1-Madrid |
2 - On to Valencia... |
3 -...and on |
4 - Valencia |
5 - Valencia |
6 - Calella |
7 - Calella |
8 - Calella |
9 - Loret de Mar |
10 - Tossa de Mar |
11 - Barcelona |
12 - To France... |
13 -...and on |
14 - Majorca |
15 - Pool side |
16 - Seafront |
17 - A beach |
18 - Another beach |
19 - Ceramick |
20 - Sunset at El Arenal |
| 1 | Madrid My first taste of Spain was 'crossing the gap' to La Linea from Gibraltar, when stationed I was there in 1968; my first taste of 'tappas' and of the Guardia Civil (but that really is another story). In 1990 I undertook a drive around tour of Europe for my company, yeah it was tough but its a living - taking the ferry from Plymouth to Santander. I landed in bright sunshine ( it was just before Easter) and within an hour was in the mountains, in snow. I passed a Metro on the way that was really struggling up the mountain, and I often wonder if the lady driver made it. Anyway, four hours later I was sitting by the pool in Madrid. I had decided to follow another Brit who knew the way, and he was not wasting any time ! Madrid was the first stop in my tour, spoiled only by the presentation I had to give at the company offices before battling on with my mission. |
| 2 - 5 | Valencia As ever, lost leaving Madrid I reasoned that the Mediteranean was due East and as it was morning, all I needed to do was to keep the sun behind me. In no time at all I was on my way to Valencia. I drove across much of the 'range' that some Westerns are filmed on and then quite suddenly came upon this amazing lake, high up in the hills. I was not actually staying in Valencia, but in a rather swish hotel at El Saler, just outside. There I met an English couple who were house hunting and took me with them on their trips around, which let me see a lot more than I might have done. Once again, German saved me, because the hotel staff spoke no English, but German was fine. |
| 6 - 8 | Calella So my next stop was actually Milan, but I was taking my time getting there. I drove to Calella which is juat south of Barcelona, and found it to be a really nice place to go. My map showed a tourist route up into France that was about 20 miles long, so I took it, and it was nearly a whole day to cover that 20 miles. The views were fantastic. If you ever get the chance, do it. |
| 11 - 13 | Barcelona and on. I imagine Loret de Mar and Tossa de Mar are well beloved by many Brits. I passed through both of them along the way to France. When I reached Barcelona there was a big traffic jam so I cut off the motor way and up into the mountains. After a while I reached a small town covered in grey dust - the town produced cement. Driving down streets just wide enought for my car, and getting lots of strange looks, I was ,lost, and I thought in trouble. Then I spotted a garage so I drove into the car wash to get all the cement dust off. When I came out the other side, there was the on ramp to the motorway and France. The key mistake is to forget that in Spain, road signs to not say 'To France'. |
| 14 - 20 | Majorca Our first family holiday abroad was to Majorca, where we stayed at the Taurus Park in El Arenal. At dinner one evening a German at the next table said to his friend 'zat Englander has had ze three ice creams, mein gott', or similar, in German. I turned to him and said " Ja, und zey var wery gutt too", also in German, but I may have expressed love for his mother since my German was not very good in those days. Majorca was nice, even if I did catch a cold. |
