Europe France Part 7

Its Wednesday the 7th of June and we leave our lovely spot and drive to Albi where we park up in a free motorhome stop about 20 minutes from the town. Its a big area and there are quite a number of vans parked up but it serves the purpose and they have all the services of water and emptying as well. We certainly appreciate that they make motor homers welcome, its not always the case and we wonder why as they all spend money in the main village. Our hats off to the city of Albi. Its a nice walk into the centre, across a lovely bridge with views of the old bridge as you cross…

   

Theres a lot of history in France and Albi has its fair share with a lovely old port side where the ships would have unloaded or loaded their stock and the streets windup towards the main fortification and church. The old fort has been added to and demolished in parts over the years by the governing lot at the time, but remains impressive with a nice garden in the courtyard..

   

Albi lays claim to the largest brick built church in the world, and as an old builder I cant help to be impressed by the the size and actual quantity of bricks on view. Stunning and impressive, until you walk inside and view the one of the most incredible churches we have ever seen for artwork on the ceilings and walls, there does not seem to be one spare area left…

  

 

Its a magic spot Albi, especially the river and church, well worth a visit if your in the area. We spend a quiet night and head off next morning to Najac, another stunning French village. We park up just outside the village and walk in, its quiet and very nice. A walk up the main street has camera’s clicking, its that sort of place and being very quiet, hardly a tourist in site. There is a castle on the hill that dominates the area, we don’t head inside, too tight and seen plenty inside. The main square is very attractive, and the baker has so far received the highest rating from Vic for their quiche.

      

Great spot Najac but nowhere for us to really stay so we head off to small village called Monteils where we park up in a small camping car park next to a bubbling brook and parkland. Nice and quiet here and we head off for a walk around the area, not much happening here apart from a senior’s gathering, some high school sports and a few campers setting up their tents. We enjoy a quiet evening, just another couple of vans here. Next morning after a walk up through the hills and paddocks we set off to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, another stunning French village. I feel I need to explain that when you visit these villages it always become apparent that they are all different in some way or with some particular highlight and to me that is what makes France so unique. We park below the village, its a hill top town so we make our way up through the forest and past some exquisite gates and homes. The rain is starting but we continue and climb the stone road towards the peak, the road winds up and around past stone houses on a slippery stone path. Its busier here than previous towns over the last few days, plenty of walkers with their backpacks and walking sticks. Pottery is popular and we purchase some salad bowls for the van as they have been on the list for a while. Definitely put this one on your list..

      

We don’t stay as its not that convenient for overnight stops and make our way to Cabrerets where we park up in a small carpark near the village. A massive chateau is at the entrance and perches above on a the rocks, unfortunately its private so we don’t get a look apart from gazing up. We spend a quiet night and enjoy a long walk through the forest in the morning before heading off to visit another French starred village in Rocamadour.

  

We manage to park in a free car park just outside the village and make our way towards the centre. From where we parked its a bit odd as we walk towards a group of restaurants, roundabout and some old Roman ruins, but as we emerge along the escarpment we spy the village below as it flows down the mountain. Its a fair walk down at a steep incline, we make our way down and encounter the village church that has been built into the side of the mountain. Its quite stunning even before you enter the chapel area, organ music is coming from inside and after a couple of attempts we manage to enter. This is church music but not if you can understand? The sound is stunning, the acoustics just perfect and to me the sound is uplifting and makes you smile. Further down the steps the village emerges, its busy with a lot of people, mostly tourists like us, plenty from the old USA, its a bit too touristy as we walk along so we continue the steep climb back up to the parking area. Having said that, the church is well worth the visit, the construction inside is bare bones so you can imagine the whole construction as you gaze at the individual blocks used to build it. Simply superb to an old builder, I did spend quite a long time gazing at the arches and columns and imagining the construction process. With that and the music its been a good day.

      

We leave Rocamadour and make our way to Carennac, another stunning village. We find a quiet park up under the trees not far from the village centre. After a bite to eat we manage a walk around the village centre…

     

We enjoy a peaceful night, take another walk around the village and along the river, its a lovely spot here. We leave and make our way to Grolejac and a free camper spot under the trees. Not much here but walks, and we partake on long walks through the forest over the river and beyond, we do enjoy the quiet solitude with only the occasional bike rider passing, its a lovely spot. After another long walk in the morning we make our way to Domme, another stunning French village. We park up next to the soccer grounds and make our way up to Domme central, its a steep climb but well worth it. Just for interest Domme was a central point the English and French fought over for a hundred years, and when you reach the pinnacle with the views you can see why. Its a bit touristy here, but the  view at the top is what its all about, just amazing for miles, bring binoculars.

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The walk back down is a lot easier, we don’t pass too many walkers. We drive off and head further around the Dordogne area, before stopping at a spot behind some Gites and a small store selling local goods. As long as you spend some money in the store you can stay here for free, easy. The owner is lovely guy and its not to busy so we are basically on our own. We have a bit of a walk around but the road is busy so we need to do some research before we head off in the morning. Which we do, along a busy road for a kilometre or so before we manage to find a small track through the fields, along the river up across the road through a small back road and down to the amazing village of La Roque-Gageac set on the Dordogne river, its stunning and best early in the morning before the crowds.

     

Europe Spain and France part 6

Its Tuesday the 30th of May and we are heading north towards Andorra. Again its a wide open plain with fields of wheat and grass and not much traffic, we stop around 1pm up above the village of in a parking spot with views across the valleys. Above is a small church and once you reach that there are small iron steps and railings set into the rock face. A walk to the top rewards with sweeping views, not for the faint hearted though and once the wind picks up its a bit dodgy.

  

 

We seem to have a clever artist in the vicinity and soon discover just above our stop 2 goats done in stone and iron, next day on our walk through the fields we spy cows done the same, and as we leave and drive out we spy 2 small snails also, here are the pics..

    

We are now heading towards the Pyrenees mountains and start to climb to a higher altitude.

Our last overnight stop in Spain is at Organya, another free purpose made stop for motorhomes, we have about 3-4 neighbours, they come and go. By morning the weather has come in and the clouds are low on the mountains as we head up into Andorra.

Andorra is a tax free country, small but popular it seems as I only seem to recall maybe 40 odd years ago winding my way up from the other side in an old Combi that it was just a couple of duty free streets and thats it? Now its a small high rise imitation of Hong Kong, Ok maybe not that dramatic but certainly its a large city as we drive through. We did think of stopping but once we saw the huge population we drove straight through and back down the other side. Shame I filled up with fuel a couple of days ago its so much cheaper here, I do cringe as we drive past the numerous petrol stations flaunting their cheap prices.

 

Its a winding road down the other side, not too heavy on the brakes as they start to smell after a while. We end up stopping at a ski village above Ax-Bonascle which entails another winding hairpin road up the mountain, of course once you get there thats forgotten. Its very quiet as you would expect, no snow and summer trekking season has yet to start. Bloody perfect of course!  No one here and we walk the hills and tracks enjoying the amazing scenery.

