Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed. 27th. Feb. Today we returned to the centre of Seville and joined a walking tour which took in the Cathedral, the Archives, a palace and the Marie Luisa gardens in the Plaza Espana which houses the 1929 Espano / American exhibition of 1929. It is a picture of perfectly formed buildings, built in the style of 17th. century Spain, to apologise for the heavy handed way in which the Spaniards treated their dominions in the Americas since the 15th century. Sadly the big stock market crash of 1929 ensured that very few people from the Americas attended. We enjoyed this place very much, Janet, who loves old buildings, was heard to say that it was her favourite place in Seville. The walk was long but the company was good. The guide, a young Columbian man named Santiago was knowledgable and informative. It was the highlight of our visit. After lunch we paid to visit the Cathedral, something which I hate to do, but it is special and a must see. We climbed to the top of the Giralda, an old Moorish, minaret, a very tall tower, which the Christians converted to a bell tower when they took over the city. The views were worth the climb. After the long walk and the equally arduous tour of the Cathedral, and the Giralda, it was time for ice cream and beer. No prizes for guessing who had what. We spent last night parked in a street in Seville and it was very noisy with traffic, although we were not disturbed otherwise. Tonight we are back on the aire we spent Monday night at and looking forward to a peaceful and restful night. Not sure what we're doing tomorrow. Depends on the weather, at the moment it's raining!! Think I'll have another whisky.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 26th. Feb. Sunday was washing day. The area around the van looked like a laundry. Changed the beds, horrible job in a van. The weather was kind, sunny, but a cool breeze and we managed to get everything dry. We sat out in the sun for a couple of hours in the afternoon but it was not really sun bathing weather. To be honest, we didn't much like the site at Puerto Santa Maria. It was muddy, had only one toilet block open, (there are three), and one of the receptionists quite clearly wanted to be somewhere else. I for one think that would be the best place for her, anywhere else!! We were pleased to leave early on Monday morning, well early for Jan, around 10.30am. We headed back to Jerez to visit the Royal School of Equestianism, world renowned for the brilliance of it's students and teachers - not to mention the horses. Satnav woman guided us to a parking place about half a mile from the school and in we went. Not cheap but Jan gets half price which helps. The buildings and grounds are pristine, and beautifully presented. We went straight to the arena to watch the training in progress and there were about 15 riders and horses going through their paces, I'm not a horse person, but it was brilliant to watch. I was told off for taking pictures, not allowed in the arena but acceptable outside for some reason. Copywrite we were told!! Whatever that means. Anyway I took some sly video which came out quite well. We visited the house, museum and saddlery and took a few more pics before going to the carraige museum and stables. I'd got some sugar cubes but was under constant surveillance by CCTV so the horses had to make do with hay. We left Jerez about 3pm and headed for Seville. We needed gas and had to go into the city to fill up before heading back out to an aire at a Caravan / camper shop about 20 ks. out. Spent a pleasant night there and in the morning headed for the St. Just railway station where we had been told we could park, yeah sure!! Good joke, we enjoyed the traffic and found our way back to where we had got gas the previous day and parked in the street. We took a 25 minute bus ride to the centre of Seville and set about sight seeing. We've been looking forward to the sights of Seville and when we arrived at the cathedral and Alcazar we weren't disappointed. We visited the Alcazar, a palace/fortress started by the Moors and developed and improved by the Spanish over the centuries. It is similar in many respects to the Alhambra in Granada but somehow, although impressive and probably larger, doesn't have the same 'wow factor' Nevertheless, if you're into historic places, you can't fail to enjoy it. Jan loved it. We spent an hour or so wandering the streets afterwards and headed back to the van around 6.30pm. Staying on the street tonight, too far to drive back to the aire. Early start tomorrow, we want to take an organised walk around the city and do the cathedral. Apparently it's very special - well I can see that from the outside!! Watch this space.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sat. 23rd. Feb. Had lots of rain on Wed. night but it cleared up sufficiently for us to explore the delights of Cadiz on Thursday. We took a bus up to the old town and admired the cathedral from outside, we're getting pretty fed up with being ripped off to go into churches which are operated by one of the wealthiest organisations on earth. Cadiz is one of those towns where just to wander aimlessly around ancient streets and soak up the essence of the place is a real pleasure. The architecture and just the Spanishness of it make it special. We visited the Castillo Santa Caterina, (no charge), a 12th century fortification started by the Moors in the 12th. century and improved by the Spanish, in the next few hundred years. It has been heavily restored, but is still an impressive fortress overlooking the wild Atlantic. There were two art exhibitions on show there which were worth a visit on their own. As we left the heavens opened and we got soaked but got the bus back to the van and dried out. In the evening we returned to the Barrio Vina, an area highly recommended for it's seafood restaurants. We made our selection and ordered fish. A very mediocre meal followed, much to our disappointment. We've had a lot of culinary disappointments this trip!! What's going on, we're not used to such a poor standard in Spain. We arrived back at the van soaked through again by torrential rain. The weather turned worse overnight with heavy rain and high winds. Not much sleep. Still, it could have been worse. Friday morning, drove to Puerto Santa Maria, where we found an ACSI campsite, partially under water. After a good look around we found a relatively dry pitch and settled in, just in time, as more heavy rain caught up with