First Week in Spain

 

The next morning we had planned to do a short walk in the village, which we had wanted to do the day before but it was closed and only open on the weekend. We managed to buy the tickets and start the walk which includes a set of metal bridges along a valley. It was good fun, although not being a fan of heights I did spend the entire time on the bridge clinging on. Once we finished the bridge section we continued the walk around the village, seeing some bunkers and view points before heading back to the stop to continue our journey.

We decided to head out the village and continue our drive down south but we were sadly trapped in the village due to a bike race which was going on. We were trapped until 6pm so we walked down to the next village to watch some of it and killed time walking around the village and planning the next couple of days. At 6 we hot footed it out of there on a long drive (we had planned to drive for a couple of hours, have a stop and then continue the drive but due to the entrapment we now didn’t have time to stop). We finally arrived at out next stop at midnight (having stopped for a take away pizza enroute.

The next morning we got up and cycled from our stop (just outside Figueres) into the town and to the Dali Theatre museum. This is a museum he created and contains not only his work but the work of other important artists and is more than just paintings as its more a theatre. Lots of things are not what they seem, I did catch Rich (and some other people) staring the glass cupboards holding the fire hose, before I told him what it was. We spent a good amount of time here walking around (getting lost) before cycling back to Jeff and driving onto Tamariu beach for a chill and a swim. The water was crystal clear and not too cold (not as cold as Rich’s showers anyway!).  After a couple of hours we headed back to the van and off to a stop for the evening.

The next morning we headed to the next beach on our tour south to a beach called plaja de sant pol. We had picked this beach as we knew there were lots of opportunities to paddle board and snorkel. After a short time on the beach (and a lot of rich’s nagging) we jumped on the board and headed out along the cove to see what we could find. We managed to follow some kayak tours so when quickly worked out which bits were great for snorkelling, where all the coves where and how to navigate all the rocks. We both had a go at snorkelling off the paddleboard which was great and the water was warmer than yesterday. After a long paddleboard around all the headlands we headed back to the beach to wash the paddleboard and dry off. After awhile we decided to head back to jeff and onwards to our stop just outside Barcelona.

We had chosen a stop outside of Barcelona as we didn’t want to risk trying to drive Jeff anywhere near the city centre and we had heard lots of stories about break ins on motorhomes all around Barcelona. We had found a stop which was about an hour away from Barcelona on public transport and would be safe for the van. We parked up here and had dinner before packing for the next day. As it was my birthday we had big plans! We (and by we I mean Rich) had booked a ticket for the Sagrada Famillia basilica, a spa experience and a 6 course tasting dinner and had a hotel booked for the night. We did also have some time spare in the day to walk and explore the city which boy did we do. We started by dropping our bags off at the hotel which was in the gothic quarter and then heading to a vegan brunch place for breakfast. Afterwards we decided to go to Park Guell which is a park designed by Gaudi and is full of mosaics and architecture (and great views over Barcelona). It was great but a bit busy for our liking as people were everywhere and there were hawkers trying to sell around every corner (until the police drove by and they all went and hid until it was safe to come out). After a short time here (and when the sheer number of people had got to us) we headed back to the centre and to the basilica. We quickly got in (after going through more security than an airport) and it was beautiful and not like anything else I had seen. The photos wont due it justice but I do recommend you go and see it if you are in Barcelona. Rich had also booked tickets to climb one of the towers (the Nativity one) which gives you views over the city and views of some of the towers. It was good but as they are still working on finishing the basilica (which was started in the 1800s) you couldn’t see as much as you will be able to once it’s all finished. While the way up is in an elevator you then have to climb down a spiral staircase which when you look down the middle will give you vertigo as it goes on forever! However we did eventually get to the solid ground and we continued to explore the basilica before walking back to the hotel (with a stop for some churros).

After enjoying an extra long hot large shower (which while we can have long hot showers in Jeff the shower isn’t that large and we do have to be mindful of the water and power used) we headed to the vegan slow spa booked by Rich. This involved a 30 minute private jacuzzi with a couple of glasses of cava each before a 30 minute couple’s massage which was amazing. We didn’t want to move afterwards as we were so relaxed. However we had a dinner over the road to get to so over we walked and had our 6 course tasting menu with more glasses of cava and beer (and cocktails as it was my birthday).

