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Retirement Plan - Part 2
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jun. 2017 – sept. 2025

Retirement Plan - Part 2

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Royal PalacePlaza MayorMercado San MiguelCatedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena

    Madrid - Day 2

    8 de noviembre de 2017, España ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    The plan today was to visit the Royal Palace but when we got there we found that it was closed to the public for several days. The Royal family doesn't live there anymore but it is still used for special occasions and, though we didn't find out what the occasion was, we still enjoyed our visit but for a different reason. It just happened that as we arrived, a marching band started up and there followed a grand procession of very ornately uniformed soldiers on horseback. It was the Solemn Changing of the Guard that only happens on the first Wednesday of each month. Against a deep blue sky and bright sunshine we watched a piece of true Spanish pomp and ceremony.

    From here we headed to the Mercado de San Miguel, one of Madrid oldest markets which has now become a place where locals come to meet for posh tapas, with prices to match. We did stop for a quick taster and chinked a glass of sangria cava to our friend Sue whose birthday it was. I could have stayed longer but Chris wanted to try some of the food at the Museo de Jamon, which wasn't a ham museum, but a bar/restaurant/shop with a focus on Spanish ham. A couple more tapas there and then we were off again, admiring the city.

    One of Spain's grandest squares has to be Plaza Mayor with its ochre-coloured apartments and 237 black wrought-iron balconies. Designed in 1619, its first public ceremony was the beatification of Madrid's patron saint, St. Isidro the Farm Labourer. From then on it also celebrated royal weddings, bull fights and executions with burnings at the stake and deaths by garotte on the north side and hangings to the south! The only thing that we felt spoilt it a little, and in other places too, was the number of modern 'human statues' who, for a few euros, will allow you to have a photo taken with them

    Towards the end of our walking tour, we came across the Chocolateria de San Gines, famous for its hot chocolate con churros, so we had to stop. The cups of hot chocolate reminded us of our time in Sicily where cups of thick, dark chocolate are served and our friend Judi drank two, one straight after the other! This time, I opted for a scoop of vanilla ice-cream with hot chocolate poured over into which I dipped my churros, a long finger of deep-fried doughnut.

    Again we left Madrid with our tummies full and lots of great memories.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger
    CanalettoRenoir2Inside Le Ideal barCentral MadridChris with Dali

    Madrid - Day 1

    6 de noviembre de 2017, España ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    A couple of hours from Medinaceli and we were in the centre of Spain. Using a campsite at Aranjuez, 43km south of Madrid as our base, we took the train into the city for some culture.

    With three of the worlds best art museums to be found in Madrid, we opted for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Museum, a private collection acquired over two generations, which showcases works of the great masters over a 7-century period.

    Exhibited over three floors, we were able to admire works by Gauguin, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Rubens, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Picasso, Dali and Freud to name a few and look in detail at each painting. It was an excellent exhibition and is free to the general public on Mondays, thanks to sponsorship by MasterCard. Even if you don't get the chance to visit on a Monday, it is well worth the admission ticket.

    From there we wandered around the old town and admired the ornate buildings and old-fashioned shops all beautifully displaying their goods. By this time we were getting a bit peckish and our guidebook gave us a very good suggestion for a local bar renowned for its 'bocadillo calamares'. Le Ideal is a small bar just off the main square where the counter area was so narrow that the half a dozen staff behind it each had to man their one-metre length of it as it was impossible for them to get past one another! We placed our order and in no time our deep-fried squid rolls arrived as did the wine and beer. It was standing room only in there, but that just added to the experience.

    With our heads full of exquisite paintings and our stomachs full of squid rolls, we walked back to the train and headed back. A great first day in Madrid.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Roman Triumphal arch
    Plaza MajorOur pitch!View of village from motorhomeView into valley and new town below

    Medinaceli, high on a windswept ridge

    4 de noviembre de 2017, España ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    A weather forecast for a week of rain and cold temperatures in the north quickly made up our minds to head south. This meant foregoing a trip to Pamplona, which will have to wait until next time. Instead, we headed out of San Sebastian and travelled several hours through green and verdant valleys followed by flat, almost barren landscape to our destination of Medinaceli.

    At 3,800 feet elevation, we had sweeping​ views down into the valley and across the plains and could see the stormy weather passing by. The village itself is a delight; a mix of Roman ruins, cobblestone streets and buildings of soft ochre stone. At the entrance to the town, and which can be seen from afar, is the 1st-century-AD Roman Triumphal arch. It is the only one in the country with three arches and the best preserved in Spain.

