J and P explore Europe with Reggie: 2023

 we spent most of the day navigating the Pyrenees, mountainside, then beautiful and expensive looking ski towns. Rows and rows of expensive chalets overlooking ski slopes on the other side of the valley. There are little trains that run through two of the valle6 which would be great fun to do. I might have to come back here in winter .   We then came to a road diversion and it sent us through very tight gorges with overhanging cliffs , we were lucky not much traffic needed to get but. Perry earned his keep getting through miles of it . Finally out the other side and we stayed in a council Aire where the police collect €5 in the evening , although they didn’t for as as at the other end of the riverside park we camped on they had a village fete. Food stall, wine and music till midnight.  We wandered along to have a look , p had two beers and I went for a wine but you buy it by the bottle not the glass. I got a bottle of local Chardonnay , very nice one, for the price of a g...

 today was admin day, we left the motorhomes park which had filled up and now had fifty MH and headed off to a random town closed because it had a laundry you could park a MH beside. Turned out it was up a side street behind some houses, goodness knows how the person on the website found it.  Anyway excellent job done all out clothes sheets towels etc washed and dried. And in the corner the box for unmatched socks....  We drove through miles of peach and apricot trees  apparently in blossom time they run tours to see them.  Lots of storks nesting on railway poles along the way. Then into what looked like old cowboy movies of the badlands, desert with odd shapes and canyons. We then drove to La Granja to a newly set up Aire that gave you a free spot and 12 hours electric for €1 but best of all it is beside the municipal swimming pool. But when I checked on google it said temporarily closed...... very sad face when it low 30s and I’d been looking forward to a swim...

 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...