We had already been impressed by our first view of Toledo’s old town as we navigated our way around in search of our hotel yesterday. As usual this part of town is high on a hill, so today we expected to spend time climbing and getting very hot. Instead, the underground carpark entrance popped up in just the right place to access huge escalators made for tourists who have climbing fatigue after cardiovascular workouts at several historic hill towns. What a marvellous way to rise up the hill and thank you to those who made it possible. As we left the topmost escalator we picked up a map from the Information Centre and headed off to explore with a couple of particular sites in mind, knowing our euros wouldn’t stretch to going into all the possible ... read more

It’s Tuesday and we said goodbye to the Mediterranean for a week as we headed for the interior to explore Madrid and its surrounding area but first we visited Cordoba. The day was again beautifully fine with the morning sun sparkling on the sea. Doesn’t that sound romantic. We left with mixed feelings. The visits we made to Ronda and Granada were absolutely fanatastic but experiencing the tourist development of the coastline and the influx of people on budget weekend holidays will also be unforgettable. The TV programme “Benidorm” always came to mind. The drive to Cordoba was through open countryside filled with olive trees. Old rounded mountain peaks and rugged outcrops of rock interrupted the flat vastness of this landscape. Closer to Cordoba the land use changed to grain cropping. Everything around us looked hot ... read more

Visiting Ronda was one of the reasons for choosing Fuengirola as a base for these three days. Ronda is situated inland so this meant a drive up and through the range of mountains that act as a backdrop to this picture postcard coastline. The drive in itself was spectacular with views around every corner but unfortunately it was punctuated by groups of oncoming motor cyclists “practising” for the next Moto-GP. The tourists heading our way were more sedate in the way they tackled the task. Added to the mix a local cycle team chose this day and this route for a practice ride. The drive into the town is like any other town, quite unspectacular with the usual industrial and commercial centres. Once the car was parked up for the afternoon in an underground car park ... read more

The sun was shining as we arose from a good night’s sleep so everything was looking good for a visit into the city of Seville, about 5 kilometres away. The receptionist at our apartment complex gave us some useful tips on what to see, where to eat and where to park. So after breakfast we headed off for the sights of Seville. We thought we were following the directions we had been given but there seemed to be two sets of bridges over two water crossings. We started looking for a park once we had crossed the river not the canal. After cruising a while a helpful gentleman from Nigeria pointed out a perfect parking space. His help was worth a “small” gratuity and so the car was parked up for the day and after thanking ... read more

The TV promised rain today for our journey south to Albufeira in the Algarve, and kept it! Swathes of rain, sometimes almost torrential, accompanied our navigation of the non-toll route. The open plains we drove across made the huge black clouds look very threatening and at one point we looked for a place to stop and wait for the downpour to ease a bit. At the entrance to a cemetery we sat off the road while the water poured downhill around us and minor flooding on the road deepened. Before this the weather had cleared for long enough to allow us to stop for lunch and a wander around Evora, an old fortified town with Roman temple ruins at the top of the hill. The postcards we bought here show how the town looks in the ... read more