Well we always said that the weather in Portugal is pretty much like England ….It definitely has more sunshine but when it rains, it absolutely chucks it down!

We can’t complain though as we expected the week to date to pretty much be a puddle …. With us trying to swim through the middle. It has however been intermittent, with spurts of sunshine thrown in to keep us happy.

Monday’s run was accompanied by humidity and then possibly the fastest last 1.5km that I have done yet as the skies opened and the cold rain coupled with the wind chased me home…. One way of increasing my speeds I guess 🙂

We left the reservoir and meandered our way through the Eucalyptus forest to get to Avante where we stopped by the river, walking up to the old town and castle to eat our rolls whilst watching the black clouds form around us.

After lunch we continued on through the Eucalyptus to get to our destination for the night of Tomar where we parked up near the bus station along with a handful of other motorhomes (GPS n39 35′ 59″ w8 24’47”). Tomar is a town of three parts …..a beautiful walled XI century town with a convent inside, a lovely historic town at the bottom of the hill and a new town on the other side of the river. The original – containing the convent – was the last Knights Templar town to be constructed in the XI century. Very impressive and well worth a visit if you are close by.

With more rain looming we worked our way across to Pombal (GPS n39 54’30” w8 37’47”) where we caught up on the chores and then back to Coimbra (GPS n40 11′ 58″ w 8 25′ 44″) to visit the market and eat cake…. We really liked Coimbra last year and it presented itself at a convenient time to sit out the torrential rain. I wouldn’t have thought that the cloaks that the music students wear would be quite so useful …. Amazing how they can turn into waterproofs. In addition to re-visiting some of last year’s beautiful sights, we did find the rather spectacular Monastery of Santa Clara which was built in the XII century but wasn’t ever finished and finally abandoned in XVII century as it had sunk below water level and therefore was prone to flooding.

The remains have been recently excavated and it looks like they have protected it as much as possible from the close by river taking it over, but it can’t be an easy task with the quantity of rain we have had and the river so close by.

Now to the real reason we came back to Coimbra ….. Leitao… Better known as suckling pig to the rest of us …. Yummmm (yet another apology to my Jewish ancestors – I blame my dad as I am sure they will appreciate you can’t stand by and smell the bacon without wanting to have a bite…). This time we ventured to a small town north of Coimbra which is known specifically for Suckling Pig, Mealhada. The meat was seasoned perfectly and succulent as it could be – we weren’t disappointed.

With happily contented bellies we set off to Aveiro (GPS n40 38′ 35″ w8 39′ 30″), only to find that upon arriving we had a nice large nail embedded in our front right tyre ….. Yep we had a puncture 😦

The slow hissing sound at least drew my attention to a problem and although it meant we missed out on taking advantage of the dry spell yesterday afternoon to walk around Aveiro, it did enable us to get the puncture fixed and not wake to a ‘surprise’ over the weekend when it would have been more complicated.

Thankfully we are still covered under Fiats 3 year roadside assist and within three hours the tyre and Keith had been whisked away, plugged with a bit of expandable rubber – the tyre not Keith – and refitted ….. All costing us the total sum of 4 euros 🙂

When the rain started we had been forewarned that it was here for the duration. Unfortunately the weather forecast was right, so after buying a few essentials we set off to cross the border into Portugal – just in case you wondered…. The border crossing was mine, I took it with both hands on the steering wheel (as we were being blown from side to side) and with glory…. arriving at Evora for lunch. We parked up close to where we were just over 15 months ago for New Year (GPS n38 50′ 35″ w 07 54′ 24″) and once the rain slowed down late afternoon, set off into town to get Wifi’d up and see what had changed in the last year or so.

Not much had changed – although you get a lot more wifi data for your money nowadays – Evora is still as beautiful and peaceful as it was. It is one of those towns that you can keep going back to as not only is it in the Alentejo region which is known for its excellent wine and food, it also has everything you need from history and culture through to nice shops and ample patisseries, restaurants and bars.

Not wanting to spend too much time on repeated ground, we relocated to the Intermarche on the edge of town for the second night where there is now a service area (GPS n 38 42′ 03′ w 08 03′ 53″) enabling us to do the necessary for Mika whilst also doing the washing before moving on.

