Barcelona, Big Bangs and a Break In

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Heading at our leisurely pace towards Barcelona, we stopped for a couple of nights in the Montseny region, about an hour south west of Girona. We camped at Collformic, at the head of a mountain pass, and from there walked up ‘Matagalls’. The cloud came in as we neared the summit so it was not unlike a spring walk in the Lake District! But we managed another outdoor shower when we got back to the van – something I doubt you’d get away with in the Lakes!


We arrived in Barcelona on 23rd June – the night of the St Joan celebrations. The Dia de Sant Joan is a bank holiday in Catalonia and celebrates the summer solstice. It’s celebrated, much like everything in Spain, with LOTS of fireworks and bonfires. We were a little distressed to find that none of the fireworks were stored safely in a biscuit tin! In fact many of the fireworks were purchased and then immediately thrown by fathers at their young children! We can only assume that this was an attempt to test their reflexes, but Spanish 5 year olds can run!!

We parked in a quiet back street during the afternoon where we thought we’d stay the night, but as night fell the noise got louder and louder. We’d like to have investigated further and attended one of the organised events across the city but Charlie is rather a wimp and spent those first few hours cowering in absolute terror. We didn’t think it fair to leave her in what sounded like a war zone and instead headed back to the peace and quiet of Montserrat for the night.

The next day we headed back to Barcelona and started our sightseeing proper. We had a walk around the gothic quarter of the city and the famous Ramblas (the name comes from the Arabic word for river as one used to flow here). We were parked near the seafront to the north of the city centre, so that night we went for a bike ride right along the front. There’s such a great atmosphere there with families and friends out promenading (still a popular evening pastime here), eating and drinking until late.


Barcelona is quite a sprawl so we used the city sightseeing bus to get around and see the sights quickly. Unfortunately when we got back to the van one lunchtime we found that someone had broken in and we’d been burgled! It was quite a shock to find all our belongings pulled out of cupboards and rummaged through. Charlie was in the van at the time so we can only imagine what happened there. She’s hardly guard dog material and probably spent the whole time in her hidey-hole by the footwell! David’s Nintendo and games were the only things taken so we seem to have come out of the whole experience fairly well. It could have been a lot worse.


Despite the natural impulse to get as far away as possible, we decided this wasn’t going to spoil our enjoyment of the city. We found a new place to stop, went clothes shopping to cheer ourselves up, and went out partying until early the next morning. In fact we enjoyed the nightlife so much we went out for 3 nights in a row! Things don’t get going in Spain until late – most people head out at midnight and many of the clubs don’t open until 3am. So we’d just left the dog tucked up in bed at 1am when we received a phone call from Daxa and Bex who’d just got in from the pub!

Our new parking place was the car park of the Catalonia Art Museum, on the hill of Mont Juic. It was very handy for the city centre, with outdoor escalators taking you down to Placa de Espanya. Unbeknown to us beforehand, we were in Barcelona when the annual Pride celebrations were taking place. So we watched the amazing parade and enjoyed the street party afterwards. The acts on the main stage were hardly big names. It seemed as though the runners up of the Spanish X-Factor were being given the chance to perform their ‘straight to bargain-bin’ singles! At one point someone turned to David and in a very camp voice asked ¿Quién está? (Who is this?!). Great fun though, and we only had to catch an escalator home!


The area we stayed in was first developed for the Great Exhibition in 1928. As well as being home to the National Art Museum of Catalonia, there’s the Poble Espanyol (a miniature version of Spain), and the Magic Fountain! Having spent many years in disrepair, the fountains have now been fully restored and crowds gather every evening to see the amazing fountain show which is accompanied by music tracks by Terrence Trent D’Arby and Craig David, amongst others!! Further development of the area took place when the stadium was refurbished for the 1992 Olympic Games. The Olympic sites are quite amazing. The open air diving pools sit on the hillside, giving spectators amazing views across the whole city.




After the excesses of Barcelona it was time to head for the hills! Well, the foothills of the Catalonian Pyrenees to be precise. It was great to reach some cooler temperatures after the stifling heat of Barcelona. We spent 2 nights in the tiny village of Ogassa, where we were able to get fresh water from the mountain springs. We also did a great walk following the route of the old railway line to Sant Joan de les Abadesses, with its medieval centre and monastery.


