Northwards through Spain and France

Hello everyone

Well, the rain has been a regular feature this week and it’s turned much colder – quite a shock to the system and we’re missing the constant warm sunshine!

We continued north-eastwards through Portugal via Coimbra and back to Spain. The border crossing was completely unremarkable – a sign by the side of the road which you’d miss if you blinked. The quality of the road surface wasn’t as good with long bumpy stretches and our cupboard contents were jostled again, but the scenery was beautiful with the sierras covered with snow.

 

After another border crossing at Irun, we were in France again.  Heading northwards, we stopped off at Montreuil-Bellay on a free stopover. It’s a very picturesque town with a chateau dating from the 11^th century and rampart walls surrounding it.



 

Further north into Normandy, we visited the World War II landing beaches.

At Arromanches, sections of the artificial Mulberry harbour remain, and parts of the floating pontoons which made the roadway to the shore lie partly buried in the sand. It’s a magnificent sight and story boards displayed on the cliffs describe the D-Day events. Unfortunately, the museums are all closed until February – definitely a place to revisit.

 

 

 

Eastwards at Ouistreham, a replica of the Pegasus Bridge is in use, with the original displayed in the outdoor museum nearby.

 

 

From here, our route continues north-eastwards and after crossing over The Channel at Calais, we’ll spend a few days in the big smoke of London.

 

Will post again next week - love to all

Southern Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal

Hello everyone

The Costa del Sol was a pleasant drive through Malaga and Fuengirola, where we stayed on a free stopover with many other ‘vans. It was lovely and warm here, so we were back in our shorts and T-shirts. We continued through Marbella before parking up at La Linea de la Conception at the border with Gibraltar.

 

After passport control, we walked across the runway to Europa Point at the southern end where you can see Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar. Unfortunately, the cable car to the summit is closed for repair during January, so we then walked up to the Ape Den to see the resident tail-less Barbary macaques. The weather was glorious – very sunny and warm.

 

 

From here, we headed south to Tarifa and the most southerly point on mainland Europe. It’s so windy here, especially on the causeway where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

We then headed north to Seville – a lovely and compact town with an old bullfighting ring, huge cathedral and beautiful palace in the Parque Maria Luisa. At Plaza de España, there is a huge semi-circle of decorated ceramic tiles depicting regional scenes – beautiful.

 

 

 

 

We travelled north-eastwards into Portugal to visit Capo da Roca – the most westerly point on mainland Europe ; it's a pretty spot with a lighthouse and small museum.

 

  

The landscape has become more agricultural with rolling hills, and large areas of cork trees looking bare where the trunks have been stripped of their bark. We’ve also had rain today – our first encounter since mid-December!

Will post again next week - love to all

The Alhambra and a few days skiing

Hello everyone

 

We headed south along the coast through Benidorm (a blot of high rises on the landscape), through Alicante before heading inland to Murcia. South of here, we stayed on a free stopover at Huércal-Overa where the locals were preparing for a festival. Epiphany is celebrated on 6^th January as The Festival of the 3 Kings with a nightime procession through town the night before with local children and the kings on small floats – quite a spectacle!

 

 

On our way to Granada, we passed Texas Hollywood and Fort Bravo which have been used as film sets for shooting spaghetti westerns films.

 

 

The Alhambra in Granada is spectacular. It’s a huge complex of buildings, with the Nasrid Palaces being the star attraction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside here are the most exquisite plasterwork decorations covering whole walls and archways – they look like ivory fretwork and are simply beautiful. The ceilings are very ornate too – either sculptured plasterwork, or carved wood with inlays. There is 1 remaining leaded lights lantern roof window which has been restored.

 

 

 

Due to the mountainous sierras and typical to this area are these curious houses built into the hillside with their chimneys peeking out.

 

 

 

 

Up the road a short distance away, we went skiing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains – it was fantastic! The ski centre sits at 8612 feet where there’s plenty snow on the pistes, but surrounding areas are clearing and the village was completely snow-free. The views of Granada below were amazing from such a height. The weather continues to be clear skies and very sunny.

 

 

We’re going to continue southwards along the Costa del Sol.

 Will post again next week - love to all

New Year in Barcelona

Hello everyone

 

Wow 2015 already - hope you all had a merry Christmas.

 
We had a great time – cooking Christmas lunch in the van was a success and it was lovely being in the sunshine, although by mid-afternoon it’s getting chilly now.


After a couple of days relaxing, we hit the sights again. We visited the Olympic Stadium built for the 1992 games – it’s a large complex set on Montjuic Hill, and with only a handful of other visitors it was pretty quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

Montjuic Castle is nearby, and the views over the city and of the port are great. Following a huge buffet lunch with sangria, Peter visited the Motorcycle Museum, whilst I wandered through the Christmas markets in front of the cathedral.

 

 

 We walked over to Park Güell - designed by Gaudí with his characteristic curved walls and columns which look very fragile in places.

 

 

 

 

Many of the walls, roofs and chimneys here along with a large salamander lizard on the main staircase are decorated with shards of broken tiles - it’s a beautiful coloured sight, especially with the sun shining on the tiles. 

 

 

 

 

 

From here, we ambled down Las Ramblas to browse the outdoor Boqueria Market.

The New Year tradition here in Catalunya is to eat 1 white grape for each of the clock strikes at midnight, so last night we went down to the camp bar armed with our plastic wine glass filled with 12 grapes to join in the celebrations which lasted til dawn break. Needless to say we’ve had a lazy day today!

 

We’re off on our travels again tomorrow heading south for the warmer sun.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year, and best wishes for 2015

Will post again next week - love to all