Leaving Evora behind, we set off towards a small hill village called Marváo, stopping briefly a Estramoz en route for a wander around. Estramoz is one of Portugal’s biggest Marble mining towns, as you walk through the streets of the old town you can see how it is influenced by its surroundings as many of the houses have white/pink marble around the doors and windows. The most impressive – although personally I wouldn’t say attractive – marble building however was definitely the convent at the top of the hill.

After lunch we moved on and up to the beautiful village of Marváo where we parked up in an Aire (GPS n39 23′ 39″ w07 22′ 26″) with views out into Spain and beyond …. There were even a few mountains in the distance with crisp white stuff on top 🙂

As you can see from the photo, despite having stunning views… We were quite glad that it wasn’t raining as we would have been washed down the hill.

Marváo is a walled village with a IX century castle both of which have been kept impeccably. We were truly surprised when they only asked 1.30 euros to go inside as the views alone were worth ten times that.

What I can’t work out is how they don’t have any decent postcards as I have a dozen beautiful photos (if I don’t say so myself – ahem!!) – perhaps I should be going into business…

Leaving our perch on the side of Portugal, we headed all of 13km down the road to Castelo de Vide where we parked up next to the stadium and athletic track on the edge of town (GPS n39 24′ 37″ w07 26′ 57″). Castelo de Vide describes itself as having a bit of everything and I think we can happily confirm that is pretty much true.

After a quick visit to the tourist office and finding a couple of walking routes, we set off into the hills onto the other side of the valley. The walk was mostly off road and incredibly tranquil, giving us views of Castelo de Vide from almost all angles. Castelo de Vide is on a fault line – which we didn’t realise – but that is what accounts for the dragon like rock formation along the top of the surrounding hills.

Returning back to the Motorhome we decided that we should try out our local bar, where in exchange for 1.60 euro – ahhh, that brings back memories of our first day in Portugal in 2014 – we received a bottle of beer and a glass of wine with stunning views…. Happy days

As we were next to the athletic track I thought I would give it a go in the morning, so set off to do my laps pushing myself on the first straight each time round and came back exhausted and with an average speed 1.3km faster than I have been doing recently…. Note to self, must try harder on my normal runs 😦

Breakfasted, we set off to explore Castelo de Vide, heading up to the castle…. today it was only a twentieth century construction so not that attractive, but then down into the Jewish quarter which was full of twisty, steep, narrow cobbled streets. It is pretty impressive how the older generation still manage to get up and down some of these streets – or perhaps that is why they last so long!

Happy that we had explored Castelo de Vide to the full, we excelled and managed all of the 17kms to get to the Aire at Barragem Povoa (GPS n39 29′ 02″ w07 32′ 51″), located on the side of the reservoir in pure tranquility. Yesterday we set off round the north side of the reservoir for a leisurely stroll meeting a couple sturdy bulls en-route …. One of them jumped out of a hedge just in front of us …. I am not sure who was more scared, him or us. Today, not a bull in sight, we walked the longer route to the south getting back as the dark grey clouds were gathering strength for the storm that is due over the next week or so 😦

I am sure that you can see the similarities from the photos, it is very scenic in this area of Portugal and there is definately a hint of Tuscany here, maybe it is the Olive groves, maybe the rolling hills, but there are definately some similarities.

Well, we did it…. we finally managed to part company with Alicante and headed up into the mountains to get a change of scenery….. And that we certainly got 🙂

We had planned to stop for a night in a small village called Alcala del Jucar, but when we looked at the weather forecast and it was predicting snow at 500m in the area we decided to make a run through the hills and get the majority of the mountainous bits behind us, arriving at a UNESCO walled town called Ubeda late afternoon.

