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Published: December 1st 2008
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After an extended sojourn at Mimizan Plage, we had to move on before we lost all momentum, so we headed for Biarritz. Free parking and electricity at the camperstop if you successfully avoided the police on their irregular rounds to collect the fees. Last stop in France at St.Pee sur Neville at the lakeside and then into Spain.
First Stop - Burgos - looking for somewhere to Park we pulled up by the Monastery, followed by another English couple who were also looking for somewhere to stay. We walked around town to see if there was anywhere better and decided to stay put for the night. After agreeing with us that we would probably be ok there, they skulked off to find a campsite so we were left on our own. After the well-organised camperstops in France it was a little daunting to be parked at the side of a residential road trying to look inconspicuous.
Next stop was La Granja de San Ildefonso near Segovia. It’s quite high-up, and was very cold and foggy when we arrived. The town’s main claim to fame is the El Real Sitio de la Granja de San Ildefonso - King Felipe V’s
version of Versailles and summer residence of the Spanish Royal family. The Palace was shut for official use but the extensive gardens were open, so we had a look. The town of San Ildefonso was a real contrast to the Palace and we parked overnight opposite a noisy woodyard and factory belching smoke. The Van alarm also failed to turn on so we spent a restless night, truncheon at the ready. The next morning the fog had cleared and we had a spectacular view of the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama (behind the factory belching smoke). Taking the scenic route the next morning we drove through the Sierra's hairpin bends and snow cleared roads to Madrid.
Driving into Madrid was exciting given the Sat Nav ‘interpreter’ could not cope with the multiple exits off the motorway. First stop was Las Rozas - Madrid's equivalent to Freeport Braintree. We were asked to move the Van by a security guard as we were obscuring the view of the Mall from the road - and we were hoping to spend the night! After a brief disappointing jaunt around the shops, we were back on the road and further into Madrid looking
for a camperstop we had found on the internet. Several wrong exits and turnarounds later we found it, decided it wasn't somewhere we wanted to leave the Van, and headed for Camping Osuna in Madrid. Probably the worst campsite we have ever stayed on but very convenient for the metro.
We spent a couple of days in Madrid doing the tourist stuff, and a Star Wars exhibition! After spending an entire morning looking for the exhibition hall, we finally felt the force. The exhibition ticket also included entry to the ‘Jedi School’, which was so half-arsed it was amusing. Darth Vader isn’t as tall as he looks in the films. To be fair I don't think it was designed for adults, and we couldn't understand a word of it, but you didn't need to speak Spanish to feel "la fuertha". We headed back into Town for something to eat. Arriving far too early for dinner, we settled for beer and tapas.
A quick stop off in Consuegra to see the windmills of Don Quijote fame and then off to Cordoba.
En Route to Cordoba the Sat nav interpreter again developed a fault and rather than turning around
at a junction which would have been do-able we ended up driving down an incredibly narrow residential street with cars both sides. We came out the other end with a broken trim light and scuffed bodywork. We think we came off better than the competition given the loud snapping noises and tinkling of mirror on tarmac, but we didn't stop to find out. Finally installed at the campsite in Cordoba, the first thing we did was catch up on the month's worth of washing that filled the shower. Cordoba was full of yanks dressed like they were on the hippy trail. The amount of tourists there was a shock (yes I know we are but we have managed to avoid them/us so far) The Mezquita was very interesting. The simplicity of the original Islamic layout and decoration was spoilt by the 16th century installation of a Christian cathedral in the middle of it but there was enough of the original structure left to get the idea.
A quick overnight at Archidona at the first proper camperstop we've come across in Spain and then onto Marbella where we are currently residing, surrounded by what seems like half of Northern Europe's
OAP's, cooking themselves in the sun and trying to outdo each other with their Christmas decorations - seeing how many Christmas lights and motorised Santa's they can power from one 5 amp hookup. We are now thoroughly over-familiar with the collected works of Johann Strauss as we are in the German sector. Marbella, away from the tourism, is really nice, hence why we're still here a week later when we were only intending to stay three nights.
So before we’re put in front of the Committee to find out why we don't have any Christmas decorations up yet, we’re leaving tomorrow - Next stop Morocco.
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