This was also a time for home improvements. Our first job was the shower. You may remember us saying that we couldn’t use the shower in our van. Well, we can now. It’s cramped to say the least, and the shower curtain does tend to stick to your buttocks! But at least we don’t have to rely on expensive campsites over the summer. We’ve been using the ACSI campsite guide for all our campsite stops. It’s a great bargain. For £12 you get a card that allows you to use the sites for 11, 13 or 15 euros a night out of season. Prices in July and August rocket - we’d expect to pay €30 or more – so being able to use the shower in the van will make a real difference.

Having fixed the shower, we suffered a toilet malfunction! But we’ll spare you the details of that little episode! It wasn’t pretty!

We’re reading the Rough Guide to Spain for advice on where to go and what to see, but it does seem rather obsessed with churches. Wherever you go, it seems determined that you visit every one in the area. Needless to say, we’re not always doing as we’re told by the Rough Guide!

Another frustration is with Tourist Information Offices - and this seems to be the case Europe-wide. Many are very good, but that tends to be the case when they’re quiet. Tourists would have to be queuing out the door, up the road, and into the next town however before they’d allow you to help yourself to a town map! This seems to be because the staff would have little to do if they weren’t able to hand you a map and scribble on it in Bic biro! It always amuses us that they feel they have to circle the big ‘i’ on the map (universal symbol for ‘information’) to show you exactly where you already know you are!


Our last day in Spain was spent travelling on the rack railway from Ribes de Freser up through the mountains to the ‘Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nuria’, and walking back down. Of all the religious relics and traditions we’ve seen so far, Nuria has to take top prize for the most bizarre. To cut a long story short, you’re supposed to kneel and put your head in a cauldron, apparently used by St Giles in the 1st century to cook for the local shepherds, while someone rings a bell above your head. Enough said!


After 9 fantastic weeks in Spain, it was time to head for France and a rendez-vous with friends near Nimes in a couple of weeks time. Next stop – Andorra!

White Week!

On the 13th July the White clan (Alex’s parents and sister) flew in to Girona airport to join us for a week. We all stayed at a rented villa in L’Escala, which we managed to get for a bargain price. It was our first proper bed for 4 months and had, amongst other things.... A POOL AND SATELLITE TV! Such luxury! It was quite funny to see us all watching the 6 o’clock news together, tutting and criticising things again – nothing changes!

L’Escala is at the southern end of the bay of Roses, not far from the French border. It’s a low key resort that’s popular with the Spanish. The town stretches for a couple of miles along the coast and takes in a number of good beaches, including a couple of small cove beaches with shallow waters that are perfect for snorkelling.

The area was considered the gateway to the Iberian Peninsula by both the Greeks and Romans and the remains of towns left by both sit just north of L’Escala at Empurias. We wandered around the ‘ruinas romanas’ one sunny afternoon but they’re not the most exciting of ruins. It’s hard to imagine what buildings would have looked like when there’s only a small piece of floor left!


Alex’s Dad was determined that he remember when they last bought him here... in 1975... when he was 3 months old! Apparently they also visited Andorra back then, but Alex doesn’t remember that either. Alex’s Mum remembers Andorra for her own reasons - don’t worry Mum; that story about the gin is safe with us!

Girona is a beautiful city that’s often overlooked. Most people head straight for the coast once they’ve landed at the airport here. But the city has a warren of medieval streets and alleyways and a very laid back atmosphere. The enormous cathedral also has the largest gothic nave in Europe fact fans!


As well as a Lidl, most towns we visit seem to have a tourist train with an amusing commentary. The one in Girona was well worth a trip. When passing a pile of old rubble we were informed that this was a tower destroyed by the French back in 1809 and, ‘as you can see, it has not yet been restored’. It didn’t look as though this would be happening any time soon!