Leaving Alicante we worked our way up into the mountains,  winding between vinyards and olive groves, occasionally getting snippets of some of the beautiful Cherry and Almond blossom whilst the temperature slowly dropped. By lunch time shorts and a t-shirt had been switched for jeans and a jumper, it had got down to 6 degrees in just a couple of hours…. Oh and about 800m of altitude 🙂

The Aire in Ubeda (Free with all facilities exc. Elec) was clean and tidy, nestled by the side of a Guardia Civil training center just outside the historic town center. GPS n38.00611 w3.37972   We selected this Aire as it enabled us to cycle over to Baeza (another UNESCO Heritage site) as well as explore Ubeda which was on our doorstep. So, after a quick baking session – yes, still making rolls – we set off to stretch our legs and see what was in store for us tomorrow.

After a peaceful night we woke to a crisp morning with blue skies and despite the 4 degrees and the Guardia Civil looking on, jumped into action and got on with our morning Tabata exercise to warm us up.  A quick shower and a bowl of porridge later and we were ready to cycle over to Baeza ….. What a beautiful place, despite being a slightly misty day the views were stunning (The enormous house behind where I was standing to take this photo was for sale….. tempted hmmm….)

Baeza has been maintained to an immaculate state

and the shops are mostly boutique-style with many a patisserie (very un-Spanish-like) to bring in the slightly wealthier clientele, but it still felt very welcoming and normal…. or perhaps that is because Keith and I found a Madrid Football Club bar to stop and have a drink in so we saw the darker side 🙂

After eating our delicious homemade rolls in the sun opposite one of the fancier patisseries we jumped on the bikes and headed back to further explore Ubeda.

Ubeda is also very attractive, but seen on the same day as Baeza it would be better described as ‘shabby chic’.  It is much more of a working town with normal shops, although thankfully also had its fair share of patisseries and I am pleased to say that we are back in the land of beer/wine and free tapa which is always a good thing 🙂

After a couple of hours being entertained by the next generation of military drummers we settled into a quiet evening to prepare ourselves for a brisk run along (down and up) the cycle path in the morning.

Showered, breakfasted, emptied, filled and packed up we set off to Córdoba ….. Where we have been before, but neither of us remember much except that it was raining.

With mixed reviews,  we decided to park up at the Parque Centro Historico Aire (11 Euros for just under 24 hours with all facilities at an extra charge) GPS n37.87454 w4.78648. It was easy and we knew we would probably only be there for one night so wanted to be close.

Walking around Córdoba didn’t trigger many memories oddly, not sure what happened on our previous visit, but I can assure you that it is very pretty and worth a visit, although full of tourists.

After a long, hot afternoon of walking through the streets of Córdoba we settled in to a local (non-touristy) bar to watch the Madrid vs Barcelona game, eating tapas for dinner.

Four days back into travelling and we are definately getting back into the routine.  Obviously we have been living in the Motorhome all year, but moving, parking, emptying, showering, washing up, etc. all takes a little bit more thinking …… We are pretty much there now, although and I am sure that by the end of the week we will have forgotten what it was like to be on a proper site!

Tonight we are stopped in a little place called Zafra where the Aire (Free with all facilities exc. elec.) GPS n38.42544 w6.41186 is close to a pretty-ish little walled town.  For us, a bit of a convenience stop as we are heading over the border into Portugal tomorrow and we wanted a last night to sort out admin in Spain….. And to stock up on a few of the bits we can’t get in Portugal ….. It is really odd how Lidl stocks different items in different countries 🙂

Just a reminder, if you want to see a map of the route we are taking you can either click on ‘Our route so far‘ on our Home Page, or just click here

Well, I have to admit I have been a little slack in regards to keeping on top of the blog over the last month, but I am pleased to say we are back…. And we are back with a vengeance as we are dusting off the tyres, polishing up the wing mirrors and stocking up on the wine ahead of our departure this week.

Six months ago we were both a bit apprehensive about staying in one place for three months …. so it is difficult to believe that with one thing and another, we have ended up spending six months here and most importantly we are still talking to each other 🙂

The last few weeks has been full-on with all the normal entertaining, socialising and sporting activity in addition to incorporating Keith’s mum, sister and brother-in-law visiting us and a quick trip back to the UK for a few days to sort out some property bits…..somehow managing to squeeze in a very quick visit to Bath to eat cake…oh sorry, yes and to catch up with a few friends 🙂

Back in the land of Alicante, Emma and Paul popped in for a night on their way back north and although they are both training for Marathons and off the alcohol, I am increasingly concerned about the drinking habits of the dogs…..

