Leaving coastal Spain behind, we drove inland towards the soaring hills of the Sierra Nevada. In our quest to find Cave Houses and Royal Palaces the uphill drive took us through some really beautiful Spanish landscapes. Mile upon mile of olive trees, sprouting from the dry and arid land. These olive trees can produce some of the best olive oil in the world, making Spain the world’s leading olive oil producer and exporter.
Panoramic views of the Tabernas Desert (one of Spain’s semi-deserts)
The South Coast of Spain has been inspiring writers, painters, sculptors, musicians and many others who have been travelling to these shores for generations. Not too difficult to see why, since this splendid Mediterranean coast has the most perfect glowing sunlight, blue skies, warm weather and a fabulous coastline stretching along miles of white sandy beaches, and rugged rocky outcrops.. Often a victim to its own splendour, it gets thousands of tourists coming here to enjoy its treasures.
Valencia, located on the East coast of Spain, is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. A city that was born on the margins of the River Turia and along the Mediterranean sea. It was devastated by floods in 1957 when the Turia River burst its banks, an event that sparked the start of Valencia’s transformation.
Following the floods the local government wasted no time in making plans to divert the Turia River which used to run right through the city. The river was divided
Four weeks ago we left our bricks and mortar UK home to live and travel in Europe by motorhome for an indefinite period of time. Motorhome life was new to us, we have never lived in such a small space before for any extended period of time.
Before our departure we both had reservations as to what it would feel like – we expected to love it, but there is always a little niggling doubt that reality would not match our long held (and hoped for) expectations. Would we love it or might we hate
Sometimes travelling is about staying still for a while, take a break from exploring to just be in one place, relax a little. We felt ready for a break, and Peñíscola fitted the bill as a pretty coastal town to hang out for few days .
There was also a problem with our fridge, it kept switching itself off when working on gas. It would be working well for when we got an electric hook up, but not all the places we are staying have electricity. So we needed to get it fixed sooner rather than later.
A
Pamplona is thrown under the world’s spotlight every year between the 6th and 14th of July for the (in)famous and controversial Festival of San Fermin, when daring and/or foolish revellers run with bulls.
When Ernest Hemingway published his novel “The Sun Also Rises” in 1926 it catapulted the town and its traditional San Fermin Festival into one of the most famous of the world’s festivals.
For us Pamplona was a much more sedate affair and perhaps just as
The Basque city of San Sebastian, or Donostia as it is known in the Basque language, has been on the list of world’s best food destination for ages. With Michelin Starred restaurants galore, including some with three Michelin stars.
San Sebastian has in particular a reputation for producing some of the best pinchos (or pinxtos as they are called in Basque language) bars in this region at a very affordable price. From the very traditional rustic pinchos to the more elaborate, high end gourmet
Like so many other fascinating historic places, they often hide a dark past of political mishaps, rivalry, jealousy, revenge and great love affairs. As we explored the stunning Château de Chenonceau the plot of an intriguing Royal love triangle started to unfold.
Henry II married Catherine de Medici, who was a member of the powerful ruling family of Florence, they were both fourteen years old when they got married.
The following year, he became romantically involved with the thirty-five-year-old widow, Diane de Poitier, who was beautiful, well educated, and politically astute. She influenced many of the decisions made by the King who was madly in love with her. Her powers of persuasion did not take long to convince the King to gift her the charming Château de Chenonceau.
The charming town of Amboise has been a great place to base ourselves whilst exploring a little bit of the Loire Valley. We have been here for the last three days enjoying a peaceful location a stone’s throw from the banks of the Loire River and a short walking distance from the town.
Great food, wine, chateaux galore, and fascinating history is what brings hordes of tourist here to the Loire Valley every year. We have beaten the crowds by arriving earlier…in the low season and we got fabulous weather to boot.
Many years of planning and talking about a tour of Europe in a motorhome has brought us to this exact moment when with a mixture of excitement and apprehension we are finally on our way.
It is a short distance between our home in Bournemouth and the ferry port of Poole, with light traffic for a Monday morning, albeit quite early – we arrive and board the Brittany Ferry without a hitch.
The crossing with Brittany Ferry from Poole to Cherbourg along the cold waters of the English Channel also known as Canal De La Mancha took us about four hours of a reasonably pleasant crossing.