    

This walk was so amazing we did it again in the morning, at times you feel like you are just on top of the world even though your not. Hard to explain but walking through these forests on your own is just incredible and we are so lucky to be able to experience this.

    
 
We leave and make our way back down the winding road and head north following the river and the exquisite French countryside.
Here is the drive..

We make our way to a small camper stop on the river at Esperaza, where we find a few campers parked along the rivers edge. A walk along the river doesn’t really do it plus the village is a bit tired. Anyway we settle and enjoy a quiet night. In the morning I mention a walk, trek really, that takes us around the village. Turns out we are climbing the hill through a small track, then through the fields and vineyards getting lost at least twice before reconnecting with the track and emerging at the top. By the time we finish we loved it, we had such amazing views as we climbed the hills and the walk back down was sweet.

   

 After a bit of a clean up and empty its time to move and we make our way to a spot at Lake D’Escueillens where we park up under a tree. There are a few fisherman camped up hoping to catch a carp I suppose. Never really understand their style of fishing seems very static. They have all their rods out and sit waiting for a strike, seems they sit for hours staring at the water? We do enjoy a quiet  night and the walks along basically traffic free roads are great with wide open farmland, the odd farmhouse and not much more.
   

After a morning walk we head off  and make our way through the forests and hills before we arrive at Fanjeaux, although it took a few tries to find the motorhome stop.  Amazing view on the way…

Once we succeeded we find a small lovely stop under the trees with another 3-4 vans, a bit of lunch and a relax before we check out the village. It really surprises us, from the small square at the front the village ascends the hill and we pass many abstract pieces of iron art, the old market square and end up at an old church that has the best  views. Fanjeaux has a great feel, its arty but without hordes of tourists, well at this time of the year anyway, well recommended to visit. On our way back we enjoy a beer at the corner bar and watch the traffic wiz by below, seems that road which we didn’t take is popular. We enjoy a quiet night and leave early after a quick clean up.

   

Our destination is the old walled town of Carcassonne, a place I visited about 40 years ago and for some reason we have not returned to this area so we make an early start and reach a parking area about 5 minutes walk from the gates. The hoards have yet to arrive although its already pretty busy. Its a place you need to visit if you can, we are lucky to be near so grab the opportunity to walk the lanes and be amazed by the structure of the walls and towers. Here are some of the pictures but dont really do it justice, we do enjoy our walk around.

   

From Carcassonne we head down and across the plains before we ascend again up to our destination at Lac Des Montagnes, a lake but really a dam. Beautiful spot among the huge trees and forest, after some lunch and a rest we venture out and walk the lake, passing many walkers and fishermen. Its a bonjour from most as you expect in France, the walk is stunning through the old forest and circumnavigating the lake. We enjoy a quiet night and again walk the lake both ways in the morning, this time we only see a couple of fishermen setting up for the day.
 

Once we leave we travel a long way down and are surprised by how high this lake was, it seems we are winding our way through numerous hairpin turns before we reach a flat road and make our way to another star French village called Lautrec. Here are some photos of Lautrec..

    

We leave Lautrec and are rolling through small roads past huge farm fields then forest, the odd one horse town and occasionally a car passes. We have some destinations in mind, the first couple don’t pass, the next couple don’t either, its one of those days, luckily its only a few kilometres between each choice. Eventually we park up at a Voie Verte parking spot, its perfect and under a tree. So a Voie Verte is French for a walking/biking trail in the countryside, and the parking spot is for you to stop and take the dog for a walk. Its a big parking area so we are fine and once parked up we head out along the track, passing through fields of wheat, garlic as well which is well known for this area and patches of forest. I don’t remember passing anyone on the way. We spend a quiet night alone. The morning brings another walk in the opposite direction, this time we do pass some bike riders, dog walkers and runners, not many though. Its a lovely walk this way and becomes more forest rather than fields bordered by thorny shrubs.

  

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Europe 2023 Spain part 5

Its the 23rd of May and we make our way to Segovia and a camper stop near the old town. Never really like these stops as there are always so many people and vans but they do serve there purpose and we are always grateful for that. We arrive around coffee time and park up without any great issue next to a large bullring. Fortified with caffeine we head towards the main town centre, following the start of the Roman aqua-duct and its progressive domination of the surroundings. Having travelled over a large part of Europe we have somehow managed to miss these magnificent structures and are stunned by the enormous mass that confronts us as we walk down into the middle of Segovia. This is why you travel, no other words for it, check this out ….

Don’t you just love those Roman engineers, mind you no earthquakes around here, otherwise its gone. A few more photos..

   

Too much? Sorry but love it. Further on Segovia continues to delight us with its winding lane up through the old town, amazing architecture and shoes. Did I say shoes? Yes its a shoe stop that ends with bags and a happy face, loves it here. While I was waiting I stood outside an old building which seemed closed but I spy a woman push the door and enter so off I head. Inside is amazing with a stunning coloured glass ceiling. In the centre is a an old well so its started out as a centre point but has been built on over the years.

  

With a camera that wont stop clicking we walk through the streets of Segovia and admire all the different plastered structures with their ornate patterns, the style is called sgraffito. We end up above the aqua-duct and I think maybe at its end, not so sure but its a great view from here anyway. Segovia is a definite for any Spain visit and not far from Madrid by train with an overnight stop recommended.

    
What a view…..
Great spot Segovia, but time to hit the road and we rumble across Spain and its ever changing landscape to another stunning little village called Pedraza where we park under another aqua-duct along another couple of vans. Its here where we really discover the eagles, they appear souring above on the currents and are so majestic. Luckily I have some new binoculars and the views through them keep you fascinated. This is not our photo but off the internet, and its what we are looking at…

The village of Pedraza lies above our parking spot and we venture up the hill and through the old entrance gate. Its very quiet, the streets are narrow but attractive with plenty of sights. Suddenly the weather starts to change and rain appears, light at first but then heavier, we stress a bit as we left the roof vent open but sit under the entry arch waiting for it to subside. By the time we get back its fine, looks like the weather came from the right direction and no water entered. Later we watch more eagles soaring above in the clouds before a long walk to nowhere along a stone road. Here are a couple of photos of Pedraza…

  

Europe Spain and Portugal part 4

Today is Wednesday the 17th May and we are at Torre de Don Miguel, a more Spanish sounding town you could not find. We are waiting for Maria who is the local host for motorhomers like us in this village. I have to point out that this is the only time in 7 years of travelling in the motorhome that this has ever happened to us and our fellow travellers agree.  Around 7.30pm she arrives and we all head off down the back alleys, past cherry sellers and locals out for a stroll. We did anticipate that we where heading to a bodega but after climbing through the town we arrive at a small door basically cut into the the rock face and we enter an Aladdin’s cave. We are all stunned, in the front is a long table that we all sit at and start to admire the surrounding walls. There is a large number of collectibles on the walls, from your old carpentry planes to bottles that contain parts we are not certain of.  On one wall is a large moon face sculpture, in the middle of the table are plates of tapas and bottles of home made wine.