As a few of you will know, we have been deliberating our next steps and whether we go East to take in some of the beautiful parts of Eastern Europe before heading up into Scandinavia, or go West from here across to central Portugal to see a bit more of the Douro and ahem, naturally learn more about Port. Following that we would then work away across Northern Spain into France just near to a little town called Valence which is on the Rhone to do some Cherry and Apricot picking. Unsurprisingly – just to be different – we have decided to go Cherry and Apricot picking ….. And why not 🙂

So, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia have been earmarked for next year now ….. but who knows, plans are made to be changed!

All I can say is that we have had a fantastic time in Alicante and in addition to spending more time with the group of friends we already had here ……. A nice BBQ yesterday….

we have met some fantastic people on the Camper Area El Campello and made some wonderful friends, including Michelle and Teresa who we will be joining for Cherry and Apricot picking where the competition will begin as to what we can make, cook, bake with Apricots and Cherries 🙂 (As you know I am not competitive at all and really don’t like desserts …. Nor does Michelle)

So, the next blog will be from somewhere else….who knows where, but it won’t be here.  So, Happy Easter – hopefully you have had more Easter Eggs than we have …… Although I did make some Chocolate Fridge cake as compensation 🙂
As it has been a long time since we have moved anywhere I thought I should update the distances before we start racking them up…..just a reminder, this is since 16th Aug 2015.

Driving 2420 miles
Walking/Cycling 3395 Kilometers

Life has been a bit hectic (although possibly a bit dull for the reader) since the last blog as not only have we had two sets of visitors but we have also been doing a bit more ‘worky’ work than usual….. Serious stuff.

Richard (who also came out to us in Seville and Perugia) arrived on the 31st January and the weather was especially kind, enabling him to stun the Spanish natives with his pasty white legs…. Not sure he was doing his part for international relations!

As the break was more to catch up and relax we didn’t venture too far afield, but we did introduce Richard to Alicante, San Juan Pueblo and our local bar as well as taking full advantage of the good weather and eating outside all three days – two of which in the form of Bar-B-Q’s at the Motorhome. Picking up from when he left us last time, we even managed to squeeze in some card games … although Richard has obviously been practising on the sly as somehow he was on a winning streak….. best get practising for his next visit 🙂

With only a few days respite, my parents came out, arriving on the 6th February just in time to celebrate my mum’s birthday on the 7th 🙂

Between Richard leaving and my parents arriving the weather had started to change, although still warm, the wind was definitely getting up a bit more. We were a little nervous when at 6am on Sunday morning (the 7th) Keith and I woke to torrential rain and the Motorhome being blown from side to side….. somehow my parents slept through it (although to be fair they were in a hotel) so it was only when they walked down to the seafront to admire the views they were a little curious as to why the ground was slightly wet!

The sun shone all day – although it was a little windy – and to celebrate my mum’s birthday we went to a lovely beach front restaurant called ‘Azul Playa’ where we ate copious amounts of delicious food and waddled back along the seafront so my dad could take advantage of a proper Spanish siesta 🙂

Although my parents have been to this part of Spain before they can’t remember coming to Alicante, so we took them in to show them around the market and an obligatory visit to Corte Ingles, then the following day up the coast to ‘Villa Joyosa’.

We hadn’t been to Villa Joyosa before but had heard that it was pretty and that it was known for its multi-coloured houses and chocolate….. what more could you ask for?

We had a good walk along the seafront to the port fighting a little against the wind and then were rewarded after lunch with probably the best Churros and Chocolate I have tasted. It was a risk as my mum had high expectations of the Churros and specific requirements that she needed to be able to stand a spoon up in the chocolate, but Valor (who have their Chocolate factory in Villa Joyosa) came through and despite a 15 minute wait as they had just changed the oil and needed to heat it to cook fresh Churros, I don’t think that we could knock it!

Thankfully my parents left when they did as later that afternoon we were walking along the seafront and the heavens opened on us ….. although they left a beautiful rainbow (in fact it was a double rainbow) as the rain disappeared out to sea….

