Culture, Coastlines and Calendars

Well, what a week it's been since my last blog. This one is now number 31, and you find us beachside in lovely sunny Spain (or at least it has been, today is a bit more of a cloudy number).

So the last blog had us on our final day in France in what turned out to be rain and wind of biblical proportions. That said, the stew was lovely and we made the best of the weather by getting all the van jobs done before hitting the road.

Monday morning and a very early start. Our plan was to head south and Barcelona which should be around 7hrs or so from our departure in the Ardeche. The weather hadn't improved at all overnight, and we drove away from what should have been a reasonable campsite in what felt like typical end of October stormy weather. We'd decided to try and keep our avoidance of the tolls roads for as far as possible, and first headed towards Beziers. The D roads were just fine and we made great progress. Our next plan was to head towards Perpignan which would be our lunch stop if we'd made good time, or an overnight halt of things hadn't worked out.

We've found throughout this trip that the TomTom Sat Nav is fairly keen on it's ETAs and they are usually at least 20% wrong - on a big day this can make a huge difference so we have to be a bit careful. As it turned out, although the weather wasn't playing ball, by the time we were in the Perpignan area, the rain had dried up, although it was extremely windy, but we pulled in a campsite car park (closed for lunch, of course) and had our sarnies. Jase was finding the drive trouble free, so we set about pushing on. However, we amended our navigation plans as this point because Spain has only a couple of roads to choose from over the border, one being the toll motorway and the other being an "up and over" mountain pass. Having seen snow on the tops of the Pyrenees, there was only 1 choice really so we amended our route plan and picked up the AutoRoute out of France. It was our only French toll (except the bridge to Ile de Re where we had no choice) that we'd paid during our trip, so we don't see this as a failure really, just an essential. Once through the border, the weather started to pick up noticeably. The wind dropped off, and the sun started to shine - Spain was looking more and more like the right choice!

We'd picked an ACSI site which was just the other side of Barcelona, but for €20 a night with the option of a bus into the city and beachside it seemed like a great option. When I say the other side of Barcelona, this did mean a bit of hairy driving to cut us around and underneath the big city! Not quite driving past the Sagrada Familia, but it felt pretty flipping close! Once past the airport, we breathed a sigh of relief as we spotted the campsite signs and made our way in. I booked us in initially for a couple of nights, and got the full SP on the bus into the city for the next day. We headed to our pitch, plugged in and set about an explore. With the site being beachside we had a lovely view of the sun going down at the end of the day.

Door to door, it had been about an 8hr journey including our lunch stop, and €25 in tolls, but seeing this view at the end of the day made it feel well and truly worth it! Added to this, reading of dreadful weather in the area we'd just left (Le Puy from the day before was now well and truly under snow!) we knew we'd made the right move.

Tuesday morning and another early start. The weather was stunning, sunny & clear although with a hint of the autumnal coolness in the air. The site overnight had been fairly quiet although we soon realised how close we were to the airport, and how busy it was as we were right underneath the flight path! Anyway, we packed our bags and headed towards the bus stop for the L94 or L95 which apparently came every 30 minutes. We didn't have to wait too long, although passed the time chatting to French couple.

The trip in was supposed to take 20minutes, although with traffic, this was nearer 40. Although for €2.20 to get into a major city, you can't really complain. The drop off point was right in the heart of the city as well. First up we hit a coffee house for a 2nd breakfast, and then headed for the open top bus ride. Cities are expensive, so we'd already taken the decision to take a little money from the treat fund to pay for this one, and really cover as much as we could. I've been to Barcelona before on a girls trip, but this was Jase's first visit to anywhere in mainland Spain (although he had spent time working in the Canaries). The city is quite spread out, so we thought the bus tour, covering 2 different routes (Green and Orange) would be the best option. We opted to take the green route first which ran out through some of the gothic quarter, along the coast and then around the famous Gaudi sites of La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Having got a spot on the top deck, we opted to stay on all the way around and get the best views of the city, along with the commentary.

