21 April
The day of Sarah’s significant birthday dawned bright and
sunny. I had hoped to buy Sarah a nice
locally crafted card but the Spanish don’t seem to do cards. Fortunately I
found something suitable in Marks & Spencer in Marbella. Not original but
any port in a storm.
We decided to go on a walk, which turned out to be about 9
miles – good going for us. We walked
through pine woods and along the coast between Barbate and Conil de la Fontera.
There were some fine views including Cabo de Trafalgar. Yes this is where the
great battle was fought. (According to a
bloke we met in Gibraltar, they took Nelsons body back to Gibraltar, pickled
his body in rum and then sailed him back home. What a way to go?)
The car parking
area had a small bar – just for coffee and ice cream we thought, but when we
got back to the car the place was packed with people having Sunday lunch. Some had walked, some had come on horses and
some had arrived by car. We had a BBQ in
the evening.
22 April
Went down on the beach for a few hours day. It was quite windy but if you got tucked in
amongst the rocks it was quite sheltered.
We dipped our toes in the sea and kept our swimming costumes on but
decided against going in any further!!! Yes this was a naturist beach with
several elderly couples letting everything flop about. One woman almost poked
her eye out when running towards the sea. I did however eventually persuade
Sarah to take her………. cardigan off.
Back up on the cliffs Barry took some more pictures of the
wild flowers as he had forgotten his tele photo lens to get some snaps of the
bathers.
23 April
Moved to Seville. Well
near Seville, a place called Dos Hermanas which is to Seville what Selby is to
York. The campsite (Camping Vilsom) is not great – crammed in like
sardines. Actually, we were quite lucky
and managed to get a pitch which enabled us to accommodate the car and caravan.
The pitch was about the size of 2 disabled car parking spaces end to end. We
decided against having a barbecue due to the fire risk. Sadly this is the only
campsite serving Seville so the owners don’t need to try very hard. It was quite busy. The plus side was that the internet link was
much quicker so we could actually get things done. We were hoping that we’d be
able to relax for a few hours next to the swimming pool. Sadly the pool had not
been maintained since last summer and was full of green water. I’m sure that a
recognised a man I had seen in Morocco and suspect that he was trying to buy
the water so that he could pass it off as mint tea in Tangier or at least water
his camels.
In the evening I took Sarah for a belated birthday meal. It
was either a MacDonald’s or a place
similar to ‘Frankie and Bennys’. As we could not translate the menu we went
next door. It was after ordering a couple of pizzas that we realised that the
food came from the same kitchen as the place next door. The only difference was
we had round pizzas where as next door they had rustic bread in a square shape.
Sarah enjoyed her meal which was a bargain. Two large pizzas and a bottle of
Rioja for 15 euros. I hope to find a
branch somewhere near home for next year.
When we returned to the caravan I sat on the step to cool
down and have a beer (There wasn’t room for a chair). I’d been there is few
minutes when the bathroom blind of the caravan next door opened to reveal and
elderly topless lady who opened her window wider. I’m not sure if she saw me or not. She didn’t
scream and nor did I.
24 April
Took the bus into Seville.
Found our bearings and had some lunch.
Then we visited the Cathedral. It
is apparently the biggest Church in the world. It has a Guinness Book of
Records certificate on display to prove it!
It has a beautiful tower, from which there was a magnificent view across
the roofs of Seville.
We then went to
find the Casa Pilatos, a mansion in the Jewish quarter that is allegedly
modelled on the home of Pontius Pilate.
It is free on a Wednesday afternoon to EU citizens and it seemed a lot
of people knew this, so there was quite a queue. (A queue, we were waiting for
over an hour in blistering heat. Just to see a crumbling time share – Barry) However, it was lovely inside with colourful
tiling, plasterworks and patios.
In the evening when we got to bed it got so hot that Sarah
said that she could hardly breathe. We opened as many windows as we could
without denting the caravans parked around us. This did not make much
difference so I suggested she take her pyjamas off. She refused on the basis
that she couldn’t possibly sleep in the nude with a Frenchman sleeping less
than 3 feet away.