With colds nipped in the bud and the Christmas festivities well and truly over we have started to get back into a slightly more normal routine again over the last couple of weeks incorporating cycling and swimming back into the week … Although it has to be said that we haven’t actually been back in the sea since New Year’s Eve – the temperature has definitely dropped another degree or two.

The weather has been reasonable and we have been out on a couple of bike rides, one to Buzot to get us back in the saddle as such….and another up to Aigues which is slightly further.

We also ventured out with Nuria (Pilar – who runs the campsite we are staying at sister), Jaime and their two dogs into Sierra Gelada for a walk.

Translated literally, ‘Sierra Gelada’ is ‘Frozen mountain range’, however as it is only 800m at the top even on a cold day near Alicante I don’t think that it sees any of the white stuff very often. The stretch of mountain is along the coast between Benidorm and Altea, so a little bit of fresh air from the bars and chaos below.

Wanting to ensure that Christmas wasn’t just about the food and drink, Jorge and Yolanda took us up into the mountains on the 28th December for a picnic. We drove to a village near Alcoi, parked the car and walked up to Pla de la Casa which is part of the ‘Friars’ mountain.

It was a beautiful walk and although it was a little overcast it wasn’t windy which lead us to basque in the sun whilst eating our picnic at the top for a little longer than we should have as it was starting to get a little fresh on the way down 🙂

Yolanda and Jorge had left Elena (their youngest) at home, but brought Miguel (9) and Carlos (10) with for the walk and bearing in mind they probably ended up doing 25% more than us on the way down as they kept running into the woods, they did amazingly well for a 12km round trip and just under 800m climb. They did both fall asleep on the journey back which apparently is unheard of ….. strangely Yolanda and Jorge are really keen to go out on another walk soon 🙂

Neither Keith nor I have ever had big expectations for New Year’s Eve, it is just another night, but always nice to spend it with good friends and this year wasn’t a disappointment. We bought lots of lovely cured meats and cheeses, good wine, beer, some cider (and let’s not forget the twelve grapes) to toast in the New Year and headed to Santi’s flat with Manolo and Alfredo. Tradition has it in Spain that on each of the twelve strikes of mid-night you eat a grape, how they manage to do it in line with the strikes of the bell I don’t know as I ended up shovelling down six and then gave up for fear of indigestion and ate them at my own pace…… Next year I think perhaps we leave them out of the fridge so they aren’t quite so cold and possibly buy some slightly smaller grapes?????

It was a good night and the time flew by with Elisa and Miguel arriving at 00:30 and after a couple more drinks we headed out to a local bar/club … I would like to have said that we are obviously far too old for clubbing on New Year’s Eve, instead fear that we may have even brought down the average age in the first bar we went to which was a bit worrying. The music and ambience was definitely a little superior in the second venue – or perhaps that was just the effect of a long day/night.

After rolling into bed at 6am we didn’t actually think about breakfast until after 1pm when Keith cooked up a feast of pancakes (yes twice as many as normal) to help get us through to dinner….. The envy of everyone around us, although as our neighbours are from Holland and Belgium they were pretty much getting ready to eat their dinner when we were finishing them.

Having spent much of the last six weeks eating and drinking out we are now craving a bit of a detox and thankfully managed to cram in a couple of delicious home made casseroles before Alex (Keith’s nephew) and Lauren arrived on Monday for four nights.

Although we left them to see the wonderful sights of Benidorm on their own, we introduced them the festivities of the three kings arriving – Traditional Spanish Christmas for kids (Santa has only recently been introduced to Spain) – as well as taking in some of the local delicacies in San Juan, El Campello and Alicante! Alex even managed to get Keith out on the golf course to give him a good whipping 🙂

With the festivities now over – and Keith full of cold – we had one final push yesterday taking in a ‘Tardeo’ before things now start to calm down for a couple of weeks. Alicante has recently introduced the ‘Tardeo’ concept which means going out for a few drinks (and a dance) from mid-afternoon. It appears to be quite popular with all generations and makes better use of some of the bars and clubs that don’t normally open until 1am, although it was a little odd leaving a night club at 19:30….