 

After feeling full and having had a few drinks we headed back to the hotel for the evening. We managed to hit 30.000 steps so I think all the food we consumed is allowed (plus it was a special occasion and we were loving having all the vegan options for once)

The next morning we checked out of the hotel, found a nice little café for breakfast before heading back to Jeff by public transport and headed onto the next town. All in all I think Rich did very well in planning the day and we had a great time exploring and eating our way around Barcelona.

 

 We had planned to stay in Sitges which is about an hour south of Barcelona but having read lots of reviews of break ins and crime within the area on the camping apps we have decided we aren’t going to and so we have parked up nearby for the night and plan on continuing south without stopping in the town.

Me on the metal bridge walk

see it was a really high walk

one of the installations outside the Dali Theatre museum - look into his creepy eyes!  

One of the paintings in the museum, sometimes you look at it and see a painting of his wife Gala sometimes you will see a self portrait 

A Dali painting of melting clocks

View from Guell park including the basilica 

some of the architecture in Guell park

some of the architecture in Guell park

Inside the basilica 

The scary spiral stair case

Statues on the outside of the basilica 

More of the metal bride walk

He does occasionally allow selfies

The view down from the metal bridges

The bike race that held us hostage

more installations outside the dali museum

A self portrait and bacon is the name of this painting

can you see the self portrait or the woman now?

inside the Dali museum - you had to look in a peep hole for this one

This was based on a painting and then made out of different things to make the face

A face for a door

The sea really is lovely and clear (day 1 at the beach)

The sun was up for both days at the beach (this is day 2)

Rich trying to escape the crowds at the park

you get to see how busy the park was

park Guell 

The Friendly lizard in Guell park

View from the tower of the basilica 

again a view from the basilica

inside the basilica

statues on the basilica 

the outside of the basilica (one side, the others are different(

Another side to the basilica 

lovely vegan spa for a nice treat

dinner!

Cocktails (and another selfie!)

Our time in France

 

We arrived in Saint Sozy on the Dordogne river and spent the night there planning our paddleboard for the next day. In the morning we had our 18km stretch planned which would land us in Souillac with 3 different chateaus enroute for us to see. Our first challenge was to get on the river which took a bit of manoeuvring as the river was very shallow in places. One big advantage of our paddle down the Dordogne was its one way system, ie. you were heading in that direction if you liked it or not. The disadvantage of this was that there was no paddle in hell in getting back up to where you started so we were unsure of how we would be getting back to the van but that was a problem for later. It was a very relaxing paddle at points with the high cliffs surrounding us and the tide putting in most of the effort. We did have to navigate various shallow points in the river and we quickly learnt to shift to the front of the board to allow the back to lift up to avoid the fin getting stuck in the rocks. We went through some very shallow rapids which were mild but quite scary on a paddleboard. We sometimes had to stop and walk the board to a deep spot in the river. We spotted all the chateaus which looked like they could possibly fall off the edge at any moment. We finally got to Souillac just under 4 hours later. We spotted a kayak company where we landed and asked about a bus back. They said the next bus wasn’t for 4/5 hours and a taxi was possible but expensive. I asked whether they do kayak trips to Saint Sozy which they did but they didn’t take the hint that we wanted a lift. We decided we could burn a few hours anyway, found some food and chilled by the river before catching the bus. Considering the bus was only 3 times a day it was empty and despite us being the only passengers the driver refused to stop where we wanted and insisted on taking us to the actual bus stop another km up the road which extended my run back to the van (in sea shoes!) while Catherine looked after the paddleboard.

The next day we visited Rocamadour where we were able to park up in the monkey sanctuary car park and visit the religious sanctuary and home to the black Madonna. The village is built into the cliff and requires an up hill walk or the climb of 216 stairs. We walked up the hill to the first rampart where we accidently entered via the exit (my fault but several people did follow me in so it wasn’t just us who got it wrong). We walked around the rampart for awhile before finding s queue to go down some stairs. We queued like any brit would and eventually found out that this was an additional part of the castle only open due to the special weekend (we had no idea). The guide took us down some very steep stairs to where the pilgrims would go and access the sanctuary. It was good and gave you a different view of the area but was very steep. We continued on down through the village and to the main Chappelle Notre Dame which contained the black Madonna and the car less village at the bottom. Once there we had to climb back up to the village L’Hospitalet which was inhabited as early as the Upper Palaeolithic era. We then headed back to Jeff and drove towards Bordeaux to our next stop which was a vineyard and saffron farm. While there we went into the shop and tried some of the local produce and came out with some saffron oil, saffron sugar and saffron beer which all tastes lovely.

