Wednesday, 21 December 2011
21 December 2011
Thank you to all of you who have joined the followers of the blog, it's nice to see we've not been forgotten.
Well here we are in Benidorm, and yes it is exactly like on the TV series. Lots of people racing around on scooters and getting in your way, you even get tandem scooters, will try and get a photo next time I see one. We are at Camping la Torreta which is situated right behind the Benidorm Palace and Benidorm Circus. We have met up with another couple that we became friends with at Sitges, Melv and Jules and their dog Spam, photo of Spam to follow.
We haven't done much at all in Benidorm, just the usual, eating and drinking and drinking and drinking oh and did I mention the drinking. Sunny every day so can't complain about the weather. On Saturday we went to the Benidorm Palace with Melv & Jules for my birthday. You get a 5 course meal and wine and a really good show, well worth it if you are in Benidorm.
Wendy and Mick turned up unexpectedly on Monday, which was a nice surprise, and we will be going out for christmas lunch with Melv, Jules, Mick & Wendy. We are going to the Clansman for christmas dinner where we are getting proper oatmeal stuffing as the Clansman is run by a really nice couple from Aberdeen.
On Tuesday we met up with my Uncle Ray, who stays in Benidorm, and had lunch with him. He is taking us out for a drive on Thursday so we will see a bit more of the countryside.
Hope it's not too cold where you are and that you all have a great christmas and new year.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Thursday 24 November
We cycled to the town’s weekly market. Kev had forgotten to take a backpack so we couldn’t buy too much, not that there was that much you would want, but the fruit and veg was great and really cheap.
On Friday we cycled back to Oropesa with Wendy and Mick to see the local sights. We went up to the castle, had a look at the bull ring, the chapel of the virgin de la paciencia and some really old well where they used to wash their clothes. We then cycled to the Marina and back along the beach, stopping for a drink on the way.
Friday night is Tapas, sangria and entertainment night at the site, today it is Flamenco dancing.
Saturday and Sunday were pretty quiet, just lazing around in the sun, you know how it is, lol.
Monday we went for a walk on the beach and then a cycle to the supermarket, Tuesday we cycled to town to the hardware store to get some bits and pieces. The cycle to Oropesa town takes about 25 mins each way.
Wednesday we went for a walk to the Gardens at Oropesa del Mar, with Ray and Pam, another really nice couple that we met. Oropesa del Mar is the area we are staying in. It’s a really built up holiday destination for Spaniards but due to recession a lot of the new apartments are lying empty, it is going to be the place to go apparently. There is a building full of models of the plans they have for the area, if there is ever enough money to build it all. Anyway the gardens were really nicely done with lots of mosaic seats of all shapes and sizes, fountains and a stream with fish, swans and ducks and some peacocks running around.
Thursday is market day again. Kev went to Rays in the afternoon to sort out some stuff on the TomTom but when he switched it on it just started switching off and on again. Friday we spent the whole afternoon trying to download the TomTom again but to no avail it was dead. That decided it we would leave on Saturday to buy a new one.
Saturday, up early, packed up and checked with the receptionist where was the closest place to buy a new sat nav. She called one of the big supermarkets at Castellon and they confirmed they had them. Off we set with directions on the back of a postage stamp, or so it seemed. Anyway to our surprise we got there no problem, went in bought the new sat nav and did some shopping. Bought a Christmas tree and tinsel, lights and baubles, you know the essentials. Then we went to Lidl as Kev has found that the beer there is only 22cents a can, yes you guessed he had to buy 6 packs of 12. Back out to the van, set the new sat nav and away we go. Now this is where the griswald moment starts. We were travelling along about half a mile from Lidl when the new sat nav was saying turn right then I heard a voice from the depths of the door pocket saying turn left. The bloody sat nav was working again after we just forked out 148 euro’s for a basic TomTom. You can imagine the air was blue in the van.
Somehow the new sat nav had not asked if we wanted to avoid the toll roads so we ended up going south west round Valencia on the A7 motorway. Just after leaving Valencia a car crashed on the opposite carriageway. We were first to stop at the scene. Parked on the hard shoulder and ran across the road. Kev was slowing the traffic down and trying to clear the debris from the road and I got the two occupants out of the car and called the emergency services. Both the woman and teenage girl were able to walk away from the car. Some other drivers had stopped and once we knew the ambulance was on the way we crossed back over the motorway and carried on. We were both a bit shaken up by the whole thing. We carried on to our destination of Gandia. We stayed here for two nights and are moved on to visit an old workmate of Kev’s at Gata de Gorgos.