As we were walking back along the beach this morning I decided that this was the picture to summarise the new year …….. Health, Happiness, Sunshine and a lot of core strength 🙂

Happy New Year everyone, let’s hope it is a good one.

As December is typically the month of over-indulgence we appear to be doing pretty well even though we aren’t in the UK. Staying in the same place for a longer period of time has some benefits as it means that we have had the chance to meet more people and build on friendships – something we missed last year.

Apologies if it is a bit dull, but yet again most of the last couple of weeks has been focussed around food……not a huge surprise I know, but even I am getting to the point of saturation 😦 …roll on January and perhaps it will calm down a little.

As we don’t have much entertaining space inside the Motorhome we are making the most of the unusually warm, dry winter, cooking bar b q’s and what has become known as ‘English rice’ for a mixture of Spanish, French and Lithuanian friends. The Anderson household is becoming increasingly well known for its desserts – not a Spanish forte – and I am sure that my mum will be pleased to know that I have now introduced Chocolate Fridge Cake to Europe….. A worthy addition to the Spanish culture 🙂

The ‘English rice’ – just in case you wanted to know – is Keith’s version of a Paella, containing salmon, prawns, artichoke hearts, green beans, red pepper and chorizo …. oddly, it is the chorizo that the Spanish have a bit of an issue with – but so far, once tried, no-one appears to turn it down….. We may have started a trend 🙂

However, we can’t knock the traditional Spanish Paella and were invited to eat at Jorge and Yolanda’s last weekend where Jorge cooked up a delicious Arroz a Banda which contained tuna, prawns, calamari and artichokes….. Believe it or not but this was for 7 adults – after having eating a huge array of croquettes, ham, herring and Octopus caught by their oldest son…. It was never ending 🙂

Naturally we have continued to work our way through the Tapas competition in El Campello taking in another four bars and their respective tapas – cockles in a delicious pepper sauce, Russian salad and anchovies, mini burger (not so great) and the grand finale for the evening which was a succulent beef ball with caramelised onions ….. Definitely a step above the rest…

Thankfully we have continued with the exercise, swimming in the sea – I forgot to mention that Keith has now christened his wet suit – as well as managing to get Santi (one of our Spanish friends) out on his bike and up to Buzot 🙂

And somehow it is Christmas again….. Not sure how that crept up on us. Although the Spanish celebrate on the 24th like most of Europe (just us Brits that are a little odd), we kept the British tradition going and were 6 for lunch on Christmas Day…… Just in case you think I can’t count…..we picked up another three for dessert 🙂

Foie Gras, Smoked Salmon, Steak on the Bar B Q, Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake for desert and home made truffles to round it all off….. Not a turkey or Christmas pud in sight, but our vision may have been slightly blurred by the alcohol that accompanied each course.

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and bring in the New Year in style.

We couldn’t have hoped for an easier trip home and to be honest we were a little spoilt with everyone running us around – Yolanda took us to Alicante airport on Thursday, Liz picked us up and dropped us off at the airport in the UK and Santi picked us up from Alicante on the way back….. we need to be careful as we have started to forget what public transport looks like 🙂

The families are all well and despite the weather forecast predicting a lot of rain, it was actually mostly dry for the four days during daylight hours…. not that there was much daylight – it was a bit of a shock to the system when it got dark before 4pm as we have been used to an additional couple of hours of daylight each day.

To make the most out of the four days back home we alternated between the Anderson and Becker residences…. a food plan executed with military precision.