    It didn't take us long to walk around and see the sights, the centrepiece of the village being the large, partly colonnaded Plaza Mayor (Main Square) but for such a small place, it had some surprises including a 2nd-century Roman mosaic on display and, through the cracks in the locked wooden doors of what looked like an abandoned castle, was the cemetery containing ornate marble tombs decorated with colourful flowers.

    In the village bakery cum shop, we bought some local wine and pastries, apologising for our hopeless lack of the Spanish language but that didn't deter one of the locals giving Chris the thumbs up in his choice of a tub of locally-produced pork scratchings. Even I have to admit they are tasty!

    The town has gone to a lot of effort to accommodate visitors with a great Tourist Office and a dedicated parking area and facilities for motorhomes, which were free. You just have to be able to drive up the narrow, winding road to reach it but it's worth it.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Tapas and sangria
    The modern convention centreView from the top of Monte UrgullStreets in the old townSan Sebastian, the beach and mountainsTown Hall

    Holà, we're in Spain - San Sebastian

    2 de noviembre de 2017, España ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    32 miles after leaving St Jean de Luz we arrived in Spain, though there was no 'Bienvenidos' sign to tell us so, which was a little disappointing.

    The Igueldo campsite, on Monte Igueldo just above San Sebastian, was to be our base for a couple of days while we visited the town. The views from above over the surrounding countryside and distant hills was lovely, especially as the sun was setting.

    With a bus stop right outside the site, we decided to leave the bike on the trailer and take the short bus journey down into town. We did this journey several times during our stay and marvelled at how confident the bus drivers were and how unscathed the buses were being driven a high speeds down narrow, twisting roads and back again. We thought we did well driving the motorhome and trailer through part of the city centre!

    We had high expectations for San Sebastian and were not disappointed. Having been under French rule for several centuries, it definitely has a French feel and reminded us of St Jean de Luz but on a much bigger, grander and sophisticated level. With a wide, sweeping promenade around the beaches, many classical, ornate buildings all in very good condition, and hilly parkland, it has been welcoming visitors in both summer and winter since the late 1800's. Back in those days, if you were upper-class and wished to go bathing in the sea, you needed to be suitably dressed and have the assistance of your own personal lifeguard, also suitably dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and baggy knee-length shorts, nothing too revealing. The locals never went bathing at the time, that was the reserve of the upper classes only.

    San Sebastian also has an outstanding reputation for being possibly the most exciting place to eat in the whole of Spain. Tapas (or pinxoes, as they are called locally) are to be found displayed in huge abundance on the counters of the bars and restaurants in the city. It would take months to do justice to all of these exquisite eateries but we did our best in the time we had and look forward to many more tapas as we travel south.

    NOTE
    Campsite 17 euros per night ASCI inc water, services and wifi. Plenty of hot water for showers. Camber at entrance makes for scraping! Pitches tight and can be muddy after rain.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Small fishing port in St Jean de Luz
    Fort and harbour in CibourneBay of St Jean de LuzLocal fishing boats

    St. Jean de Luz - French Basque base

    29 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    In order to visit the French Basque region, we based ourselves at a campsite just outside St Jean de Luz, a few miles from the Spanish border.

    This beautiful seaside town has narrow streets, a lively harbour and large horseshoe-shaped bay with golden sand. The town grew up as a fishing port initially with large catches of sardine, anchovies and whales, but when well-to-do French, English and Spanish tourists started arriving in the late 19th century, it became a fashionable resort and tourism took over.

    We watched some local fishing boats netting large amounts of sea-grass, just off the beach. When the haul was landed, we asked them what they were going to do with it. It turns out that it was all off to Spain to be refined and used in many ways including in the production of cosmetics - not exactly what I had in mind for Crème de la Mer!

    The town's main claim to fame is that it is here that Louis XIV spent his final days of bachelorhood before marrying Maria Theresa. In addition, the composer Maurice Ravel was born in pretty Cibourne, just 2.5km west of the town. It is here too that the prominent fort was built in 1627 and later improved by Vauban before he then went off to assist Napoleon in his many battles.

    It proved to be a great base for exploring the area and one that we look forward to visiting again.

