Sunday 31 August 2014

Beaches,sun and castles in Spain

Another week,another location. This week we are in Barcelona so you can expect a lot of Gaudi photos as we will be walking our socks off to see the sights. But before then we spent a week on the Costa Brava at a little Spanish town called Begur.
Begur is central to all the little costal villages in the region and during the summer season a shuttle bus runs to get you back up the hill from the coast to the town.

So we left our lovely town of St Siffret and the pleasures of our hosts doggy, rusty.



He reminded me so much of Bruce. He's looking up as there were other terraces above ours and one had a cat. Rusty hates cats! Or maybe secretly loves them,but he would just about walk into things cause his eyes were watching for that cat.

From France we headed south to cross into Spain. This was our first use of the toll ways and we don't speak nor read any other languages but with a bit of stress, following the leader and sheer luck we got through. Phew!

Fortunately Nick had had the foresight to print off colour photos from google maps of our accommodation and on arriving in Begur it looked just like the photo. Amazing!
We had a three bedroom apartment right in the middle of town. The views were of the distant Pyrenees and the bustling streets.






We most often enjoyed breakfast on our little terrace.



Then there is the town itself, a mixture of Spanish,Cuban and French. They speak Catalan in Begur and are very proud of it.






We walked to the top of the castle in Begur for some lovely views of the coast and the town.






I only have a few photos from the beaches as I had a camera malfunction. Actually not the camera the SD card. NEVER buy dick smith cards! It took photos then spontaneously re formatted, wiping photos with it. Luckily it was in the little compact camera so not too much lost but Not Happy!
We spent time on the pebbly beaches which were an experience, and the water was warm. The beaches are busy and crammed but it was fun,as was sitting in a cafe nearby drinking Sangria.



And time by the pool with a castle to watch.



And then there were the sunsets.






Begur was a chance to relax and recharge the batteries before the bustle of Barcelona and the weeks to come, where we have quite a bit planned.
This week will also include a trip a few hours away, by train, to see the Vuelta whizz by! (Cycle race).
Till then, Uke complete me.

Location:Rambla del Raval,Barcelona,Spain

Sunday 24 August 2014

Cycling around Provence

Hello all,
We have crossed the border and entered Spain but prior to that we spent a week in the beautiful south of France near Provence. A land of grape vines, olive trees, fields of sunflowers and wonderful quiet roads.
We stayed in a tiny village called St Siffret about 4 klm from the town of Uzes. Means nothing to you does it? However if you have ever eaten haribo jellies, the factory is in Uzes and if you've even seen those beautiful ceramic guinea fowl, they are from Lussan ceramics.



We visited Lussan ceramics and have a little quail and two little birds coming home with us.

We also found our trip mascot Hubert ( silent H) our little french hedgehog. For all the kids, and those young at heart, Hubert will appear within each blog but you might have to search for him,keep in mind he's little and likes to sleep, so happy hunting.
Here he is up close for reference only.



I pre booked a road bike for the week and collected it on the Monday. Riding in France is lovely due to the space given to riders and the wonderful roads. What's not to love about riding through fields of sunflowers, lifting their heads to enjoy the sun.


And I don't know how I survived the traffic and boring scenery.









There was some navigation to do but once you make a name up from the signs so you remember where your heading it gets a little easier.









I only got lost once or twice. At one stage ended up walking the roady along a track for about 4 k's. Here is the trail when it got a little wider.



When I got back to our village over two hours later, Sues happily snoozing by the pool, not worried where I was cause even if I was how was she going to find me! She knew I had water and a muesli bar, I'd survive.
Oh by the way this was our accommodation.



And our street.



And the church bell that rang every night.



On the Thursday we hired a second, more comfy bike for Susie and set off for the Pont Du Gard, an ancient roman aqueduct that was well worth visiting. It was a 20 klm ride to the Pont through little towns and fields. Susie did great riding and we had a lovely lunch of baguette and ham followed by ice cream.









The ride back was hot and we were a little tired but made it back in time to dive in the pool and relax. What a fabulous day.
We loved Provence, it was warm and sunny and I rode everyday. Susie worked on her tan, couldn't get much better.
One night we went to dinner at a local pizzeria. It appeared no English was spoken but we got by with ordering, pointing etc and had a lovely dinner. We had far too much food and since the place did take away we decided to take ours home for the next day. Sue politely spoke to our waitress, attempting with charades, to ask to take ours home. She sort of did a pizza box shutting charade and walking symbol etc, as you do. To which the waitress replied! In clear English; "you want to take home! In a box? No problem!"
Well that's it for now. Don't forget to look for Hubert. Post if you find him. I'm off to relax in Spain.

Uke complete me.

Location:Plaça dels Indians,Begur,Spain

Sunday 17 August 2014

The archaeologist has awoken! Oh and more castles and stuff.

