! The campsite is owned by a British couple, Bob and Di Banks. Lovely site and very tranquil until the MotorhomeFunsters arrived!
Friday night was BBQ night with the haganaps (HarleyandGeorgeandNikkiandPaul) - the kids enjoyed themselves and a good time was had by all ( well most anyway!!)
It was lovely to meet up with old friends and new - Suzy and Bryan, Nikki and Paul, Sharon and Mark, Graham and Kay, Pammy and Geo, Ruth and Tony, Bill and Chris, Frankie and Stephanie, Angie and Keith, Mick and Denise and all the kids! Have I forgotten anyone? Too much vino obviously!!!

The weather was amazing but too hot to be bothered doing anything - all the kids enjoyed the pool and all the adults enjoyed the chillin'!

Saturday afternoon we staggered into the village to see the festival procession - but managed to miss it so we staggered back! With temperatures in the high 30's it was too hot to contemplate doing much!
Saturday night was the village meal in the village hall - excellent food put on by the local women - how they fed so many so well I don't know!
After the meal we followed the band to the edge of the village and watched a magnificent firework display then followed the band back to see the lighting up of the church. After that we retired to Dino's bar for a couple of drinks before wending our way back to the campsite.
It was decided that nightcaps were to be drunk outside Nikki and Paul's van and this duly happened until about 2.30am - don't think we were the most popular campers next morning - but hey ho - that's what Fun meets are all about - SOCIALISING!!!
Sunday was a VERY quiet day all round! Some of the locals came around for drinks at lunchtime - including the mayor - very nice to meet them. Sally and Mike arrived (ehuplad) with Marcus their Lurcher. There was a BBQ outside our van - but we retired reasonably early - midnightish!! Might have been due to our van being near the black water dump which had quite a distinctive aroma!!

Monday we were up early for a bus trip to Oradour-sur-Glane - the Martyr village which the Germans razed to the ground on 10th June 1944 killing all the inhabitants - for no known reason!
It has been preserved just as it was left - very thought provoking place - will we ever learn from the mistakes of the past? Who knows?
After the visit we went on to Limoges - which was shut! Combination of Bank Holiday Weekend and Siesta time!!! Nice place though! Still, we managed to find a few bars and a burger bar open - wandered around the town with Kay and Graham and Chelsea and Bill and Steph.

Tuesday saw most of us leaving Parc Verger and 5 vans headed in convoy to Couhe, south of Poitiers. Nikki and Paul and Bill and Chris had stayed there last year and recommended it so we decided to follow them along with Suzy and Bryan and Graham and Kay.

It was a great site for the kids - pools with numerous slides (the men enjoyed them too!!) also the pools were open until midnight! It was so hot that no-one did much till about 8pm when it was decided we all should eat and it was BBQ time AGAIN!!! Blokes sitting around shirtless at midnight - kids in pool until 11.15pm! Bliss!! I don't think Jake wore normal clothes in the 3 nights we spent there, he just wore swim shorts all the time! He thought he was in heaven!

Suzy and Bryan had to leave us after 2 nights to return to UK and Graham and Kay also left to go chocolate hunting in Bruges - so we were down to 3 vans!
On Friday we left with Paul and Nikki to go to the Vendee and Bill and Chris left to go to Futuroscope at Poitiers.
We found an aire (free!!) next to the sand dunes at La Paree Preneau, south of St Jean de Monts. Friday night Paul and I tried to take sunset photos on the beach but we were too late! Saturday the men and boys spent the day at a Waterpark while Nikki and I relaxed by the vans and sauntered down to the shops and Crepe Bars!!
Saturday night we were successful with the sunset photos!

Sunday was our 42nd wedding anniversary and we parted company with Nikki and Paul and set off for Le Mont St Michel. The aire on the causeway was due to be underwater at the 8pm high tide so we went to the one in town - very good it was too - with electricity and toilet and waste dump - just no toilets or showers - otherwise it was like a half decent campsite and for only €8.90 a night too!
We had a meal out to celebrate our anniversary - nothing posh just a normal cafe really.

On Monday we went back towards the D-day sites - this time to Ste Mere-Eglise - the spot where the American Paras landed in the village instead of in the countryside - most were shot by the Germans as they landed. One poor guy got stuck on the church steeple as he came down and was shot in the foot - he played dead but was eventually rescued and taken prisoner by the Germans - however he managed to escape during the subsequent fighting and lived to tell the tale! There is an excellent Airborne Museum in the village and a dummy para complete with parachute hanging from the church! Well worth a visit if you're in the area! The aire is the car park next to the church and across the road from the Airborne Museum - very handy!