Another place that’s definitely worth visiting is the Dali museum at Figueres. Dali was born here in 1904 and spent much of his later life in the area. Dali himself oversaw development of the museum in the town’s former theatre and it was inaugurated in 1974. At the end of his life Dali moved into a tower adjoining the museum and his tomb is now housed in the centre of the building. A museum is probably the last thing you would call the place. The whole building is an exhibit, from the 3D portrait of Mae West to the 1950s Cadillac. Even if you have no interest in modern art it’s definitely one to see, although you need to get there at 9.30 when it opens. As the second most visited museum in Spain (a prize for anyone guessing the first), the crowds soon get overwhelming.


The best thing about being at the villa was spending time in and around the outdoor pool! Charlie managed to fall in a few times and struggled to get out – the homemade dog ramp made of sun loungers not really working in practice! Charlie was lucky enough to have a professional haircut this week after the ‘success’ that was her first home cut – thankfully the dog groomer didn’t laugh when we took her in.


If you’re going out for a meal in Spain and want to try authentic local cuisine rather than the ‘prepared for tourists’ menu, you only need to seek out the restaurant full of locals. We’ve found they provide the best meals by far and at great value. We enjoyed a fantastic three course meal with wine, bread and coffee for just €8.50 each. In fact there was so much food that not a single course was completely finished! Go with the Menu del Dia (set menu of the day) and you can’t go far wrong. It’s worth knowing the Spanish for tripe though and keeping an eye out for it!

One rather dull evening was spent in front of the TV watching England draw against Algeria in the World Cup. The less said about what happened next the better. Thank god we were too busy sight-seeing in Barcelona to watch the Germany game.

On our last day together we enjoyed a trip along the coast in a glass bottomed boat. It was a shame that the only thing we could see through the glass bottom was rather murky water! But the crew did bring along a tray of fish which they threw out to the seagulls. It was amazing to see hundreds of them flying behind the boat and catching the fish in mid-air.


All in all it was a great week and just what we needed before hitting the road again. We were assured that we hadn’t gone strange (or at least any stranger!) after 4 months with just each other and a dog for company! Although whether this will be the case when we return at Christmas remains to be seen. So with everything freshly laundered and the van cleaned inside and out, we deposited the White’s at Girona airport and set out for Barcelona!

Seagulls, Sex and Princess Di

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Once upon a time, well... 6 months ago, Alex worked with a couple of rather marvellous self proclaimed ‘web witches’! These fountains of all web knowledge said a blog should be updated regularly to be relevant and interesting. Oh dear! We’re falling behind with ours. About 7 weeks behind in fact. But you’ll be pleased to know we’re on the case and should be right up to date in a few days time.

So what happened 7 weeks ago? Well we spent a good week travelling backwards and forwards along the stretch of coast between La Marina and Benidorm so we could see all the sights.

One of our jaunts inland was to the 16th century castle village of Guadalest, perched on a hill top in the mountains an hour from Benidorm. You enter through a tunnel carved out of the rock and look out over a brilliant turquoise-blue reservoir. Having spent a couple of hours wandering around we thought we’d drive around the reservoir and find a nice spot for lunch. Unfortunately the narrow road that wound its way around the reservoir provided no scenic lunch spots. It just ended in the middle of a tiny village square, and a rather embarrassing 27-point turn was needed to get us out again!


On the journey back to the coast we stopped for a while at the Fonts de Algar, which were used as a location in the ITV comedy series, Benidorm. It’s a series of waterfalls and pools where you can swim, relax and escape the heat and craziness of the nearby coast. It’s a lovely spot and the dog was happy as she was allowed in to cool off too.


At this point we headed back down the coast to Alicante for a great night out on the town. One of the bars we visited had a picture of Princess Diana above the bar which lit up, to our great amusement! Needless to say, this classy venue played a lot of trashy Euro-disco (and Spagna - remember her?!). We were parked right next to the beach, 5 minutes from the town centre. So at the end of a great night we sat on Alicante beach watching the sun come up with a couple of brandies – heaven! Waking up at 11am with horrendous hangovers... in a furnace... parked next to a packed beach - well, that was quite the opposite! Alicante really surprised us and, much like Faro in Portugal, was not the nightmare tourist beach resort we were expecting.