So many of you know that once upon a time I studied archaeology and eventually got an Honours degree, fat lot of good that did me but it is still an interesting party story and I still have a keen interest.
While we were in the Dordogne region surrounded by evidence of prehistory we took some time to see some sights some of which are listed by UNESCO.

So to begin, I threw away my modern ways and returned to the way of the cave man.



Don't ask what happened to the rest of my family! They asked too many questions!
Anyway, moving on!
There is only one site where ancient cave paintings of bison etc can be seen and is still open to the public, this is at Font -De-Guame, however in order to see them you have to manage to get one of the 52 tickets on sale per day and they are like the hottest thing in town.
To attempt this there is a first come, first served sale each morning. No buying tickets for other, you must be there and there are no guarantees!!!!!
The tickets go on sale at 9:30 and sell out in less that 10 minutes so you need to get in line early. 7:30 and no later. We arrived at 7:15 and were about 30th in line. After a long cold wait, ticket secured.



Here is sues" I'm up so early on my holiday so you can look at cave paintings look".
There are no cameras allowed in, groups of 12 only and a guide but what an experience. The paintings were amazing, so detailed, possibly 14000 years old and worth the early start.



Here we are outside before hand, the cave entrance in to our left. Our guide was lovely and we had a nice chat archaeologist to archaeologist, about stone tools, deposition, strata and stuff.........
The following day we went off to a place called La Madelaine which is another troglodyte village with lots more archaeological stuff.
Here are some nice photos.



Where's wally?









The chapel.






They dug rooms out in to the rock and this was an entire village. Included a bakery, spinners rooms, animal barns, the lot and in true French fashion the site later had a Chateau built above which has since crumbled.






Ok I think I'm all archaeologied out now but,here is yet another Medieval castle for you, the castle of Castlenaud. Sue so wanted a wooden sword and a little knights outfit.






Steep roads lead upwards.


Another diorama, cause I can!


So with sadness we said goodby to our caravan, Olivier and his lovely corgi Elliot.






And we headed for Provence in the south west of France.
Here is a photo I took for you Megsie and Mark. This old fella was waiting for his dad outside the bakery. He got a croissant as a treat.



I have a bike hired for this week so I'll probably get lost and come back with stories to tell.

Uke complete me.

Location:Sentier de l'Ecolier,St.-Siffret,France

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Caravans,troglodytes and explosives

Ok so I've finally recovered after our epic drive south of Paris. We collected our brand new lease citroen from near the airport and headed off after a quick instruction on the how to use the gps. Of course, however, it's all French so we battled it for a while and head off. Three wrong turns, a triple spin around a roundabout and a quick growing of a few extra grey hairs we finally left the airport and onto the elaborate freeway system. Through Paris and finally out into the countryside. Easy! All this in a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side and everyone driving on the wrong side....
Our trip should have taken around 6 hours but due to a major accident on the A20 it took around 9. Then we had to locate our accommodation which is in an unmapped town called Baran. Fortunately our accom owner was very understanding and speaks English, he directed us and we finally located the town square.



Welcome to the thriving metropolis of Baran. A historic village that's lanes were never meant for cars.


And yes I did meet a car coming the other way, a jiggly manoeuvre ensued which they appeared quite accustomed to.
We followed our host Olivier to his property and to our home for the next week.
Taadaa!
Said it was going to surprise you!



It's an original American airstream he imported and restored. There is another behind and to the right is the pool.



Once we settled in we went off exploring the Dordogne region which is thought to be one of the cradles of humanity. It has many prehistoric sights with cave paintings dating back to early man. The archaeologist in me has awoken!
Tomorrow we are hoping to see some. You have to get up early and join the queue to get one of the 52 tickets issued per day. I'll let you know how we go.
One of the first things on the agenda was the local Sunday farmers market where we bought fresh ham,cheese,olives, tomatoes,bread and this amazing nougat! You buy it on thickness and this very lovely and funny fellow carves it off for you.






I can tell you, it was to die for and the market was wonderful. All fresh organic produce straight from the growers and makers. I'm completely converted. No more supermarket rubbish.
Over the following days we travelled to a couple of medieval villages. I can tell you every village is beautiful I just can't capture it. But here's a couple of snaps.








We also visited a ancient cave site and troglodyte village which remained occupied till 1966. This place was four stories high and each level accessed with rope ladders and steps cut in the stone. A rock climbers paradise.












The caves go deep into the rock and these walkways stick out, freaked Susie out a bit but all very safe. I'm sure the original occupants just walked about like it was nothing.

Now the explosives part!
Olivier has a lovely property and we have been visited by birds and deer today. The local farmers hunt the deer but Olivier doesn't so they know his property to be safe, however not so much can be said for the local moles! Olivier has tried traps with no luck and this one is busy tearing holes all around the pool, so Olivier has resorted to explosives. He places this contraption in the hole, if the moles comes scratching around......Bang! We heard it go the other day however it appears to have outsmarted the explosive and new holes have appeared. Mole 1, Olivier 0.

Location:In the South of France