Monday 26th, August 2019
Today we went into Bressuire to pick up the external drive, and with some good news and some bad news. The movies and tv series are there, as the fixit man found them, but the bad news is that there is no order at all,and no names of what they are, so as you can imagine it is going to be quite a big task to get some semblance of order back into the files. After we leave the computer man, we make our way to the local Renault dealer, as they are the service people for the car we have, a Dacia Sandero Stepway. We get to the said dealer, and fortunately for us the service guy that we see can speak enough English for Bob to explain what is happening with the car. At first our service man says he knows whats wrong, and take the key pad apart and takes the battery out, and explains that sometimes there is a build up of moisture in the pad, so he cleans it up, puts it together and nothing happens, so he tries changing the batteries for new one. Again, nothing happens. Now, he is scratching his head, and decides to investigate further, and he invites us to wait in the dealership for about an hour while he tries to find out what the problem is. After an hour and a half of waiting, he comes back to us and says the car needs to stay overnight so they can sort it out. Just as well the Dacia has full Roadside assist, as we get a courtsey car, for the duration. Now, this car is small, and as Bob gets in, he makes the comment, that he didn't think we could get a smaller car, as the car we had in England was a Honda Jazz, so for someone of Bobs stature, a small car could be an issue. The courtesy car we have is a Renault Twingo, but it serves the purpose, we get some supplies, and head home.
Tuesday, 27th August 2019
Today, we are going to go to a place called Pescalis to check it out. We keep seeing the signs, and figure, we might as well, even if we have the courtesy car. Just as we are about to leave, Bob gets a call to say that our car is right to be picked up. We decide to still to and check out this place, then continue onto where the car is.
We get to the said place, and there seems to be no one about, so we drive around just looking. and trying to find what the attraction is, as there are so many signs to this place. We are a little confused. It seems that it is a place where people can go to fish, but only on one part of it, to use the other and the main side, there is a fee which is to be paid. Apparently it is off season, and times are limited. There is supposedly a resort here and a aquarium but everything looks very closed.
So we leave here and make our way to Bressiure to collect our car. We are told it was from using the 12v charger, that caused the problem, but we are not convinced. Anyhow it is good to have our not so smaller car back. When check out Bressiure a bit more and then head back to our accommodation, after some lunch.
Saturday, 28 September 2019
Friday, 27 September 2019
Portugal
Monday, 16th September 2019
Ready for a day of exploring this area we are in. We drive about looking for the old bridge that was built here by the Romans back in back in the first century. The Romans believed the river Lima to be a river of forgiveness. The town was a walled city and some parts of the wall still exist. We find the Bridge, and walk across it, Bob with trepidation, because on the other side is huge markets. Up until now, Bob has done his best to keep me away from markets, but now he embraced this one, the closer he got to it. These markets were enormous. They stretched both banks of the bridge, and they were loud. People/venders were calling out what they had for sale, (well, thats what I thought it was, as I didn't understand what was being said,) and you can tell by looking and the siignals they were using.
So we wandered about looking at what merchandise was for sale, there was fruit and vegetables, clothes of all maner, including undergarments and socks, shoes, Linen, from towles, sheets, blankets, pillows, table clothes and table runners, small table cloths in traditional colours, nice and bright. We came across a vender who was selling olives and other food stuffs, and we happened to notice these brown nut type things but didn't know what it was. Quite a number of fruit and vegies stall had these items, so we made enquiries into what it was. Turns out, they were Chestnuts. We were given a taste of these, after some translation through the phone. They were quite nice, so we decided to get some. We asked if they were grown on the tree that had spikey balls on them, as we had noticed these trees with the odd fruit on them as we were walking to the bridge. And yes, that was them. We contintued through the endless stalls, and looking at things, making a couple of purchases, Bob haggling the price on something he bought. We found a couple of tops for me, as I had decided to brighten up my clothing. We got 2 tops for 5 euro. Which I thought was really cheap, and when you convert that to AUD it is 8.15. So yes they were cheap. So that was good, then we look at some trousers that might fit at another place, but I decided not to, as I felt they were to much, and was not up to haggling with the lady.
So after that we contiue on and then finish looking at the markets, although we had only ventured down one end of them, but as Bob said, they were probably more of the same. So we made our way to find something to eat for lunch, many of the cafes were very busy and had no spare tables, but eventually we found a place, after Bob had bought some locally produced wine.
Our lunch was good, and the waiter spoke a little english, so it was not such a struggle to get what we wanted. After we have eaten, we head back to the car almost exhausted from our excursion and head back to our unit.
A couple of hours later we head out agian, to find the local supermarket to get some supplies for the next few days, and we find it without to much hassles. It is once again interesting doing the shopping in an area that is different to our language, but thankfully all the pictures are the same, and with the use of modern technology, we get enough to get us through the next few days.
It has been a very educational day, yet again
Tuesday, 17th September 2019
We have decided to take a drive to Viana do Castelo today, to see what is around the area which is a 30 min drive. We arrive at the township, and finding a park is just as difficult as it has been in the past, but we eventually find one a little distance away. The wak will do us good, and so we head of to see what this place has to offer. It is on the Atlantic ocean, and there is a marina with ships and a ferry on the water, as well as some official looking type of boat, which we can't figure out what department it is with.
Our walk takes us past the Gil Eannes Hospital Ship, whose job it was in 1955 to 1973 to support Portugese Codfish fleets, that worked the area and Greenland. It had onboard an xray machine as well as an operating room. It also served as a maritime authority, a mail ship, tugboat, and an Ice Breaker and it is now a museam ship.
We continue on our way up to what appears to be the main shopping area, and we pass many shops selling many touristy things. But there is a lot of Traditional dress costumes on display in shop windows, as well as their traditional jewerlly that they wore. There was a lot of brightly coloured materials and linen ware. We wander aimlessly along, taking in all that is about us, the little streets that seem to lead off and go on for a long time and have lots of cafes and resturants dotted along them.
We find a hairdresser that isn't busy, and Bob gets his hair cut. After some hand gestures and a little language, it is worked out how short he wants it. This lady works away at cutting his hair, and takes particular care, snipping all the time, and resnipping at certain spots. Eventually, she finishes and she has done a great job for the princely sum of 7 euros. I thought that was very well priced, given the timeand care she took. We continue on our exploring and find somewhere to have lunch, we both decide to have Tuna salads and they were great.
After we have eaten, we head back to the car to go to the Santa Luzia, which is a temple on top of the hill. We notice there is a fog setting in, and when we look up to the hill, the fog is enclosing around the Temple, but we still decide to up and look. We wind our way up the hill to the summit and like most other places, getting a park is virtually impossible, so we follow the lead of the car ahead of us, and doube park.
The views up here are great, over looking the village below, and the inlet and ocean, and the fog has lifted for the moment. We go up to the entrance of the Temple and are ushered in by a Nun that was standing there holding her Rosemary beads. Once inside, we take time just to look about, but this a little simplier than other ones we have visited. The views outside are the main attraction, as there are many more people outside than inside. One thing that was a positive I felt was, that there was no booth there trying to sell items to those that entered, like a lot of other Churches and Basillicas have. Although just dow the road there was a souvenier place aswell as a cafe, but it was far enough away not to intrude on the reverence of the Church. We make our way back down the hill and decide to go back to our accommodation.
Later on in the evening we decide to go to a Resturant that has been recommended to us by our host. We find where it is on the GPS and head off, and once again it is a round about way to get where we need to go, but, unfortunately, the gps has got us sort of in the wrong spot, but almost there, so Bob decides to follow his nose and follow another car that is heading in the same area we are. Well we follow this motorist and end up in a tightest little street, with nowhere to turn around, only in the parking spot of the house ahead. So now we have to wait for the lead car to turn about, and then it is our turn, we go back about 200 meters, and there is our Resturant. We had just passed it. Now to get a park, as the car ahead, has taken a park that we saw, but alas, there was another one just big enough for us to squeeze into. Our meal at the Resturante O Brasao was wonderful, and the owner welcomed us nicely. Apparently our host had called ahead and mentioned that we might be in at some stage.
Wednesday, 18th September 2019
Today we are exploring the local area, (there are no markets today ), and we wonder down the streets just looking at what is about. There are lots of little Jewellry places, and of course the bar/resturants, and there seem to be a lot of optical places, given the size of the township. We wander around looking at the shops, and looking at watches, as Bob said to me a couple of weeks ago that I should have a new watch, so we have been looking, seeing if there is anything that suits both his taste and mine. And today we find a watch, and the deal is done. Bob asks me if it is the right one and if i wanted to look more, but i said, no, this is the one. He is surprised that it was that easy. After this we go and search for lunch and find a little Japanese cafe, and have a great meal. My meal was so beautifully decorated, it was almost a shame to eat it. But I did eat some of it, Now we go to pay the bill, and the card is not accepted. So I said I would go and find a atm and get some money to pay for our lunch. Went to the first one, and my card was not accepted. So I head back to the place we ate at, and met Bob on the way. So we hunt down for another atm, and Bob gets some money out, and I get some aswell, and we head back to the Cafe, I pay the bill, and the lady give me a free can of Coke as I had to walk some distance. I tried to refuse it, but she was very insistant. So we wander a bit more, finding the local post office, and getting some prices for mail to be sent back to Australia.
