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Retirement Plan - Part 2

Juni 2017 - Juni 2024
Ein Abenteuer von Time For A Road Trip mit offenem Ende Weiterlesen
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  • ReisenderRetirement Plan - Part 2
    Tag 291

    Portsmouth, United Kingdom

    23. März 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Just prior to leaving Spain, we spent a couple of days in a great campsite, just west of Bilbao, with great views of the beautiful snow-capped Picos de Europa mountains and surrounded by lush green rolling countryside. By the time we left Bilbao aboard Brittany Ferries along with, what seemed like, hundreds of other motorhomes and caravans all heading back to the UK, the weather had changed for the worst and our last night was spent to the sound of hailstones and rain.

    After a smooth crossing of the Bay of Biscay, we arrived in Portsmouth to smooth seas and a beautiful sunny day. Let's hope it lasts!    Weiterlesen

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    Best laid plans.......

    17. Oktober 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    It was time to get travelling again and so we arrived at Portsmouth, excited to catch our overnight ferry to Bilbao, Spain. Lots of other travellers were doing the same and the car park was full of motorhomes, caravans, cars and lorries all lined up ready to board. Then, at the last minute, the ferry developed a technical issue and was cancelled! We had two options; wait 4 days for the next ferry to Bilbao or get a ferry that night to Caen, France. We opted to go that night.

    We arrived in Caen early and decided to get as far south as we could. Close to Bordeaux we headed for an Aire that seemed to fit the bill. (An Aire is a parking place where you can usually stay overnight and has facilities for water emptying & refilling/toilet emptying/electric sometimes. They are usually free or have a small charge. France has lots and they are pretty good). When we left the major roads, the sat nav started to take us along some narrow, country roads, then the road was closed for roadworks so we tried another way in. Again narrow roads and roadworks. It was time to stop and have a rethink. We were tired by now.

    'Are you sure you've got the sat nav set up for the motorhome and not a car', asked Chris, 'I'm surprised it's taking us down these narrow roads' . 'I've not changed any of the settings', said I, 'but I'll check again'. Sure enough, the sat nav was in car mode from months ago previously rather than motorhome mode! Once set up correctly, we set off for an alternative Aire in Mirambeau nearby and enjoyed our first night in France.

    Next day, we set off again to put some miles under our belts and got to the village of Sare on the French/Spanish border, Basque country. By chance, the local produce market was still open and as we wandered around the few stalls, we recognised a lady selling organic chillis whom we had met at the Espelette chilli festival last year. With a fresh string of bright red chillis in stock, we said 'au revoir' to France and headed over the border into Spain the following day.    Weiterlesen

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    Spanish Safari

    22. Oktober 2018 in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    It's always fun choosing where to head off for next and we've got a great app on the phone of campsites and Aires across Europe. Our first stop in Spain looked very interesting and it didn't disappoint.

    Just off the motorway, not far from Santander, is the Parque de la Naturaleza Cabárceno, an exotic animal park, with free overnight parking, overlooking a lake, right next door. We did a double-take as within walking distance of the motorhome, would could see elephants and water buffalo inside the park. We had to go and see this.

    Our entrance ticket was two-fold; firstly we took a cable car trip around the park and were able to get fantastic bird's-eye views of elephants, hippos, hyenas, wallabys, bison, camels, lynx and brown bears. The park reminded us of Jurassic Park, with lots of trees and undulating, natural rocky terrain. Next we were able to take our own vehicle to explore the vast area and other animals at our own pace. We decided to take the motorbike and ventured around the network of roads to see silver-backed gorilla's, zebras, jaguars, lion & lionesses and bengal tigers including a white one. It was very apparent that they have a successful breeding programme in place with lots of very young animals around including a baby gorilla who was still unsteady on his legs and provided us with lots of entertainment under the ever watchful eyes of his parents. We had an unusual yet fantastic day there.    Weiterlesen

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    Picos de Europa - Peaks of Europe

    24. Oktober 2018 in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    The Picos de Europa are made up of three limestone massifs reaching 2648m and straddle southwest Cantabria (from where we visited), northern Castilla y Leon and southeast Asturias. They offer some of the best walking country and scenery in Spain.

