Category: Spain

Off to the Races Again!

After corresponding with his oncologist back in France who told Colin that his most recent blood test wasn’t that bad we decided to go ahead on our planned road trip up north to see some of the Vuelta.

On the first day we made it a fair distance – past Toledo and on to the shores of a reservoir/lake.  We were looking for a park-4-night place but ended up just pulling over on a very wide spot with a lovely view.

The second day’s travel was much shorter as we stopped in the hilltop village of Portillo – you could actually see Valladolid in the distance to the north.

We stayed at the park-4-night for two very rainy, stormy nights, emerging from the campervan during one break in the rain to walk to a local restaurant for lunch.

Along the way we noticed many gray gates that we could see weren’t made to keep people out, and realized after awhile that they were for the bulls.

Before leaving on the second morning I took a walk to a nearby viewpoint – there were wonderful views in all directions.

The trip to Valladolid was quick and easy – we knew exactly where we wanted to go and for once the GPS took us right there.  It’s just to the south of the city in a large nature park with plenty of excellent places to spend a couple of nights, and most importantly it’s right on the Time Trial route for Tuesday’s Vuelta stage.

On the Sunday afternoon there was a huge group of motorcycles that rode past, accompanied by police – not sure what that was about but it was kind of impressive.

With Monday being the first rest day of the Vuelta we got to see many of the riders doing a re-con of the course.  We were joined at our chosen spot by a couple of campervans from Belgium, one of whom had a Giro wolf and a Vuelta bull in his front window – also a moose from a race in Norway.

In addition on race day they put out a large teddy bear in Jumbo kit that they called ‘Wout van Aert’ – since he’s not riding in the Vuelta I guess he’s just hanging out enjoying the sun and watching.

As usual on race day more and more folks arrived to watch – we’re just before the 8 km to go marker and at the top of a very small hill.

Throughout the morning most of the racers did a lap or two of the course…

…as current world TT champion Remco was in the rainbow jersey.

I got a decent photo of Ganna approaching us with the photo-moto right behind him – he ended up winning the stage.  If only he was on a different team I would be a huge cheerleader for him.

The crowds at our place got so big we even got our own police guards.

Remco flew by…

…and shortly after the current leader Sepp Kuss, who managed to keep his overall lead.  Remco did make up a bit of time on his main GC rivals so it was a good day overall.

As per usual within a very short time almost everyone had left the site…

…and another quiet night was had.

To the Sea, Wasp Killing, Stray Dogs Rescued

We decided to take an overnight trip to the coast, heading first to the town of Carboneras.  It seemed very pretty, and not too touristy but there was nowhere to park so we just kept driving north along the coast.

We stopped for lunch at the village of Sopalmo that was a bit away from the sea but seemed quite nice.  It had lots of pretty white houses with lovely blue flower pots everywhere.

Henry had his first ride in his pram – he seemed to like it alright and we definitely made better time from where we parked to the bar/restaurant we went to for lunch.

We both ordered well-done hamburgers and ended up with almost raw meat.  The potatoes were excellent, and the rest of what was in the burgers was tasty but Henry got most of the meat.

After lunch we drove a bit further north and stopped at a really nice looking beach with ample parking as well as a fort.  This spot was used as a port hundreds of years ago as the water gets deep very quickly.

There was a placque giving the history of the place and part of it was in english – we just weren’t sure why it would have been manned by four people, three of whom were bullfighters.

You could see Mojacar in the distance to the north and we knew it would be very crowded, but there were very few folks at this beach.

We had intended to stay for the night but it was beastly hot, so almost at the same time we asked each other ‘should we just go home’?  And so we did.

We got back to going for bike rides every second morning, one day making it to Taberno for coffee.  On another day we rode down to the cafe at Llanos de Los Alleros.

After our coffee we explored the village a little bit – we’ve passed by it many times as it’s right on the way to Albox but we’ve never left the main road before to see the actual village.  It was quite nice, with a lovely church and another cafe.