Thursday afternoon consisted of Ginger muffins with a buttercream top for tea, followed by Short ribs with the meat falling off of the bone and a rhubarb crumble for dinner. Friday started with a traditional Becker family picnic lunch which incorporated pickled herring, smoked salmon and fish balls along with all the other meats, cheeses and breads you could hope for and was followed up with viennas (a kosher version of frankfurter) and a rhubarb and apple crumble for dinner…..something we never mind repeating 🙂
Saturday was Christmas day with the Andersons which consisted of all things that should belong in Christmas dinner (turkey, brussel sprouts…. although Liz had bought the flowering variety which although very tasty, they were more purple sprouting broccoli like, roast potatoes, parsnips) and no less than the usual three deserts …. Christmas pud, lemon flan and a ridiculously large chocolate ice cream dessert…

The size (and weight) of a bowling ball, the dessert was chocolate truffle in the centre surrounded by vanilla ice cream, encapsulated in a thick layer of cookie dough which was then smothered in a thick layer of chocolate fudge cake, all held together by a coating of cadburys milk chocolate…. And if that wasn’t enough, topped off with some chocolate truffles – a chocoholics dream, definately to be repeated, but perhaps it could be a little smaller next time 🙂

Hats off to Paul and Carly as following some plotting between Steve and Carly, they created a monster…..

Sunday was slightly more civilised on the food front with a lovely roast dinner in the local pub followed by a nice slice of home made Almond tart.

It is fair to say that although we didn’t get our expected fill of mince pies and christmas cake, we ate very well. I am not sure who told the rest of Europe that the Brits can’t cook, but I can assure you that in our families case, they were wrong!

The four days back home passed far too quickly and before we knew it, it was 5am on Monday morning and we were getting ready to drive back to Gatwick….. Back to Alicante to enjoy some tapas and Canas 🙂

The town closest to us along the coast is holding their ‘Duel of the Tapas’ competition throughout December so as Monday and Tuesday were holidays locally, we went to investigate with Santi, Miguel and Manolo.

We only managed to make it through three places on Monday as the second was very slow, but two out of the three were impressive…..

not bad for 2euro 50 with a glass of wine or a beer. There are 17 bars/restaurants competing in total so the challenge is on and we will try and get through them all by the end of the month 🙂

The temperature has dropped a few degrees and we are now holding a steady 18-19 degrees during the day, dropping to 6-7 degrees over night…. the mornings are fresh to say the least when we have been used to the sunshine warming the van before we get out of bed! None the less it has remained dry and mostly clear skies.

After a couple of swims in the sea I managed to catch a bit of a cold – my first since we have been travelling which is a bit of a shock to the system. Apparently something to do with the fact I was wearing a wetsuit, Pilar (the lady who runs the campsite) assures me that I wouldn’t have caught it if I were swimming as nature intended 🙂 … It has gone now thankfully, but I think for the benefit of others I will risk getting a cold for now and keep the wetsuit/swimsuit close by!

I am embarrassed to say that the last couple of weeks have been even more focussed on food and drink than usual. The Aire we are staying on celebrated its first birthday just over a week ago and the owners (Yolanda and Jorge) put on an incredible spread to celebrate, rounding off with a ‘Paella a Banda’ which had Tuna fish, Calamari and Artichokes as well as the usual …. cooking a Paella for 50 people on the surface of it appears easy…. expensive, but easy – although I am sure that is just because Yolanda and Jorge were well prepared and have done it several times. It was a lovely afternoon and not only did I learn a bit more about the art of making Paella, we also met some really lovely people.

Miguel (senior) had planned to go to Madrid last weekend to see his parents as it was his mum’s birthday and asked a few of us if we wanted to go as well. In the end five of us (Santi, Manolo, Veronica, Keith and me) rented an apartment through Airbnb for Friday and Saturday night and took in a tour of the Canas and Tapas of Madrid.

Madrid is famous for its small beers with (generally) free tapa and we managed to take in a handful of excellent examples over the weekend

The weather was perfect, cold (going down to about 0 overnight) but with clear blue skies, so armed with layers we were fine.

We did a fair amount of walking, managing to see several of the key sites in between our Tapas (well you had to build up an appetite) and then on Sunday we took a long walk through El Retiro, which is the main park through Madrid…..if you didn’t know it, we could have been in Hyde Park.

…. and I almost forgot, wait for the drum roll…….we had our door fixed. We had to travel down to Murcia, but they had the parts and fitted them in about an hour – it seems very odd to be able to get into and out of the motorhome through the door….almost a bit too normal 🙂

So, we are now on our trip back to the UK for four days to see family…. the question is how many mince pies and Christmas cake can we eat in four days – the pressure is on 🙂