We have a coffee in one of the street cafes before we head back to our unit.
Later we head out again to explore the immediate area around us, and there is many shops and businesses in the street around us and Bob finds a wallet that is suitable for his needs. In our area, there a a couple of schools and high schools, The schools here are not like ones bake home with big open grounds and school ovals, they are buildings that have no open grounds and no ovals. Just big fences around them, and with the primary schools, it seems that most of them have fences that you dont get to see through. Very different to home.
Once back at our unit, we have to start thiking about packing up again as we are on the move again tomorrow. Our uint has been great, and was very flash. a pleasant stay.
Thursday, 19th September 2019
We leave Ponte de Lima and are heading to Estoril, still in Portugal and still on the coast line. This is a 4 hr trip, and we make a couple of stops. We drive past a place called Fatima, and Bob tells me there is something about this place that is significant. I am driving at this time, so he does some research and tells me it is a Catholic pilgrimage site. Allegedly, the Virgin Mary appeared in May 1917 to Oct 1917 to 3 little shepards. We continue onwards and get to our destination, Estoril, but are a bit early, so we drive onto Cascais to see whats about there. It is one busy place, as you can imagine, being on the beach. Again, the common theme is parking issues, so we just keep driving and looking about. We go back to Estoril, and find our next accommodation, and wait for our host to greet us at the required time. Bob has messaged him to let him kjnow we are her, and we go in and wait on the front landing. After about 15 mins we hear a voice call out Bobs name, and it is our host. We go up meet Louis and get shown about our place it is cosy and a bit dated, but it has all that we need.
Friday, 20th September 2019
Today we decided to check out a place up on the Mountain here that was recommended to us by our host Louis. Sintra, a place with palaces, castles and many other historic things. It is a 30 min drive to the town, and we are not the only ones heading to this place. Not long into the drive, there is a toll, so we pay this with coins, and continue onwards. Following the directions of Karen, (the gps) we go where we are told to, and get to the village of Sintra, a bustling place with lots of traffic and some road rules that go out the window. One has to almost force your way into roundabouts as the traffic keeps on coming. We advance further along up the hill, our destination was to be the Quinta da Regaleira, but somehow we took a wrong turn, and we were following Karen. We must have zagged when we should have zigged. Anyhow she didn't squark to much and we ended up way up the mountain, along with many other visitors to the area. There was a couple of tourist attractions on the road, and traffic at times was less than a crawl, but with persistance we continued on. Not that there was much other choice, as there was no where to do a u turn. We were fortunate to grab a park, because the traffic was stopped by a guy who got into his van and signelled that he was leaving so we took advantage and made use of it. We hadn't intended to stop, but as the old saying goes, ''Never look a gift horse in the mouth ''. We got out and took a bit of a walk to see exatly what was around us. There was the Palacia Nacional da Pena, and a couple of other places, so we decided to walk the bush track to the Palacia da Pena, of which there were a few others. When we got there, like most other places, there was a line up, and once inside, one got the bus to go up to the Palacia. We decided that we would go to another place, the one of our original choice, so back we go, this time walking via the road. Once in the car, we make our was back down the mountain, and try again for the Quinta da Regaleira. Eventually we find it, and start looking for somewhere to park the car, but alas, no luck, so we just keep on driving. At least we had anice drive up and down the mountain.
We now decide to hit the shopping centre that we passed on our way and grab some lunch. So many choices. I do the right thing and decide to have a healthy salad, despite there being KFC, which I have not had for ages, and it is not all that common to find here. Bob had steak and some fries and an egg. So after we have eaten, we need to grab some food to take back to our unit for the next few days. Once again we are trying to figure out what is what, and look about at all the things that are available. There is a fish tank, with live lobsters and crabs in it, so you can choose which one you want. There is dried fish, lots of it, and whole fish sitting on ice, but not enclosed in a cabinet like back home. We find some whole cooked chooks and i go and wait in line, take a ticket and wait. An elderly gentleman give me a ticket, because he had got an extra one, so I was grateful, and thanked him as best as I could in my English. So this would place me two spots sooner. While I was waiting, Bob happens to get served by the woman who is serving up where the chickens were, as the rest of the staff were on the other side, and he gets the Chook, it gets cut into quarters, and bagged. So now I feel bad, because the gentleman still has to wait. Next we head over to the fruit and vege section, and we make our selections. Over here in some of the grocery shops, we have to weigh the fruit and vegies, and put the scanning sticker on them. A young attendant sees that I seem to be having trouble and comes over and does it for me. Next, I try again with some grapefruit, I watch a woman do this, as she also has grapefruit, and I try, but she comes back and does it for me. Bless her. Bob has some fruit, and he manages to nail it.
We head off back to our unit, ahd retire for the rest of the day.
Saturday, 21st September 2019
Our plan for today is to catch the train into Lisbon, a 30 min train ride. We walk to the train station, and get our tickets and wait for the next train to Lisbon. While waiting Bob notices a guy wearing a Australian Rugby shirt, and walks up to him and they start conversing. I am at the other end of the platform waiting for the train, and when it does comes I have to hurry over to where they are, and we all get on together. Turns out this guy is an Aussie, and lives in the local area. He has been in Brazil for a few years, and is a Chiroprator. What good luck, as Bob has been trying to organize an appointment with a chiropractor in Spain when we get to our next stop there. This chap keeps chatting to us as we board the train and tells us where would be good to go, and where he lives as we go by in the train. When we get to Lisbon, we part company, but not before he has given Bob his card.
Once outside the train station, we look about and are thinking that the hop on hop off buses would be the thing to do. So we get tickets and go to the closest stop, which is just over the road and down a little way. When the bus gets there, it is full. The tickets we have gives us two routes to take, so we walk to where the next stop is for the second route. And we wait, and wait. A couple of other tour bus companies stop, and go again. Eventually, the right one for us comes, and Bob goes to line up, when a lady said that she was in the line, so that was fair enough, however when they got to the door, they ummed and ahhed about going as there was only 3 seats, and there was Five of them. The decided not to go, and then the bus left. So, now we have to wait again. Eventually the bus came and there was seating available, so we take our place and watch the city pass us by. After this tour finishes, we go and find something to eat, which ends up being Burger King, and just as we get inside it starts to rain. We hold up inside for a little while, hoping that the rain will stop, but it is not that heavy, so we venture out, and go and wait for the next hop on hop off bus tour route. The rain has not stopped, and we get ushered into another bus just while the rain is happening, and while our bus gets ready. Once it has been disembarked of it's previous passengers, we get on board. We end up, up stairs, and the tour starts. The bus takes us round the city, and up the windy roads, and up to where a church is on top of a hill, of which there are a lot of people about, with cafes and resturants, and the numerous souvineer shops, all bustling with activity.
As we get further along on the bus, the rain doesn't stop, and people are getting wet, and moving to a drier place, even if they have to stand. Bob and I are relatively out of the rain, but, as I am sitting on the window side, there is water seeping down the wall and along the sill. My sleeve gets quite wet, and then the water runs down my side, and my complete right side is almost completely saturated. By now, Bob is getting a little wet too, from the drips from the roof, and landing on the back of his neck. Oh well, all part of the adventure. There was a few things to see on the tourm but nothing that grabs our attention, and we found that at times the audio was a bit slow for where we were or it was a bit ahead, but no matter, we got to see Lisbon, without us having to drive it.
When the tour finishes, we stay on board so that when it starts again, we can get off at a stop that is closest to the rail way station. So we disembark at the required point and buy an umberella from a guy selling them at the station, and catch the train back to our unit. The umberellas did get used on the way back from the train station at Estori, as it was still raining there aswell, and we had to walk back to the unit. It was good to get back and get out of the wet clothes.
Sunday, 22nd September 2019
Sunday was a leisurely day, we rested for the morning, and then around lunch time we went for a walk along the waterfront of Estoril, and explored what was about on the foreshore. Found somewhere to have something to eat, and walked some more then returned back to the unit. Since we arrived here in Estoril, there has been the World Championship Padel competitions, and despite the rain yesterday, it is still going. I had never heard of Padel until we got here, and it is a Racquet sport, played on a court a third of the size of tennis court and it is enclosed. So now I know.
Ready for a day of exploring this area we are in. We drive about looking for the old bridge that was built here by the Romans back in back in the first century. The Romans believed the river Lima to be a river of forgiveness. The town was a walled city and some parts of the wall still exist. We find the Bridge, and walk across it, Bob with trepidation, because on the other side is huge markets. Up until now, Bob has done his best to keep me away from markets, but now he embraced this one, the closer he got to it. These markets were enormous. They stretched both banks of the bridge, and they were loud. People/venders were calling out what they had for sale, (well, thats what I thought it was, as I didn't understand what was being said,) and you can tell by looking and the siignals they were using.