We had some company for lunch last week – we made good use of the sunroom, and their kids enjoyed the pool.

We are once again having water issues – this time we know the water is flowing in the channel but we can’t get hold of anyone to ask for it.  That’s one of the more frustrating things about living here – we know we can call the tanker guy but we do belong to a ‘co-op’ that currently isn’t responding.  We’ve now contacted the local facebook group to ask for advice – hopefully someone will have a different phone number or something so we can get the water we need.

We’ve discovered a couple more wasp nests and are pleased with the dozens of dead wasps, although there are obviously more nests to find as there are still a few that dip into the pool for water in the evening when we swim.

The birds are emptying the feeder almost as quickly as we fill it – we’ve also made a water bath for them and they seem to like it.

We found out on the local facebook group page today that the two dogs we feed in Las Pocicas have been taken into someone’s care.  Last year’s puppy (who is named Chica) has been taken to the vet’s and has been ‘fixed’ and is doing very well. Mama Luna and her six new puppies are all in a couple of homes now and will be well cared for – we were so happy to read that as we look for them every time we pass through. We think they were rescued by a couple of brits we spoke with one day, along with help from a ‘sweet little spanish woman’.

(Photo from facebook group post)

Haircuts and Artwork in Chirivel, Agave Blooms

Progress on the garden is moving along – our wonderful gardeners come about once a week and we just keep getting more oleanders and geraniums and having the watering system extended.

We both got haircuts again in Chirivel – mine is the shortest it’s ever been and I love it!  The park across from the hairdressers is actually very lovely and has lots of interesting sculptures, including a carving in a large dead tree.

We’ve gone out for lunch a couple of times – the last time in Los Cericos I got the grilled calamari and was it ever delicious.  I fed little bits of it to one of the bar cats – they’re usually kept outside but the small female snuck in and mooched off me.  She’s just a kitty herself but is already pregnant so I figured she could use some extra protein.

Work on the house is also progressing – our carpenter has done some work on the doors to prevent wind and rain from getting in, and also has painted the french doors.  Things are looking good. 

Water is, as usual, a bit of a challenge.  We ended up once again getting the tanker truck to deliver the other day – he topped up the pool and filled up the bottom tank in no time.  Not cheap, but at least when we turn a tap on or flush a toilet water comes out – seems like a luxury!

Our agave flower is nearing its end – the ‘trunk’ is starting to bend a bit and sometime soon it’s going to break and the main plant will die.  At least we’ll get a lot of seeds for replanting.

The cherry tomato plants are going crazy, and it looks like they’re all different – nice round orange ones (that might turn red) as well as oblong ones that look slightly striped (kind of like miniature watermelons).

The main part of the centre of Albox has become car-free and it’s lovely to walk around – the fountain is very pretty and it’s much more relaxing not having to dodge cars.

There have been several unfortunate accidents with the little birds.  We’ve found at least four of the poor things on the terrace – they likely fell out by mistake as they had not got their feathers yet so couldn’t have been learning to fly.

We’ve located and destroyed three wasp nests so far – not huge ones but they seem to be very aggressive.  They like to get water from the pool so they’re very annoying in the evening when we go for a swim.

We had a nice day trip to Villaricos on the coast to visit Ann and Ernie.  Having lunch at the restaurant next to the pool was excellent – I had homemade Thai fish cakes along with a roasted goat cheese salad – very tasty.

Racing in France, Colin Returns, More Racing in France (a different kind), Garden Flourishes

Colin got back from France as scheduled, and all of his tests were ok.  While there he helped the cycling club with their annual youth races in Angeau – the kids are so cute.

And the winning team was – the local organizing club Guidon Manslois (Colin’s club)!

I’m glad for many reasons that Colin is back but a big one is that I really don’t like being alone in the house at night.  It’s frequently windy and things blow around and make noise – kind of freaked me out a couple of times.

The garden is coming along nicely – the weeds are tenacious, but so are the gardeners!