   

Our host is lovely old gentleman called Nano. He’s about 85, full of energy and so happy to have a group in his little cantina. As we sit and listen to the conversations in Spanish we watch as he continuously cuts peeled lemons into a bowl, his old gnarled fingers and a small sharp knife move in a poetic motion that makes it hypnotic. He is the star, the centre of attraction as we consume various home made wines and more tapas.

We are presented with his lemon dish once he finished cutting all the lemons and a few oranges. Its bitter, even Maria says another 2 oranges would have been good. Perhaps with a sweet wine it would have been nice along the bitter taste. The home made wine is doing its job and the party continues although a lot of it is nodding and listening to Spanish. We do get a surprise when Nano brings out a dodgy bottle that according to him contains 10 year old marijuana heads in water. Bugger it we all have a shot and are still here kicking.
 

Nano is great believer in a a few home made wines each day, plus friends and an active life. We have a great night and Maria leads us back to our homes, its about 1am, we have had a great experience to remember. Next morning we are a bit slow, I know I cant get behind the wheel so its shoes on for a walk through the village and up the hill to get the blood flowing and a clear  head. Once back its coffee, quick shower and ready to go, although we are a bit sad to leave such a great spot its time to move on.

After a couple of hours we end up parked along a huge dam in a large carpark with not a soul around. We are at Guijo de Granadilla, bit of a mouthful but a quiet spot where we spend the night in peace. A walk along the road in the morning is also quiet, we pass plenty of eucalyptus trees, a handful of leaves squashed in your hands brings a great smell. Its here we start to notice the eagles soaring above and this becomes a daily pursuit as we continue on.

  

Our trek today takes us along the plains then up into the hills, before long we are winding our way up through numerous hairpin bends on quite narrow roads with stunning views across the hills. Our destination is La Alberca and a dedicated motorhome stop just outside the village where we pull in with a few other vans, some tourist buses and general parking. After a bit of lunch we head off into the main town where we encounter some stunning old architecture that has obviously been restored. First time Ive seen the timber and mud walls done with stone inlay, its quite magnificent to an old builder and I admire all the exquisite workmanship that has occurred here. Its one of those places where the camera doesn’t stop clicking and you enjoy every street and corner. I’m tempted to say its one of the best small towns Ive seen in Spain but maybe wait until Ive seen the rest.

    

Next morning we take on a hike through the forest and surrounding hills following the set camino walk. Its about 12km by the time we finish and enjoy the local countryside, some obscure art and changing landscapes. No wildlife though, not even a rabbit to be seen. Later we again walk through the village but on a different route passing all the store selling their Spanish legs of ham and some tourist shops as well selling there wares. We stay another night, its peaceful and easy.

       

Our journey this morning takes us past the village and not down through the winding pass again so its a an easy start to the day. Its a short journey down this side of the mountain and before long we are again on the plains of Spain. We make our way to Huerta and a dedicated park up for motor homes, its not your most exciting place but peaceful enough. We are near a small village, a soccer ground is behind and a river runs past along with plenty of farmland. We manage to find a pathway that follows the river and then through the farm paddocks for a bit of a walk. Not much happening here though and like most small towns it appears to be closed, not a soul in sight, cant even hear a tv as we walk by. Its a quiet night to be had here thats for sure, not that Im complaining mind.

This morning we head a Lidl store at Avila for some provisions, they have a great Spanish ham section which is the first we have seen in a discount supermarket.

Avila is a promising place to stop but parking near is an issue for a van our size. After some driving up and down we park in a busy service road near commercial property, its looks pretty safe here so lock up and head off into Avila. Its about 2km into the centre so no issue there, the weather does look threatening but we manage to dodge most of it. Well Avila knocks your socks off, here we have a village surrounded by medieval walls and 87 turrets, my head is spinning like a top. On top of that we manage to enter a side church door that we are sure should have been locked to find a small ornate chapel with a  gilded alter. The father soon emerges and we are ushered out quick smart. We enjoy our walk around Avila and head back to the van, its all ok, and then head off towards Segovia.

     

We stop for the night at Vegus de Matute along with another French van. An amazing free stop purpose built for motorhomes in the middle of nowhere really. Although next morning we enjoy another long walk through the countryside passing some cows and not much else except peace and the odd barking dog.

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Europe Spain and Portugal part 3

Its Wednesday the 10th of May and we leave Bathala and its huge church heading south where we make our way up to the top of the hill above Manjoulo to an isolated spot overlooking the countryside and beside an old windmill and its remaining mill. The wind is strong but we park up for a few hours hoping for it to settle.

 

Its not happening and rather be stuck up here being buffeted all night we move down to a camper spot at the town of Porto de Mos. Its not great but will do for the night, we have another couple of vans join us plus the usual Portuguese ones parked there permanently I think. Its not a great night, a road runs behind us and tends to wake you as soon as a car passes plus the trucks start early around 5am. Just so you know its not all peaches and cream travelling in a motor home, you take the good with the bad.

Today we head to Obidos, a village we visited maybe 9 years ago with a hire car and AirBnB accomodation. So its a bit different approaching it with a motor home. We park up in a dusty carpark near the main walls and pull up behind a rental van from the Netherlands. I spy a small kangaroo sticker near the number plate and sure enough we have some Aussies travelling Europe for 6 months in a rental. So a good chat is in order as these are the first we have seen this year. 
The old village of Obidos is as amazing as the first time we visited, with its intact fortified walls that you can walk to the winding streets filled with old stone homes. Definitely a lot more tourists that when we first came but that may just be the time of day, its well worth a visit if you are anywhere near. 

   

After a couple of hours walking the walls and streets we leave Obidos and make our way to a park up down a dusty off road track to a spot by Lake Obidos. Lovely spot under the trees, the wind has picked up a bit but we seem sheltered here for the night. There are quite a few parked up along the lake all via a different access track. The morning brings more wind, we probably would have stayed if it was calm, its a lovely spot and there is a walking track that seems to follow the lake which would have been nice to walk. Plus our neighbours leave so we would have to leave the home parked on its own as we walk and that doesn’t feel too right.

We make our way across to Baleal beach near Peniche hoping for some beach time. There is a parking area near the beach where we pull into and join maybe 30 surfer vans. Its pretty windy but we manage a walk down to the beach after a bit of lunch and face a minor sandstorm as we walk into the wind. After a quick look around and we head back to reassess the situation.
 

There’s not much here for us if we cant get to the beach so we head back inland and drive for a couple of hours or more before stopping at Vila Nova da Barquinha and a camper parking spot. Too tired to go any further so we decide to stay, the wind is still strong but seems to be dropping. We have maybe 6 vans here by nightfall. To set the scene, it Friday night, we are in a larger than normal town and there are plenty of high rise flats around. Normally we would have taken this all into account and moved on, especially as its Friday night, but its been a very tiring day on the roads, we visited a couple of stops before this one and neither where suitable so had to keep driving on. Around 3am we awake to yelling and screaming voices, a look out the window shows 4 young guys doing drugs and getting aggressive and yelling. This goes on for about an hour, we are ready to drive off if they start to get near the van and maybe cause some damage. Im sure the other vans parked up are doing the same. Luckily they head off around 4am and we retreat back to bed, not a great night and we awake to church bells and calmness. 