    We took the motorbike and travelled through spectacular mountain roads and villages to Fuente Dé, where we took a cable car 753m up to the sheer southern wall of the Picos' central massif at 1823m. Our Lonely Planet guide told us that from here, there was an easy 3.5km one-hour walk to the Hotel Aliva where we would find refreshments. Sounded like a good plan and so off we set, mostly downhill. We reached the hotel only to find it was closed down, so there was nothing for it but to turn around, at which point we realised just how far down we had come. The hike back uphill was a bit of a killer but we made it and could say that we had really hiked the Picos. We were reminded of our trip still several days later as we could hardly walk! But, as our nephew George pointed out, at least we don't have any stairs in the motorhome to negotiate!    Weiterlesen

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    Oviedo

    25. Oktober 2018 in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After several days of experiencing Spanish safaris and mountains, we felt it was time for some city life, so we set off for Oviedo, the capital of the Asturias region.

    Our base for a few days was in an aire in a residential area, a 15 minute bus ride from the city. Whilst not the most picturesque place, it was safe, allowed us to 'flush & fill', had a supermarket and other shops opposite for reprovisioning and a laundry close by too.

    Our time in Oviedo was spent walking around the pretty old town, visiting the market and finding out about the local specialities of fabada (a white bean, black sausage and chorizo stew), Cabrales, a strong, creamy blue cheese and cider and we enjoyed the free admission to the excellent Museum of Fine Art to check out some paintings by Picasso and Dali, as well as the Archaeological Museum to learn about the history of the region.    Weiterlesen

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    Tag 515

    Lugo - a walled city

    2. November 2018 in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Lugo, known as Lucus Augusti in Roman times, is the oldest city in Galicia, founded circa 14 BC. The Romans built a defensive wall around the city, more than 2km in length, encompassing 85 towers which rose two or three levels above the parapet. The Roman wall is the only one in the world to be preserved and intact and as such it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

    The city is also a living museum of Roman civilisation including mosaics, baths, Ponte Vella (old bridge) and various remains. It also showcases monuments and buildings from several periods, with attractive parks and gardens, all of which are very well-maintained and presented, and makes the city a 'must-see'.

    It is the Roman Wall though that really unites old and modern Lugo. At around 4m wide, it is possible to walk around the top completely and it is used daily by the locals for moving about the city, exercise or simply to enjoy a stroll. The films that we watched at the Tourist Office about its history helped us to understand and appreciate its importance as we circumnavigated it ourselves.

    We then swopped one cultural experience for another and headed for a tapas bar. With our glass of wine, we were presented with a tray of cold tapas to choose from (tortilla and marinated anchovy is what we chose) and then the waiter told us about the hot tapas we could have (chorizo in cider & veal in a rich tomato sauce). All for 2.40€ each! They know how to live in Spain. We then had some octopus and prawns in garlic to share with chunks of bread to dip into the sauce. The Galacians seem to be big fans of octopus, with an octopus bar or restaurant on every street.

    After all that food, we headed off for a walk down to the river to see the old Roman bridge. The sun was shining as we walked along watching locals canoeing in the waters of the Rio Miño, whilst herons stood like statues waiting to catch a fish as it swam by.    Weiterlesen

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    Ribadavia - wine & terror

    3. November 2018 in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Ribadavia sits at the confluence of the rivers Avia and Miño, is the headquarters of the Ribeiro Denominación de Origen (DO) which produces some of Galicia's best white wines and is surrounded by verdant, rolling hills dotted with vineyards and hilltop villages. What better reasons do you need to visit?

    We headed for an aire recommended in our guidebook, on the edge of the old town. It seemed that lots of locals had the same idea as it was very busy when we got there. Not what we were expecting in November. Chatting to an English-speaking motorhome neighbour, we found out why it was so busy. Our visit coincided with the annual 'Noite Meiga' (Night of the Wicked), similar to our Halloween, and, as well as a night of revelry in the old town, there was to be a terror show in the castle that night!

    A trip to the excellent Tourist Office provided us with lots of ideas on how to spend our time here with over 100 vineyards, thermal baths and historic buildings to explore. We stopped off at a bar in the town square to sample some of the famous Ribeiro wine where you can enjoy a glass of award-winning wine for just €2 including a tapas.

    When we returned to the square a few hours later, it was packed with witches, vampires, lots of Count Draculars, ghosts and even a werewolf - and that was just the adults! A band of drummers began a rhythmic beat as a group of witches performed a spell-binding dance, screams and all. We were mesmerised by it and wandered around with the locals enjoying the atmosphere. We didn't bother with the show at the castle but did hear the fireworks going off as we went to sleep.

