Our big trip round Europe - 2 adults, 2 dogs and a tent

The Last Post

2008-08-18T20:19:00.003+01:00

Well, it's Monday night and we're home safe and sound. It was a long journey through rain and roadworks. I can't believe that we have driven so many miles through so many different countries and we find more roadworks in Britain than the rest put together.

We now begin the great unpack, the car is still pretty much full, we've looked through the huge bundle of mail and Susan has some washing on. In some ways it's like we've never been away. The dogs are back on the sofas, the TV is on and life is as we left it, even the weather is as it was back in February.

I'm not sure how many posts I have made but it is well over a hundred, I hope some people have enjoyed reading what we've been up to, it was always meant to be a record for us for the future but we've had an average of 107 visitors per day with the highest recorded visitors of 142 back on a day in May. Thanks to all of you that have made comments and sent emails, they are appreciated.

It was a great journey and we'll do something like it again - sometime.

John and Jennys

2008-08-17T23:46:00.001+01:00

After the best nights sleep in a while we were woken by Jenny bringing us Tea in bed which was wonderful. We had breakfast and then set out for the walk that John had planned for us. Off to Derbyshire for a walk in the Dales-a first for us. It started off sunny in Youlgreave to do a circular walk of about 8 miles.

Ben and Dan had a ball in the river.

Susan getting her poles sorted.

A sunny day in the dales with John reading the map. There was a bit of rain which soaked us-according to John we were at the highest point of the walk and were walking in cloud-hence the rain. Jenny had made us a delicious lunch which we had at the 4 mile marker once the rain had stopped. We then set off along a very muddy track which soon began to seep into our boots and socks! Loads of washing when we get home.

The dogs had a ball on the walk-loads of mud, lots of walking and streams to splash around in. We altered the walk slightly to let us pass by a stream so the dogs could splash around and get clean before going back into John’s spotless car.

A limekiln

A nice old barn, ready for a conversion

The walk ended at a typical English pub with beers all round except for Angus. Angus and I sat in the car with our shoes and socks off all the way home so we didn’t mess John’s car.

The evening was spent as last night with good food, good wine and lots of it and great company. Jenny and John cooked a great meal and we spent the evening discussing everything at the dining table while the dogs slept close by.

At home we spent an hour picking the headlamp deflectors from the car lights which was a pretty crap job but it had to be done.

All of the above was written by Susan

Back in Blighty

2008-08-16T22:28:00.003+01:00

It was an early start, we got up at 6.30 after very little sleep thans to the guy next door snoring and the pillows being the size of postage stamps. We drove the 40km to Calais quickly and managed to find the huge shopping area just by the Chunnell entrance. There are 270 shops here, huge ones like Tesco and Carrefour as well as the normal high street shops too. It is frequented by Brits, one family were very excited by the shopping opportunity, for me spending leisure time in there would be worse than poking my eyes out with a cocktail stick.

Anyway, we got some of what we wanted and headed out quickly to the chunnell port. We got slightly confused with the pet passport bit and had to go round the circuit again. We found the pet area, got the dogs checked in and made our way to the train. We were a little late by now and didnt have time to to do anything else apart from get on the train.

It’s a good system, you drive onto a long train, park up and wait to be taken under the channel. It takes 35 mins.

Soon we were back in the UK, we drove off the train, out of the complex and were surrounded by lanes of traffic cones, the A20 was conned off apart from one lane and guess what, not a worker in sight, welcome to britain, we have driven thousands of miles in 7 different countries and we saw more ones on the A20 than we did the whole trip.

We stopped for a break on the M20 then carried on through the congestion, up the M25, the M11, the A1M then to Nottingham where we are staying with John and Jenny.

We took the dogs for a walk to Wollaton park across the road and had a good run and throw of the ball. Wollaton park is lovely and I wish I had taken my camera.

We had a lovely dinner of roast Gammon and potatoes cooked so well by Jenny. We had a great evening with these special people, an early night and a great nights sleep.

St Omer

2008-08-15T21:49:00.001+01:00

A short drive today, just over 250km and it took us around 3 hours including stops. We had breakfast at the hotel and it was surprisingly good value for 5 euros and we set off at 10. We swapped drivers at half way in a service station, this road has almost more british cars than french, at one point every car we could see was british.