Its time to find a chill out spot and we drive across Portugal before stopping at Vila Velha de Rodao and a lovely parking spot near the  river Targus. We park up have lunch and then a nice nap, just perfect. The river is stunning but hardly a sole on it apart from some canoeists practicing.
   

Nearby they have uncovered sites that go back 30000 years, its quite incredible that there where once elephants, buffalo and other animals roaming here. We spend 2 days here and enjoy the surrounding area and a walk along the river.  Vans and motor homes come and go but we don’t get much interaction from this lot so its a quiet stop. But we do enjoy the stop and leave feeling better for the rest as we head across Portugal and cross into Spain. We stop for the afternoon on the Portugal side of the border under the shade of a tree near Zarza la Major and later cross the river and park up in the carpark overlooking the river. A very quiet and secluded spot for the night, just how we ordered it.

 

Its another of those mornings, not a sole about, just the birds and the sky as we stretch and contemplate whats on for the day. Coffee of course and then there is just one road so we head that way. Its not really by chance we head here because we have read reviews on the overnight stop we are heading to, but most are in Spanish and when translated seem very religious but we head to Torre de Don Miguel and park up under the trees above the village. Little do we know whats in store for us…

Currently parked up is one motor home, I cant see there rego but I do get a “hiya” so think maybe English. Soon another big van pulls in, German and also get a wave and some sort of greeting that I cant hear. I hear plenty of laughter from these two vans that are now next to each other. Before long we meet them, Ross from Devon and a lovely man from Bavaria who we never found out his name. Very friendly and we enjoy a good chat. There has been mention of Maria, she who appears on the reviews as Santa Maria, who is the local meeter and greeter for campers. Its not long before she turns up, is astounded we are from Australia, and even though she hardly speaks any english we are welcomed with open arms. Our German mate does most of the translating and we are invited to a wine and food tasting tomorrow night if we decide to stay.  Around 7pm Maria arrives and parks next to our van, she calls the Germans over and we gather around the picnic table, before long she has rounded up the English as well and we all sit around the table. Another van arrives and she already knows its a Spanish van as they have olive oil for her and we begin to sample oil from her stash. The Spanish bring beer and the English offer their local beer from Devon plus some cider also. We have a small party going here. Well that makes it up for us and we will stay for 2 days.

  

Next morning I take a walk down to the village and then up through the hills along the road. There is hardly a car on the road and I pass a few morning walkers, all locals, some with a walking stick but still managing it. Its a beautiful walk in the morning, the trees overhang the road and the ancient stone walls follow you up as you go, plus the birds are awake and singing, its a great feeling to be alive. Along the way I notice they are setting up a market in the square so we head back to the village square after a clean up and coffee. Its not a great market but we manage some cheese and salami from a local guy, the cheese is stunning and only around 20euro a kilo. A wonderful cured sheep cheese that we just cant get enough of. Its a lovely walk through the old town, its narrow winding streets with small homes here and there plus the odd renovation happening. These villages are not that dissimilar from Italy where the young leave and the place dies, but here there seems to be some life and optimism. We agree that the sense of community is what makes it feel different. Once we pass through the town we follow the signs to the old mill and fresh water swimming pool. That is a pleasant walk through old paddocks and small veggie patches scattered here and there. We eventually stumble upon the old mill and its tumbled down surrounds. The pool is nearly empty and a sign of the drought they have endured for a while. By the time we get back to the van we need a rest, maybe a nap, tonight we are off to a Bodega with Maria and the others.

   

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Europe Spain and Portugal part 2

Today is the 5th of May and we awake from a soundless night camped above the village of Marialva to a calm morning, there is no wind or rain its just around 10-12 degrees. How do you explain our start to the day that we experience everyday we travel in our motor home. Well I will try but I don’t think I will be able to convey the feeling you have meeting the day in a different place nearly everyday. First thing is we open the side door to a vast open area in front of us with the old castle in the distance and the sun rising in the east. The road below that leads into the town is quiet, an old man passes walking up the dirt track where we are parked and we exchange a Buon Dia, he doesn’t really show much interest in us apart from the hello. After that its just birds tweeting and a cloudless sky as we perform some age defying exercises to an audience of birds, ants and dust, they seem to laugh. After that we percolate a coffee, boil the kettle for a tea and decide where to today? I am always stunned by the morning environment as I stretch and look about thinking how bloody lucky am I to be here today, and then remember previous amazing spots and wonder where is next? There is always another spot waiting for us…..

   

So thats a normal start to the day! Bit over the top, hopefully not too pretentious but life is for living so make the most of it, don’t wait go now..

We trundle off from Marialva and head to Castelo Rodrigos with another castle in the sky. Unfortunately its a bit too small to stop here, we have a good look around the old town and castle before heading off and stopping at Pinhel.
  

Its a Friday and we really need a bit of a rest from driving so our motor home park-up looks just the spot. Its  another purpose made spot for motor homes in a small town where we can chill and rest. There a couple of French vans parked up but pretty quiet really so hopefully a quiet night ahead but never forgetting its Friday when the boys come out to play.

 

We do enjoy a peaceful night and after the normal morning routine we decide on a walk into the town of Pinhel, there’s a big castle so Im keen (duh). We initially walk through what would be described as the new town, big blocks of flats and pretty boring. The old town is as quiet as a mouse, no one is out and about. We make our way through the main square, up to the clock tower and around the old castle and its walls. The views are stunning across the olive groves, small farms and even smaller vegetable gardens, you just want to stay and plant some veggies, pull up a chair and drink the local wine. The old castle is great and for once they have some English on the plaques so we can get some local info. One we know we are able to stand back and see the stonemasons initials, the access for arrows, the small balcony and the corner pods for oil lights I think. The old village is the typical stone construction, some beautifully repointed, others with a collapsed roof. Its a common thread as we visit these old villages. We do enjoy the walk around, finding old steps up to the battlements and ancient churches that seem to be abandoned but are probably not. The rest of the day is back at camp, bit of cleaning and chilling that works just fine.

       

Next morning we trundle off and ease our way across Portugal, its Sunday and we find a lovely stop by the river at Lajeosa do Mondego and park-up next to a couple of other vans. Next door seems to be getting set up for a lunch but we cant seem to see any info. Short story is lunch was great no problem, just the few pissheads that stayed on and carried on all afternoon and evening that spoiled it. Apparently it was a celebration of the village that occurs every year, we where never quite sure what that actually was. Anyway as much as we where annoyed at the end of the day its their place. Next day we negotiate our way south and eventually park up adjacent a large lake and restaurant that is closed today. So we are on our own under the shade and decide this will do for the evening, nothing much else exciting to report, a quiet night without any issues.