So we wandered about looking at what merchandise was for sale, there was fruit and vegetables, clothes of all maner, including undergarments and socks, shoes, Linen, from towles, sheets, blankets, pillows, table clothes and table runners, small table cloths in traditional colours, nice and bright. We came across a vender who was selling olives and other food stuffs, and we happened to notice these brown nut type things but didn't know what it was. Quite a number of fruit and vegies stall had these items, so we made enquiries into what it was. Turns out, they were Chestnuts. We were given a taste of these, after some translation through the phone. They were quite nice, so we decided to get some. We asked if they were grown on the tree that had spikey balls on them, as we had noticed these trees with the odd fruit on them as we were walking to the bridge. And yes, that was them. We contintued through the endless stalls, and looking at things, making a couple of purchases, Bob haggling the price on something he bought. We found a couple of tops for me, as I had decided to brighten up my clothing. We got 2 tops for 5 euro. Which I thought was really cheap, and when you convert that to AUD it is 8.15. So yes they were cheap. So that was good, then we look at some trousers that might fit at another place, but I decided not to, as I felt they were to much, and was not up to haggling with the lady.
So after that we contiue on and then finish looking at the markets, although we had only ventured down one end of them, but as Bob said, they were probably more of the same. So we made our way to find something to eat for lunch, many of the cafes were very busy and had no spare tables, but eventually we found a place, after Bob had bought some locally produced wine.
Our lunch was good, and the waiter spoke a little english, so it was not such a struggle to get what we wanted. After we have eaten, we head back to the car almost exhausted from our excursion and head back to our unit.
A couple of hours later we head out agian, to find the local supermarket to get some supplies for the next few days, and we find it without to much hassles. It is once again interesting doing the shopping in an area that is different to our language, but thankfully all the pictures are the same, and with the use of modern technology, we get enough to get us through the next few days.
It has been a very educational day, yet again
Tuesday, 17th September 2019
We have decided to take a drive to Viana do Castelo today, to see what is around the area which is a 30 min drive. We arrive at the township, and finding a park is just as difficult as it has been in the past, but we eventually find one a little distance away. The wak will do us good, and so we head of to see what this place has to offer. It is on the Atlantic ocean, and there is a marina with ships and a ferry on the water, as well as some official looking type of boat, which we can't figure out what department it is with.
Our walk takes us past the Gil Eannes Hospital Ship, whose job it was in 1955 to 1973 to support Portugese Codfish fleets, that worked the area and Greenland. It had onboard an xray machine as well as an operating room. It also served as a maritime authority, a mail ship, tugboat, and an Ice Breaker and it is now a museam ship.
We continue on our way up to what appears to be the main shopping area, and we pass many shops selling many touristy things. But there is a lot of Traditional dress costumes on display in shop windows, as well as their traditional jewerlly that they wore. There was a lot of brightly coloured materials and linen ware. We wander aimlessly along, taking in all that is about us, the little streets that seem to lead off and go on for a long time and have lots of cafes and resturants dotted along them.
We find a hairdresser that isn't busy, and Bob gets his hair cut. After some hand gestures and a little language, it is worked out how short he wants it. This lady works away at cutting his hair, and takes particular care, snipping all the time, and resnipping at certain spots. Eventually, she finishes and she has done a great job for the princely sum of 7 euros. I thought that was very well priced, given the timeand care she took. We continue on our exploring and find somewhere to have lunch, we both decide to have Tuna salads and they were great.
After we have eaten, we head back to the car to go to the Santa Luzia, which is a temple on top of the hill. We notice there is a fog setting in, and when we look up to the hill, the fog is enclosing around the Temple, but we still decide to up and look. We wind our way up the hill to the summit and like most other places, getting a park is virtually impossible, so we follow the lead of the car ahead of us, and doube park.
The views up here are great, over looking the village below, and the inlet and ocean, and the fog has lifted for the moment. We go up to the entrance of the Temple and are ushered in by a Nun that was standing there holding her Rosemary beads. Once inside, we take time just to look about, but this a little simplier than other ones we have visited. The views outside are the main attraction, as there are many more people outside than inside. One thing that was a positive I felt was, that there was no booth there trying to sell items to those that entered, like a lot of other Churches and Basillicas have. Although just dow the road there was a souvenier place aswell as a cafe, but it was far enough away not to intrude on the reverence of the Church. We make our way back down the hill and decide to go back to our accommodation.
Later on in the evening we decide to go to a Resturant that has been recommended to us by our host. We find where it is on the GPS and head off, and once again it is a round about way to get where we need to go, but, unfortunately, the gps has got us sort of in the wrong spot, but almost there, so Bob decides to follow his nose and follow another car that is heading in the same area we are. Well we follow this motorist and end up in a tightest little street, with nowhere to turn around, only in the parking spot of the house ahead. So now we have to wait for the lead car to turn about, and then it is our turn, we go back about 200 meters, and there is our Resturant. We had just passed it. Now to get a park, as the car ahead, has taken a park that we saw, but alas, there was another one just big enough for us to squeeze into. Our meal at the Resturante O Brasao was wonderful, and the owner welcomed us nicely. Apparently our host had called ahead and mentioned that we might be in at some stage.
Wednesday, 18th September 2019
Today we are exploring the local area, (there are no markets today ), and we wonder down the streets just looking at what is about. There are lots of little Jewellry places, and of course the bar/resturants, and there seem to be a lot of optical places, given the size of the township. We wander around looking at the shops, and looking at watches, as Bob said to me a couple of weeks ago that I should have a new watch, so we have been looking, seeing if there is anything that suits both his taste and mine. And today we find a watch, and the deal is done. Bob asks me if it is the right one and if i wanted to look more, but i said, no, this is the one. He is surprised that it was that easy. After this we go and search for lunch and find a little Japanese cafe, and have a great meal. My meal was so beautifully decorated, it was almost a shame to eat it. But I did eat some of it, Now we go to pay the bill, and the card is not accepted. So I said I would go and find a atm and get some money to pay for our lunch. Went to the first one, and my card was not accepted. So I head back to the place we ate at, and met Bob on the way. So we hunt down for another atm, and Bob gets some money out, and I get some aswell, and we head back to the Cafe, I pay the bill, and the lady give me a free can of Coke as I had to walk some distance. I tried to refuse it, but she was very insistant. So we wander a bit more, finding the local post office, and getting some prices for mail to be sent back to Australia.
We have a coffee in one of the street cafes before we head back to our unit.
Later we head out again to explore the immediate area around us, and there is many shops and businesses in the street around us and Bob finds a wallet that is suitable for his needs. In our area, there a a couple of schools and high schools, The schools here are not like ones bake home with big open grounds and school ovals, they are buildings that have no open grounds and no ovals. Just big fences around them, and with the primary schools, it seems that most of them have fences that you dont get to see through. Very different to home.
Once back at our unit, we have to start thiking about packing up again as we are on the move again tomorrow. Our uint has been great, and was very flash. a pleasant stay.
Thursday, 19th September 2019
We leave Ponte de Lima and are heading to Estoril, still in Portugal and still on the coast line. This is a 4 hr trip, and we make a couple of stops. We drive past a place called Fatima, and Bob tells me there is something about this place that is significant. I am driving at this time, so he does some research and tells me it is a Catholic pilgrimage site. Allegedly, the Virgin Mary appeared in May 1917 to Oct 1917 to 3 little shepards. We continue onwards and get to our destination, Estoril, but are a bit early, so we drive onto Cascais to see whats about there. It is one busy place, as you can imagine, being on the beach. Again, the common theme is parking issues, so we just keep driving and looking about. We go back to Estoril, and find our next accommodation, and wait for our host to greet us at the required time. Bob has messaged him to let him kjnow we are her, and we go in and wait on the front landing. After about 15 mins we hear a voice call out Bobs name, and it is our host. We go up meet Louis and get shown about our place it is cosy and a bit dated, but it has all that we need.
Friday, 20th September 2019
Today we decided to check out a place up on the Mountain here that was recommended to us by our host Louis. Sintra, a place with palaces, castles and many other historic things. It is a 30 min drive to the town, and we are not the only ones heading to this place. Not long into the drive, there is a toll, so we pay this with coins, and continue onwards. Following the directions of Karen, (the gps) we go where we are told to, and get to the village of Sintra, a bustling place with lots of traffic and some road rules that go out the window. One has to almost force your way into roundabouts as the traffic keeps on coming. We advance further along up the hill, our destination was to be the Quinta da Regaleira, but somehow we took a wrong turn, and we were following Karen. We must have zagged when we should have zigged. Anyhow she didn't squark to much and we ended up way up the mountain, along with many other visitors to the area. There was a couple of tourist attractions on the road, and traffic at times was less than a crawl, but with persistance we continued on. Not that there was much other choice, as there was no where to do a u turn. We were fortunate to grab a park, because the traffic was stopped by a guy who got into his van and signelled that he was leaving so we took advantage and made use of it. We hadn't intended to stop, but as the old saying goes, ''Never look a gift horse in the mouth ''. We got out and took a bit of a walk to see exatly what was around us. There was the Palacia Nacional da Pena, and a couple of other places, so we decided to walk the bush track to the Palacia da Pena, of which there were a few others. When we got there, like most other places, there was a line up, and once inside, one got the bus to go up to the Palacia. We decided that we would go to another place, the one of our original choice, so back we go, this time walking via the road. Once in the car, we make our was back down the mountain, and try again for the Quinta da Regaleira. Eventually we find it, and start looking for somewhere to park the car, but alas, no luck, so we just keep on driving. At least we had anice drive up and down the mountain.