We had planned to check into the hotel then head off and look round, we also wanted to go to a large hypermarket that has been recommended to us to stock up on French goodies but we planned to leave that until later so that it was cooler for the dogs to be left in the car.

We found the hotel easily enough, it is right in the town centre and has a small car park. Being aware that there was a small number of spaces relative to the size of the hotel we changed plans and decided that we’d head to the hypermarket now then get back before 5 and try to get a space before the rush and leave the car in the car park and walk to town for dinner later on.

We checked in and asked the woman for directions to the hypermarket, she told us that it was closed for bank holiday, all the shops are closed along with many restaurants! She said Carrefour was open and we might get what we need there so yet again we’re in carrefour but it was pretty poor and all we bought was a bag of sweets for the journey.

There was a leaflet in the hotel for La Coupole – A bunker that the Nazzis built to launch rockets at London from,,they say that the fate of the 2nd World War could easily have been different should they have succeeded. The Brits became aware of it and bombed it – preventing the completion before the surrender. I was expecting to see the old bunker with rockets in place and lots of information about that but in reality it was a museum about the Nazzis and prisoners of war, interesting enough but not what I expected. Susan stayed outside with the dogs.

This is the bunker, a dome shaped building – rockets arrived by train from Germany and they would have been fired through gaps in the roof.

The remains of the only rocket.

An aerial photo by the Brits in advance of the bombing raids

It was interesting but I only spent an hour in there, I could have spent longer. We drove back to the hotel and managed to get a space in the car park, only 2 left.

We watched one foot in the grave then went for a walk round the town.

The town square, it’s a nice town.

We stumbled across these gardens, they were really nice. Very large and we could let the dos run a bit.

We walked round looking for a restaurant for dinner, we eventually settled on a nice place, the food was good and they allowed dogs – actually the perfect place, the banned smoking but allowed dogs!

Reims

2008-08-14T18:04:00.001+01:00

Today we are in Reims, probably the largest town in the area. It’s a 40 minuet journey to get there. Getting into the town and parking is fairly easy, we find a space near the Cathedral.

Reims is a city of the Champagne-Ardenne région of northern France, standing 144 km east-northeast of Paris. It was founded by the Gauls and became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire.

Reims played a very important role in French history, as it was the place where the kings of France were crowned. The most famous and cherished of these events was the coronation of Charles VII in the company of Joan of Arc. Thus, the Cathedral of Reims (damaged by the Germans during the First World War but restored since) played the same role in France as Westminster Abbey did in England. It was there that was kept the Holy Ampulla (Sainte Ampoule) containing the Saint Chrême (chrism), which was said to have been brought by a white dove (the Holy Spirit) at the baptism of Clovis in 496, and was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings.

Reims is often considered as the capital of Champagne, an old province of France, world-famous for its sparkling wine (Champagne) because it is by far the largest city in the region.

At the 1999 census, there were 187,206 inhabitants (Rémoises (feminine) and Rémois) in the city of Reims proper (the commune), while there were 291,735 inhabitants in the whole metropolitan area (aire urbaine).

We’ve not had breakfast so we stop at a coffee shop and have a snack before finding the tourist office. Susan had done some research on the web and we decided that the best option was to rent an audio guide and do the walking tour.

We start at the Cathedral

It’s currently undergoing refurbishment so I have cropped the scaffolding out.

Headless statues

The dogs had their own audio guide but they didn’t like to share!

This is the Tau Palace, no idea what the plastic banana skins are all about.

The Carnegie Library, Reims has very strong American ties, it is twinned with Arlington, VA home to the FBI training academy.

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-born American industrialist, businessman, and a major philanthropist. He was an immigrant as a child with his parents. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which was later merged with Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company and several smaller companies to create U.S. Steel. With the fortune he made from business, he turned to philanthropy and interests in education, founding the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

While Carnegie paid his employees the low wages typical of the time, he later gave away most of his money to fund the establishment of many libraries, schools, and universities in America, United Kingdom and other countries, as well as a pension fund for former employees. He is often regarded as the second richest man in history. Carnegie started as a telegrapher and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges and oil derricks. He built further wealth as a bond salesman raising money for American enterprise in Europe.