Today we start to see a lot of people walking the roads and highways, most in high vis with some info on the back. At one point we had to turn around as we missed our turnoff and they where all walking on the road, it was stressful as they didn’t seem to care about all the cars and trucks passing close by. I really think they should have had safety cones or something we where terrified we might hit someone. I was very glad to make our turn off and head to the Roman ruins at Conimbriga where they allow overnight parking. Now you all know I love a Roman ruin and have visited my fair share so it was with some careful negotiating I managed to get here. I was half expecting to go in on my own but Vic decided to have a look as well. It was very impressive, probably the best mosaics we have seen. Overall a well laid out walk through the ruins with plenty of information and a nice little museum at the end. These Romans just never cease to amaze with their march across Europe and massive construction of towns and fortifications, definitely one to see. Our overnight stay was easy and peaceful.

       

Today we need a Lidl to restock our larder and we head south again passing hundreds and hundreds of these pilgrims walking along the road. Luckily they are on the opposite side of the road. We eventually work out why so many people are walking and its the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Lady Fatima where legend says the Virgin Mary appeared before 3 children in 1917. The pilgrims walk from May to October and its on the 13th of these months where they celebrate this apparition. We must have passed thousands of people over a day or so. Anyway on our way down the road to Lidl we do pass the huge church of Batalha so once we complete our shop we do a quick reverse and head back the 5 minutes or so to Batalha which also just happens to have some motorhome service points so we can do a quick empty and refill. The church is quite amazing with its unusual roof that I have never seen before. It was worth a stop to see.

  

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Europe 2023 Spain and Portugal

Today is Thursday 20th of April and we cross from France into Spain through a maze of winding streets and traffic. Our destination tonight is San Sebastian a place Ive wanted to go to for years. Probably should have gone there 30 years ago. There is a dedicated motorhome stop there but current reviews note that its generally pretty full. We arrive around 1.30pm and of course there is a queue so we turn around and consider our other options. As most coastal places are these days its very busy and seems to have a big uni as well by the number of young people around. We park at the top of the hill and have a bite to eat while we consider the options. There’s not much so we reconfigure our plans, turn inland and head towards Pamplona. The beauty of being mobile with no commitment’s is that any option is open really. We end up parked in Beasain, outside a soccer ground, its a purpose made spot for motorhomes, we have all the facilities we need and it turns out to be a pretty quiet night, not much to show but its not always peaches and cream.

So the original plan was to travel across the north coast of Spain and then into Portugal, now we are heading across the mid-north of Spain basically parallel with our original very loose plan.

The morning begins with a heavy shop at Lidl supermarket which is just up the road. Of course Spain is popular for its ham and the isles are packed with every variety you need plus they seem to have a very large choice of meat and chicken compared to some countries. It would have cost us double back in Australia for the goods we bought today. We enjoy a lovely drive to the hill top town of Artajona with its medieval walls, castellated towers and church.

Our view driving into Artajona

Looks pretty good

We park up just below the entrance and are basically on our own overlooking the plains below. We walk through the town and along the old walls past the the church, its all locked up which becomes normal here in Spain and through the winding streets. Its so quiet, where is everybody? Maybe its siesta time, I’m not so sure, at times it seems as though the apocalypse has happened and its just us left. 
Mind you its a bloody lovely spot up here looking out, we enjoy another super quiet night after the wind dies down about 8pm. 

Great view for the evening

All on our own with this view

 
 

Does everyone know of the Camino’s in Europe? The main one I think is from France which is the camino of Saint James, I hope thats right, it starts at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and heads towards Pamplona and then westwards, about 750km I think. A friend of ours Carl is about to start the journey so we are super interested to view the area as we drive along. Its not long before we view some pilgrims walking in the distance, its raining so they have coloured ponchos on and stand out across the paddocks, quite a sight really.

Our drive takes us through Logrono a major stop on the camino trek, we spy more pilgrims as we head to a major campervan stop near the town. Once we park up we take a walk across the river and into the town of Logrono. The church is open so we check it out as generally they are all locked up. Looks like maybe a wedding or christening may be happening. Its very ornate inside, plenty of gold leaf on display. 

  

The motor home stop is fine but we move on to Elciego and park up there below the small village and church. We check out the fancy winery nearby but its a bit too fancy for us and they charge to go in. Lovely architecture though with a sweeping roof design that most have cost a fortune. Apparantly designed by Frank Lloyd-Wright designer of the Guggenheim museum, not sure but thats the rumour. The drive here is lovely and tracks along the local vineyards which are greener than the French at this time of year.

 

Its another trundle along the back roads of Spain, our first destination turns into a bit of a disaster with narrow winding roads disappearing into a small village and we end up reversing back down the hill, taking numerous wrong turns before landing at the rivers edge in Ona. Its a lovely granite stone village dominated by a massive church and town hall. A 30 minute walk takes it all in, the weather is on and off so you need to time it between rain squalls. After all the drama of the day its a nice spot to camp and put the feet up, we are joined by maybe 7-8 vans overnight but there is plenty of room and the bells stop ringing at 10pm.

We leave Ona next morning and drive through very quiet roads, hardly a car passes and its stress free driving. We turn off the minor road onto a smaller road that winds down to Orbaneja Del Castillo where we park up in a vacant car park. Its a quick bite to eat and then we head up to village. Now the original plan was to visit the waterfall, but that proves to be nice but not to the scale we have seen across Europe and in particular Slovenia. The main attraction turns out to be a cute winding stone village with spectacular stone out crops surrounding the area. When your camera is snapping at every opportunity its a pretty good guess that your are in a good spot. We do enjoy walking up and around the winding streets and rocky outcrops passing renovated homes and others needing a miracle to be resurrected. On our way walking into town we noticed a much better park up spot and move for the night. We are joined by another 3 vans by the morning. Great spot, lovely and quiet.

   

   

Its another slow drive once we leave Orbaneja, winding through the hills and farm yards, we are heading to a camper stop where we can empty our bits and bobs. We arrive at Aguilar de Campoo and complete our tasks before parking and walking into the town. We manage to walk down dog shit path which needs no explanation and cross a medieval stone bridge through the arches of the former gates and into the town square. There is a market on and we do manage to snaffle some lovely cheese, a cured sheep cheese which is just divine. We just walk on through the town and once I spy the old castle on the hill its up and away folks. Old news but I do love a castle regardless of its state, and sometimes the more dilapidated it is the better. There is a purpose made walk that takes you past the old church and up to the outlooks of the old castle. No one else is here and the views are great, the old castle is in ruins but there are some parts that inspire your imagination and thats all I need. Its perfect and gives us another hook to hang our trip on. 
We do spy a better way to walk back from our height and once we descend we find the river, the old gates and a lovely pathway that follows the river back to our van, great stop we really loved it.

   

Its not really a great spot to stop for the night at this park up so we move on and head off west towards Portugal. We find a lovely spot to park for the night at Herrera, right next to the canal, its flat and quiet. Maybe in summer its different but tonight we are alone and loving it. Still a bit too cold to get the BBQ out but it wont be long.