We now decide to hit the shopping centre that we passed on our way and grab some lunch. So many choices. I do the right thing and decide to have a healthy salad, despite there being KFC, which I have not had for ages, and it is not all that common to find here. Bob had steak and some fries and an egg. So after we have eaten, we need to grab some food to take back to our unit for the next few days. Once again we are trying to figure out what is what, and look about at all the things that are available. There is a fish tank, with live lobsters and crabs in it, so you can choose which one you want. There is dried fish, lots of it, and whole fish sitting on ice, but not enclosed in a cabinet like back home. We find some whole cooked chooks and i go and wait in line, take a ticket and wait. An elderly gentleman give me a ticket, because he had got an extra one, so I was grateful, and thanked him as best as I could in my English. So this would place me two spots sooner. While I was waiting, Bob happens to get served by the woman who is serving up where the chickens were, as the rest of the staff were on the other side, and he gets the Chook, it gets cut into quarters, and bagged. So now I feel bad, because the gentleman still has to wait. Next we head over to the fruit and vege section, and we make our selections. Over here in some of the grocery shops, we have to weigh the fruit and vegies, and put the scanning sticker on them. A young attendant sees that I seem to be having trouble and comes over and does it for me. Next, I try again with some grapefruit, I watch a woman do this, as she also has grapefruit, and I try, but she comes back and does it for me. Bless her. Bob has some fruit, and he manages to nail it.
We head off back to our unit, ahd retire for the rest of the day.
Saturday, 21st September 2019
Our plan for today is to catch the train into Lisbon, a 30 min train ride. We walk to the train station, and get our tickets and wait for the next train to Lisbon. While waiting Bob notices a guy wearing a Australian Rugby shirt, and walks up to him and they start conversing. I am at the other end of the platform waiting for the train, and when it does comes I have to hurry over to where they are, and we all get on together. Turns out this guy is an Aussie, and lives in the local area. He has been in Brazil for a few years, and is a Chiroprator. What good luck, as Bob has been trying to organize an appointment with a chiropractor in Spain when we get to our next stop there. This chap keeps chatting to us as we board the train and tells us where would be good to go, and where he lives as we go by in the train. When we get to Lisbon, we part company, but not before he has given Bob his card.
Once outside the train station, we look about and are thinking that the hop on hop off buses would be the thing to do. So we get tickets and go to the closest stop, which is just over the road and down a little way. When the bus gets there, it is full. The tickets we have gives us two routes to take, so we walk to where the next stop is for the second route. And we wait, and wait. A couple of other tour bus companies stop, and go again. Eventually, the right one for us comes, and Bob goes to line up, when a lady said that she was in the line, so that was fair enough, however when they got to the door, they ummed and ahhed about going as there was only 3 seats, and there was Five of them. The decided not to go, and then the bus left. So, now we have to wait again. Eventually the bus came and there was seating available, so we take our place and watch the city pass us by. After this tour finishes, we go and find something to eat, which ends up being Burger King, and just as we get inside it starts to rain. We hold up inside for a little while, hoping that the rain will stop, but it is not that heavy, so we venture out, and go and wait for the next hop on hop off bus tour route. The rain has not stopped, and we get ushered into another bus just while the rain is happening, and while our bus gets ready. Once it has been disembarked of it's previous passengers, we get on board. We end up, up stairs, and the tour starts. The bus takes us round the city, and up the windy roads, and up to where a church is on top of a hill, of which there are a lot of people about, with cafes and resturants, and the numerous souvineer shops, all bustling with activity.
As we get further along on the bus, the rain doesn't stop, and people are getting wet, and moving to a drier place, even if they have to stand. Bob and I are relatively out of the rain, but, as I am sitting on the window side, there is water seeping down the wall and along the sill. My sleeve gets quite wet, and then the water runs down my side, and my complete right side is almost completely saturated. By now, Bob is getting a little wet too, from the drips from the roof, and landing on the back of his neck. Oh well, all part of the adventure. There was a few things to see on the tourm but nothing that grabs our attention, and we found that at times the audio was a bit slow for where we were or it was a bit ahead, but no matter, we got to see Lisbon, without us having to drive it.
When the tour finishes, we stay on board so that when it starts again, we can get off at a stop that is closest to the rail way station. So we disembark at the required point and buy an umberella from a guy selling them at the station, and catch the train back to our unit. The umberellas did get used on the way back from the train station at Estori, as it was still raining there aswell, and we had to walk back to the unit. It was good to get back and get out of the wet clothes.
Sunday, 22nd September 2019
Sunday was a leisurely day, we rested for the morning, and then around lunch time we went for a walk along the waterfront of Estoril, and explored what was about on the foreshore. Found somewhere to have something to eat, and walked some more then returned back to the unit. Since we arrived here in Estoril, there has been the World Championship Padel competitions, and despite the rain yesterday, it is still going. I had never heard of Padel until we got here, and it is a Racquet sport, played on a court a third of the size of tennis court and it is enclosed. So now I know.
Thursday, 19 September 2019
Bordeaux and the start of Spain
Monday, 9th September 2019
Today we decided to check out the local area of Bordeaux. And then we hit traffic, but it is the same in every country. It is there everywhere. We meander and weave our way through the congestion, and follow our gps directions to get to the centre of Bordeaux. There is a lot of road works happening in the city centre, and turns are missed, and redirected, but eventually we find a car park and set off on foot to explore the area. First we start with coffee at Starbucks. This is to be our landmark for our return. We walk about marvelling at the place and the combination of the old and the new, There are many ancient remenants still about, amid the hustle and bustle of the city life. Once again, endless steets that seem to go on forever, with them filled with people. Trams running through the middle of the heart of the city, all cohabitating along very well. There are no warning signs about the Trams, it is just a given that you will hear and see them coming. There are people on bikes, scooters, skate boards, all going about their business, and tourists taking in the sights. We decide to research if there is a hop on hop off bus service for the city, and yes there is one, but not hop off, a city sightseeing bus. Off we trot to find the office of Tourism to secure a seat on the bus. We have not done the bus tour thing again since our experience in Belfast. We get to the Kiosque to get tickets and board the bus within a couple of mins of it leaving. I am so glad we did do this bus tour, we saw so many sights and the commentary was very informative. And there was no stopping and getting off, it was great, plus the weather was once again perfect for the open top tour. As part of our tour, our ticket entitled us to a free Bordeaux treat, a Canele, a small French Pastry flavored with rum and vanilla with a soft tender custard in the center, which was very nice, but not on the diet, but still nice.
I find a couple of shops to look in, and then we make our way back to our place in Yvrac. A great day.
Tuesday, 10th September 2019
Ok, so today is going to be a lighter day of travel, visit a vineyard in the Bordeaux region. We had a particular Winery to go to, Chateau Talbot, due to the family associaton on Bobs side. This is an hour drive, and we pass many many wineries and vineyards. Vast areas of grape growing countryside. Some more elegant than others with their entrances, and their esteem in the wine world. We arrive at our destination only to find it is only open by appointemtn only. hmmmm oh well, next.
So we retrace our tracks to a flash looking place we past on the way, and stopped in. This time they were open, but were not doing any more tours for the rest of the day. This was at 1.15 pm. Ok, onto plan B which is our next destination, Le verdon sur Mer, a point of an inlet. We stopped and had lunch here, which was the largest salad I have had for a very long time, even Bob was almost beaten by the size of the salad. We start to make our way back to Bordeaux, when the plan is changed and we are now going to Chateau de Corens. Apparently they don't need prior appointments and they are open for the day. We arrive just after 3 and join a tour that is already underway. The guide doesn't speak English, but we say that is ok, as we join the group, which is 3. Fortunately for us, there is a young man who is willing to help us understand and does a little translation for us. We get to finally do some taste testing after quite some distance travelled for the day, and the wines are very pleasant. Mission accomplished. We head back, grab something light for dinner and retire for the evening.
We leave the area tomorrow and leave France for a couple of months.
Wednesday, 11th September 2019
Today is a big day for the two of us, as neither one of us have been to Spain before. Bob is excited about this, something new for both. Although, he had not been to the UK or Ireland before either. We started our journey to Castro urdiales which is a 4hr trip, with a waystop at Arcachon that will increase our time travelling. But, this is a good thing, as we have all day to get to where we have to be. Our trip is good, and we are amazed by the constant stream of trucks on the road, one after the other. We figure that they are not supposed to over take, but some do. They do however, have to stay in the one lane when not overtaking. Bob and I share the driving as we have done most of the time we have been away, and I get to drive in Spain first. Well, once again, there is no significant sign to say we have crossed the border. The only way we know we have is the road sign language has changed and we have looked on the road map to see where about the border is on the highway.