The Tour de France has started – the first three stages were in northern Spain and now they’re working their way north, then east.  We’re both very sad that Mark Cavendish has crashed out as we were sure he would break the stage-win record in this, his last Tour.  I was somewhat cheered up yesterday, however, when Michael Woods won on the Puy de Dome.

We’re trying to find a used pram or stroller for Henry – he can’t walk as fast or as far as he used to and Colin often ends up having to pick him up.  In search of one we drove south yesterday to see if we could find one at a large second-hand furniture place but she didn’t have anything appropriate.  She did have a beautiful german shepherd guard dog and a black cat with orange eyes.

We’ve put up a fly screen on the french doors so we can now have them open in the early part of the day – nice breezes come through.  But all windows and shutters get closed by noon or so to keep the heat out.  Our swims are later now also – usually around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening because of the heat, and also the angle of the sun.

My arm rash has come back and I’m treating it with apricot kernel oil so I don’t end up looking like a leper.  As long as I stay out of the direct sun it subsides and isn’t itchy so mostly I’m staying inside during the day and doing any of the outside stuff in early morning or late evening.

The herb garden is doing very well, especially the basil.  I’ve made pesto twice now (for pizza) and it’s awesome to be able to go out and pick it, then crush it.  I don’t have any pine nuts so have been using almonds – but what else would I use in almond-growing heaven?

We’ll be having fresh cherry tomatoes soon as one of the plants has gone crazy and already has fruit on it – small and green now but in a week or two…

Most mornings I do a bit of tai chi and chi gong on either the front terrace or the side terrace – it’s so peaceful and quiet and I get to see the sun come up over the hill to the east.

The birds have finally discovered the bird feeder and we now have to fill it every couple of days.

We had a nice lunch out at the bar in Los Cerricos – once again the cats were hiding from the heat.

The Ikea delivery arrived!  We met the truck down at the restaurant/gas station and they followed us up to the house –  now the office is full of the new kitchen in boxes.

Henry tried to walk on the pool cover again – luckily I spotted him right away.  It was ok when he got out on the winter cover as it was tied to the sides, but the summer cover just floats and even a smallish dog like Henry caused it to start sinking.  Fortunately he was near the shallow end so I just went down the stairs and fished him out – wet shorts was a small price to pay.

I finally went for a bike ride – not long but getting hot by the time I got home – I’ll have to leave earlier next time.

Housework Progresses

We’ve taken a couple more trips – the first was back to Ikea in Murcia to meet with the ‘kitchen planner’.  As we had done a lot of measuring and looking at their choices online we were very prepared and the meeting went well.  It is going to be beautiful and I’m very excited.

The second trip was to the coast and the peninsula of Cabo de Gato which we’d read about and seen on a couple of cycling videos that went through the area.  Once we passed Vera most of the drive was past mile after mile of tattered plastic greenhouses so we were quite disappointed – it looked like a moonscape.

But the town of Cabo de Gato wasn’t bad – we found a nice bar that had excellent tapas and wine, and then drove a short way to a lovely beach.

There’s also a bird sanctuary in the salt marshes.

We’ve had more work completed – Steve (our carpenter) has done a bunch more stuff, including installing a door between the guest bedroom and it’s bathroom.  Carlos has added three more outdoor taps as well as fixed the outdoor shower near the pool, and our wonderful gardener and her husband have planted the jacarandas, oleanders and cedars.  

They also gave some advice on the cleaning of the pool – I need ‘shock’ and ‘floculant’ and then some vacuuming – hope to be able to use it soon as the weather is finally turning hot and sunny.

Our solar panels have been installed!  Our roof is now covered with them – we don’t have batteries to store the energy but are going to be feeding it to the grid when we have excess – I’m so happy!

The summer pool cover has been fitted and installed – it will help a lot to reduce the evaporation rate, and also keep it warmer.

I finally had my first swim of the year!  Our ducky thermometer says the water is 30 degrees – it was very refreshing and just what was needed on a hot, muggy day.