Had a really nice relaxing two days with Marlene and Joe at Gata de Gorgos, where we were made very welcome. They have two very big Bassett hounds called Morag and Hamish who loved sticking their slobbery chops up Kev’s shorts. Blossom was about 1 foot to tall to fit through their archway into the drive, I’m sure when Joe heard Kev was coming he had the archway lowered so Kev couldn’t get in. We then moved to Guardemar del Segura to meet up again with Mick & Wendy and after two nights here we are today going to Benidorm.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Monday, 21 November 2011
21 November 2011
We went south on the same route that we had travelled up to Barcelona, the hooker highway. I did try numerous attempts to photograph the hookers for you but my skills as a photographer are not good, so sorry no hooker photos. We stayed on Wednesday night at Playa de la Almadraba, the site is under reconstruction and they stupidly gave me a customer satisfaction survey form to complete, there wasn't enough room even on the back for all my complaints. The last straw was when we went to pay, the card machine stopped working during the transaction. When Kev had sighed, really loudly a few times, the receptionist said not to worry about paying, yippee a free night. So we are ready to set off again only to discover that our Tom Tom was having a hissy fit and decided to spend its time just switching off and on. Anyway we set off as we kind off had directions to the next site and luckily the Tom Tom started to work again later on.
We arrived at Operesa del Mar to a small, very clean and friendly site and have decided to stay here for a fortnight, only because the longer you stay the cheaper it is. All was well for the first day but for three days and nights we have had spectacular thunder and lightening storms with torrential rain, bet that's cheered you all up, but the temperatures are still in the high teens and twentys .
We have also been going to the free yoga stretch classes and today I am going to the free Spanish class in the afternoon. The couple who were beside us at Sitges arrived here on Friday so at least we have somebody to talk to. We went across to theirs last night to play Trivial Pursuit and I know none of you will believe this but Kev won. Anyway can't concentrate anymore for the pounding of rain off the roof and the thunder, next blog coming soon.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
16 November 2011
We had paid to stay on Sunday night at the track site but as most people had moved on we decided to do the same. We travelled north again up the cost to El Port de Sagunt staying at a site in Moncofa.
On Monday we travelled for about 6 hours but I think 2 of them were spent in the supermarket trying to decipher labels. Heading north again to Barcelona on the CV10 to Cabanes then onto the N340 passing Li Adea, Vinaros, Tarragona changing to the C31 just passed Torredembarra at Calafell then past Vilanova i la Gelrru to Rocomar at Sitges. I have renamed the N340 the hooker highway. This route is used by lorry drivers not wanting to pay the tolls on the motorway. The hookers are sat at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere on white patio chairs, I presume if the chair is empty she’s either busy or on holiday. At this site we have met up with two couples which we met already at different sites. We cycled into the town of Sitges on Wednesday, cycled along the beach front and stopped for coffee and croissants, not bad the 9th November sitting outside in 20degrees sunshine. On Thursday we went to pick Laura up from the airport , what a palava but we found each other eventually. On Friday we took the bus to Barcelona and went on the open top bus tour. Barcelona is fascinating, I don’t know what drugs Gaudi was on but his creations are worth a look especially the Sagrada Familia. On our way home we were unsure of the number of bus to catch but we were told just to ask if the bus was going to Rocomar. As the bus pulled in I asked the driver if he was going that way and Kev kind of bashed into me as someone had bashed into him at the same time sticking his hand into Kev’s pocket, luckily I hadn’t given Kev his pocket money yet so his pocket was empty.
On Saturday we cycled to Sitges town centre, which was really busy, you wouldn’t have thought to look at this town that down all the side streets are some fabulous designer shops. Once back at the site Kev went back to the beach with our neighbours to go fishing, yep you guessed he didn’t catch anything.
We are leaving the site today and heading south again, not sure how far we will go but you will find out soon.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
6 November 2011
You all knew it would happen at some point and it did today.