The area we are in, is close to the Pyrernees mountains, and we skirt around them to get to our destination. We arrive at our lodgings, and the mother of the host gets to show us to our unit. This is very interesting as none of us speak each others language. First of all, she asks with hand movemets if we have a car, so she shows us where to park the car, and with her guidence, Bob gets the car parked in the under ground car park. Next we go up to the unit. This lady shows us all the things we need to know, and we take what we can from her instructions, and showings, which we understand pretty much. So after taking some time to rest, we decide to get our luggage, and assorted other things we need out of the car. We are on the 4th floor, and thankfully there is a working elavator. So we get our stuff, and get to our door and guess what, we can't unlock the door, and neither of us have our phones with us, as we were only going to the car. We try with brute force to try and open the door with the key, but to no avail.
So with no phones, only my tablet in the car and Bobs new phone that has no sim in it, we head off to find a McDonalds or somewhere where there is free Wifi. We find Burger King, alais Hungry Jacks in Australia, and try to find a park, but we have no money as all the money cards are in the unit. So we park next to Burger King and use their wifi, in a side street with no parking signed on it. Cars come and go around us, some beep their horns and some just cruise past. We sit here for about 45 mins trying to log into the wifi and send a message to our host explaining what has happened, all the time with the hazards lights flashing. Eventually she replies and organises the mother to come over, after instucting us to try the door, but pull it as we unlock it, which Bob did before we left. So back we head to our unit, and presto, we get in, but not as easily as our host said, it was pure force and determination that got us in I am sure. Anyhow a message is sent back letting them know we got in.
So opening the door now, is a job soley for Bob, as I can't seem to manage it, and panic about no being able to unlock the silly thing. As a result of our ordeal, we now have to find something for dinner, and lucky for us there is a Mcdonalds just up the road, that we are able to walk too. Which incidently didn't show on our search when we were looking for resturants earlier, or I didn't scroll down far enough. So we take a walk to Maccas, and walk back, and hope like crazy we can get in again. Bob seems to have mastered the door now, thankfully. Day is done.
Thursday, 12th September 2019
After a nights sleep we are ready to explore the day around Castro Urdiales, after I have done some washing. So mid morning we head off on foot to look about this place. It is a very plesant place with boats and a marina, and lots of rocky outcrops exposed and raising out of the sea aswell. There was a great park not far from where we are staying, which fronts onto the Atlantic ocean with rock walls. We walk all day, and explore the many streets, that seem to be mainly bar, and cafes. It is bright and vibrant, and there are lots of people out and about, with their dogs, meeting friends and having a drink. There is a lovely little beach with sand, that has lots of people on it, soaking in the sun. It's interesting to see all the people with chairs are facing the sun or they themselves are facing the sun, taking in all the sun they can get. I guess the heat here is different here to back home. Anyhow there are all sorts and body types sunbaking on the beach, with the occassional topless ones aswell, not just the men.
The walkway along the beachfront is paved and is nice and wide. Very pleasant for strolling. We find somewhere to have a bite to eat, and keep on exploring the area. We find that true to the Spanish culture, they have their seista in the middle of the day, and many shops close from around 12.30 to 3pm and some even later.
We go to an Orange phone shop to get Spanish SIM cards as we are going to be here in Spain for a couple of months. Of course we didn't bring our passports with us so we have to go back tomorrow. We head back to our accommodation and rest, then go out to get some essential foods for the next couple of days. Once again our phones get used to interpret what things are, and the pictures work well too. So mission accomplished, we have our supplies and we head back to cook our evening meal, then retire for the evening.
Friday, 13th September 2019
Ready for another day, did a little more washing, then rested for part of the day. We went out to get the SIM card sorted, with passports. Success. To date we have had SIM cards from Canada, France, Ireland, france again and now spain. Each time we have had to change phone numbers. We have almost got this. Lol, we found somewhere to have lunch after walking for awhile. Even though we don't speak the language, we are picking up the essentials, with the help of modern technology. It is nice to sit back and watch the world and their dogs go by.
Saturday, 14th September 2019
Today we are off to explore the region near to us. We start on our way to Santander, which is about an hour away. Beetling down the highway, Bob makes an executive decision to have a look at a place called Laredo. So we detour into this place, and drive around. trying to find the beach. We found somewhere we wated to stop at, but parking was a huge issue, so we just kept motoring on, then we found another place, and parked the car. Had a quick wak about the cafes that were there and decided on one to have some lunch. We are trying to eat in a more healthier way, so we need to see whats on the menu. The place we settle for was great. The waitress spoke a little English and gave us a menu which has words that we understood. It was a good salad lunch we had, and the ambience of the place was great. There were a few locals there all seemingly very happy, and then a group of Danish push bike riders entered and added to the athmoshpere.
After lunch we strolled down the street, trying to find the beach again. We followed where others were heading and eventually found it. The beach was sandy, and there were lots of people enjoying the sun and children playing like all kids do. We head back to the car, and decide that is enough for one day, so we make our way back to the unit. All in all a very pleasant day.
When we get back to the unit after we have cooked and eaten dinner, we decide to see what our trip tomorrow is going to be like. Good thing we did this, because next trip is a 6 to 7 hrs trip. Hmmmmm, how did this happen. This means we have to leave a little ealier that first thought. We are heading into Portugal. So we start to pack up and take things down to the car that we don't need for the rest of the evening just to make it easier in the morning.
Sunday, 15th September 2019
Today we leave on our long trip to Ponte de Lima, Portugal. We share the driving with me starting the first stint. There isn't a great deal of traffic on the road, and Bob researches the absence of trucks on the highway. It turns out, there is a ban on heavy vehicles on the roads on Sundays, from 10pm Saturday to 10pm Sunday. This makes it a easier trip although the trucks are not usually a problem, as they have their own lane to be in. After about 3 hours we start looking for somewhere to have some breakfast, and pulled into one place, and it was very busy, so we left hoping to find something else along the way. We stop to put some fuel in the car, at a service station, but not just a service station, but a station with service. The guy came out to fuel the car, which took Bob by surprise, as you can well imagine. Something that has not happened for a very long time in Australia. We had pulled up near to the deisel bowser and the attendantand gets set to put the fuel in, I jump out and say to Bob, to stop him as its deisel. But he has it all under control. The service station is busy as there has been a detour from the main highway, so a few cars and and bikes were using the station aswell. So we get the fuel in, again with a language difference, but its a normal thing, and we head off again. Eventually we get back onto the main highway again, but not until we have drive up a mountain, and back down again. We cross the border, and there is a portugese sign with the flag colours on it noting we are in Portugal. We find a place to stop and have something to eat. Again the languge is different, and one of the girls behind the counter speak a little english, so it makes it easier for us to tell her what we want.
Back on the road agian and Bob at the wheel now, we continue on our journey. Eventually we arrive in Ponte de Lima, a little ealier than anticipated, as we told our next host we would be here at around 5.30, but due to Portugal having an hour time difference from Sapain, we are an hour or so ealier. We find a Mcdonalds to use the wifi so we can contct our host explaining and asking if we can gain access earlier. Unfortunately it was not suitable for us to get in much earlier, as he was out of the town area. So we wait for a whie at Mcdonalds then find our way to our next abode. We get to the said address, after a couple of missed turns and can't find the number we are looking for. This requires some further investigating. so we hop out of the car to find the allotted number, and presto we find it. Now we wait for our host to materialize, and he does. He shows us to the apartment, and Wow this place pretty smick. Very flash. It will do us very nicely. All done out in black and white, air conditioned and with electric shutters that makes the place totally dark, not that that really stops me waking early. We have a meal of left overs from the previous night and relax for the evening. There is large flat screen tv, and a smaller one in the bedroom. AND pay tv is actually in English with portugese subtitles. Yippee, we can even watch normal tv shows.
Today we decided to check out the local area of Bordeaux. And then we hit traffic, but it is the same in every country. It is there everywhere. We meander and weave our way through the congestion, and follow our gps directions to get to the centre of Bordeaux. There is a lot of road works happening in the city centre, and turns are missed, and redirected, but eventually we find a car park and set off on foot to explore the area. First we start with coffee at Starbucks. This is to be our landmark for our return. We walk about marvelling at the place and the combination of the old and the new, There are many ancient remenants still about, amid the hustle and bustle of the city life. Once again, endless steets that seem to go on forever, with them filled with people. Trams running through the middle of the heart of the city, all cohabitating along very well. There are no warning signs about the Trams, it is just a given that you will hear and see them coming. There are people on bikes, scooters, skate boards, all going about their business, and tourists taking in the sights. We decide to research if there is a hop on hop off bus service for the city, and yes there is one, but not hop off, a city sightseeing bus. Off we trot to find the office of Tourism to secure a seat on the bus. We have not done the bus tour thing again since our experience in Belfast. We get to the Kiosque to get tickets and board the bus within a couple of mins of it leaving. I am so glad we did do this bus tour, we saw so many sights and the commentary was very informative. And there was no stopping and getting off, it was great, plus the weather was once again perfect for the open top tour. As part of our tour, our ticket entitled us to a free Bordeaux treat, a Canele, a small French Pastry flavored with rum and vanilla with a soft tender custard in the center, which was very nice, but not on the diet, but still nice.
I find a couple of shops to look in, and then we make our way back to our place in Yvrac. A great day.