For the second time I had a couple of unexpected visitors – two larks (I think that’s what they were) were suddenly in the lounge flying about.  They got in through the front door which we like to leave open for the breeze.  The first time they found their own way out, and today I managed to get the french doors open to release them.

I didn’t have my camera handy but did manage to get a quick photo with my ipad – as usual the quality is a bit disappointing to me.

We now have a beautiful herb garden…

…the potted tomatoes are doing great…

…the oleanders are finally flowering…

…and while other plants and flowers are showing off their beauty…

…the agave is still working on it’s one-and-only blossoming before it dies…

Water is still sometimes an issue – the ‘canal’ that belongs to the co-op that we’re a part of is being repaired at the moment and the tanker truck can’t deliver to us until next week.  I’m using as little as possible but have stocked-up on large jugs of water from the store – enough to keep the garden and new trees alive, and make a cup or two of tea in the mornings. The quantity of water available at this time isn’t an issue here – it’s just the delivery of it that is a challenge!

The Rambla Rages, and Finding Jacarandas

We’ve had some fierce storms in the last few weeks, and twice our normally dry rambla…

…became a raging river.

As far as the raging rambla was concerned it didn’t affect us that much – not like the folks who use the rambla to access their driveways.  They were unable to leave their houses for a day or two each time as the rambla is the ‘road’ that leads to their driveways.

The torrential rains did do a number on our driveway, though.  We already knew we needed to get it fixed up a bit but now it’s got huge ruts from where the water washed down.

The day after the first big washout I drove down to Albox to do some grocery shopping.  As I went down our driveway it was very rutted but as I turned left to enter the ‘road’ we share with our neighbour-across-the-way I almost stopped and turned back.  The dirt/mud road was so deeply rutted I wondered if I would get stuck but I made it down.  Then all the way into town I was wondering if I was actually going to make it back up to the house.  When I was finished the shopping and was back at the bottom of the shared drive I just put it in first and gunned it, barely slowing down for the sharp right-turn onto our driveway.  I fish-tailed a bit but made it!

We also encountered a couple of other issues – we had small floods from both the front door and the french doors as they don’t have proper weatherproofing on the bottoms.  I spent some time mopping and laid down some towels to prevent more seepage.

And another problem we had was a drip into the kitchen very near the fridge.  It wasn’t from the rain but from a backup between my shower and the toilet in the guest bedroom.

Carlos – when he was able to get out of his house from the flooded rambla – came over and unplugged it, and is partway through re-caulking my shower as that’s where the backup was going, and from there down into the kitchen.

We’ve been out for lunch a few times – at the bar in Chirivel and also at the bar in Los Cerricos.  The bar cats are still there, and there are a couple of new babies that are very cute.  They hung around our table and got lots of little nibbles.

The second time we went there the bar cats weren’t around, but the ‘dumpster’ cats were.  I, as usual, had leftovers of my pork tenderloin so ended up giving it in little bite sized pieces to the many stray cats as well as one very cute little dog.  I wish I could help all of them but the best you can do is catch them and take them to the local vets to have them ‘fixed’.  Apparently the vets do this for free and all you have to do is catch them, take them in, then return them to the street they came from.  They’ll still be scrounging for food but at least they won’t be having six kittens four times a year…so sad.

Colin and I both got haircuts – mine is the shortest it’s been since the cut I got in Navarrete in Sept of 2018 – I love it!

We took a trip to Ikea in Murcia almost two weeks ago to have a look at kitchens.  Looking in the online catalogue is one thing but we both like seeing something in person to really get a feel for what it will be like. We did pick up a book shelf for the snug and have since rearranged the furniture.

All around the area are beautiful flowering trees with lavender coloured blossoms.  We found out what they are – jacaranda – and the local plant store finally got a delivery in – they’re very hard to get.  

We picked three of them up this morning along with four more oleanders and I can’t wait for them to be planted.  The jacarandas are very tall, but of course won’t flower until next year.

The winter pool cover has been removed but we’re having a heck of a time drying it out to put away – it rains at least a bit almost every day so it’s been impossible.

