J and P explore Europe with Reggie: 2023

 Headed out of Madrid to a random stop which turned out to be on top of a plateau. It was a great stop and old roman settlement that was still lived in . Lots of original features and the whole village built in the same brown stone. Had a really good sleep as there was a cool breeze and no traffic at all, not even a dog barking. Hardly a person here , only saw tourists and the bar staff. The next day we visited the town properly walking up and down the streets, went to an old palace which had a contemporary art exhibition. The town had an erotic display as well but we didn’t pay the €5 extra for that. Wandered into a church  which was attached to a nunnery and there was a grill across the church floor to ceiling and the nuns in full black habits were on the other side. They had a window where they sold biscuits.  We drove off to Zaragoza though amazing gorges and bad lands , red soil , white soil, lots of geology really interesting. Zaragoza   Got a park in the offic...

 Another great city, we got the metro into town from our park in the suburbs , nice easy trip and we popped up by the gardens. Lovely garden there were people playing music, saxophone, harp, guitar .    A group of three girls tried to dip my handbag. They had followed us for a while, crossed the path when we did and sat on the other side of our seat even though there were free ones, P was suspicious so didn’t sit down and very quickly I got up and moved on. I had an attempted pickpocket in Pisa years ago so now connect my phone with credit cards to my handbag with a springy thing the police gave me in the Uk.  One of The Pisa girls had my wallet in her hand and I hadn’t felt a thing even though I was sure they were trying but the cord saved it from being taken.  Any way nothing happened and the park was lovely. Nice to walk in green leafy spaces. Big monuments , glasshouses and  turtles. We then wandered into the old town just wandering up and down little s...

 Toledo is set up on a high hill but I’d done some reading and found that the6 had escalators up to the top, Perry didn’t believe me but I found them and what a great idea, in the shade five long escalator rides and you are in the old town.  One of the best cathedrals with an excellent audio guide for a change. Had a giant on one wall,  masses of gold bought back by Columbus from the Americas and paintings and a rather nice smiling Mary. And a unicorn on one of the choir seats so they must have still been around then.... Also found a shop selling hobbit jewellery and lots selling Toledo knives and armour and anything steel.

  Valencia was another lovely city with all mix of old and new , it had the most beautiful church ceiling and then crazy architecture at the science museum and art gallery. We also went to a model display that was thousands of little models all painted up for various battles and scenes from history, ill spare you the orgy of maidens and satyr just wrong with little plastic models.  We then moved to Cuenca which turned out to be a heritage town set in a huge gorge ( like Cheddar gorge in the Uk) . We parked at the bottom of the old town in a river valley that had a river beach plus municipal pool, very popular at the weekend when we were there. And a wedding in the restaurant that night, I was expecting music till the small hours and fireworks at 4,39am as that is what a fellow camper told us they had suffered the weekend before. But it stopped the music at 9 and no fireworks, my ear plugs must have been working as I didn’t even hear the cars leave.  The town is famous for...

This is the first  place we have been where the main beach has masses of people.  We got a park by a park on the edge of a beach round the corner from main Alicante beach, had a swim then went into the centre by tram. Turns out is is a fiesta week and they had built 200 different large colourful constructions that will be set on fire on the 24th. Along with fireworks for hours... The Main Street had a parade going on , young girls women and men all dressed up in costumes , lol the same style but different fabrics and they walked carrying white flowers. Each barrio or church group was followed by a brass band . It went on and on for ages , we went away had dinner came back and they were still going. Made for a great atmosphere so many people out , they had set up community bbq and seating where there were enormous bbq meat selections plus grilled fish. The So What band from Germany were there and playing fun music and got us all involved clapping dancing swaying etc  a goo...

 Drove through deserts and mountains, marble quarries and silver mines. Amazing colours in the landscape . Then we would drop down and it would be more beach , strips of housing and bars and gravelly beaches.  We stopped the night at a camp that could take 200 motorhomes or caravans and there were only 6 of us. So plenty of loos and showers. They also had a big pool and only perry and I swimming, it was lovely to swim three days in a row as last nights camp  had a pool as well.    The landscape has changed , no more olive groves just miles  and miles of plastic greenhouses. I looked up what they grow and it’s broccoli, cauliflower, kale and also peaches. Today we visited Cartegena. Like most Spanish cities the centre is all pedestrian only, we visited a a Roman amphitheater, cistern, and the caves they dug to hide from the bombing during the civil war . One place we visited had a sign telling us they were open on thuesday? Not sure if that is Tuesday or Th...