Tuesday, 10th September 2019
Ok, so today is going to be a lighter day of travel, visit a vineyard in the Bordeaux region. We had a particular Winery to go to, Chateau Talbot, due to the family associaton on Bobs side. This is an hour drive, and we pass many many wineries and vineyards. Vast areas of grape growing countryside. Some more elegant than others with their entrances, and their esteem in the wine world. We arrive at our destination only to find it is only open by appointemtn only. hmmmm oh well, next.
So we retrace our tracks to a flash looking place we past on the way, and stopped in. This time they were open, but were not doing any more tours for the rest of the day. This was at 1.15 pm. Ok, onto plan B which is our next destination, Le verdon sur Mer, a point of an inlet. We stopped and had lunch here, which was the largest salad I have had for a very long time, even Bob was almost beaten by the size of the salad. We start to make our way back to Bordeaux, when the plan is changed and we are now going to Chateau de Corens. Apparently they don't need prior appointments and they are open for the day. We arrive just after 3 and join a tour that is already underway. The guide doesn't speak English, but we say that is ok, as we join the group, which is 3. Fortunately for us, there is a young man who is willing to help us understand and does a little translation for us. We get to finally do some taste testing after quite some distance travelled for the day, and the wines are very pleasant. Mission accomplished. We head back, grab something light for dinner and retire for the evening.
We leave the area tomorrow and leave France for a couple of months.
Wednesday, 11th September 2019
Today is a big day for the two of us, as neither one of us have been to Spain before. Bob is excited about this, something new for both. Although, he had not been to the UK or Ireland before either. We started our journey to Castro urdiales which is a 4hr trip, with a waystop at Arcachon that will increase our time travelling. But, this is a good thing, as we have all day to get to where we have to be. Our trip is good, and we are amazed by the constant stream of trucks on the road, one after the other. We figure that they are not supposed to over take, but some do. They do however, have to stay in the one lane when not overtaking. Bob and I share the driving as we have done most of the time we have been away, and I get to drive in Spain first. Well, once again, there is no significant sign to say we have crossed the border. The only way we know we have is the road sign language has changed and we have looked on the road map to see where about the border is on the highway.
The area we are in, is close to the Pyrernees mountains, and we skirt around them to get to our destination. We arrive at our lodgings, and the mother of the host gets to show us to our unit. This is very interesting as none of us speak each others language. First of all, she asks with hand movemets if we have a car, so she shows us where to park the car, and with her guidence, Bob gets the car parked in the under ground car park. Next we go up to the unit. This lady shows us all the things we need to know, and we take what we can from her instructions, and showings, which we understand pretty much. So after taking some time to rest, we decide to get our luggage, and assorted other things we need out of the car. We are on the 4th floor, and thankfully there is a working elavator. So we get our stuff, and get to our door and guess what, we can't unlock the door, and neither of us have our phones with us, as we were only going to the car. We try with brute force to try and open the door with the key, but to no avail.
So with no phones, only my tablet in the car and Bobs new phone that has no sim in it, we head off to find a McDonalds or somewhere where there is free Wifi. We find Burger King, alais Hungry Jacks in Australia, and try to find a park, but we have no money as all the money cards are in the unit. So we park next to Burger King and use their wifi, in a side street with no parking signed on it. Cars come and go around us, some beep their horns and some just cruise past. We sit here for about 45 mins trying to log into the wifi and send a message to our host explaining what has happened, all the time with the hazards lights flashing. Eventually she replies and organises the mother to come over, after instucting us to try the door, but pull it as we unlock it, which Bob did before we left. So back we head to our unit, and presto, we get in, but not as easily as our host said, it was pure force and determination that got us in I am sure. Anyhow a message is sent back letting them know we got in.
So opening the door now, is a job soley for Bob, as I can't seem to manage it, and panic about no being able to unlock the silly thing. As a result of our ordeal, we now have to find something for dinner, and lucky for us there is a Mcdonalds just up the road, that we are able to walk too. Which incidently didn't show on our search when we were looking for resturants earlier, or I didn't scroll down far enough. So we take a walk to Maccas, and walk back, and hope like crazy we can get in again. Bob seems to have mastered the door now, thankfully. Day is done.
Thursday, 12th September 2019
After a nights sleep we are ready to explore the day around Castro Urdiales, after I have done some washing. So mid morning we head off on foot to look about this place. It is a very plesant place with boats and a marina, and lots of rocky outcrops exposed and raising out of the sea aswell. There was a great park not far from where we are staying, which fronts onto the Atlantic ocean with rock walls. We walk all day, and explore the many streets, that seem to be mainly bar, and cafes. It is bright and vibrant, and there are lots of people out and about, with their dogs, meeting friends and having a drink. There is a lovely little beach with sand, that has lots of people on it, soaking in the sun. It's interesting to see all the people with chairs are facing the sun or they themselves are facing the sun, taking in all the sun they can get. I guess the heat here is different here to back home. Anyhow there are all sorts and body types sunbaking on the beach, with the occassional topless ones aswell, not just the men.
The walkway along the beachfront is paved and is nice and wide. Very pleasant for strolling. We find somewhere to have a bite to eat, and keep on exploring the area. We find that true to the Spanish culture, they have their seista in the middle of the day, and many shops close from around 12.30 to 3pm and some even later.
We go to an Orange phone shop to get Spanish SIM cards as we are going to be here in Spain for a couple of months. Of course we didn't bring our passports with us so we have to go back tomorrow. We head back to our accommodation and rest, then go out to get some essential foods for the next couple of days. Once again our phones get used to interpret what things are, and the pictures work well too. So mission accomplished, we have our supplies and we head back to cook our evening meal, then retire for the evening.
Friday, 13th September 2019
Ready for another day, did a little more washing, then rested for part of the day. We went out to get the SIM card sorted, with passports. Success. To date we have had SIM cards from Canada, France, Ireland, france again and now spain. Each time we have had to change phone numbers. We have almost got this. Lol, we found somewhere to have lunch after walking for awhile. Even though we don't speak the language, we are picking up the essentials, with the help of modern technology. It is nice to sit back and watch the world and their dogs go by.
Saturday, 14th September 2019
Today we are off to explore the region near to us. We start on our way to Santander, which is about an hour away. Beetling down the highway, Bob makes an executive decision to have a look at a place called Laredo. So we detour into this place, and drive around. trying to find the beach. We found somewhere we wated to stop at, but parking was a huge issue, so we just kept motoring on, then we found another place, and parked the car. Had a quick wak about the cafes that were there and decided on one to have some lunch. We are trying to eat in a more healthier way, so we need to see whats on the menu. The place we settle for was great. The waitress spoke a little English and gave us a menu which has words that we understood. It was a good salad lunch we had, and the ambience of the place was great. There were a few locals there all seemingly very happy, and then a group of Danish push bike riders entered and added to the athmoshpere.
After lunch we strolled down the street, trying to find the beach again. We followed where others were heading and eventually found it. The beach was sandy, and there were lots of people enjoying the sun and children playing like all kids do. We head back to the car, and decide that is enough for one day, so we make our way back to the unit. All in all a very pleasant day.
When we get back to the unit after we have cooked and eaten dinner, we decide to see what our trip tomorrow is going to be like. Good thing we did this, because next trip is a 6 to 7 hrs trip. Hmmmmm, how did this happen. This means we have to leave a little ealier that first thought. We are heading into Portugal. So we start to pack up and take things down to the car that we don't need for the rest of the evening just to make it easier in the morning.
Sunday, 15th September 2019
Today we leave on our long trip to Ponte de Lima, Portugal. We share the driving with me starting the first stint. There isn't a great deal of traffic on the road, and Bob researches the absence of trucks on the highway. It turns out, there is a ban on heavy vehicles on the roads on Sundays, from 10pm Saturday to 10pm Sunday. This makes it a easier trip although the trucks are not usually a problem, as they have their own lane to be in. After about 3 hours we start looking for somewhere to have some breakfast, and pulled into one place, and it was very busy, so we left hoping to find something else along the way. We stop to put some fuel in the car, at a service station, but not just a service station, but a station with service. The guy came out to fuel the car, which took Bob by surprise, as you can well imagine. Something that has not happened for a very long time in Australia. We had pulled up near to the deisel bowser and the attendantand gets set to put the fuel in, I jump out and say to Bob, to stop him as its deisel. But he has it all under control. The service station is busy as there has been a detour from the main highway, so a few cars and and bikes were using the station aswell. So we get the fuel in, again with a language difference, but its a normal thing, and we head off again. Eventually we get back onto the main highway again, but not until we have drive up a mountain, and back down again. We cross the border, and there is a portugese sign with the flag colours on it noting we are in Portugal. We find a place to stop and have something to eat. Again the languge is different, and one of the girls behind the counter speak a little english, so it makes it easier for us to tell her what we want.