    NOTE
    Camping Itsas Mendi. 15 euros per night with ASCI card + 7=6 inc water, services, wifi. Set on hillside with large terraced pitches. On-site site shop with fresh bread and pastries. Great outdoor pool with water slide and indoor heated pool. Only downside was not enough hot water in the showers.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Chris with his string of 20 chillies
    The official chilli symbolChillies drying on the front of a houseThe bandWine bottle rolling pin making TaloakThe biggest barbecue ever!

    Fête du Piment

    29 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Who would have thought that a small village in the foothills of the Pyrenees would be famous throughout France for its chilli pepper and hold a 2-day festival every year to celebrate the fact. The basque cuisine features chilli heavily in almost every dish from savoury to sweet and it is the chilli from Espelette which is the most famous. Luckily for us, this year's festival coincided with our time here and so we jumped on the bike and headed into the hills to find the village.

    Thanks to Christopher Columbus, the chilli pepper arrived from Mexico and in 1650, after realising that the growing conditions around Espelette were ideal (how they realised, we don't know!), every local farm was producing it and it became an essential part of every basque kitchen in the area.

    Today, this special chilli is the first and only spice in France accredited with an AOC-AOP (just like fine wines) acknowledging the strict controls governing its production. It is planted in the spring and then harvested between August and December, once it becomes bright red. It is then sold in different ways; as a string of 20 fresh chillies, as a puree in a jar to be used in the cooking process or dried traditionally on the front of buildings and then turned into a powder to sprinkle over a finished dish.

    We were told that visitors from all over France come to the festival and from the long line of traffic backed up into the village, they were right. Travelling on the bike made getting in and parking a breeze.

    Strolling around we realised that it wasn't only the chilli that was being celebrated, it seemed that every basque food speciality was too with stalls full of locally made basque cake, cured meats, cheeses, nougat, wine and the biggest barbecue we've ever seen! For lunch we tried a Taloak, which is similar to a Mexican tortilla, made by hand mixing corn and water before rolling out ( in our case the rolling pin used was an empty wine bottle) and then cooking on a flat, hot plate. Filled wine two types of sausages, onions and of course some chilli pepper, a simple hot-dog will never be the same!

    There followed a procession of bands and dignitaries with the Mayor announcing that next July the Tour de France will stop at Espelette for the first time, to great rounds of applause. Looks like two-wheelers are being welcomed to Espelette. We definitely were.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Town Hall
    Typical buildings along the river NiveView of cathedral through the streetsChris checks out the charcuterieDuck, ham and saucisson curing at 15°C for 4 monthsHam, chocolate and beer

    Bayonne - capital of French Basque

    27 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Located between the Rivers Ardour and Nive, with its half-timbered buildings, riverside restaurants and old ramparts all bursting with history, Bayonne is one of France's prettiest cities.

    A strategic stronghold since medieval times, the city is split into three; St. Esprit to the north, Grand Bayonne, the oldest and prettiest part to the west and Petit Bayonne to the east. Visiting places by motorbike is a great way to travel as there are always lots of free spaces to park right in the centre of town. We left the bike under the 11th century Chateau Vieux (Old castle) and wandered around Grand and Petit Bayonne on foot.

    The narrow, rounded streets of half-timbered buildings were a delightful surprise. Being so close to Spain, we were expecting more of a Spanish influence and yet the city could have been plucked straight out of Alsace or Normandy. By contrast, the arches of the Town Hall, opened in 1842, were reminiscent of the Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

    A visit to the shop of Bayonne ham producer Pierre Ibaialde, gave us an insight into how this famous cured ham is produced. During a free guided tour we learnt the craft of salting, curing, de-boning and tasting too! Interestingly, Bayonne ham was never originally made in Bayonne! It got its name simply because the city was a major trading centre long ago and merchants would buy ham produced in the region from there. King Louis XVI greatly enjoyed the ham and promoted it further. Today, there are tight rules on its production in order to call it Bayonne ham. The next time you eat some in a matter of minutes, think about the 12 months it took to produce.

    Having bought some ham, we then paid a visit to one of the town's premium chocolatiers, Cazenave. It was the Spanish inquisition that led to Jewish chocolate-makers fleeing their Spanish homeland to settle in Bayonne. By 1870 the city boasted more chocolatiers than Switzerland, although now only a dozen remain.

    During a final wander around, we came upon a shop selling local beers and came out with a bottle of dark beer with a hint of the famous Espelette chilli pepper with the unlikely name of Bob's beer!