Tuesday we left and went to Honfleur - one of our favourite little places in Picardy - old fishing village which was, and still is, a haunt of artists and musicians ( Sate lived here)
On arrival at the aire we were greeted by . . . Nikki and Paul! They had arrived the night before and were about to set off for Calais and home. We also met a couple of motorhomers who have promised to join MotorhomeFun - they live in Telford and have a Peugeot garage so their user name will be justpugs! Hope they do join us!

Wednesday we went to Calais and stayed at the Franglais warehouse again - this time we stocked up on wine!

Thursday was time to get the shuttle (tunnel sous la manche) - Jake loved it as did we!
We were back in England by 10 am and had a short trip up to Chobham to stay with Ray, Joan and Flint for the night.

Friday was the long trek north to Glossop and the RAIN!!!

We had a great 3 weeks and have to say a big thank you to Nikki and Paul - we really enjoyed their company (even though they are so young!!) Jake got on great with Harley and George - being with them really made it a great holiday for Jake! Nikki and Paul know all the best places to go in France with kids whereas we know the old fart places!!

The 3 nights in Couhe were magic - such good company - Nikki, Paul, Harley, George, Suzy, Bryan, Steph, Bill, Chris, Steph, Graham, Kay, Chelsea - it was great!

Parc Verger was good too - thanks to Bob and Di - I don't know how you put up with us rowdy lot! Thanks to Pammy for getting it all together!

Definitely a holiday to remember!

Photos from the places we visited are on Flickr:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/16531440@N07/ and also in my Facebook albums.

The Big Trip 2008 to 2009

2009-09-05T16:04:00.005+01:00

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.

2 Years of retirement.

2009-05-10T20:14:00.006+01:00

After 2 years of living in our motorhome I've decided it's time to start a blog!
"Not before time" some people will say no doubt!

Well - what have we been doing for 2 years? Travelling around Europe!
We started our European adventure in July 2007 with a trip to Norway. 3 weeks and 2,000 miles!
We visited friends, Marie and Ken in Oksendal and Rex's brother Peter and his wife Rutt in Bardu.
Impressions of Norway? Wild, beautiful, narrow roads, even narrower tunnels, mountains, friendly people, very expensive, snow, ice, ferries, fjords, like Scotland but further away!

Favourite places in Norway? Oksendal, Flam, Bergen.

The next European trip was in November 2007. We headed south through France with our friends Ray and Joan and their Weimaraner called Flint.
We took a week to get to Spain and then drove down the Mediterranean coast to the south. We stopped off to visit friends Roy and Dianne who have settled near Murcia. Next stop was The Costa Del Sol and Cabopino for a week.
After a rest for a week we headed on across to Portugal and the Algarve. We spent the next 6 weeks at Monte Gordo. We were there for Christmas and Stuart and Jake came out to join us for 2 weeks.

Impressions of Portugal? Poor people, strange language, lots of fish meals, great beach, plenty of Dutch and German campers, quiet roads.

After New Year we went back over the river to Spain. The first place we stopped was El Rocio, a pilgrimage and equestrian centre. No roads in town - just sand, no road signs - just mayhem! Great place to people watch especially at the weekend when the pilgrims arrive.
From El Rocio it was a short drive to El Puerto De Santa Maria where we stayed for the next month.
While in El Puerto Ray and Joan had to return to England so we carried on alone and went to Conil De La Frontera on the Costa De La Luz. We were very impressed with this area and decided to return later in the year.

It was getting time to think about returning to England and so we set off north east. On the way we stayed for 2 weeks in Orgiva just south of Granada. It was made famous in the Chris Stewart books " Driving over Lemons", "Parrot in the Pepper Tree" and " The Olive Blossom Appreciation Society". It's a magical place in the Sierra Nevada mountians yet surprisingly the weather is generally quite mild in the winter. We were there in March and it was hot!
Friends Laura and Andi joined us there for a few days before the 4 of us ( and the dog "Small Dog" ) moved to Las Negras in the Cabo De Gata National Park. We only stayed there for 2 nights before setting off again, visiting Roy and Dianne near Murcia then heading up to France.

After crossing into France we stayed at a campsite in Le Boulou first then another at Leucate Plage. Over Easter we camped in Carcassonne for 6 nights. We visited the fabulous old city - the set for Robin Hood -Prince of Thieves.

Then it was a dash up north and the shuttle to England.

We had had a great winter - the weather was good most of the time - we stayed in some lovely places and visited other great places like Seville and Cadiz.

Impressions of Spain? Warm, sunny, friendly, language I can get by in! noisy yet also tranquil.

Favourite places on this trip? Orgiva, Seville, Cadiz, Carcasonne, El Rocio.

Photos from the places we visited are on Flickr:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/16531440@N07/ and also in my Facebook albums.

ps - I wrote this in May and it's taken me till now to publish it! I promise to try harder!!