Steel was where he made his fortune. In the 1870s, he founded the Carnegie Steel Company, a step which cemented his name as one of the “Captains of Industry”. By the 1890s, the company was the largest and most profitable industrial enterprise in the world. Carnegie sold it to J.P. Morgan in 1901, who created US Steel. Carnegie devoted the remainder of his life to large-scale philanthropy, with special emphasis on local libraries, world peace, and education and scientific research.

This building is in the Art Deco style, popular in the 1940’s and one of many Art Deco buildings in Reims.

The Chevet of the Notra Dame Cathedral

The Place Royal

The Town Hall

The above 3 photographs are of a Former Jules Mumm champagne factory, the photographs along the top depict the various process involved in making champagne.

The inside of an old concrete market, it has been declared a national monument. I have no idea why as it was built in the 1960’s and is absolutely hideous, it reminds me of Cumbernauld.

The back of the cathedral.

We handed back the guide, it had taken about 3 hours and was very interesting. Reims is probably the nicest placed we have been around here, that does not mean much though! We had a bit of lunch and headed back to the hotel. Firstly we went to Carrefour (again), we need some meat as the dogs need to take a worm tablet at the vet and we need to roll it in something to make them take it.

We went back to the hotel and brushed them then went to the vet. It was no hassle, 20 mins , 44 euros and a few signatures in the passport. We’re free to leave the country on Saturday.

I liked the notice board in the vet, various animals for sale and even a marriage proposal, I suspect that means for breeding.

We had a drink at McDonalds then back to the hotel for an episode of “one Foot in the Grave”, we’ll head out and eat a little later on.

Champagne

2008-08-13T22:11:00.001+01:00

We awoke in our Etap hotel to cloudy weather and a little cold. We’re on the outskirts of Chalons en Champagne so we plan to visit there today, however, we have a couple of errands to run first.

Firstly, and most importantly, breakfast. We find a carrefour so we stop at the little coffee shop there for a snack. We then need a little shopping, nothing exciting, socks, shower jel and water. These items obtained we now need to make an appointment with the vet to get the dogs passports sorted out. The very helpful lady in the pharmacy suggested a vet that was only a few hundred yards away so we head round there and make an appointment for tomorrow at 5pm. The timing is quite critical, we can only enter the UK between 24 and 48 hours after the passport has been signed, we are on the chunnell at 10am on Saturday so that means between 10am Thursday and 10am Friday.

After that we drove into Chalons for a look round. We parked up and found a weekly market was on, pretty much like all european markets, a mixture of total rubbish and food!

Would you buy fruit form this man, he picked his nose just as he was about to pick up the fruit.

We sat and had a coffee in the main square, there was a kiddies ride and we had thought about asking the man if we could let the dogs on but it was quite busy.

We headed off to find the tourist office, Susan wanted to do a tour of the champagne factory. We passed this old church on the way.

This little dog was in the jewellers.

A nice mix of old and new buildings.

The tourist office suggested that Epernay was the place to do a tour so we headed up there, it’s only about 30km and an uneventful journey.

We stumbled across Moet Chandon and that was where Susan wanted to do the tour, I decided not to bother, it doesn’t really interest me and we did not want to leave the dogs in the car. We killed time by having a wander round the town and had a drink, 8 euros for 2 cokes, the same in cortes costs 2 euros.

Susan went off to the tour and I walked the dogs.

Here are some photographs she took

We drove back the slow road and found ourselves back in Carrefour for a coffee. We then went back to the hotel for a couple of hours before heading into town for a meal. The dogs were allowed in the restaurant which was good.

I’m pretty unimpressed with the Champagne region, it’s flat and uninteresting and after a place like Austria which is so beautiful and full of nice interesting people, it seems pretty boring to me.

Driving

2008-08-12T21:12:00.001+01:00

Not a lot to report today – sorry.

We left St Anton and drove to Chalons en Champagne – exciting eh! It was a long day, 700km and about 8 hours, most of it in pouring rain and wind, lorry after lorry – not fun.

We’re in an Etap hotel, mainly designed for people stopping off for one night, we’re here for 3. Been out for sinner, all ready for bed.

Thats all folks

Kaltenberghutte

2008-08-11T18:52:00.001+01:00

Helen is taking us back to the walk we had to abandon last Monday, the weather is forecast to be good until late afternoon when there is a chance of rain and thunder. We collected Helen at 9.30 and drove to St Christof where we met 2 of Helens friends, Helen (another one) and Julie, Julie had her 9 year old Son Sammy with her.