25 April
Today we decided to take the open top bus trip around
Seville and see the areas we might not otherwise of ventured to. Our first hop off the bus was in the Macarena
district. We went into what we thought
was a fairly run of the mill Church from the outside, but were greeted with a
very lavish interior. We wondered
through the area, stopping for lunch at a tapas bar. That was entertaining to say the least. Ordering was difficult and what arrived
didn’t bear much resemblance to what we ordered, but it tasted good. We got off the bus again near the bull ring,
walked along the river bank a little and over the bridge into the Trianna
district. This was famous for the ceramics
produced there and there was evidence here and there in the back streets of
tiling on the houses and also shops selling ceramics, though being afternoon
they were shut. We ended the day with a
walk through the Maria Louise gardens and viewed some of the pavilions built
for the Spanish Americas Fair in the 1920’s and finally the Plaza de Espana,
built as the centre piece for the Fair to exhibit industry and crafts. It is a vast semi-circular building of
stairways, fountains and mass of tile work.
I cannot begin the describe it so see the picture below.
26 April
The Alcazar or Royal Palace was to be our main focus for
today. The Alcazar is a Moorish palace
and was an absolute masterpiece of tiling and plaster work. The colours and patterns were breath taking. The many rooms built around patios with cool
pools and gurgling fountains. You could
certainly imagine living there in the cool shaded patios or gardens during the
baking summer heat. It was quite hot
today – about 29 degrees, but very pleasant in the palace. Sarah’s Dad had recommended the audio guide
and it was well worth it. Definitely a
must on anyone’s to see list.
27 April
Moved on to Cordoba today.
Temperature has reduced drastically and it is raining!!! The campsite (Camping Albolafia) in the
village of Villafranca de Cordoba is very peaceful but we are unable to do our
laundry as the drier has broken down and it’s too wet and cold to hang anything
out. We are hoping for a sunny day before we fly back.
The site seems to have a lot of rules. Mainly a list of
things you can’t do This includes:
·
Bury pots drums or containers.
·
Modify the shape of any plot
·
Be accompanied by animals which could be
dangerous
·
Admit others to the campsite without paying 4
euros per person
·
Make connections to taps
28 April
Raining and cold today but drove into Corboda to get our
bearings and have some lunch. I sort of guessed the way to the tourist
information office and ended up driving up streets which were so narrow I had
to pull in the wing mirrors. Those of you who know Sarah’s lack of appetite for
risk will probably guess at her reaction. I tried to lighten the mood by saying
it would have been worse if we’d been towing the caravan but this had little
effect.
Just to illustrate
the fact that this tour is not all sights, barbecues and wine you should know
that we spent most of the day driving around looking for a lavanderia or
laundry. We never found one.
29 April
Our Wedding Anniversary. Once again I had hoped to find a
suitable card here in Spain but….. Fortunately there was a Hallmark card shop
in Gibraltar selling really naff cards with verses. Not ideal but……it saved the
day.
Raining again and only 10 degrees. Back in jeans, jumpers and waterproofs.
Today I asked the girl in reception if she could print the
boarding cards for the flight back. She said no. Why I asked? Then she mumbled
a lot, went to the printer, took out the print cartridge, banged it on the
counter and said “because the boss will not buy a new one”. Immediately I could
see why the laundry dryer was not going to get fixed anytime soon.
After eventually paying a visit to the local library, where
they do have a printer with ink, and printing my documents we set off for La
Mezquita.
The Mezquita is a huge mosque in Cordoba which in 1523 had a
Christian Cathedral built in the middle of it.
The Mosque has 19 naves supported by hundreds of marble columns stopped
with double red and white brick arches.
I am struggling to find suitable adjectives to describe this building,
but it is like nothing else we have ever seen.
Its sheer size is staggering and despite the symmetry everywhere you
stand give a different view – like looking through different windows – quite
amazing. Even Barry was impressed.