  

We are still heading west and seem to be on the main pilgrim route considering the number of walkers and bike riders we pass, we stop for lunch by an old church on the pilgrim route, the church has a 3 bell tower thats typical for this area. When you stand back you can see the huge stork nests on each bell head. They are still nesting there so maybe its too early for their trip to Slovenia.

 

We eventually stop at Astorga, opposite a small stadium that operates as a bull fighting ring when its on. Its a camper stop so there a couple of vans here and although its not that inviting we park up and take a walk. The initial steps pass the concrete flats and abandoned buildings, I’m still trying to tie all this in to the Franco period but so far have very little knowledge of that time. Once we reach the summit we find an amazing church, or really more like a cathedral plus a castle designed by Gaudi of Barcelona fame. The castle feels fake, more like what you might find in Texas built by a local billionaire? Further on we find some great architecture more deserving of the area, and an Art Deco building suspended on the corner takes our eye. We walk on following the old fortress walls and return to the church square. It will never stop amazing us what you can find in this world when you look outside the normal tourist attractions. We enjoy another pretty quiet night with a few others, no bullfight so that was a bonus.

    

Next morning we head off and meander further along the road, no real horses pulling our cart but its a slow trip nevertheless. At times you have no idea where you will end up and just follow the road in a general direction. Today we land at Pueblo-de-Sanabria at a lovely spot by the river with a castle and old town overlooking us. Its 320 steps to the top but well worth the effort, amazing views and historic stone village. We are joined by a few UK travellers at our stop and enjoy some camper chat about travels and questions on how you drove from Australia. Of course we are pretty used to that question and manage to get a laugh or two with our variations on how we got here. Very nice people though and we enjoyed the chat.

    

Its tempting to stay but we decide to keep moving and head further south and into Portugal where we pull into a carpark near a lake. Not much here, the weather is pretty ordinary so we park up and see what happens. Its the “do we stay or move” time. After a while you settle, if there is any suspicious behaviour you move. So apart from some fading donuts on the rocky paving we agree its ok to stay but we move to a more isolated spot a few meters away. We enjoy a peaceful night, one van joins us around 10pm and thats it.

Next morning we walk the lake its around 2km or so, there is no one else on the path and its just lovely and peaceful, a great way to start the day. Its back on the N2 a well known track through Portugal and we start to hit the wine area, the roads begin to wind up and down through the vineyards and the scenery is spectacular. We are heading to Douro territory and eventually park up at Peso-da-Regua on the Douro river. Its a purpose made area for motor homes and we manage to snaffle one of the last ones on the rivers edge. Pretty good spot so we stay for 2 days. In the mean time we walk the river as far as we can go, cross the bridges and take it all in. It appears to be a staging point for boat cruises up and down the Douro and once we spy all the tourist buses and wonder where they all went we now know. We spend the rest of the time watching boat traffic and relaxing for a bit due to our nice little spot. Some people stop and ask about Australia but not many, some just wave. 
 
    

After 2 days we decide to move and after a Lidl shop we follow the Douro river on the N222 which winds its way along the river before we turn right and up the hills to a winery stop at Quinta Da Padrella, a small winery that offers free parking for motorhomes overnight. In fact they also offer a shower, toilet and swimming pool for those that need it which is amazing generous really. There is a few here already and we park up for a bit of lunch. Mid afternoon Jose comes over and explains the wine tour and details of the property. We have a wine tour at 3pm, bit early for us but you have to do what you can. We are joined by another 3 couples, one Belgium and 2 British. The tour is done in English and we our treated to the history of the vineyard, the varieties planted, the production and of course the best part the tasting. Jose does a great job and we leave knowing a little more about wine which really is the point I suppose. Its a nice spot so we stay 2 days and chill out with a bit of walking around the vineyards and olive groves.

   

Next morning its a short drive up the hill to Barcos where we can empty and fill. Nearby is a surprising find of an old stone church from the 12th century, its a quiet and serene spot.

  

Heading across inland Portugal we find a lovely waterfront stop at Vila da Ponte. After trying a couple of off grid spots that didn’t suit we park up here with a great view of the water. The weather isn’t too great, bit cold, windy and wet so we sit and wait it out. Later we venture out and walk part of the purpose built walkway following the water, it looks great and hopefully tomorrow we can venture further. By evening we are joined with another van from Belgium, its a quiet night.

Morning brings better weather and we tackle the walk following the water, across a couple of bridges, one that reminds us of Japan and the red torri and further on through old vineyards, a strawberry farm and forest. Its a lovely walk, about 7km by the time we return and pack up to leave. Its these magic places that offgrid travel rewards you with, you wont find this on trip adviser, its just luck and a little knowledge I suppose. Hopefully these photos do it justice.

  

Off we go and head east towards the Spanish border, along the way my head spins with the sight of a castle, its a quick u-turn Im off. Not another castle I hear as I dash out the door, camera in hand. Its magic, the stonework is being restored and looks amazing. Further round they have medieval launching arms, probably made to throw large rocks at the infidels. Meantime I get lost in the maze of old streets that surround the fort and have to use the towers as some sort of sighter as I try to find my way back to the van. A couple of turns and Im there. Lovely spot though, its called Penedono, well worth a visit.

  

Once back we head off and arrive at Marialva which just so happens to have an old fort. The parking is too steep, the village very small, so we park up on a small level clearing that is on the way into the village. Our view is the old fort/castle. At this point I do seem to be getting some looks regarding castles and piles of rocks, but I ignore them and we head off into a very quiet village, a castle that is locked up, a large tourist bus that must have brought the numerous Americans we see in a flash restaurant and a lovely stone village. Mind you all villages here are built out of stone so you expect that but as you walk you see renovated homes and others that have no roof. Im sure you will find this one on AirBNb and trip-adviser. Our overnight spot is magic, very quiet and included a lovely view of the castle.

  

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Europe 2023 France

Today is Thursday April the 6th, tomorrow is Easter Friday. We arrived back in Amsterdam last night about 8pm and made our way to a local hotel. This morning we arrange an Uber and head to our van storage about 15 minutes away. Peter has already bought our van out and its ready to go, or maybe not. Every year we have internet issues and it appears my new sim card wont work so our traffic direction via the internet wont either. Its always very frustrating and raises the stress levels too much. Miraculously we get some connection and head off, we don’t need to go far as we have already arranged a park for the night with electricity hook up so we can charge the fridge and batteries. Plus we need to buy some food, water, wine and other bits. We manage all this, park up and get sorted for the night ready to take off tomorrow. We had originally thought we would head to Kulkanhof the big tulip garden that has opened for the new season but had some negative comments regarding crowds over easter so decided that wasn’t an option, we are a  bit over crowds at the moment. Also its cold and wet which isn’t great either.

Stocked up and ready to go we head off south, the route is through and around large cities and the traffic is intense, its quite a drive before we stop by the river in Belgium at Merbes-le-Chateau. Its a quiet spot but the temperature is pretty cold. The fisherman start arriving around 5.30 am next morning and are strung out along the rivers edge with all their gear by the time we leave around 8.30am.