    We had a great day visiting this beautiful city and came away with lots of goodies to remind us of it too.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero

    French Basque Country

    24 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Nestled between the Bay of Biscay and the foothills of the Pyrenees, the French Basque country feels like a stepping stone between France and Spain.

    The locals are very proud and protective of their history and unique culture which includes a language - Euskara - unrelated to any other European language. Don't dare to call a Basque French or Spanish!

    Pelote Basque is a generic name for around 16 traditional Basque ball games that are still played today and every village has its own pelota court.

    Most Basque dishes seem to include Le Piment d'Espelette, a chilli pepper from the town of Espelette. The region is also known for its ham and chocolates from Bayonne.

    The main towns of the region are Biarritz, Bayonne and St. Jean-de-Luz, which will be our base whilst we explore    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    No we didn't go surfing;
    Watching the surfers

    Hossegor - surfing capital of France

    23 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    What we thought was going to be a 3 night stay around Arcachon turned into a week; there was so much to see! However, the weather turned chilly and we headed a little further south, to an area known as Les Landes, a vast tract of pine forests, lakes and seaside towns with seemingly endless beaches. We based ourselves at an aire at Soustons Plage for a couple of days, which was quite busy due to it being French half-term holidays. From there we jumped on the bike to celebrate Chris's birthday at nearby Hossegor, the surfing capital of France. We were in luck as our visit coincided with the French surfing championships and we found ourselves surrounded by cool dudes from all over the world, with bleached blonde hair and tanned bodies.

    Whilst the conditions were not epic, they were good enough to provide us with a taster of what all the hype is about. We enjoyed our moules frites lunch watching the action every bit as much as the surfers enjoyed their waves.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    First purchase of oysters
    Entrance to the Cap Ferret lighthouseView from Cap Ferret lunch spotClimbing the Dune de PilatPine forest behind the sand duneView out to the Atlantic from Dune di Pilat

    Arcachon Bay - oysters and sand dunes

    14 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Within an hour and a half of leaving St. Emilion, we'd skirted around Bordeaux and arrived in Arés, on the northeast corner of Arcachon Bay, the 6th largest natural marine park in France.

    The bay is an inland sea between Arcachon and Cap Ferret, open to the Atlantic ocean, accessible only through a narrow channel, and is encompassed by ports and oyster villages, long, fine sandy beaches, pine forests and Europe's largest sand dune - Dune de Pilat.

    This is an area that neither of us had visited before and 'Camping La Canadienne' provided us with a great base from where we explored the whole bay, over a week of mostly sunny weather, on the motorbike.

    In Cap Ferret, at the end of a long peninsula that borders one third of the bay, we sat in the sunshine having lunch at an oyster-farmers rustic restaurant and feasted on fresh oysters, pate de campagne and a glass of chilled white wine.

    At the opposite end of the bay, is the town of Arcachon, with its beach villas that drew in the bourgeois from Bordeaux at the end of the 19th century for its long, golden-sand beaches and protected bathing.

    Just south of Arcachon is Europe's largest sand dune, Dune de Pilat, which is growing eastwards 1-5m per year, depending on the wind! The view from the top, at 115m above sea level, is magnificent. You can see the sandy shoals at the mouth of the bay, oyster-fishermans farms, a bird reserve where 6000 couples of Sandwich terns nest each year and dense pine forest as far as the eye can see.

    Looking out from the top, towards the ocean, we reminisced on our journey across the Bay of Biscay heading south, just as we were doing now but on wheels.

    NOTE
    Camping La Canadienne with large pitches separated by hedges and lots of oak trees with thousands of descending acorns in Oct! Inc. wifi and electric. Good facilities and location. 17 euros per night. Recommend.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero
    Chateau entrance
    St. Emilion rooftopsAre these bottles real?Oak barrels full of wineMe and Monsieur Dupuy seniorChris in St. Emilion

    St. Emilion, wine country

    11 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    It is here that we really had a taster of what we were looking forward to in France - spending a few days getting to meet the locals on their own 'turf' and tasting wine!

    We couldn't have chosen a better place to stay, at Chateau Arnaud de Jacqueameau, owned by the Dupuy family who have been growing grapes and making St. Emilion Grand Cru for five generations.

    The family graciously allowed us to stay on their land, free of charge, in a designated spot in the middle of the vines, for 3 nights. This gave us time to visit the town of St. Emilion, just 1.5km away, as well as having a private tour and tasting by Mr. Dupuy senior who, at 83-years old, spent two hours showing us how he produced his wine and how best to taste it - all in Franglais!

