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Published: October 13th 2009
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Herself
Catching some rays in Peratellada 23-09-09
After Lake Caspe we went and stayed at a huge campsite in Villanova near Barcelona which was a retirement home with sunshine and in part God’s waiting room. To top it off a bear kept us awake all night (see Alan’s top ten list). Left there ASAP and headed north up the Costa Brava which in parts is Blackpool with sunshine and in some parts is really beautiful (see photos). Using the good old Lonely Planet as our guide we stayed at an inland campsite near Pals which was in its closing down phase which was highly entertaining as Liz comments on later. We visited the old medieval towns of Pals and Peratellada which were stunning before heading back to Barcelona for a 10 day stay when Liz’s friend, Jeannie was going to join us.
We had tickets to see ‘Greenday’ at the Sant-Jordi stadium which is next door to the Olympic stadium up in the Moncjuic Park. The concert was excellent and the 18,000 Catalans who were in the audience lapped it up.
Liz and I have been to Barcelona before and think it’s a great city. This time around we visited Gaudi’s Park Guell with its gingerbread
Park guell
Gaudi's park in Barcelona entrance house, mosaic lizards etc, then off by train inland to Montserrat where you get a Funicular ride up the side of the mountain which is amazing. Montserrat has a Monastery and church set at about two and a half thousand feet which were well worth the visit. Then we took a cable car up almost to the top and walked back down to the Monastery taking in the views. We visited the Picasso museum (see Liz’s comments) and various other city landmarks, keeping well fed on Tapas and lots of the local brew. Highlight of the week for me was the visit to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s incredible cathedral which is still being built after 130 years and is due to finish in 2030. We did the full tour inside and it really is one of the wonders of the world.
Just in case you’re thinking that life is far too good to the likes of us, then temper your thoughts with the fact that in order to get our Motorhome into a campsite near enough to travel into the city each day by bus and Metro, our penance was the fact that our campsite was at the
bottom of one of Barcelona’s two main runways with planes starting at around 6am and non-stop until about 11pm. No relief was then granted as the runway birdscarer was programmed to go off every 47 seconds and it was REALLY LOUD in the still night air. Loved Barcelona, couldn’t wait to get out of the campsite.
After Barcelona we headed south and stayed at a campsite in Cambrils which was a super little town but once again the campsite although not closing was full of Spanish gutting out there caravans for the end of season. As I write we are just short of Valencia and heading south to Cartagena with plans to then go inland to Granada, Cordoba and on to Lisbon. Someone sitting next to me is about to leave her Forties behind in the next 24 hours so the bubbly is chilled but does anyone know the Spanish for “do you sell birthday cakes?”
Sunday 11.10.09 - Luscious Lillie
A big ‘thank you’ to Jeannie who has just spent 4/5 days with us in Barca, it was great to have some female company, and as Alan put it ‘give him some time off’, even if
Mosaic Lizard
Park Guell Barcelona he did accompany us on our supposed ‘girly’ shopping trip - which was actually to the Sagrada Familia, and then onto Picasso as there was so much to see and on a previous visit I hadn’t managed to catch Picasso’s exhibition as it was shut. So there was no shopping done!
After Jeannie’s visit we were planning on going to Girona, however the night Jeannie left we had a thunderstorm and so woke late, tired and somewhat deflated after having company for awhile, so we decided to move on further south, in all honestly the wander-bug was back after being in one place for some considerable length of time. So we are now parked up in Cambrils south of Tarragona.
For the first time in a long while (apart from Barca) this delightful town has an air of expectancy about it, it bustles.
However that cannot be said of our campsite, or of the last few. As we arrived there was a physical presence of many Spanish people at siesta. As the hours wore on, and they started returning to life, it became apparent that they were in the process of dismantling their pitches which they have had
since spring. This is quite a complex event, which involves the entire family that have make use of the caravan (exclusively caravans) over the summer months, performing a ritual spring clean.
As their pitches are extensive many consisting of a caravan, full sized awning, followed by an exterior awning open to the elements, followed by a gazebo, then a patio, terrace, decking and finally a selection of ground sheets and a place to park the car it is not a mean feat! We watched in wonder at one campsite as a couple took three entire days to dismantle their site, scrubbing, sweeping and cleaning. And what comes out from the depths is quite amazing, full size fridge/freezers (which are cleaned and wrapped in cling film, collected by the site management and stored somewhere), full size gas cookers, cupboards, kitchen units, the kitchen itself is contained in a separate tent. On one site myself and the only other foreigner stood by the recycle bins staring at the mound of rubbish dumped by the Spanish, he explained to me that it was the same every year,
It seems as if the Spanish are shutting down for winter, and as the temperature has
dropped to about 25-27˚c I can understand why? Whilst Al and I stroll about in shorts and vest tops, the Spanish have started to wear long trousers, jackets and scarves. It has become easier to spot the tourists though.
We had falsely been given the impression by the media that ‘The Brits’ had taken over Spain and were out here for the duration - what a load of tosh. Alan and I often find ourselves the only Brits on a campsite, which consists of mainly Spanish (all be it they are packing up and leaving when we arrive), the majority of tourists are German and Dutch, some Eastern Europeans, but we’re not sure whether they are here looking for work, or on holiday? For example this is our third day on this site (moving on tomorrow), 75% are Spanish, the rest are Dutch and some Germans, Alan and I were until an hour ago, ‘the Only Brits in the Village’, but another van has turned up supporting GB plates. This is very typical. I’m sure the Brits are some where but it isn’t Spain.
Sorry that some of you have had to wait awhile for our latest adventures but
unfortunately the Spanish broadband system aint what it is cracked up to be. If we don’t get a fast enough connection then it will not upload and times-out (computer speak for those who know). Anyway we’ve been getting complains anonymous via e-mail (Dad you can stop now!) so sorry guys hopefully you won’t have to wait too long for the next one.
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Abz
non-member comment
if i was jeannie i'd be annoyed
Oi Dad, when does Jeannie get to progress from 'work collegue' to 'friend'. surely a few world adventures does it! :) love to you both.