We’re having solar panels for electricity installed – hopefully next week right before Colin returns to France for some medical appointments.

The ‘giant asparagus’ hasn’t changed much – we’ve been told it will be a few weeks before anything happens.  And it’s not a yucca (as I called it previously) but an agave and once it’s done flowering it will die.

They’ve completed a new display at the south end of Albox and it’s a very good one – showing the story of the area and the people.

Great Relief, and Back to Spain

Colin’s doctor’s appointment was a great relief – he was asked why he wasn’t still getting the twice-yearly shots and was taking the one-a-day pills instead.  He was instantly given a prescription for the shot and we took it right away to the pharmacy in Mansle.  The nurse came to the house the next morning and administered it.  Hopefully that does the trick with the very high PSA.

While back in Mansle we did the usual – had a lovely fish-and-chips lunch, visited Tony and Joyce, said hello (a couple of times) to Edith and Sylvain at the bar.  Also on Colin’s birthday Tony and Joyce joined us for a lunch at the Marmite – very nice.

We started the return trip to Spain a week ago, and since we were in the car it was much quicker.  We stopped at a hotel just outside Zaragoza that accepts dogs – we’d stayed there before.  Arriving at the house mid-afternoon was wonderful – we even had water!  Except until the power kept cutting out and thus the pump wasn’t working.

After a call to Carlos he came right up and got it running again, but not for long – apparently something got wet and just needed to dry out.  It was very frustrating until partway through the next morning when all was working again.

Our ‘handyman’ Steve has done a bunch of stuff – stained the outside doors and some of the window trims, installed several solar powered motion triggered lights and another security camera.  Lots to do but it’s all coming along…

Our fantastic gardener was hard at work again – one of the large yuccas is about to flower, and then will die – it looks like a giant asparagus.

Colin and I made a trip to several different places to collect flowers and trees for Ali to plant for us.  We now have orange, lemon and lime trees, two bougainvilleas (one of my favourites!), several small cypress trees and a bunch of various colourful things for the planter boxes.

I’ve spent three days vacuuming and cleaning – first day the ground floor, second day the sun-room (including washing the floor) and today the upper floor – so much dust!  Slowly but surely the boxes from Worcester are being unpacked so it doesn’t look so much like a storage place.

Everything is starting to look so lovely – more like a ‘home’ than just a house.  I sit outside in the evenings and just drink it all in – can’t wait to get the pool uncovered and jump in!  Although right now it’s probably a little cold – we need to get a solar heater and summer cover.

Housework in Spain and return to France

We’ve been fairly busy at the house arranging jobs, etc.  The gardener is  working diligently clearing out old dead stuff and trimming all of the plants as needed.  You can see a big difference and we’re super glad we found her.

We also got a sweet little painter who was recommended to us by Carlos.  She lives in a house across the way that we can see from the terrace.  She did the entire lounge in one day, and the exterior of the sun room and laundry room over the next two – she even painted the outside lamp fixtures.

She’s very keen to do the house exterior as well but we’re not sure when we’ll get to that.  She really doesn’t speak any english and my spanish still needs a lot of work, but on her last day I discovered that she speaks a bit of italian – it would have made a couple of conversations easier if I’d known that before!

The furniture from Worcester arrived on time and was mostly piled in the middle of the floor of the freshly painted lounge.

The movers were a bit sub-par – the young fellow wasn’t too bad but his girlfriend/partner was a bit surly.  They complained about the driveway, refused to even try to get Colin’s wardrobe up to his bedroom and also wouldn’t put the beds or anything else back together (as was part of what had been paid for).

As it still gets pretty cool at night we got a gas-heater that warms up the snug – that’s where we have our morning tea and it sure makes a difference.  The days are getting quite warm now – up to 28 or 29 one day so the many loads of laundry we did dried nice and quick.

Sadly we had to leave to return to France and Colin’s doctor.  The evening before we left we realized we were just about out of water – the upper tank was almost empty, which implies that the lower tank is completely empty.  