We parked up and set off up the hill, it’s quite a hike up, especially when you are trying to keep up with a 9 year old.

The obligatory team photo.

We got to the flattish bit and we found some horses and a donkey, the donkey was very much the boss, it was very cute.

This horse was a funny colour, a bit like a Dalmatian dog.

This is Helen with the donkey, the other Helen!

It had a bell round its neck, and it stood on a higher level watching the horses.

It was watching the dogs swimming in the mountain lake

We left the horses and climbed on up the hill, Helen was not quite honest about the amount of height we had to gain on this walk.

The hole on the left is an old Zinc Mine and the little building on the right is where the miner would live. The mine would be owned and operated by one person and he ran it like a little business. There are hundreds of these around the Alps and they were all shut down at the start of the 2nd World War as the men were needed for fighting.

There are lots of little mountain lakes, very cold and a little stony but that does not stop the dogs swimming.

Is it a space ship? No it’s actually an air vent for the Arlberg Tunnel which runs about 736 metres below this mountain.

The Arlberg Road Tunnel with a length of 13,976 metres is Austria's longest road tunnel. It carries the S16 Arlbergschnellstraße (German for "Arlberg Highway") under the Arlberg massif from Tyrol to Vorarlberg.

It was built between July 1974 and December 1978 and its costs amounted to 4 billion Austrian schillings (~300 million €). The tunnel is designed for 1800 vehicles per hour and equipped with 4 ventilation centres (one shaft with a height of 736 metres is the deepest in Europe), 12 vents, 43 cameras for traffic monitoring and 16 niches. In 1998 the tunnel was used by 2.6 million vehicles, where 18 % are accounting for freight transport.

In the Alps no matter how long and far you walk, you always seem to be within sight of a road, village, mountain hut, air vent or some other form of civilisation. In The Cairngorms you can walk for days and never see any form of civilisation.

Looking down to the valley floor.

We stumbled across these horses very high up in the mountains, they were all very friendly even though some of them had foals.

After a massive climb we eventually arrived at our destination, the Kaltenberghutte, a typical mountain retreat. These are so civilised, good home cooked food and beds to sleep in. There is no access here apart from walking. The supplies are brought up on a small cable car from the valley floor but it cant carry passengers.

After a really nice lunch we headed back down the way we had come up. Lots of people do hut to hut walks and stay overnight in the huts, I really fancy this.

We had walked right up to the top left of this hill – where the path disappears.

We were much faster coming down, partly because the rain started.

We stopped at the horses again, Susan gave the donkey a dog treat and it followed her for ages, not sure what would happen when we got to the car park!

We drove home and packed up our car ready for the trip tomorrow. Ben is totally knackered, poor dog can hardly walk, it reminds me of the cycling in Spain. They must have walked over 20 miles today and ran round and round running into lakes.

We’re heading out with Helen for a meal shortly.

Rosannaschlucht 10 8 08

2008-08-10T21:31:00.001+01:00

We’ve no lift pass now as they ran out yesterday so we’re now on low level walks. We’re doing Rosannaschlucht, a gorge walk up to a reservoir with a nice cafe at the top for Lunch, it is so dignified walking here.

We slept in and were woken by the band at 8.30 so we dossed about a bit trying to find a hotel in Calais for next Friday night. We walked up the town and joined the Rosannaschlucht walk at the bottom of the Cable Car.

It was a good walk, mainly on well made paths along the side of the river.

We found a couple of streams that were ok to let them swim in, the weather was very good and warm.

We found the restaurant, the food was good, we sat outside eating and relaxing for an hour before we headed back to town. The total length of the walk is about 8 miles, as usual the dogs run much further.

Ben was hoping for some pickings at lunch, he did get some!

The walk back took a little less time, we stopped for ice cream in town before heading back to the room.

We eventually found a hotel in St Omer, about 30 miles out of Calais, this is the only one with availability that takes dogs, we should have booked this ages ago. This brought us to the obvious question, what are we going to do between leaving here and getting to Calais, I was ll for staying here but Susan persuaded me that it is time to move on. We’ve booked another hotel in Chalons en Champagne for Tuesday – Thursday.

Helen popped round to see what we were doing, we went out for a meal with her, we had had a big lunch so we didn’t need a lot. We’re going walking with her and some of her friends tomorrow so we need an early night.

