Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 19th. May. Well, that's the end of another adventure. Here we are back in England, over a week earlier than we had planned. We arrived on Monday night and spent the night at our old haunt in Netley. Things conspired to get us home earlier, Jan had a sudden hospital appointment turn up, Abbey's confirmation was on Wednesday and, sadly, an aunt died and I want to attend the funeral. As it turns out, the weather was hardly made for beach hopping up the French coast and although it's no better here, we don't expect much more. We spent our last weekend in France at Honfleur, a pretty town on the Seine estuary and spent a pleasant Sunday wandering around and enjoying the sights, the sun shone and it was warm enough to sit out and enjoy a coffee. Monday we allowed the French to rip us off just one more time for €11 to cross two bridges across the estuary to Le Havre. Always makes it easier to leave!! So there we are, it seems like we only just started and it's over already. I must say, Spain and Portugal gave us a much warmer winter than Italy, I think that probably Italy wins on the culture and architecture front. We've been very lucky, met some wonderful people, eaten some great food and drunk some delicious (cheap) wines and whisky. Can't tell you how many miles we've done, who cares? Pictures of Honfleur quayside, Sunday afternoon. Think we'll do it again later in the year, already have plans in place to go to Morocco in January with some new friends found in Portugal. So now it's time to catch up with friends and family back home. Closing down for the summer but watch this space, could be back in September. Love to all, Kevin.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 13th. May. Well!! So much for beach hopping our way up the west coast of France. The weather is hideous, cloudy, cold and wet. A sure sign that we are on the way back to England. I ask you - what is the point of spending all winter getting a tan if the last 3 weeks travelling home sees it disappear? We made a long awaited return to La Rochelle in the week, a lovely town, full of French campers and their vans enjoying a two day national holiday. The place was buzzing, we just manl aged to find 6 oysters and a beer for me as that was the main purpose of our visit. It is almost 20 years to the day that we made a brief acquaintance with La Rochelle and we'd promised ourselves a closer look one day. It's such a shame that the weather has let us down. France is a beautiful country but I've yet to see it on a good day. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come in England for the summer. We'll see.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Thurs. 9th. May. After our thoroughly enjoyable stay in the country, we left our site on Sunday morning and continued our scenic drive through the Asturian countryside. We drove along the northern coast of Spain and finally settled on a wild camping spot by a river, next to a beach just west of Llanes. We spent a peaceful night there but next morning got an early call from the Guardia Civil.Good as their name, they were very polite and had the good manners not to disturb us until after 8am. The weather had started to deteriorate on Monday and by the afternoon it was cool and cloudy and we drove up to the small town of Zumaia, recommended by my new Swiss friend. It’s a charming place, with a pretty harbour and a river wharf. The beach is supposed to be excellent but we didn’t walk to it as it was too far in the rain. We parked on an aire, overlooking the river, surrounded by industrial units, one of which seemed to be fabricating objects out of steel. At midnight some clown was banging steel with a hammer or similar object, waking us up and generally making life uncomfortable. I was too lazy to move the van and the noise eventually stopped around 1am. If anyone reading this is tempted to stay at this aire, I would draw attention to the above. Needless to say, we moved on next morning, Tuesday, being Jan’s birthday. It had been my plan for some time to celebrate in San Sebastian, a place I’ve wanted to visit for many years. We arrived on an aire there around 10.30 am and after a phone call to Anthony, we set off for a day on the town. The beach and seafront are a joy to behold. Without a doubt, we had saved the best of Spanish seaside towns until last, a perfect place to enjoy a birthday!! Shame about the weather though, although it was warm, humid even, there was a drizzle in the air which was persistant an annoying. Eventually it eased and we settled on a cafe terrace, overlooking the beach and drank our first coffee of the day. The architecture along the seafront is very art deco and we spent some time picking out our houses of choice in the unlikely event of an enormous lottery win. We walked on to the old town, wandered around just enjoying the ambience and look of the place, and before we knew it it was time for a drink and a snack. We selected a pintxo (Basque for tapas) bar and ordered two outrageously concocted mini feasts which were delicious and a work of art, pictures below. Mine was enhanced with a glass of vino blanco, Jan was happy with another coffee. What a treat. The bar was full of character – and characters! After a little shopping and more gawping at the picturesque streets we couldn’t believe it – lunch time. We went to a basement restaurant, recommended in The Lonely Planet guide and enjoyed a three course gourmet meal, whiled away almost 2 hours and remarked that it was the first recommended place we had found which hadn’t closed down before we got there!! Quite the contrary, it had obtained a Michelin star since the entry, another first for us!! Very special. Lunch over we walked out onto the street and found the sun had come out. We headed for the beach and walked along paddling in the sea. The day kept getting better. I was very pleased, managed to keep Jan amused on her birthday without the help of grandchildren. After meandering around some more and spotting a nude sunbather (male) on the beach, which was an extra present for Jan, (she was very impressed – not a white bit in sight.) we eventually got back to the van around 7.30pm. A full day, we found it was warm enough to get the chairs out and watch the world go by. A good day!! Wednesday morning was dull and wet and we decided to make a run for France. We’ve planned to spend some time beach hopping up the west coast, on our way to Le Havre. The weather is not good at the moment, grey and showery. Hardly beach weather. It had better get better!! The pictures are of Jan's gastronomic birthday and fabulous San Sebastian.