Luckily Carlos arrived just as we were about to leave on Saturday morning and is going to arrange a re-fill for us.  He’s also going to get the wardrobe up to Colin’s bedroom and re-attach the banisters we had removed for the furniture delivery.

The drive back to France in the campervan went well – we did it in two days rather than the three we thought it might take.

Stopping for a bite to eat in the lower parking area of the mall in the town on the french border we saw an unusual sight.  Many folks travel with dogs in their campervans and we’ve seen the odd cat as well – this time it was a parrot eating it’s lunch while sitting on top of his cage outside the van.

Getting around Bordeaux was not a problem – we made good time and arrived back to Mansle in late afternoon.  Colin went to his doctor’s clinic on Monday morning and has an appointment to actually see him in two days.  

Until then we’ve been taking it easy and not doing too much, other than a jigsaw puzzle…

…and a quick visit with Tony and Joyce.  Tony’s done a couple of paintings of Colin’s house in Worcester and they are, of course, beautiful.  He’s going to frame them and we’ll likely end up keeping one in Mansle and the other will go down to Spain when we return.

Henry – or Henri as we’re now in France – got a grooming/haircut today and it’s the shortest it’s been.  He’s turned from a wooly looking sheep to an almost hairless goat.

I had thought he was getting a bit chubby under his thick coat but with all of his hair gone he’s actually rather trim.  I think he likes his new cut as he’s strutting around now as if he knows how cute he is.

We’ve been watching all of the spring classics on GCN – some really great racing happening, and every race we look for the place we were watching from a few years ago.

Italy to Spain via France

Leaving the Poggio early the morning after the race we went west to Nice where we turned north, stopping for the night at an aire in Bédoin which is near Mt. Ventoux.

The second day of driving took us to what we refer to as ‘the windy place’, which is Lachamp-Raphael.  Everything was closed – even the cafe/bar, although it was a Monday so that might explain it.

The next day got us back to Mansle – nice to be in a house again.  We spent several days getting organized – picked up the Renault that is going down to Spain, got some things from the charity shop, had a nice lunch at the fish-and-chips place.

We also saw Tony and Joyce and I showed Tony a photo of my little guy Sly that he offered to make a painting of for me.  Several days later we went back as he’d already finished it – a real masterpiece!  Sly is a very cute kitty but doesn’t seem to like posing too much – I was lucky to get a pic that shows his beautiful green eyes.

We were all packed up for our trip down to Spain when Colin had a blood test the morning before we were planning to leave.  That evening we went to the bar where they had a steak and chips dinner – very delicious.  We were just getting ready to retire for the night when Colin got the results of his blood test by email – not good.  We decided that going to Spain was not in the cards at the time and both went to bed with heavy hearts.

At 6 the next morning Colin knocked on my door and said we should go to Spain anyway – the campervan and trailer (that I will pull in the Renault) were all packed and his furniture from Worcester is on the way so he figured we might as well go.  We were on the road before 8:30.

Getting used to driving again and pulling a little trailer wasn’t that bad – shortly after we passed Bordeaux I started to relax a bit.  Very near the Spanish border we encountered a road-block – no police or road-works folks but just a barrier.  Like those before us we went around it and down a very narrow road.  After several km Colin in the campervan was trying to turn around while I continued forward past another barrier.  It seems there was some kind of rally on with quads, but there were no wardens or any diversion markers and it seemed very unorganized.

Rather than try to find Colin I drove on to the small town just across the border where all the French folks go for the cheap shopping – I parked in the lower parking lot of one of the shopping malls that we’ve stopped at before and waited for him to find me.  I waited 20 or 30 minutes and he and Henry arrived – we had lunch in the parking area and then continued on our way.

We got past Zaragoza on a secondary road and stopped for the night at a trucker’s stop just off the motorway – it was surprisingly quiet and the sunrise in the morning was lovely.