No fishermen yet

Our evening view

  

Its a much more casual drive today along minor and back roads and before long we are heading into Champagne. We could have taken either of 2 routes south but decided this way and will come back through Brittany and Normanby when we return. The small village of Mutigny overlooking Ay and the champagne area is a favourite stop of ours and we park up well satisfied with todays journey. We take a walk up through the village past hilltop vineyards and into the forest. At this time of the year the champagne vines are all cut back and if you look up closely the tiniest buds are starting to appear, in a few months the hills will be covered in green.

The magic of champagne

Next morning we amble down to the river park spot we also have used many times and love the walk along the canal. No point heading off and driving miles we have plenty of time. Its Sunday morning and we walk along the canal for a couple of kilometres, cross the bridge and head into Ay towards a small supermarket I saw was opened. Just need a couple of bits and some wine and grab what we need. Ay is lovely small village with an impressive church that was ringing all its bells as we walk by. There are also some very tempting pastry shops, we do succumb to a quiche Lorraine but leave the bread and cakes alone, memories of last year and expanding waist lines are still too vivid. Just to emphasise the point we head off later in the opposite direction for a long walk to Bisseuil where a typical French market is on. Not a food one unfortunately, this is your bric a brac market, basically a lot of junk but they seem to like this stuff, why I don’t have any idea. At home its on the verge free.

A view we love

Time to head south and we trundle about 100km through the French countryside before stopping at Paisy-Cosdon and a car park at  the large lake. It would have been nicer at the lakes edge but it seems to be for fishermen only. We do spy a French van parked up but must be a licensed fisher maybe? We take a walk around the perimeter, must be just  pumping in summer, perfect for camping and BBQ’s. Its a quiet night, one other van pulls in but at this time of the year its just a few of us around.

That’s us down there

View up the river

Its another cold morning, we have been putting the heater on to get some warmth happening the last few days. We travel about another 100 km today, slowly along minor roads and park up next to a canal at Montbouy. One side is a school and the other a canal boat that seems uninhabited. Looks a quiet spot, not much happening except when the kids come out to play, then its noisy but they go home soon. Then its very quiet and we enjoy a peaceful night. 
 
 

And its another cold morning as we head off travelling south before parking up at along the river at Saint-Hilaire-de-Court. You have to love the names, sounds like King Charles might appear! Its a lovely spot, just a few dog walkers, couple of vans park up further along but its a long track along the river so plenty of room. Still cold so we are snuggled up in the van, camper van fever has yet to appear. For those not used to that, it means being locked up inside with nowhere to go, I know you don’t feel sorry for us.

Another magic camp spot

  

Its another day trundling through France and we pull over next to a small river. Above is the town of Gargilesse, a small but very cute town with impressive chateau, although its closed. We meander around the town for the afternoon managing to beat the showers that inevitably came later. There is a sign that mentions flooding but we should be ok.

    

Today we make it to Bussiere-Galant and its getting very cold, the beanie is now out and the gloves are on. We park up for the night near the lake its a quiet night. Next stop is St-Vincent-Jalmoutiers we are now in the Dordogne driving through small quiet villages, patches of forest then fields of yellow rapeseed or canola. Again its a quiet park-up, only a few dog walkers around at this time of year. Probably in summer its full of fetes and markets.

Common view as you pass in France

From here we are heading to Bordeaux a part of France I never stepped foot on. We park up at a winery near St-Emilion, its Sunday so tastings are probably closed. We are directed to our spot by what appears to be the grandmother, not too sure plus she speaks no English, but we manage with our twisted attempts at French. At one point she is asking if we want power and points to the headlights of the van and for a few moments I think she is pointing out the faulty globe before realising what she means. All a good laugh and we settle in. The wines of St-Emilion are well known for their quality and of course price too. We walk to the village, its about 2-3kms before we arrive past the old Roman fort. Its your typical winding steep village with a river running through the centre. No shortage of people lunching or shopping for wine, we pass the more touristy parts and head up through the small lanes and to the other side with lovely views from all directions. Our walk back is a bit longer, looks like we took a wrong turn somewhere and the road is busy with cars, eventually we find a cross road and the sanity of no cars racing past. We did hope for a wine tasting but after a chat with a young lady we are left confused and not sure if we have one or not. Generally you will see people heading off around 6 or so but it looks quiet so we have our own.

Those cans are for candles

  

We leave this morning around 9.30 and make our way firstly to the supermarket to stock up then to a sports store to buy a bike tube. Somehow I had developed a puncture in my bike while it was locked up in the van for 6 months. I did have a spare tube which I used the other day but with a rookie mistake I didn’t check the inside of the tyre where there was a small needle point and once I replaced it the tyre went flat again. I did feel my dad looking down going you twit why didn’t you check the inside of the tyre first! I do remember him doing that when he used to fix my tyres as a kid so I have no excuse really. Anyway its fixed now so no excuses to get the bikes off once we have some decent weather. Our stop tonight is Pestoury winery, a small family run winery with Mum, Dad, daughter and grandfather who started it with 2 hectares back in the day. We have a lovely tasting and are joined by a Dutch couple who we had chatted to this afternoon. The daughter who is 24 gave us the most comprehensive tour and information we have ever received at a winery. She obviously has great passion for the wine making business and we came away a lot more knowledgeable about wines in this area than when we started including the struggles with climate change and increased costs. Lovely wine though and we bought a few bottles of course. I think what I really like is the basics, the vine trellises are all supported on hand cut stakes, the wire is old and twisted and the warehouse hasn’t changed in 100 years, plus its a genuinely run family business.

Our view of the vineyard

And the old warehouse

  

Today we travel to the other side of Bordeaux and enter the medoc area, the drive in wasn’t great and I did think at one point that we had made a mistake coming here but once we arrived it was all good. We stop for the night at Chateau La Branne, another family run winery but a step up from yesterday. We are parked up on their lawn in front of the vineyards that stretch out across the paddocks. Its a little out of the way here so we don’t see any other motor homes or vans while we are here. We have another tasting at 4.30 today with the lady of the manor, not as informative as yesterday but we manage to tease out some info from her and again increase our knowledge of the area. Absolutely amazing wine, so we stock up and enjoy a peaceful night in the vineyards.

What a view for the evening

  

Today we continue our journey south, we do try to stay on minor roads but occasionally we end up among the trucks and traffic. As always we have our SatNav on no toll roads and tend to veer off unexpectedly when a toll section appears. If anything it makes the trip more interesting. Tonight we have been to a couple of stops and moved on as they didn’t do much for us. We end up at a parking spot on a very minor road that is a bird watching area. Its very quiet and in the morning all you hear are the birds.