Kevnjan's (not so) new adventure.

Sat.4th. May. Left Portugal and headed for the town of Santiago de Compostela, the destination for thousands of pilgrims. The cathedral, reputed resting place of St. James, the apostle, is impressive, Janet says the best she has seen. As an interested observer, I'd put it in my top ten. On Thursday afternoon we spent nearly two hours driving around the town looking for a suitable parking space and in the end opted to camp outside of town, by a campsite which was closed. Next morning we found a parking spot, took the bus to the cathedral, looked around and headed for the hills after lunch. This pilgrim, for one, was glad to get away. The old town was nice enough but I'm glad I didn't walk there!! We programmed satnav lady to take us to an ACSI site at San Tirso de Abres, an idyllic spot in Asturias, in the mountains, by a river, a farm with interesting breeds of sheep, chickens and French campers!! The journey on N640 is amongst the most enjoyable drives we have taken, through mountains and valleys similar to the Italian Tyrol. Fabulous!! I recommend it. Today we spent the morning washing our washing and the van. It looks clean once more but I know it's only temporary as we have lots of miles to do in the next few days and there are lots of flies out there. It's never ending. I hate flies!! Leaving here tomorrow, shame, we like it here, had good internet connection, skyped the Smigiels for the first time in ages. Back on our Orange phone plan so more or less unlimited phone calls. Still no TV though. Aston Villa won at Norwich. Life could be much worse. Pictures of the cathedral at Santiago and the enormous incense burner used to disguise the smell of the pilgrims. Not now though.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed. 1st. May. Goodbye April, hello May. Unbelievable, going back to England this month!! We made it to Opporto on Sunday afternoon and booked on a pretty crappy site for two nights only at Gaia. Early Monday morning we took the bus into the city. What a white knuckle ride that was - through narrow streets, littered with parked cars, seemingly abandoned by thoughtless drivers. Who'd be a bus driver in Portugal? Not me that's for sure. The city itself was pretty much as I'd imagined it. A little faded, jaded and down at heel but overflowing with charm and character, the riverside is a real treat. We took a train ride up the Douro Valley, a trip I've been promising myself for years. The scenery was pretty and it was worth the fare but somehow I felt disappointed. Perhaps it was just that as we stepped off the train Regua the clouds, whic had been threatening all morning released their rain and we had to head for the shelter of a restaurant where we had an excellent 3 course meal with drinks, coffee and port for €7.50 each. Wonderful quality, terrific value. Kept us busy until the train left to go back to Opporto. Te railway station at Opporto is a work of art with acres of walls covered in tiles depicting various scenes from Portugals history. Sadly, much of the city is being re-piped, the roads and pavements have been dug up and much of the town is a big trench. I don't think we saw it at its best. We decided one day was enough and moved on on Tuesday. I'm sorry to say that the good weather has deserted us - temporarily I hope. It is cloudy, cold and windy. Today we are staying in a small town on the banks of the Rio Minhas, a few kliometres short of the Spanish border and tomorrow we will leave Portugal. It's been a great 2 months. Portugal is wonderful but I'm looking forward to getting back to Spain where I can understand what they're saying. Thanks Portugal, we'll be back. Probably leave the crepes alone next time though.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sat. 27th. Apr. Is it really Saturday again already? We've had a great week. On Monday we went back to Lisbon to play. We'd bought a crafty €6 24 hour ticket on Sunday evening, used it to get home on the bus and still had all day Monday to roam around Lisbon on buses, trams, funicular and Metro. Great value. We put it to good use travelling all around town, mainly by trams which are museum pieces and a great way to get around. Visited the castle, high up on top of the town and just cruised around. It really is that sort of town. I recommend a visit. On Tuesday morning we took it easy, washed the van and aggravated ourselves trying to make phone calls - with little success. Left around 1pm. after a little trouble startind the van. It eventually coughed into life and we set off for the coast, in search of a beach where we could spend the night. Drove through Cascais, Estoril and