    Whilst in St. Emilion, a UNESCO World Heritage site, we were able to enjoy the beauty of the village from the various viewpoints and then had a tour of the monolithic 'underground' church in the centre of the village. It is believed by many that the hermit Emilion lived in a cave, where the church now stands, for 17 years. The church, which is massive, was excavated over a period of 50 years and carved out of solid limestone. It is effectively underground, with the bell-tower the only part that stands proud for all the visiting pilgrims to see from afar. It is a wonderful area, steeped in history and one that we look forward to returning to.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero

    Saumur, Loire Valley

    6 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We had read in the guide books that Saumur was an interesting place to visit so we headed there, staying at another aire on a island in the middle of the Loire river.

    With the sun shining, we jumped on the bike and headed a few kilometres away to visit a mushroom museum and farm located in troglodyte caves. We learnt a lot about mushrooms from all over the world and how they are produced.

    Distillery Combier, which started in 1834, is the birthplace of the original Triple Sec. We learnt about the process of distilling this delicious drink using Haitian orange skins and how Gustav Eiffel was responsible for designing the distillery interior. They have recently had the law changed and are now legally making absinthe again. After our tour, we sampled a range of their products and came away with a bottle of their famous Triple Sec which we were told to keep in the freezer.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero

    La Suze sur Sarthe

    5 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Next day we headed for La Suze Sur Sarthe 191 miles away, just SW of Le Mans. It is an area that Chris knows well as he and his pals made numerous visits to Le Mans and the surrounding area for the famous 24 hour race there.

    The campsite aire was located right next to the river Sarthe, just a 5 minute walk over the bridge to town which was handy for getting hot pains au chocolat for breakfast the next morning.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero

    Going foreign!

    4 de octubre de 2017, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    With the days getting shorter and cooler, our Caribbean-thinned blood suggested that it was time to head south and find some sunshine.

    We stayed near Dover, and took the opportunity to visit Canterbury and it's famous cathedral. From here it was a short journey on the ferry to Calais, which we could see clearly from Dover port.

    Our first over-night stop was in Forges-les-Eaux, Normandy where we stayed in a municipal motorhome aire, which is a dedicated parking place just on the edge of a town, and normally with electric and water. We celebrated our arrival in France with a local cider and kir in a bar.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero

    Short tour of the UK

    9 de agosto de 2017, Inglaterra ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    After spending a little time making a few changes to the motorhome to make it more suitable for extended travelling (fitting a solar panel, LPG gas tanks), we finally hit the road to see family and friends.

    Our trip took us to Surrey, Yorkshire, Preston, Norfolk, The Midlands, Buckinghamshire and back to Surrey. This gave us a great opportunity to start getting used to living on board and staying in different places which ranged from family drive-ways, pub and community centre car parks, fields and all singing and dancing dedicated motorhome sites. We loved it.

    During our time in Surrey at the beginning of our trip, Chris found his dream motorbike, a BMW tourer. Next we had to find a trailer, hence the trip to Preston!    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero

    A new 'home'

    1 de julio de 2017, Inglaterra ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We already knew the kind of motorhome we were looking for, so during our stay with Terry and Sue, we started to home-in on a few. We soon found exactly what we were looking for in a Swift Kontiki 669 being sold by Bill and Wendy in Worcester, which we picked up on July 1st just three weeks after arriving back in the UK!

    During this time, Chris also took the opportunity to take some refresher lessons, and passed his motorbike test. So, now we had to find a motorbike too.    Leer más

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  • Time For A Road TripRetirement Plan - Part 2Viajero

    Retirement Plan - Part 2

    6 de junio de 2017, Inglaterra ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Having spent the best 10 years of our lives travelling on our sail boat, spending time in the Mediterranean, crossing the Atlantic and then exploring some of the Caribbean, we thought it was time for a major change to our Retirement Plan.

    Having seen much of the coastal areas of Europe, we wanted to see and explore beyond this and felt that a motorhome might be a good way of doing just that. Afterall, there are many similarities between travelling on a boat and a motorhome.

    Deep Blue was sold to lovely new owners, Melvyn and Jane, who will be joining her in Antigua for more adventures. In the meantime, all our belongings were loaded onto a ship bound for Portsmouth and we boarded a plane heading for Norfolk to stay with our good friends Terry and Sue.    Leer más

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    Inicio del viaje
    6 de junio de 2017