Mist

2008-08-10T08:25:00.001+01:00

We awoke to a misty day but that was forecast, it was also forecast to clear in the afternoon so our plan was to walk later in the day. Our lift pass runs out today so we wanted to use it once more.

We needed basic foodstuffs (milk, bread etc) so we drove to Impriess as they sell the dog food we use. It’s just a km or 2 out of town, we expected the town to be busy with the Shutenfest Festival. Trying to get out of Impriess was difficult due to the high volume of traffic, we had to turn left across 2 lanes. Eventually a kind driver let us out. The volume of traffic is caused by the tunnel that takes cars past St Anton and up the valley being closed so the Emergency Services could simulate an emergency. Apparently they were looking for volunteers to be dead or injured people, I would have liked to do that had I known, might have been good having to deal with a patient that does not speak German.

We went back to the room and packed up ready for a walk. Our plan was to take the car up to Galtzig then walk 2 hours to a mountain hut, have something to eat then walk back. However the mist was still on the tops but we went up anyway. Galtzig was clear but the path to the mountain hut was in cloud.

e had a hot chocolate in the cafe and waited to see if it would clear. After 30 mins there was no change so we decided to take Valluga up to a higher level to see if we could get above the cloud base and walk there.

Not a lot of change

Valluga was even more misty and Valluge 2 was even worse apparently so we decided to go back to the galtzig main station and walk down to the town from there.

Some memorabilia of cable cars and motors from the past.

We walked down the hill to the town, the rain last night had made the path slippy and muddy underfoot.

As predicted the weather did clear up but much later than we expected and we were half way down by this time.

We saw this really odd lizard on the road at the bottom, it looked a little deformed.

We had a snack by the cable car then walked back to the room.

We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning out the car and we even took it to the car wash.

The pipe band came back in the evening, different band, same songs!

We had dinner then Helen arrived between welcome meetings, we went with her for a drink at the Sport hotel where the gay barman likes dogs. We had one drink then headed home.

Innsbruck 8 8 08

2008-08-08T23:28:00.001+01:00

Bad weather was forecast so we planned a day in Innsbruck, we’ve been before and it is a lovely town, we had planned to take the train but instead chose to drive the hour to get there.

We parked under the Hilton Hotel and walked into the old town, we bought a map (in French, dont ask) from the tourist office and sat in a coffee shop planning what we’d do.

This is quite a famous building with a gold roof.

No idea what this statue is all about but I quite liked it.

We walked to the park to let the dogs run a bit, we found a cafe there and had lunch.

There was a Wedding Photographer taking photographs of a Bride and Groom in a folly, I was quite unimpressed with the poses and the equipment she was using.

The weather was closing in and the clouds were dropping on the hills.

I liked these coloured houses across the river Inn

The river was running fast and furious, the dogs were looking at it longingly but no way boys.

We realised just how difficult it is in a busy city with 2 dogs, there is really not a lot you can do when you have dogs with you so we just wandered round a but and looked at the scenery. We drove back through torrential rain and then watched the last 2 episodes of 24.

This is festival weekend, to be absolutely honest I have no idea what it is all about but our balcony was a good viewpoint for the passing bands.

Helen arrived and we walked along to the tent where the festival was taking place, we paid our entry money and found a table. We went and bought chicken and chips from the stall and sat back down to eat them.

The band was in full swing, everyone was enjoying themselves. Lots of beer and music.

This young lady with tight shorts posed for me, she could crack wallnuts with these thighs.

Car – Again 7 8 08

2008-08-08T08:40:00.001+01:00

It’s an early start as we have to have the car at the garage by 8am so we set off at 7.30. The mechanic is waiting and they kindly lend us a car, think it was the garage owners car. It was a fiat which is crap but beggers can’t be choosers! It’s odd switching from a right hand drive car on the wrong side of the road to a left hand drive on the right side of the road, we decide not to drive too far just in case! We just drove back to the room and had breakfast

We walked the dogs up the high street for their business then went back to the room and headed off to Landeck where the garage is, we wanted to have a look round. We parked in the car park and walked on to the main street, had a coffee and a strawberry tart them wandered up the street for a while.

Landeck mains street.