Our first encounter with the police so far. No offence was committed but we were held captive by an automated barrier. It was Sunday and we were leaving Narbonne to go to another aire 10 miles away at the port of Gruissan. We paid the machine for our overnight stay but the barrier only went half way up and then came right back down. We were trapped!! As it was Sunday there was no one at the council offices to answer our plea for help. There was no escape or so we thought. We reparked Blossom and luckily for us the lady in the next van spoke some English, she called the police to come and liberate us. 3 policemen arrived and we started to gather quite a crowd, also the barrier to let vans in wasn’t working so there was now a queue at the other side of the barriers. The police after a lot of humming and haying managed to contact the engineer to come fix the barriers. 2 hours later we were free to leave.
We then headed south to Spain on the N11 passing Perpignan and crossing the border at La Junquera and stopping for the night at San Pere Pescador on the coast beside Figures. What a fantastic campsite, really clean, pleasant staff, great facilities, well worth a visit if you are passing that way.
We are now heading for Valencia, a 5-6 hour drive on the AP7-E15, tolls were quite hefty at 30.65 euros and another 8.25 euros. Our plan was to stay in Valencia for 1 night then go camp at the race circut. Anyway we stopped at a really horrible site in Valencia, up during the night with the mozzies again, glad to leave that behind. We got up early on Thursday to go to the track and get tickets and get a camping space. We got tickets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday then went to look at the campsite. There were porta loos and a form of shower and nothing else, no fresh water so we moved on 50 miles west on the A3 to Villargordo – del- Cabriel. Nice site again. The next day we had no option but to go back to the track and stay there for 2 nights. Motorhomes are not permitted in the car parks and the only place to park is in the campsite which is not cheap. This is the only campsite within 20 miles of the circut. Not much sleep as boys and their toys were revving bikes and playing loud music til 5am.
On Saturday we went to watch the qualifiers, we got there just as the GP riders were starting. I went through the gates and had my ticket scanned but Kev was stopped by security as he had his tripod with him, also known as a leathal weapon. I said I would go back to the van with the tripod, bear in mind the walk back to the van was 10mins then back to the gates another 10mins, then I couldn’t get back in as my ticket had already been scanned for Saturday, after eventually finding someone who thought they could speak English I managed to explain the situation, lots of arm waving and such, I got back in and then had a further 20 mins walk to our seats, I caught the last 5mins of qualifying. Next day we were up early for the 30mins walk to our seats, we watched the 125cc race, then the moto 2 race and then after 3 hours of waiting the MOTOGP started and the moment Kev had been waiting for, to cheer on Rossi at the actual race track, suddenly the Griswalds strike again and Rossi crashed at the first corner, didn’t even make it as far as our stand. Oh well what else can you expect from us. Moving on to Barcelona to meet my daughter.
Monday, 31 October 2011
30 October 2011
Leaving Gueret we travelled through Bourganeuf, St Leonard-de-Noblet, Pierre Buffiere, St Yriex-la-Perche, Lanouaille and Montignac. We stopped for the night in a small area called Archignac just West of St Genies. We had bought a book called French Passion which allows you to stay for free at certain places like vineyards, farms or anywhere that welcomes motorhome owners. We stopped at a small restaurant/B & B which had space for 5 motorhomes. We were the only ones there, it was a lovely place to stop until the heavens opened and it rained all night, also we had parked under an Oak tree and the acorns were falling down on to the roof at an almighty rate. Oh well these things happen.
Our next stop was Toulouse going through Souillac, Cahors, Montpezat-deQuercy, Lafrancaise, Castelsarrasin,Grisolles and Grenade. Today we decided to try the google search on the sat nav for campsites in or near Toulouse, what a mistaka to maka. It took us through the centre of Toulouse during rush hour traffic and when we reached our destination we were in the middle of the city. Gave the sat nav another chance, only because we had no choice, and it did take us to a campsite. It started to rain again and on the hand out at the campsite there were instructions in the event of the campsite flooding, well we are the Griswalds. Luckily no flood but again parked under an Oak tree AHHHHH.
Onwards to Narbonne through some beautiful countryside, our last few days we have been driving through apple orchards but we are now back into vineyard country. From Toulouse we travelled through Castelnaudary, Carcassone, Trebes and Lezinan-Corbieres. We had decided to stay on an Aire but the sat nav coordinates took us to a road that used to go to the Aire but was no longer open. Finally found the Aire which had about 12 motorhomes on it. I woke up at 3am to the sound of the mozzie, 2 hours later we were still wide awake and on the hunt for the little b.......’s. In all we captured and killed 7 of the enemy with only one of them having drawn blood, Kev’s cheek got it. Anyway we are both shattered this morning and are going to find a nice spot at the beach to get some sleep. Oh by the way it’s only 21 degrees today beautiful sunshine.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
OK hands up all of you who thought we wouldn’t get this far.