Sarah was so overcome she had to have a hot chocolate and
cake. Afterwards we went to Carrefour ( a big French supermarket chain who are
well established here). We have done almost all our shopping here and I now
regret not joining their clubcard scheme.
The showers here aren’t too bad but I am thinking of putting
in a compensation claim for RSI. There are no taps just those bloody buttons
you keep having to push. I had to push mine so often my wrist started aching.
30 April
Today we visited the Alcazar in Corboda, as the guide book
said the buildings are a bit dreary, but the gardens were well worth a visit
with lovely pools and water features and very effective colour combinations in
the flower beds.
We also walked over the foot bridge to the opposite bank of
the River and had a wander around more of the back streets and Plazas. Everywhere was gearing up for the Festival
of the crosses which is tomorrow in which every square will have a red cross
made from flowers at its centre – a bit like our Derbyshire well dressings but
with Tapas and wine. Today Sarah insisted on paying a second visit to a cake
shop she found yesterday. Actually we
went twice. In the morning for coffee
and a chocolate croissant and again in the afternoon for hot chocolate and
cake. We have boosted their profits so much this week that we have been invited
to the staff Xmas party…..at least that’s what I think he said.
Sarah has just been to order some bread for tomorrow to be
told it will not arrive until 12.30 because it is a holiday in all of Spain.
Sounds like a day to do the washing.
It has been decided that we will eat something plain tonight
without garlic in order to prepare our appetites for the UK. Choice was
limited. We have had oven chips, egg and beans.
1st May
We have decided to stay on site today to avoid the Bank
Holiday crowds. Sarah checked in the first lot of laundry at 9am and will
collect it at 11am and deliver a second load at the same time. All the other
sites we have stayed at have washing machines you operate yourself with a token
that costs about 4 euros. This site takes your laundry from you to do it
themselves. The cost is 8 euros. A right rip off.
As not much will happen today I have decided to have a rant about
Spain’s economy. Forget everything you read at home about cutbacks and demonstrations.
This place is booming. The Spanish seem to be the masters of job creation. When
I visited a small Michelin depot with a flat tyre there were about 6 men all
working well. In the small office were 2 women who appeared to do nothing but
take the money and process the credit cards. I was there for an hour and one of
them took my payment but did nothing else.
And don’t talk to me about the banks. There must be at least
one bank branch for every ten people in the country. They’re all over the
place.
When we were in the small town of Ronda (Population circa
20,000) they were building a huge new hospital. For whom I have no idea. In
Marbella they were extending one of the three existing hospitals. In Seville
there were 3 quite new very large hospitals.
The rail network is incredible and expanding everywhere.
They don’t refresh a station they just build a new one on a new line elsewhere.
They have fantastic new trains too.
The motorway network is impressive with recently built
tunnels and fantastic high level bridges which can only be dreamt of in the UK.
If this is austerity I think we should have some.
There is evidence that some small businesses have closed
down but the overall feel is one of confidence and investment in
infrastructure. There are a few beggars on the street but I’m talking about
seeing 3 or 4 a day. Nothing like the number of people you see sleeping rough
in London or Manchester.
As we fly back tomorrow (Thursday 2nd May) this
will be our last blog until we return on 9th May. We will by flying
Ryanair and Sarah has been busy measuring bags to ensure that the comply with
Mr O’leary’s strict rules. Hopefully we’ll be home by 10pm.
PS. Readers should know that Sarah has been writing these
blog things so far. (She writes them under my name as she doesn’t know how the
blog thing works). So, I have decided that they are a bit dry and lack the
everyday detail which you deserve to know. So, Sarah does the sightseeing stuff
and I now add details important information about the daily grind. Hopefully
this will appeal more to the Sun readers amongst you. (Apologies to the
Telegraph readers – Mel, Jean and John).
Technical note: The pictures Included in the blogs have been
rendered to a very small file size for uploading. Readers who would like to purchase any
pictures are assured that the full size quality file will be provided. Good
rates for relatives and friends.
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