us. In the afternoon the showers became a little less frequent and we managed to walk to Mercadonna to top up our victuals. Today we took the train to Jerez de la Frontera, another town we've looked forward to with eager anticipation. It didn't disappoint. We invested in a tour of the Gonzalez Byass (Sandeman) Bodega for a taste of traditional wine and brandy production. We were amazed by the sight of a tree which is producing both oranges and lemons, you don't see too many of those!! The tour was slick and informative and the tasting excellent, the mouse with a taste for sherry didn't put in an appearance, I think he must have had the day off, maybe had a hangover. As Jan doesn't drink alcohol I had to take care of her share at the tasting. The tapas were a little stingy though delicious. We walked around the walls of the Alcazar, another 12th century Moorish fortification and checked out the cathedral, only €2 for old folk like us. We selected a table in the sun, at a restaurant in the Plaza de la Asuncion, an historic old square and ordered lunch while we decided whether to lash out. Lunch was a pleasant surprise, it was acceptable if not inspired and it set us up for a look around the cathedral. It too was a pleasant surprise but I (unlike Jan) find these places look better from the outside!! It wouldn't make my top 10. The Italians have those covered. By the time we had walked back to the station and then back to the van at the other end we had notched up a fair number of kilometres through the day. I'm now enjoying a well earned Scotch and contemplating taking the van to Jerez on Monday when we leave here for another look. Washing day tomorrow. At least the rain seems to have gone away for the time being.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 19th. Feb. Forgot to post a picture. Let's see if we can post a couple.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 19th. Feb. Left our very nice spot by the beach on Sunday morning because the clouds had rolled in overnight and it was clear that there would be no sunbathing. We decided it was time to head for Gibraltar, a treat we had been eagerly looking forward to, on a par with the big cities and the white towns. We arrived at the border around 2pm. and had a drive around La Linea de la Conception. What a dump!! Very run down, full of litter and rubbish. We crossed the border, in the van and began a search for somewhere to park on the rock. We sought the advice of a policeman who suggested Europa Point. We set off on a white knuckle ride around narrow streets and steep gradients until we encountered a bridge 2.9metres high. This was a problem as the van is 3 metres high. An interesting multi point turn was negotiated and we headed back to the border. We found a car park in La Linea which we shared with half a dozen other vans and a couple of noisy lorries, parked up and headed back to the rock on foot. We've been trying to find the right word to describe the border area and frontier post into Gibraltar and I suppose our first impression of it was seedy. We got a bus into the town centre and bought a couple of essentials, suet, salad cream, gravy granules and Teachers whisky. Found an internet cafe/pub which was far too noisy to Skype from. Walked around the town, which was - well seedy. Sat outside the Lord Nelson pub and watched Liverpool thrashing Swansea. Enjoyed a pint of Old Speckled Hen whilst getting increasingly aggravated by the assembled foul mouthed English also watching. I'm tempted to say it's just like England but with better weather, but it's more than that, unique. Anyway we were happy to go back to the van after a couple of hours. On Monday morning we went back and shared a taxi with a Swedish couple for a guided tour of the rock. It cost us £44 but was good value. The driver, Harry was a 7th generation Gibraltarian and extremely knowlegable, well able to answer all our questions, and Jan has plenty!! We were driven up impossibly steep, narrow roads up the rock and explored, St. Michaels cave, an enormous cavern with stalagtites and stalagmites, which was the home of neolithic people. The apes are the main attraction however and Janet was captivated by them. Although it is strictly illegal to feed or touch these creatures, clearly, the law does not apply to taxi drivers, (does it anywhere) and Harry seemed to be on first name terms with most of them, feeding them nuts and stroking them. They are certainly cute, particularly when grooming each other. We visited the tunnels and couldn't help thinking of our old friend Jack Marriner who had worked on them in world war 2. The views from the top were panoramic and I think Gibraltar finally redeemed itself when Jan found a silver barbary ape for her charm bracelet and we had real cod and chips for lunch. We left about 2.30pm and it was time to put in a few miles. We had planned to take our time heading up the coast to Cadiz, but the weather has taken a turn for the worse and we headed for Conil de la Frontera where there is a pleasant ACSI site, La Rosaleda. We drove through some wonderful countryside and past beautiful wild beaches, we're now on the Atlantic coast, if the weather had been better we'd have stopped. Still, we have lots to see before heading into Portugal and time is passing quickly. This morning we have had non stop torrential rain and are going nowhere until that passes. Still it gives us time to do a little spring cleaning.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 8th.Feb. Wow, a week of February gone already. We'll be home before we know it. We've had a quiet week, no visitors, just passing the time pleasantly in the sun. Yesterday we took the bus up to Fuengirola and on to Mijas. It's a long time since we were there, it still very pretty, with panoramic views across the coastal plain and down to the Med. Another stunning day, weather wise, cool breeze blowing though, making our choice of shorts for the day a bad call. Jan had a few bad days with back trouble over last weekend but has fully recovered now and we're back to our daily routine of swimming and walking, generally getting fit and healthy. Still, waiting for our ACSI package to arrive, once it's here we'll be hitting the road again. We've been here over a fortnight now and we're getting restless. We'll miss the indoor pool though. Still, it shouldn't be long before it's warm enough to swim outside again. Here's hoping. Well, that's about it for another dull blog, going to have to make something happen soon. Bye for now.