Well the ferry crossing went well apart from the fact that I mislaid my purse with all our money and cards in it. I had to be escorted by the purser to retrieve my purse from the van on the lower deck. The ferry crossing took 2 hours from Dover to Dunkirk.
We travelled from Dunkirk heading south passed Calais, now some of you might be thinking why didn’t they cross to Calais in the first place, because it was cheaper to go with DFDS to Dunkirk. Anyway we took the A16 passing Boulogne-sur-Mer and ending up at our destination St Valery-sur-Somme staying at Chateau de Drancourt. We stayed there for 3 nights.
As we want to make it to Valencia for the final Moto GP of the season we are not stopping during the day to sight see as we hope to cover France on the way home. At present though we are not sure if the GP will go ahead following the tragic accident on Sunday.
On leaving St Valery we decided not to take the motorways and have been following the D roads which are much more interesting as you are passing through the countryside and villages. We stopped for the night at Marcilly-sur-Eure, which is close to Dreux. Still managed to get Emmerdale though with our £50 satellite dish in the middle of a forest.
Finding out that not as many people in France speak English as you would think or as we would like, the phrase book is coming in handy. I just point to the phrase in the book and get an answer in French, oh well.
Next we travelled past Chartres, Vendome and Chateau-Renault to Amboise where we stayed on our first Aire. An Aire is a place where you can park your motorhome overnight, but is not a campsite. It can be just a car park with no facilities or it can be a nice area with some facilities and electricity, this can be free or for a small charge, most are run by the local council. The Aire we stayed on was on an island in the middle of the river Loire. Had time today to have a look round Amboise, stopped for a drink at a cafe, I had a wine 100ml 2€ and Kev had a 500ml beer, 6€20. No more beer for Kev in France!!!
Today we are in Gueret we travelled via Loches, Chateauroux and Argenton-sur-Creuse. On the way we stopped at a small market in Clion.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
20 October 2011
We are crossing the Channel on Friday 21st October at 10.00am.
The big adventure starts NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will no longer be using our UK mobile phone numbers but will be able to keep in touch by email or skype when we can connect to the internet.
The big adventure starts NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will no longer be using our UK mobile phone numbers but will be able to keep in touch by email or skype when we can connect to the internet.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
19 October 2011
Went to Cheddar and drove through the Gorge. There are 2 caves which you can go into, Cox’s cave is quite small and has some nice mirror pools, it also has the Crystal Quest which is really for kids, it’s really dark and you have to find the crystal. Kev motioned to me to turn round and there was a figure standing right behind me wearing a hooded robe, Kev said it was my best scream yet!! Kev noticed the figure was wearing converse trainers so he wasn’t scared. We also went to Gough’s cave where a bat tried to attack me. This cave takes you ¼ mile into the hill and had some really awesome natural mineral formations and mirror pools. Outside there was a flight of 274 steep steps to a lookout point from which we didn’t see much because of the low clouds, and my legs were sore for 3 days afterwards. As we were in Cheddar we had to visit the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Co and do some tasting which was washed down with tasters of Legbender Cider at the shop next door. Of course we bought something from both shops.
Next day we went to Lynmouth we travelled across Exmoor and ended up having to go up and down a 1 in 4 gradient, poor Blossom we had to stop on the moor to let her cool down. Once we got to Lynmouth we took the clifftop railway to Lynton. Nice little towns.
Our next stop was Padstow where we had to have fish and chips at Rick Stein’s fish & chip shop. Had a walk round the harbour and some side streets finishing off with a nice Cornish ice cream.
Off to St Ives next day. As I was going to St Ives I met a man............... and guess what...........he was on his own. Anyway we took the Park & Ride from Leylant Saltings. Instead of a bus it’s a train, 5 mile journey to St Ives views from the train of beautiful beaches and scenery. The beaches were full of families, sunbathing and swimming, in mid October!!!
Onwards to Newton Abbot where we had to go to Ye Olde Cider Bar, which was a trip down memory lane for Kev as he was here 21 years ago and the place hasn’t changed at all, just the prices have gone up. Funny Kev’s memory is really bad but he did remember the prices from 21 years ago. The only alcohol they sell is cider and fruit wines. I sampled Quince, Damson and Sloe wines, very potent!!!!!