onwards, eventually settling on a place called Praia Grande, a delightful spot, a little way south of Praia de Maca very quiet, no other campers around and spent three hours on the beach, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. We came off the beach around 7pm. and it was still warm. Enjoyed a quiet night and we were tempted to stay another day. We walked into Praia da Maca, about 2Ks away, had coffee and suffered more phone aggro with a phone card. Walked back and settled down to some serious sun bathing. Once again we stayed late on the beach, weather warm and sunny, and had a late dinner. Decided on an early night and turned in around 10pm. Awoke at around 12.30am to an awful din. There were cars everywhere and teenagers playing loud music and shouting to each other. It went on until around 2am. There was a full moon and the sky was clear, a million stars on view but I would rather have slept. Turned out that next day was a public holiday, April 25th. We discovered that when we went to the Post Office to post a package!! Closed!! We drove up to Praia Santa Cruz and put in some more beach time although the wind was blowing hard. Spent a much needed quiet night but woke up on Friday to clouds and cool weather. More driving was called for and we found ourselves at Sao Martim do Porto, a lovely resort with a natural bay surrounded by white sands. Trouble was it was cold and cloudy. Last night there was a gale blowing that rocked the van on its springs. Another night with little sleep. So we left and drove to Coimbra, an attractive university town, it used to be the capital of Portugal in 13th century. Spent the afternoon sight seeing and here we are. The sun's returned and the wind is easing off. Just had dinner and we're off for a walk back into town. Lots of miles this week, lots more ahead! May make it to Opporto tomorrow.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 21st. Apr. First of all I'd like to apologise for the mistakes in Thursdays blog. It was done on the phone, with predictive script and anything can happen. Anyway, we arrived at a campsite in Lisbon on Friday afternoon, changed the beds, did the washing and were ready to go bright and early on Saturday. The site is a half hour bus ride away from the centre of town and not ideally located but the pitches are large, it's in a pleasant wooded area and the facilities are good. There are three families of what seem to be Irish tinkers camping near us with broods of unruly children, brand new caravans ahd top of the range Mercedes and Land Rover Discoveries. How do they manage that, I wonder. Anyway, we are out all day and they haven't bothered us so live and let live. We were in Lisbon city centre at 10am Saturday and located the tourist office and the bus stop for the open top tour bus. Armed with a map and our headphones off we went. The weather was perfect, sunny with a cool breeze and the city was our oyster. After a circuit of the place to get our bearings we alighted at the Belem Torre, a 16th. century fortress built at the edge of the River Tejo to repel all comers. It looks a bit like a cake, made of fancy icing. We paid our entry money and went to explore. The steps to the top were steep and narrow, Jan made it to the top but has been complaining of stiffness in her legs ever since. The views from the top were worth the climb. Next we looked at the monument to Henry the Navigator, very impressive, see picture. Returned to City Centre and Jan enjoyed some retail therapy while I enjoyed a beer. This is beer weather! Returned to van around 7pm. with sore feet and tired but happy. Sunday has been just as good, we rode the bus again and returned to Belem where we found a flea market which Jan enjoyed. Booked a 2 hour cruise up the river for the afternoon and got a totally different view of Lisbon. It's a bit of a sprawl, built over 7 hills, although the centre is fairly user friendly with trams, buses and funiculars to help with the climbing. It's a colourful city although not as striking, architecturally as I'd expected. Much of the city was destroyed in an earthquake in 1755 and rebuilt. There is a style of architecture here called, Manueline which is the work of King Manuel 1st in the early 16th century. It's very fussy and over the top and the Belem Torre is a good example of it. Not my favourite style. But you can't help liking Lisbon, it's just so laid back and easy going, just like the rest of Portugal. Tonight we had dinner on the pavement outside a nice restaurant in the centre and watched the world go by. The sun was warm and the atmosphere was relaxed. Summer's arrived for the Woodwards. More Lisbon tomorrow, can't wait.