The next morning we drove to a place where we could park where we could then cycle into Bordeaux in just under an hour. We are discovering that France has really good cycle routes and it makes it so easy to cycle to different places without being at the mercy of cars (however when you are on the road the French do get a little close in the cars).

After a nice flat cycle into the city we were excited to eat at one of the 5/6 vegan restaurants that were listed online only to find that Monday was the one day that a lot of restaurants in Bordeaux were closed. We did however find a lovely vegetarian place which served us an early lunch. We spent a few hours on foot exploring the city, visiting the cathedral, basilica, the parliament square, the mirror lake by the river and then we cycled up down the promenade for a while to see a wine museum before deciding to call it a day. We were in Bordeaux on the Monday and it was nice to see all the flags at half mast for the Queen’s funeral all around the city. We didn’t particularly want to sleep the night where we were so drove an hour or so south to a secluded woods with lots of deer where he hid for the night.

Next morning we visited Dune de la Pilat, Europe’s tallest Dune and it was a sight to see! In typical us fashion we found some free parking around the back and hiked our way up the sand mountain. It seemed to go on forever with various large drops at the edges giving us some serious vertigo! On one side you could see the forest and the other the sea. We chose our path very carefully as to reduce the amount of uphill we needed to walk in the very soft sand! All in all a must see if your anywhere near the area.

Next on our list was Biarritz, a nice sea-side town at the south west of France. We parked up in our favourite spot (a sports ground) and cycled our way into the town. 70m uphill and 70m down which was not the easiest, especially as we decided to do it twice so we could shower and change for dinner and cocktails which seemed fitting in the resort town. The area was beautiful with a great beach and lots of cool restaurants and bars. We sat on the beach for about an hour, swam in the sea briefly and were entertained by the eccentric local women who was playing music and doing some sort of Yoga/Tai chi/body combat. What ever it was she seemed happy doing it.

After a morning of laundry and cleaning the van we headed to Laruns in the French Pyrenees where we planned a long hike for the next day – Lacs d’Ayous, a 15km hike with a 700m climb. All the climb was at the beginning so while tough it was nice to get it done while the weather was still fairly cool. There were 3 lakes enroute which were all stunning. The landscape was beautiful, very green, surrounded by the mountains. We saw all types of wildlife and even got stuck in a herd of sheep/goat crossing a bridge! Pretty tired by the end but we decided to spend the afternoon to get over the Spanish border where we found a great camper stop with all the facilities we needed to service the van and Rich gave Jeff a much overdue exterior clean!       

Sorry for the order of the photos, they uploaded like this

A waterfall we discovered on the walk in the Pyrenees 

The beach in Biarritz

tiny people at the top of the Sand dune

The vertigo inducing side of the dune, it was a big drop from the top

Cathedral in Bordeaux

Mirror lake in Bordeaux reflecting the Palace

Entry gate to Bordeaux

Jeff hiding in the vineyard 

Grapes ready for picking in the vineyard (we tried some and they were nice)

A bell at Rocamadour which apparently rang every time there was a miracle 

The Dordogne River and one of the three chateau's 

The Dordogne River and one of the three chateau's 

More Dordogne river

goats on the walk in the Pyrenees, we also saw cows, pigs, sheep, birds, lizards and butterflies

A cow on the walk in the Pyrenees 

Pyrenees views from the walk

more Pyrenees  views

Biarritz view from the lighthouse

The length of the sand dune was impressive but you cant see from this how many ups and downs there were

Me following Rich, I had learnt its easier to walk in someone's foot prints than in the soft sand

A bird in Mirror lake. These are friendly little birds and have a keen interest in food. They get close if they think you have food and are not scared of you

A view of Rocamadour from L'Hospitalet