Leaving Devon and Cornwall behind and on to Dorset. First stop Monkey World as seen on TV. It was really cold today so the monkeys were all miserable looking. Most of the monkeys are rescued from the UK and abroad.
We had a really good day out at the Beaulieu Motor Museum yesterday. If you ever get the chance to go there it is well worth it. We spent 4 hours viewing the exhibits but could have done with another couple of hours to do it justice. We plan to cross the Channel on Friday.
Monday, 10 October 2011
10 October 2011
Went to Portmeirion , a really nice feel to the place but a weird kind of place. Didn’t get chased by any big balls and didn’t see the prisoner. It is really interesting how Portmeirion came to being and that a lot of the buildings and follies have been rescued from demolition sites.
On our way to the Isle of Anglesey we went on the Snowdon Mountain Railway. The carriage is pulled up the mountain by a small steam engine. It takes an hour to get up the mountain and an hour for the return journey down. We did climb the last 40 feet up to the summit so we did actually climb up Snowdon, even if it was only 40 feet.
On Anglesey we met up with Jude’s parents, Gillian & Ian and parked up on their driveway and enjoyed their hospitality. We went to South Stack to see the lighthouse but there seemed to be a million steps to get down to it so we decided that it would look the same as what we were looking at but only bigger if we went all the way down the steps, so we didn’t bother, too much like hard work. We then went to stay with Richie and Ann at Bodedern and again parked up on their driveway and received more fantastic Welsh hospitality.
Moved on to Aberaeron where the weather was not great so we took shelter for a few days. We did go into the town which is a Regency town and was the first planned town in Wales. All the houses are painted different colours.
Moved on to the Gower to stay with Julie, Phil and family. Met their daughter, Aimee’s, pony Chantelle who is really pretty. We went for a walk along the cliffs and watched Aimee and Chantelle galloping on the beach. Took the van for its MOT where Kev paced the floor like an expectant father until they came with the verdict, passed with flying colours. Tomorrow we are heading for Chedder.
A VERY big thank you to all our Welsh friends who have put us up and put up with us. Your hospitality is greatly appreciated.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Thursday 29th September
Staying on John & Laura’s driveway. Kev and the boys went on John Billet’s stag night. No arrests were made and they all made it home in one piece. A good night was had by all with John having to do some forfeits including standing on his head after 7 pints of cider and numerous rum & cokes. The only casualty the next day was John. Mission accomplished.
After 2 nights on the driveway we moved on to Chatsworth. If you have not yet been to Chatsworth House it is well worth a visit, it took about 2 hours for the house tour and at least another 2 hours round the gardens.
Tootled around the Peak District for a few days then back to Donington Park for the wedding. The Bride & Groom looked fantastic in period dress in keeping with the style of the ceremony venue, Keddleston Hall. The Reception was a really good night. We made a lot of new friends whilst staying at John & Laura’s which we hope to meet up with on our travels.
Moved on to Wales and stayed at Chirk. Cycled along the canal tow path from Chirk to Llangollen passing though a 421 metre tunnel in pitch darkness and going across an aqueduct , a 17 mile round trip. I managed the trip without the aid of extra oxygen. We also walked to nearby Chirk Castle which is also well worth a look. We are now at Coed-y-Llwyn and are going to Portmeirion Gardens today.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Week 1
We've done the car boot sales, sold the cars and motorbikes, handed in our resignations, had a great Bon Voyage party and now are ready to start our adventure across Europe. We would like to thank all of you who turned up on the 9th and thanx for the cards and pressies we received. We also had a leaving committee to send us on our way on the 11th, thanx to all who turned up and they were probably really surprised that we were actually ready to depart at 12.00, although we did not get away until 12.30 after saying all our goodbyes.
Now all of you who know us well know that we are the Griswalds and in true Griswald fashion we left Aberdeen and drove staight into the tail end of hurricane Katia. We holed up in Grangemouth for two days with my brother and sister in law, Ian & Ann, and then headed south on Tuesday and stayed at Keilder Forest. Only problem was when we got to the campsite the road was blocked with fallen trees, luckily there was a detour. We headed south again on Wednesday and stopped off in York for two days, not enough time in such a beautiful city. On Friday we stayed in Belper, Derbyshire and visited the only six sail tower windmill in Britain. Saturday, we have arrived at Kegworth and are parked in our friend John's back garden. Kev is out tonight on John's Stag night, watch this space for an update!
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