Category Archives: Spain

Spain

Towards Valencia

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Thursday 16th November 2017

As much as we enjoyed staying at Vilanova Park, except maybe at the weekends when the locals are a little on the loud side, it was time to move south in search for more sunshine.

We had chosen to move down towards Valencia and had chosen a site about 40km north of the city. A quick scan of the Camping Card book introduced us to Camping Monmar, a €17 per night site with the added bonus that if we stayed 10 nights we only have to pay for 8.

The route was almost entirely on the AP-7 toll road. It cost us about €30 in tolls, but was stress free towing for the 258km route. We could have saved a few euros by moving over to the often running parallel A-7, but the amount of trucks on that road made me think the tolls were worth paying.

I’m still really impressed with the way the Kuga tows. Usually set the adaptive cruise at an indicated 94kph and the car averages 26 to 28 mpg.

16.11.17 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 258 Cumulative: 5,068

We were met on arrival by Tomás, who invited us to choose from a number of available pitches. All were a little on the snug size for our van, awning, car combination but we managed to get comfortable with a number of motor mover manoeuvres.

Camping Monmar Pitch

The facilities are very clean with ample hot water. There is a bar and café/restaurant, and a swimming pool which unfortunately has been closed for maintenance. The local town is about a mile away, with supermarkets, bars, and an excellent bakery.

The beach is about 300yds away. The surrounding area is not the most picturesque we have seen on our travels but there are many things to visit relatively nearby. A train to Valencia costs €8.70 return, a bargain.

Tomás provided us with a map and took the time to mark out many of the places nearby that he recommended we visit. We intend to stay here for at least 10 nights, and we will receive our first visitor of the trip, Kims’ sister Carol is flying out on Monday.

Spain

Scammed In Barcelona

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Tuesday 14th November 2017

Disappointed that we had barely scratched the surface of the things we wanted to visit in Barcelona last week, we rose earlier than usual and boarded the handy bus just outside the gate to visit the city again. Kim had researched the Metro system and knew exactly which stations to use to visit our first attraction of the day, Tibidabo, a 512 metre ‘mountain’ which affords excellent views over the city and the Mediterranean Sea. There is a Blue Tram & a funicular railway that takes you up to the summit, where stands the magnificent Sagret Cor church, and a funfair.

Sagret Cor Church

The Torre de Collserola, a communication tower designed by Sir Norman Foster is also located on the mountain.

Torre de Collserola

Unfortunately the Blue Tram was out of service on the day of our visit. We decided to walk the decidedly uphill 650 metres to the funicular station. This, in hindsight, is where our day took a  turn for the worse.

As we approached the funicular station, walking on the shady side of the road, we both got sprayed with a foul smelling liquid down our backs. Bloody birds!!, we thought.

God knows what sprayed on our backs 🙁

 

As we were inspecting the mess down each others backs, a man and a women, with a very large pack of baby wipes, approached and commenced to help us clean up the mess. Very handy & helpful we thought. Totally out of character, Kim put down her bag on the floor. The couple were pointing out to me where Kim had this stuff in her hair, and I continued to clean. We thanked them for their kindness and they walked away, back down the hill.

Twenty minutes later, after we had taken the funicular to the summit, Kim discovers that the €50 note that was in her purse had gone. Upshot is, these kind people sprayed us with god knows what, robbed us, and we thanked them for doing it! Scum.

Why didn’t we notice them lurking in the shadows? Why didn’t I pick up on the fact she had baby wipes in abundance, but no baby? Why did Kim put down her bag, she never puts down her bag? Why are we so bloody trusting? 🙁

We have been told we were lucky, most people lose their cards, driving license, passports etc., we were only deprived of cash.

After discovering the loss, we continued to look around for a while, but we were both acutely aware that we smelt not very pleasant and were extremely distraught about what had happened and with our own stupidity for allowing it.

We returned to the campground to shower and wash our clothing.

A little later we were approached by our on-site neighbour asking if we would like to join him and another nearby camper for a bottle of wine later that evening. Not being ones to turn down wine, we gratefully accepted 🙂

We had a wonderful evening with Lutz, from Germany, & Ed, from Holland. The chatting went on for some hours and raised our spirits again. We also managed to consume 4 bottles of red wine, & a bottle on Limoncello between us!! Thank you gentlemen, we hope to meet again on the road.

Lutz was flying back home the next morning. I hope his head was feeling better than mine.

Spain

Sitges

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Monday 13th November 2017

Today we made a visit to the coastal town of Sitges. Sheltered by the Garraf Mountains, it has a warm micro-climate and was only a short drive from our hub.

We managed to find Parking Zone Azul opposite the Hotel Estela, which was east of the port and free at this time of the year. In the sea below us were a few surfers making the most of the waves. (In wet suits 😉 )

Sitges Surfers

Our journey into town took us through the Port de Sitges, Aiguadolç. A very attractive area with numerous restaurants and plenty of yachts, moored up. It’s impossible not to notice the sound of rigging chiming against the masts. You either love it or hate it!

Sitges Marina
Sitges Marina

We left the port and headed towards Sitges, taking a man-made coastal path with sea view running its length.

Down below us was the Platja des Balmains; a  sheltered sandy beach in a small bay, which we later discovered was quite popular as a ‘clothing optional beach’.

Platja des Balmains

On the day we passed by there were a few paddler boarders surfing the waves and yes, one man staring out to sea, in the altogether 🙂 whatever floats your boat I guess.

Sitges has 17 beaches (platjas in Catalan) to suit all tastes, but not all in the main part of the town.

Sant Sebastia Beach

After passing a rather imposing church, Ermita de Sant Sebastià, we reached the Sant Sebastia beach, with its promenade and cafes.

Ermita de Sant Sebasti

Continuing west we reached Sitges’ Old Town. The narrow cobbled streets and alleyways were hilly but gave us an opportunity to look at some fabulous architecture. The Old Town is not particularly big but its position affords views across the sea and the rest of the town.

Here in the Old Town/Old Quarter the Marciel Museum and Cau Ferrat Museum showcase Catalan and other Spanish art.

Sitges Old Town

From here we made our way down to the popular sandy beach of Platja de la Ribera  and wandered along the wide promenade (paseo), with numerous restaurants and hotels on our right hand side for a while.

Platja de la Ribera
El Greco Statue
View towards Ribera Beach from the promenade

It is possible to continue further along the seafront promenade  of 2.5 km, following the Paseo Marítimo and on to Terramar Gardens where you can admire the splendid renovated mansion houses that now sell or rent for a mint!

As you can tell, we didn’t continue any further, but made our way back through some narrow streets up to the main shopping district.

We enjoyed a piña pastry and a café solo at a pavement patissiere before heading back to our car.

For those of you that don’t know Ray, he doesn’t much enjoy shopping but there are a number of big chain stores and cute boutiques concentrated in the main shopping area of Carrer Sant Francesc, the shopping street north of the Cap de la Villa.

Gaudi Clock Tower

There are four main shopping streets in Sitges: Carrer Sant Francesc, Carrer Parellades, Carrer Major and Carrer Jesus. The four streets end together in one point, where the Cap de la Villa is located.

Remember in Spain, shops usually open from 10 am until 2 pm and then from 5 pm until 8/9 pm, so as not to be disappointed.

Sunset Over Sitges….
…and the Marina

As we approached the port, the sun was sinking below the horizon and the temperature was beginning to drop. A good time to get back to the car and head for home.