Back on the road agian and Bob at the wheel now, we continue on our journey. Eventually we arrive in Ponte de Lima, a little ealier than anticipated, as we told our next host we would be here at around 5.30, but due to Portugal having an hour time difference from Sapain, we are an hour or so ealier. We find a Mcdonalds to use the wifi so we can contct our host explaining and asking if we can gain access earlier. Unfortunately it was not suitable for us to get in much earlier, as he was out of the town area. So we wait for a whie at Mcdonalds then find our way to our next abode. We get to the said address, after a couple of missed turns and can't find the number we are looking for. This requires some further investigating. so we hop out of the car to find the allotted number, and presto we find it. Now we wait for our host to materialize, and he does. He shows us to the apartment, and Wow this place pretty smick. Very flash. It will do us very nicely. All done out in black and white, air conditioned and with electric shutters that makes the place totally dark, not that that really stops me waking early. We have a meal of left overs from the previous night and relax for the evening. There is large flat screen tv, and a smaller one in the bedroom. AND pay tv is actually in English with portugese subtitles. Yippee, we can even watch normal tv shows.
Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Clesse 2nd to 8th September
Monday, 2nd September 2019
Today the school children go back to school, as this is the start of their school year, We decided to take a drive to Poitiers, a journey of about an hour, and 65kms. After I make some facetime calls to my children and Friend, we hit the road. The weather is once again perfect, and the trip to our destination is hassle free. Deciding to have lunch at Subway, we make this our first stop, and find over the road is a Hyper market, which we duly note, as we do have some shopping to get before we leave the town. After we have eaten, we head for the centre of town, and find it, but do go up a streets that we couldn't go to far on, as it had a bollard in the middle of it, unknown to our gps Karen. So after backing back a small distance, we try again for the car park, and manage to nail it with out to much issues. We find ourselves in the middle of the old part of Poitiers, where there are lots of restaurants and Cafes, some are open, and some are closed due to the time of the day. We pass by the Eglise Notre-Dame La Grande and take a look inside this building. Inside the church the walls and columns are brightly painted and there are great stained glass windows. Once again, the mighty statues and ornately carved wooden furniture is always present.
We move onward to explore the maze of streets, and open areas, and find the Salle des Pas Perdus - Palace of Poitiers. This was not open due to refurbishment work that was going on, but it is a large hall, that Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine's palace, and up until recently housed the Palace of Justice, and dates back to the 9th century. We continue our walk about the streets, and find the most wonderful city square, that has the most beautiful building all about it. One of which is the Hotel De Ville, dating back to 1875. Such a grand building, I guess it would have to be the Place to be way back then and even now.
We walk on further, now looking for the local Orange phone place, and head off, in what I think is the right direction, following my gps on the phone. Alas we seem to be getting further away from our destination, so I hand the phone to Bob and let him sort it out, and next minute, a man steps up to us and asks if we are lost. Hmmm did it look that obvious,lol. We tell him where we were aiming to be and he tells us to follow him, he will show us as it is not far, and he says this in very good english. Very nice of him to do this, and we try to engage in small conversation, of which we learn he is a nurse, and has lived here all his life. So after a short walk, we are pointed into the right direction, and off we go. Turns out, we were closer to it, before we started on our walk about the centre. So all ends well, and we head back to the car, and stop to do our shopping and head back to our accommodation to do battle with the flies.
I know we have flies back in Australia, but they have them here too, and with no screens on the houses, it is very annoying, but Bob has sharpened his fly swatting skills, and is now very good at getting them, and the evidence is on the floor, but first on the shopping list is fly spray, as we used the last of what was here, a few days ago.
Tuesday, 3rd September 2019
A quiet day today, lots of resting, and chilling. We decided to have a picnic tea, at the local park just out of Clesse. It is a lovely spot, and we where the only ones there for a good while. We walked around the pond there, that is used for fishing at the right times of the week. I saw a couple of fish jump clean out of the water, which was really good. It was a very peaceful place, and was good to have a meal with out having to battle with flies. A couple of people came later to walk their dogs around the area, and that was all we saw.
Wednesday, 4th September 2019
Today we went for a drive to Thouras, which is 42kms, 38 mins trip.This is another old city, with buildings dating back to the 13th century. The most notable building was the Chateau des Ducs de La Tremoille. An amazing building built on the river Thouars, in the 17th century and was one of the most important castles in France, with a facade of 110 meters long. You can still see most of the walls that were built around it. We took a walk about the streets, and took in the other sites of the area. We took a walk about the centre of Thouras, and found again many little streets to wonder about. We found a building that must have been a church at some point in time but now it was being converted to a something to do with wine barrels and music. The lady who we approached about it, was ever so helpful, and even though we both spoke different languages, and didn't understand each other, with the help of drawings and a hand gestures, we got the general idea.
Thursday, 5th September 2019
Today was a day of washing, as we are leaving our abode on Saturday, and taking advantage of having a washing machine, seemed a sensible thing to do. We have found that some places we stop at don't always have a washing machine. In the afternoon, we take a drive into Bressuireto hand back the airbox that has been on loan to us. We also try to find a special cable for the external drive, because we have come across very old tvs that don't have usb ports. Remember the big old square ones, probably a early nineties model, thats what i am talking about. Anyhow no luck finding the cable, except online.
Friday, 6th September 2019
Day of sorting things out, and getting stuff repacked again. After being in one place for 3 weeks, we have to gather our belongings and place back into suitcases. I do the last load of washing. After lunch, we decide to drive into Clesse for the last time and have a beer at the local bar/general store.
Our time here is drawing to a close, we have explored most of the local area, and other villages, it has been good, and relaxing.
Saturday, 7th September 2019
We leave Cleese after doing a bit of cleaning and the usual stuff that needs to be done. We are on the road by 9.30 and have a 2hr and 30 min drive and thats without a couple of waypoints that we have tailored into our trip. This first one is to a place called Rocheford. We grabbed a bite to eat, then did a bit of a drive aroud. Found a huge bridge, which is still under renovation. It is a platform between two uprights and itis the visitor tourist center. It is called the Transporter Bridge, and virtual trips can be taken there.
Next scheduled stop is Cognac. We figured as we were passing the area, we might aswell check it out. After some research, we find the Remy Martin boutique, and are given directions to the chateau, and we got there in time to catch up with a tour that had just started. It was very interesting, and lots of great aromas as we entered each building. Some of the barrels that they use are well over 100 years old. This place had 150 000 barrels in strorage, and an interesting fact, is that they lose 5000 barrels to Angels tears. Meaning that evaropation is takes those 5000 barrels. We got to the end of the tour and then to the taste testing. I guess it was a good thing for the bank balance that I didn't really take to the taste of Cognac. Some of the more high end products were over $5000. But when you understand that ageing process and the quality of the decanter that it is sold in, it makes it a little more understandable. The decanter of one of these items is made from Baccarat crystal, and has gold on the lable. Not to shabby.
Our next destination is a little place just outside Bordeaux, called Yvrac. Our host was here to meet us and what a great little place we have secured. Our host, Kristoff, was a very frendly man, who made us feel very welcome, going though everything that we needed to know, and showing us how the coffee maker works. His thoughtfull touches made it very easy to relax after our day of travelling.
Sunday, 8th September 2019
A day of exploring the local, and ended up being not so local area. Our plans were to head to Bergerac and check it out, but unbeknown to me, Bob had another destination in mind, only we had to find it on the gps. Anyhow, Domme was found and we twisted and turned our way down some narrow roads and found Domme. But on the way, there was some awesome views of dwellings built into the side of cliffs and villages on the River banks. All thriving and bustling with tourists and locals having a day out, as the weather was perfect. After we make our way up the side of a mountain, we come to Domme. Wow, what an amazing place nestled up on the mountain side, and overlooking some serious cliffs. This is a village that is bustling inside a stone wall, dating back to 1281. Interesting fact, in 1307 the Knight Templars were imprisoned in Domme during a trail against them.
There are many and endless streets filled with shops with all discriptions of wares to sell. From art work, jewellery, ice creams, wind chimes, clothing and bags, foods stuffs and all manors of gourmet delights, all in French, of which I have no idea what some of them were. After a light lunch, we decided to go into the caves and see the world of stalagmites and stalactites. It was interesting, even though the tour was done in french. Our guide was able to speak english, but diidn't have the time to translate everything for us, he did however, answer any questions we had, and also warned us of low clearance areas, which was a bonus for Bob, although there were some areas where everybody had to duck. A worth while tour. Back above ground, we head back to our abode, with a detour to a grill for dinner. We missed a turn and had to travel about 3 kms to get back to the resturant, when it was just virtually over the road from us, but it was worth the added kms.
Today the school children go back to school, as this is the start of their school year, We decided to take a drive to Poitiers, a journey of about an hour, and 65kms. After I make some facetime calls to my children and Friend, we hit the road. The weather is once again perfect, and the trip to our destination is hassle free. Deciding to have lunch at Subway, we make this our first stop, and find over the road is a Hyper market, which we duly note, as we do have some shopping to get before we leave the town. After we have eaten, we head for the centre of town, and find it, but do go up a streets that we couldn't go to far on, as it had a bollard in the middle of it, unknown to our gps Karen. So after backing back a small distance, we try again for the car park, and manage to nail it with out to much issues. We find ourselves in the middle of the old part of Poitiers, where there are lots of restaurants and Cafes, some are open, and some are closed due to the time of the day. We pass by the Eglise Notre-Dame La Grande and take a look inside this building. Inside the church the walls and columns are brightly painted and there are great stained glass windows. Once again, the mighty statues and ornately carved wooden furniture is always present.