The first journey lasted a good couple of hours, so at the end we jumped off the bus and into a pasta bar we'd spotted called Macchina. It took us a few minutes to work out, but essentially you pick your sauce & pasta for one price, and then if you want to add any ingredients, you can for a bit extra and your pasta is then made freshly to order. We both went for Bolognese, tagliatelle for me, and spaghetti for Jase - along with a red wine and beer, it was all in for €18 - not bad for such a location, and it was very tasty indeed!

Suitably nourished up, we headed back to the bus and onto the Orange route which took in the old Olympic park area as well as the Neu Camp stadium. Again, more stunning views of the city, in particular from the Olympic park.

At the end of that ride, it was getting a bit cold so we had a bit of a warm up walk around the Gothic quarter and La Rambla. The city was so vibrant and full of every language under the sun. By this time it was dark, so the bus ride back was all about trying to spot our stop! Luckily with the help of Google maps we hopped off just in time, and back to camp for a good sit down and warm up! Cities are tiring places!

Wednesday morning and we should have been planning to leave site today. However, we both felt we had more to cover back in Barcelona, but also the weather was dreadful today! Thunderstorms, heavy rain and very windy - made for some interesting departures from the airport I can tell you! After the tiring day before, we decided to sit out the weather and have a day at the van. We did get out in a brief bit of rest bite to see the storm waves rolling in at lunch time.

The afternoon was spent watching good old James Bond in Casino Royale. Another reason we'd decided to stay on was that our date of 10th November in Loches to see Tess and Nige had been cancelled. They'd had to head home earlier than expected, so we now had another 5 weeks or so before we needed to be back in Calais ready for the return trip for Christmas. It was a real shame not to be catching up with them, and helping out with the various projects on Chez Ethelston, but we totally understand their situation.

Thursday morning and after a very rough night of storms, the weather had returned to clear blue skies and warm sun. We headed back in the city, planning to see some of the sights a bit more close up on foot. We arrived as before and took our coffee before joining a free walking tour - we've done these sort of things before in both Oxford and Cambridge. The idea is the tour is free, but if you like what you've done you make a donation at the end. In our experiences it works well as the guide really has to work hard to make an impression.

Our guide was Patrick who happened to be from North Wales! We opted for the Gothic Quarter tour as this bit had interested us the most during the bus trips. We couldn't have asked for a better or more informed guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable and regaled his various tales with such enthusiasm, you couldn't help but feel you were being transported back to a different time. I won't tell all the stories in case you find yourself there in the future, but the one which really hit home with us was the stunning La Catedral (3rd and 4th pictures) which was built between 1298 and 1460. It's "true" façade is a fairly dull plain square affair (as the Catalans believe that the worship inside is where the decoration should be placed), but in 1870 a new façade was added to please some passing dignitaries! It somewhat takes the shine off to hear that tale, although to hear they did it in just 8months, it is more impressive!

The tour lasted a good 2 1/2 hrs, and at the end of it we made a €20 donation which felt about right - most seemed to be doing the same. After all that walking we needed some more sustenance, so we headed back to Macchina for another lovely bowl of pasta.

Our next stop was to walk out to La Sagrada Familia - we'd not been able to get tickets for the inside tour as it was all booked up, but the wander around the exterior was well worth doing.

At the end of the day we'd covered all the sights we'd hoped to see and walked about 9 miles in all!

The bus ride back was a fun affair as here in Spain, rather than celebrating Halloween on 31st October as we do, they celebrate All Saints Day on 1st November instead. Today had actually been a bank holiday (although apart from a few small shops being closed, you wouldn't have noticed). The celebrations are (according to Google) two fold. Firstly a large portion of the day is spent laying flowers at graves of loved ones and remembering them, followed by the usual dress up party and trick or treating. The bus back was full of skeletons, ghosts and ghouls, mainly because there was a huge party over the road from the campsite!

We made it back just in time to catch the sun setting.