Having recovered from Alicante hangover hell, we took a journey south to meet up with June and Granville, David’s aunt and uncle. They have a house near Los Montesinos and it was great to see some friendly faces and catch up on all the news. We had a lovely meal out at a favourite local restaurant (that did a great Tiramisu!) and sat chatting for hours.

Having travelled north again, we stopped at the resort town of Calpe, just around the coast from Benidorm. The coast forms a point here that ends in a rocky outcrop called the Peñon de Ifach. The rock has been declared a nature reserve to keep the developers away, and you can follow a slippery footpath through a tunnel and up the side to the top. It was a good walk... apart from the ‘killer’ seagulls!! The Peñon is the main nesting ground of the local seagull population and in the spring they can get quite aggressive defending their young from predators. We spent quite a bit of the walk being swooped by birds, ducking for cover, and shrieking like middle-aged women!


A couple of days later we stopped at the ancient town of Xativa, halfway between Benidorm and Valencia. This beautiful town has a lot of history and an unspoilt Spanish feel. We arrived on market day and spent a couple of hours wandering around the stalls that are spread through the town’s streets and squares. We’d highly recommend Xativa to anyone holidaying on the Costa Blanca.


Now, there are two very different things on sale at the roadside in Spain – namely oranges and sex! We bought neither! But we couldn’t help noticing the orange vendors (that is, people selling oranges), and the scantily clad ladies sat right at the roadside. Both looked a little wizened and past their best!

Back in 1998 David lived for six months in the beautiful city of Valencia (above Burger King) as part of his degree in European Studies. We spent a few days in and around the city, and wild camped in the business district! As strange as this might sound, it was brilliant! The area was deserted as we visited over a weekend, and we were just 10 minutes from the city centre. So we had another good night on the town – although Princess Diana didn’t put in an appearance!


The city was preparing for the European Grand Prix when we visited. A street circuit was being prepared close to the harbour - the stands were going up and you could make out the starting grid on the road. It’s a strange experience to drive around a formula one track in a campervan!

Valencia suffered terrible flooding back in 1953 and as a result the river Turia was diverted away from the city. The riverbed, which curls around the city centre, has been turned into a fantastic urban park complete with cycle tracks, sports pitches, fountains, adventure playground, concert hall, zoo, and an amazing science park. It’s a fantastic place and we really enjoyed cycling around it for a couple of hours.

A lot of Spain’s coast is backed by mountains and beautiful scenery. We’ve been surprised at how green and fresh it looks as much of this side of the country is little more than desert over the summer months. We witnessed a forest fire raging up a hillside near the town of Aguilas, and helicopters ferrying huge buckets of water to douse the flames- a scary sight

The approach to the medieval fortress town of Morella is stunning. The road winds its way through the hills until the town appears, huddled around a steep hillside and crowned by its castle. Sadly there’s little left of the castle and what remains is little more than rubble. A few rooms have been restored but they’re currently empty – a missed opportunity to explain some of the site’s history. But the views from the courtyard at the top are fantastic, looking out across the hills and down to the town with its little bull ring and substantial defensive walls.


There’s a good motorhome aire at Morella with impressive views of the town and its surroundings. We gave the van a much needed wash here, ignoring the sign telling us we’d be punished by the Mayor if we did!


The mountain of Montserrat sits about an hour inland of Barcelona. The mountain is beautiful and looks quite unusual – sharp fingers of rock pointing skywards like sharp teeth. We found an excellent place to camp here that will almost certainly be amongst our favourites of the whole trip. Have a look at the ‘Where We’ve Been’ map if you want to see exactly where this is.

Montserrat is famous for its monastery and the small black statue that lead to its creation. Saint Peter is said to have hidden ‘La Moreneta’, a carving of the Virgin by Saint Luke, in a mountain cave here 50 years after the birth of Christ. Legend surrounds the sculpture and the area is now a major pilgrimage and tourist centre. The statue sits high above the church altar and a long line of people were waiting to stand before it for a few moments when we visited.


Montserrat is on our highly recommended list as it’s a really magical place with a lot to see, aside from the monastery. The ruins of 13 hermitages lie in the surrounding hills, linked by miles of good footpath; there are two funicular railways, a cable car and a tram! We didn’t know it at the time but we’d be back – due to St Joan and some rather big bangs...