We move onward to explore the maze of streets, and open areas, and find the Salle des Pas Perdus - Palace of Poitiers. This was not open due to refurbishment work that was going on, but it is a large hall, that Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine's palace, and up until recently housed the Palace of Justice, and dates back to the 9th century. We continue our walk about the streets, and find the most wonderful city square, that has the most beautiful building all about it. One of which is the Hotel De Ville, dating back to 1875. Such a grand building, I guess it would have to be the Place to be way back then and even now.
I know we have flies back in Australia, but they have them here too, and with no screens on the houses, it is very annoying, but Bob has sharpened his fly swatting skills, and is now very good at getting them, and the evidence is on the floor, but first on the shopping list is fly spray, as we used the last of what was here, a few days ago.
Tuesday, 3rd September 2019
A quiet day today, lots of resting, and chilling. We decided to have a picnic tea, at the local park just out of Clesse. It is a lovely spot, and we where the only ones there for a good while. We walked around the pond there, that is used for fishing at the right times of the week. I saw a couple of fish jump clean out of the water, which was really good. It was a very peaceful place, and was good to have a meal with out having to battle with flies. A couple of people came later to walk their dogs around the area, and that was all we saw.
Wednesday, 4th September 2019
Today we went for a drive to Thouras, which is 42kms, 38 mins trip.This is another old city, with buildings dating back to the 13th century. The most notable building was the Chateau des Ducs de La Tremoille. An amazing building built on the river Thouars, in the 17th century and was one of the most important castles in France, with a facade of 110 meters long. You can still see most of the walls that were built around it. We took a walk about the streets, and took in the other sites of the area. We took a walk about the centre of Thouras, and found again many little streets to wonder about. We found a building that must have been a church at some point in time but now it was being converted to a something to do with wine barrels and music. The lady who we approached about it, was ever so helpful, and even though we both spoke different languages, and didn't understand each other, with the help of drawings and a hand gestures, we got the general idea.
Thursday, 5th September 2019
Today was a day of washing, as we are leaving our abode on Saturday, and taking advantage of having a washing machine, seemed a sensible thing to do. We have found that some places we stop at don't always have a washing machine. In the afternoon, we take a drive into Bressuireto hand back the airbox that has been on loan to us. We also try to find a special cable for the external drive, because we have come across very old tvs that don't have usb ports. Remember the big old square ones, probably a early nineties model, thats what i am talking about. Anyhow no luck finding the cable, except online.
Friday, 6th September 2019
Day of sorting things out, and getting stuff repacked again. After being in one place for 3 weeks, we have to gather our belongings and place back into suitcases. I do the last load of washing. After lunch, we decide to drive into Clesse for the last time and have a beer at the local bar/general store.
Our time here is drawing to a close, we have explored most of the local area, and other villages, it has been good, and relaxing.
Saturday, 7th September 2019
We leave Cleese after doing a bit of cleaning and the usual stuff that needs to be done. We are on the road by 9.30 and have a 2hr and 30 min drive and thats without a couple of waypoints that we have tailored into our trip. This first one is to a place called Rocheford. We grabbed a bite to eat, then did a bit of a drive aroud. Found a huge bridge, which is still under renovation. It is a platform between two uprights and itis the visitor tourist center. It is called the Transporter Bridge, and virtual trips can be taken there.
Next scheduled stop is Cognac. We figured as we were passing the area, we might aswell check it out. After some research, we find the Remy Martin boutique, and are given directions to the chateau, and we got there in time to catch up with a tour that had just started. It was very interesting, and lots of great aromas as we entered each building. Some of the barrels that they use are well over 100 years old. This place had 150 000 barrels in strorage, and an interesting fact, is that they lose 5000 barrels to Angels tears. Meaning that evaropation is takes those 5000 barrels. We got to the end of the tour and then to the taste testing. I guess it was a good thing for the bank balance that I didn't really take to the taste of Cognac. Some of the more high end products were over $5000. But when you understand that ageing process and the quality of the decanter that it is sold in, it makes it a little more understandable. The decanter of one of these items is made from Baccarat crystal, and has gold on the lable. Not to shabby.
Our next destination is a little place just outside Bordeaux, called Yvrac. Our host was here to meet us and what a great little place we have secured. Our host, Kristoff, was a very frendly man, who made us feel very welcome, going though everything that we needed to know, and showing us how the coffee maker works. His thoughtfull touches made it very easy to relax after our day of travelling.
Sunday, 8th September 2019
A day of exploring the local, and ended up being not so local area. Our plans were to head to Bergerac and check it out, but unbeknown to me, Bob had another destination in mind, only we had to find it on the gps. Anyhow, Domme was found and we twisted and turned our way down some narrow roads and found Domme. But on the way, there was some awesome views of dwellings built into the side of cliffs and villages on the River banks. All thriving and bustling with tourists and locals having a day out, as the weather was perfect. After we make our way up the side of a mountain, we come to Domme. Wow, what an amazing place nestled up on the mountain side, and overlooking some serious cliffs. This is a village that is bustling inside a stone wall, dating back to 1281. Interesting fact, in 1307 the Knight Templars were imprisoned in Domme during a trail against them.
There are many and endless streets filled with shops with all discriptions of wares to sell. From art work, jewellery, ice creams, wind chimes, clothing and bags, foods stuffs and all manors of gourmet delights, all in French, of which I have no idea what some of them were. After a light lunch, we decided to go into the caves and see the world of stalagmites and stalactites. It was interesting, even though the tour was done in french. Our guide was able to speak english, but diidn't have the time to translate everything for us, he did however, answer any questions we had, and also warned us of low clearance areas, which was a bonus for Bob, although there were some areas where everybody had to duck. A worth while tour. Back above ground, we head back to our abode, with a detour to a grill for dinner. We missed a turn and had to travel about 3 kms to get back to the resturant, when it was just virtually over the road from us, but it was worth the added kms.
Tuesday, 3 September 2019
Clesse France 19th to the 25th August
Today, we went to a place recommended to us by the lovely woman ( Sophie) at the Orange phone shop, called Largeasse. It was a 20 mins drive from where we are, and it a very nice area, with picnic tables and toilets there. It has large granite boulders all about that have been exposed due to weather eroding away the soils over hundreds of years. There was a small stream running though the park area, which added to the peacefulness of the park. We could imagine how busy this place might get over the weekends and in the perfect summer days.
Next we went onto a place called Coulon a drive of 58kms, and takes 59 mins. This i21sts another wonderful little town, with a lovely canal running through the town, of which there are small boats you can hire to paddle through the canal system, or you can get a Gondolier to do the hard work for you. We were happy enough to stroll along side the canal and take in the views of locals and French visitors. We had a perfect summer day, and found a Café, which was very good, and offered light lunches, and little English, so we have to make do with Bobs knowledge of French and decide what to have. We ended up with a great lunch, something like crepes but savory, Galettes. These are made with buckwheat which makes them different for crepes, anyhow they were very nice.
After lunch, we walked around the myriad of streets and laneways, which are a common theme throughout France which also includes shops closing at 12 and not reopening until 2 or 2.30 pm.
Tuesday, 20th August 2019
Today was a quiet day, nothing much done. Took a drive into Clesse and walked about the village. In the centre of the town roundabout there is this great little windmill and water wheel setting.
Wednesday, 21st August 2019
Today we travelled to La Rochelle, a distance of 122 kms, and travel time of 1hr and 47 mins approx. Once again the weather was wonderful, and this place was a good place to travel too. So much history and many old buildings still about after some 500 hundred years or so. We found what appeared to be a man made beach, where you can hire a deck chair for the day, inclusive with a beach umbrella, and nice golden sand, but still, not quite the same as our fabulous Queensland beaches. There were people in the water, sunbaking, kids playing, all things everyone does at the beach.
We toured the old towers, which protected the harbour back in the day and took in the music from the man that was playing some sort of bag pipes. He was very good. We climbed up the towers, Bob, went up to the top of other first one, I didn't go up there, then I went up into the second one, and Bob stayed at first floor.
After exploring the towers, we meandered through the market that was on, and took in many of the artworks that were on display by locals, and some of the work was very very good, in unique styles. We walked down to the old part of the town street which dates back to the 1300's. Pretty amazing stuff.
Another interesting fun fact, or not so fun if you don't have the coin, is there are quite a lot of places where you have to "spend a penny" or euro, to use the public facilities. We just take for granted back home so the need to have a few coins in your pocket is really quite important over here. But we are getting a bit smarter, and looking about restaurant's that we use, and using that phrase, "Never let a chance go by" is really quite legit here for us. A very pleasant day indeed, and it's always good when we learn something about where we go to.
Thursday, 22nd August 2019
A chill day. Took a drive into Bressuire to get a few things, and discovered that the car has decided it doesn't want to lock.
Took the external drive to a computer repair man in Bressuire to get fixed as we can't access the movies and tv series that we have got on it. We are to pick it up on Monday.
Friday, 23rd August 2019
Rest day
Saturday, 24th August 2019
to be updated
Sunday, 25th August 2019
to be updated
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