We got to the house in late afternoon – I felt like I was coming home.  Seeing the work that had been done while we were gone was great – bathtub installed, Colin’s re-done bathroom, the pellet stove.

The only problem was that there was a layer of dust everywhere – some strategically placed poly would have been useful when the work was in progress.

I did many loads of laundry and washed every dish in the kitchen because of the dust, but eventually started to relax and just enjoy being here.

The full moon came and went and it was Easter.

I made a roasted chicken pie, except I burned the bottom crust.  I’m not used to a gas oven yet, but as long as you scraped off the burnt part it was delicious.

We got an excellent gardener to tidy things up – a lot of things to trim and prune as it’s probably been several years since it has been properly taken care of.  She seems to know what she’s doing and is giving us advice on what to plant behind the wall, etc.

We went for our first ride of the season this morning – we have a bit of fitness to find but it was nice to get out.

Nice Rides, Good Food, Back on the Road

More bike rides – we alternate direction each time, going either south/east to Taberno or north/west to Los Cerricos and beyond.  There’s a small village on the way to Oria that has some pretty blue flower pots all over an old stone wall.

About ten days ago there was a festival up at the Sanctuary – it actually started the evening before with dozens and dozens of people walking up the rambla beginning around 8 in the evening.

The procession continued the entire night – every time I woke up and looked out the window I could see individuals or small groups with flashlights moving along up to the Sanctuary.

The next morning we took our ride up to Los Cerricos and were astounded by the number of vehicles – hundreds of cars and dozens of buses, and even police directing the traffic and parking.

The village has a lot of cats – some of them strays that forage for food in the dumpsters, and others that belong to the bar.

The folks came to put on the winter pool cover but it didn’t quite fit so they took it away to trim it a bit.

That’s ok, though, as I’m able to get in a few more swims.

They’re starting to bring in the almond harvest – there are piles of them in the strangest places.

We went out for lunch on my birthday, intending to go to the bar in Los Cerricos but it was all closed up.  We then decided to go up to Chirivel, but…same thing!  On to Veliz Rubio where we had success at the steak house, and was it ever good.  The portions were so large that even Colin couldn’t finish his and when the waitress came to collect our plates she looked very concerned and asked if we didn’t like it.  We assured her that no – it was delicious and we would like to take the leftovers home – she was very pleased to hear that.

I must say that I’m not feeling my age!  The next day we met Carlos and Maria for lunch at the restaurant just south of us – it was another excellent meal and we were there for over four hours.  They are great to visit with and Carlos will be doing a lot of work on the house for us over the next few months.

We’re really looking forward to having all of the work completed – new pellet-burning stove, having my bath-tub installed, and a complete re-do of Colin’s bathroom, just to start.  

Lots of other things as well, both inside and outside, including screening of the sun/pool room.  Sitting out there is lovely, except for the flies and wasps so having it fully screened will be great.

Oh – Remco won the Vuelta – woo-woo!

Leaving on Thursday morning was kind of sad – I love the house and the area so much already, but have really missed travelling and seeing the races live.

We chose to take three days rather than just two to get up to Mansle, and stopped the first night at Horche, which is just south of Guadalajara.  It turned out to be a lovely hotel just outside the town and we spent a couple of hours on one of the outside terraces enjoying some refreshing beverages.

The drive up to Logrono the next day was much shorter and we passed through some spectacular scenery.

We’d been to Navarrete before, staying in the campground just south of the town.  This time we were in a hotel that used to be a seminary – it was also very nice.

Our friend Richard met us there around 6:00, delivering two cases of Rioja and some floor polish for Joyce and Tony back in France.  He also gifted us with some local chorizo that he says is very tasty, although quite spicy – we’ll have to eat it sparingly!

The last day of travel was somewhat longer, but not stressful.  In fact getting past Bordeaux was possibly the best ever – hardly even had to slow down, let alone the usual bumper-to-bumper crawl.

Getting to Mansle in late afternoon we had time to go down to the bar and were warmly received by Edith and Sylvain, as usual.