Friday morning and again lovely and sunny. We had a leisurely pack up from our site - at this point I must mention the showers. From the initial view they really didn't look much, very tired and needing a good revamp - so much so, I almost opted for the van. However, what they lacked in ascetics they made up for in action - a constant water supply, variable temp and power. It did lack a shelf and at times, it felt like a roof so the getting dressed was draughty, but still a very strong 4.5/5 I reckon.

On leaving the site we'd planned to head a bit further south passed Tarragona and part way towards Valencia. The drive down was lovely - we'd opted for no tolls, and although the initial road was a bit twisty turny along the coast road, it soon turned into a free dual carriageway which ran right alongside the pay motorway. We stopped on route for some fuel - finally a pleasure to fill up ay €1.19 a litre! Plus a food shop at a Lidl, also nice and cheap - Spain was working out well so far, sunny weather, good campsites, cheap fuel and food. The only issue we'd run into was with getting cash. We'd been using a Metro Bank account since we left which has been working really well - we'd opted for it as it was one of the few that didn't carry any commission charges for European transactions and a good rate of exchange. However, on trying 2 different machines we'd been potentially hit with €1.87 for €60 or €5 flat rate at a Santander. We cancelled both, and instead moved some money into our Santander account which we can withdraw for free - it's an extra hassle though, and one to be aware of if you have the Metro account.

Once we'd done all the chores we headed for our campsite at Mont-Doig del Camp, picked initially as it was only €14 a night and was beachside. What a treat of a site - our pitch is literally right on the sea front, and it has brilliant facilities. The rest of the day was spent setting up camp and enjoying the sun.

We also showed some friendship to a German lady parked behind us who was on her first motorhoming adventure. She'd travelled all around the world alone, but this was a first for her in new motorhome. It seemed like no one had showed her any of the basics, so we helped out as much as we could, and gave her some of our tips to make her stay easier and hopefully more enjoyable.

Saturday morning was sunny and warm so after a nice quiet sleep (not missing the flight path!) we headed out for a walk along the beach. It ended up as a bit of an epic 9 mile walk along the coast to Miami Beach (yes really!). The views of the Med were really stunning, and it all feels so tropical. Miami Beach is a long stretch of sandy beach with a lovely harbour. Not sure it bears much resemblance to it's American counterpart though!

The showers here are amazing though - the big one (with a shower & sink) has a full on drench style outlet and feels very much top end hotel - well that is until you realise that the drain isn't sufficient.....cue water running out underneath the cubicle door. Made me panic I can say! Once I was out and decent, I realised that there was a drain just outside the door as well, so the set up is sort of wet room style. Again, constant water, variable heat and power too, lovely.

Yesterday, Sunday and again weather stunning, warmer than Saturday with slightly less sea breeze. We opted for the same walk back to Miami as it was market day. A bit disappointing in the event as it was more tat and knock off handbags, trainers, jumpers etc than much else. We did find a lovely bakery though run by a couple recently emigrated from South Africa and I enjoyed my very first Cafe con Leche (thanks for the recommendation Ruth x).

So with a 2nd 9mile walk in as many days, the rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the sun.

And so to today, Monday (I think!). It's a bit more overcast here today, but still nice and warm so I won't complain too much. Jase has headed out on his bike for an explore and hopefully find us a route or two for the next couple of days. We've extended our stay until Friday as this site has a 7 nights for 6 option which makes the whole week about €85. After that we will head further south - the weather look settled for most of the week I think. As I mentioned before we have about 5 weeks before we need to be back in Calais, so thoughts are turning to booking things up for our brief return. Medical check ups and the like - not the most fun, but it's got to be done, so that's the rest of my day sorted I think. Still, once it's done I can put it to the back of my mind until we actually get back. We will probably head as far south as possibly Malaga, but we will see how time goes. We don't want to use the tolls roads to get through France, so need to allow about a week or so to get back.

Still, that's us all up to date, til next time, stay safe all

J&J x