Quiet night and no bird watchers

Off road entrance to our nights accommodation

 

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Japan 2023 part 3 Hiroshima and Osaka plus Seoul

Its Thursday the 30th of March and we leave Kyoto, its been an enjoyable stay here and have loved the food and general vibe. We catch another bullet train and 2 hours later we arrive in the city of Hiroshima where we walk about 20 minutes to our hotel. First impressions of the city are its clean, quiet and feels pretty good. Its too early to check in so we just leave our bags and head off to the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park.
On August the 6th 1945 the first atomic bomb in history was detonated in warfare by the USA and Hiroshima was the target with hundreds of thousands of people killed instantly and in the future from injuries. Its here at the peace park that the remains of what is called the atomic bomb dome is still standing and you can sit across the river in the park and contemplate the history of it all.
Nearby is a large suspended bell, its just like what you would find in a European church banging away all night and day. The plaque says that the ringing of this bell is the sound of peace. So we ring the bell and decide to never complain again about those church bells and everytime I hear them in Europe I will think of Hiroshima and the sounds of peace.

 

Its certainly a place to spend some slow time and take it all in. The dome is quite a site up close and perhaps its the shape that helped it survive in its place. Apparently the bomb detonated very close and above this point.

 

Nearby we cross the river and line up to pay our respects at the cenotaph. The view through the front as you stand highlights the remaining dome structure, its quite a moving experience and worthy of your time and respect. 

Further along the park is the memorial hall and within it we find a film playing on loop that describes the moments before and after the bomb happened,  the commentary is from surviving people at the time, most are from the weather observatory. Again its a moving tribute that reinforces the horror of that time and its well worth the time to watch it. We spend more time just meandering around the area before heading back to the hotel.

 

 

Tonight we are looking for okonomiyaki a speciality of Hiroshima. We find it 2 floors up at a spot we searched forever for. The young lady does it all on the hot plate and it was just perfect after a nice cold beer. Just surprising what you can do with cabbage, eggs and some meat. Maybe NYT cooking has a recipe, check it out.

So we only have the one night here in Hiroshima, it was a fair trek to get here and back but well worth the effort and we do recommend a visit if you are in Japan, or nearby for that matter. 
Its back on the bullet train in the morning for us and we head off to Osaka, another city and its a busy one!

Our trip involves some metro transfers once we leave the bullet train in Osaka and its a bit of a drag up and down with the bags trying to find the right train gate. The hotel is about a 20 minutes walk again from the last metro exit and we leave the bags once we arrive as its 3pm check-in. We head off to Osaka castle via more metro trains. Pretty impressive castle from the outside, again its those typical flared roofs they do that are a sight, I only think it must be a bugger to build. It has a huge surrounding moat and impressive stone walls.

Travel around here takes a lot of time, there are lots of metro changes and time spent finding the right station is a drag, especially when you end up at the wrong one. We are pretty stuffed by the time we make it back to the hotel, couple of cold drinks fixes that and now whats for dinner? Its googles choice again but on the way we seem to get lost again but eventually find it on the corner. There is a small queue and its only minutes before we enter, order and eat at a counter. They are very efficient, the food is perfect and again we leave feeling well satisfied with our choice. Its a full on area all around here, very easy to get lost but there are eateries everywhere so the choice is yours. 

Well today is our last full day in Japan and we have some items we would like to purchase here but as yet haven’t been successful. Now apparently Japan makes the best umbrellas, Waterfront brand and we have always wanted a good on for our van so the task is to find one and buy it, should be simple right? The large one we have has broken strands, we have a couple of fold up ones that never work that well so its been our wish to get the best we can find. So today is shopping day. We head to a large department store at the train station because that is where they are mainly located. All we manage to buy here is some sushi and fried fish, if you want a Chanel umbrella then its your spot. The whole department store is designer gear and this becomes the norm as we continue our quest to find Japan’s best umbrella. We know the brand its Waterfront but can we find any, not a hope. Enough of this and we head to a strip that sells all sorts of kitchenware. We do manage an exquisite tea pot and cups but thats it. Our shopping day is done and basically a fail. We leave Japan without our umbrella but a tea pot and some chop sticks, well we do travel light! By the time we make it back to the hotel via a number of metro changes we are stuffed and over cities and trains. Mind you a couple of nice cold drinks and everything looks rosy again. Dinner is no choice as we make our way back to last nights spot and enjoy another Japanese meal, just the best really.

 

Today we head off Tokyo and onto a hotel near the airport as tomorrow we fly to Seoul, South Korea. Its a long train trip just to get to Tokyo from Osaka and then we have to change for a train to the hotel near Narita airport. Its after 4pm by the time we arrive and settle in. Our last meal in Japan is not great, we try a few spots but are told they are full, eventually finding a spot but it was average  and we are a bit disappointed.

This morning we are off to South Korea and the city of Seoul, country 51 for me. We booked a budget airline called Wizz Air, sounds crazy I know but its efficient, on time and new planes. The flight is easy and we have pre-done all the immigration stuff on line so our entry is smooth and without any stress. Unfortunately we have more trains and its about an hour to Seoul station then a transfer to the metro. Plus no escalators so we carry our bags up numerous stairs. After a couple of false starts we find our hotel nearby and check in.

First impressions of Seoul are its modern, obviously, a bit more laid back than Japan and seems to have a bit more of an edge to it. Don’t ask what that means, its just a feeling. Big city though, this a view from the hill above..

We search for dinner options and eventaully find our spot after heading into a few spots and showing them the phone. Is this you? No go around the corner, ok thanks.

We take a table, the middle has a gas burner. The menu has pictures so we order, yes 2 beers, yes 2 serves of that plus this. We receive our beers, big bottles each. The lady then removes the gas cover and lights the stove. We have ordered pork steaks i think, 2 lots of course and she preceeds to cook them in front of us then cut them as they cook. Our other dishes are an assortment of accomanying vegetables, some steamed some fermented. From here she demonstrates how to eat the pork with the assortment of veges. Its pretty good, too much food though and we struggle to eat it all but a great experience.

   

Seoul is a big city and we only really have one day so we head off early walk past the American embassy and up to the big castle. Again we have managed to time our visits with closed days, we have lost count of the number of times we have done this, bloody slow learners. We retrace our steps down the other side past a few monuments to past heroes and pause outside a booth selling the all day bus tours. To my horror we board the bus and head off, the first 20 minutes we go about 2km the traffic is so bad but eventually pick up speed and tour around the city spots including to the mountain top that overlooks Seoul. After about 1 and half hours its mercifully over, although we did see some spots that we wouldnt have if we had tried to walk everywhere. The afternoon is devoted to skin care shopping, yes Seoul is famous for its skin care so we find the appropriate streets and hunt for the anti-aging miracle cure that will turn back the unfair sands of time. We are promised miracles but it comes at a price so we go with the recommended brands and stock up.
  

Dinner tonight is across the road from the hotel up on the first floor. We realize once entering we that ordering is all via a touch screen. It has pictures and beer so we manage to place our order and prepay by card. You help yourself to the beer from a fridge and wait for your number to come up on the screen then head to the counter where you pick up your tray of food. It all sounds very coles caffeteria but actually works well and we have a nice meal.

Well we have really enjoyed Seoul, it was a short visit but well worth it and we certainly liked the South Korean attitude. Its time to leave and we are off back to Amsterdam via Munich with a short stopover. A night in an airport hotel and we pick up the van tomorrow.

  

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