    Next morning, with the aire slowly emptying of vehicles, we strolled along the river, admiring the rows of vines to our side. Once back in town, the rain started so it seemed a good idea to head into a local hostelry that had caught our eye the night before. Once through the heavy wooden door, it was like being in a medieval tavern; dimmed lighting, a small fire in one corner, thick stone walls and arches. We asked for two red wines and were given a small terracotta bowl each. We were then shown over to two barrels, one of red wine and one of white. It was a case of help yourself and everyone was, so we followed the locals. To go with our wine we had a small meat & pastry tapas to share. When we left, our tapas and 5 bowls of wine cost just €3!!

    Our original plan was to be based here for a few days and do some exploring on the bike but the weather forecast for the coming week looks wet, which isn't fun on a bike. So, we shall head south into northern Portugal and return when we can be sure of good weather. From what we have experienced so far, we are looking forward to it.    Weiterlesen

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    Alcobaça

    13. November 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We are now in Portugal and have based ourselves in a campsite on the outskirts of Nazaré, 80 miles north of Lisbon.

    This central region of Portugal is known as the Estremadura & Ribatejo area. It has beaches, vineyards, castles and historic villages aplenty. It is also home to three magnificent Unesco World Heritage monasteries and we visited two of them.

    Just 10 miles from us is the town of Alcobaça, a pretty town and home to the 12th century, Santa Maria Monestary. Behind the imposing baroque facade is a contrasting plain interior with high arches. The monestary was founded by Alfonso Henriques, first king of Portugal and the estate became one of the richest and most powerful in the country, so much so that by the 18th century, the monks there had a reputation for their decadence. No wonder the grand, elaborately tiled kitchen was described as 'the most distinguished temple of gluttony in all of Europe' by William Beckford. The cooking area was immense with a huge chimney above and two separate cooking areas to either side. Marble sinks ran the lengths of the walls and it even had a water channel built through the middle to divert wild fish right into the kitchen!

    In the Kings Room, statues of virtually all the Kings of Portugal line the walls above ceramic tiles depicting the history of the monestary's construction.

    But what caught our eyes most was the intricate and elaborate tombs of Dom Pedro and Dona Inês de Castro and their tragic love story. Dom Pedro was the son of King Alfonso IV. He fell madly in love with his wife's Spanish lady-in-waiting, Dona Inês de Castro, with whom he had several children. After the death of his wife, his father forbade him from marrying Inês, wary of her Spanish families influence. He did not want Portugal getting involved in Spain's battles. Succuming to pressure from wary nobles, he sanctioned Inês' murder, unaware that the couple had secretly married years earlier. Two years later, when Dom Pedro succeeded to the throne, he took his revenge by ripping out and eating the hearts of the murderers. He then exhumed and crowned Inês' body and ordered the Court to pay homage to his dead queen by kissing her hand.

    The tombs lie facing one another across the nave so that when they come back to life, as they raise themselves, it is each other they will see first. A story of love and gruesome revenge.    Weiterlesen

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    Knights Templars

    15. November 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    An hours bike ride from our base was Tomar, with its historic centre, riverside park complete with swans and ducks and natural setting adjacent to the Seven Hills National Forest is also home to the Convento de Cristo, a monastery that is the headquarters of the legendary Knights Templar.

    Wrapped in power and mystery, the Knights Templar held enormous power in Portugal from the 12th to 16th centuries. Gualdim Pais, Grand Master, founded the monastery in 1160. Successive Knights and Grand Masters added to the building over the centuries which is reflected in the multitude of architecture on display.

    Before we set foot inside, we climbed onto the 12th century crenellated walls and walked around some of the perimeter, looking down onto the town below, the views in the distance and passing the orange grove where the scent of the oranges on the trees proved too much for Chris who brought one back as a souvenir.

    Once inside, the size of the building and all of its rooms was amazing. The highlight was the Charola, the 16-sized Templar church. It is said that the circular design enabled the Knights to attend Mass on horseback. The rich embellishment of the centre and views of some original wall paintings was fabulous.

    The Manueline window on the western side of the church is apparently its most famous and fantastical feature. In celebration of the Age of Discoveries, which was largely bankrolled by the Knights, the window surround features stone carved snaking ropes, seaweed and cork boats atop of which is the Cross of the Order of Christ and the Royal Arms. To the right is a twisting belt seemingly buckled around a turret.

    We wandered up and down, then in and out of all the different rooms that served as accommodation, offices, stores and then through several cloisters. We have visited many churches on our travels but this one was truly unique and well worth the visit.    Weiterlesen

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