We drove back to the garage just about 12.30, the car was to be ready at 12.00. It was parked outside so that was a good sign. The bill was waiting for us, that was not a good sign ,it was a kick in the pants off 500 euros, it seems an awful lot for brake pads and discs but we have no choice – it needed done. I asked for the old ones so that we can take them back to the garage that fitted them in Feb to see if we can reclaim some money for them. The really annoying thing is that the noise that was our concern is still there. I’ve since then done some research on the web and it seems like it might be a worn wheel bearing, we’ll get it checked when we get back.

We drove back and had a lunch then went up Galtzig cable car with the dogs to do a short walk round by a mountain lake at the top, we’re meeting Helen for coffee at 4pm.

This is the really fancy car, normally cable cars have to start at a high level – obviously at the same height as the cables, that involves lots of stairs to get people to the stat point, not easy with Ski boots, skis and poles. This car is the only one in the world that starts at ground level then pivots the cabin up over 2 huge wheels to the right height before sending it onto the cables. It shoots slightly downhill using gravity then when it reaches the cables, 2 arms clamp round the wire, which is constantly moving, to then get pulled up the hill.

So, just for Jutewallah, more working parts in a cable car.

Dan spotted a dog below on the path.

We walked round the top towards the lake, we could hear Marmotts whistling the danger signal to their pals that the dogs were around. These are quite cute animals, about the size of a large rabbit. The blob in the middle of the pic below, on the rock is one, not a great shot, I’m missing my zoom lens.

Their oil is used to relieve aches and pains, apparently it is very good.

They even have a stuffed one in the chemist window.

Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, Carpathians, Tatra, and Pyrenees in Europe, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada in the United States, and Northern Canada. However, the groundhog is also properly called a marmot, while the similarly-sized but more social prairie dog is not classified in the genus Marmota but in the related genus Cynomys.

Marmots typically live in burrows, and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed.

Some historians suggest that marmots, rather than rats, were the primary carriers of the Bubonic plague or yersinia pestis during several historic outbreaks.[1]Through this they are credited with a death toll of over a billion, making them second only to the malarial mosquito as a killer of humans.

The name marmot comes from French marmotte, from Old French marmotan, marmontaine, from Old Franco-Provençal, from Low Latin mures montani "mountain mouse", from Latin mures monti, from Classical Latin mures alpini "Alps mouse".

Marmots mainly eat greens. They eat many types of grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots and flowers.

We saw the Valluga 1 cable car the one I was on yesterday going over, it’s a huge height from the ground.

Ben went under an electric cable to have a pee in the grass, his ear touched the wire and he let out a loud yell and ran further into the field, then he ran back towards us and the cable, I had to shout at him to stop then get him underneath the cable – it was not pleasant.

We met Helen and made arrangements to meet for the Austrian night, we’ve been before, it involves men in leather shorts slapping their thighs and dancing, not very exciting but it might make a good blog entry.

I decided on a swim so headed off just as the rain was coming along, the pool was full of screaming kids so I only stayed half an hour. There was a thunder storm and the dogs were frightened so I elected to stay in and let Susan go to the Austrian night.

Helen in her Austrian gear, apparently she’s wearing her “sheep dog bra”, rounds them up and points them in the right direction.

The Alpine Rose Trail 6 8 08

2008-08-06T22:58:00.001+01:00

We awoke early as we had planned a long day in the hills. We wanted to do the Alpine Rose Trail but I also wanted to go up the cable car on the other side of the valley to the very highest point, Valluga 2. We walked to Rendl cable car, the first obstacle was an escalator, I went on with Ben and got to the top no hassle. Dan flatly refused to go on so I had to run back down the fast moving up escalator to carry him up. The cable car is older and more noisy than the ones we have been on but they settled down quickly.

When we arrived at the top we realised that we had to walk uphill, didn’t sign up for this but we’re here now. The weather was really good, blue skies and just a little cloud.

We set off up the hill following a few other people, this is a popular walk, we even saw and passed 2 nuns.

2 Nuns

2 – well, not Nuns

We walked round the edge so that we could look down into the valley, the views are stunning. It was a narrow path with some steep drop offs.

These metal contraptions are Avalanche protection systems for the town, it stops or at least breaks up any avalanches if they are heading for the town. Not very pretty but necessary.

A little view of St Anton through the barriers.

We saw a a lot of people on this walk.

After a long walk along the hillside, the path turned downhill, quite steeply. We saw a young couple walking towards us, she was obviously taking pictures of the dogs but trying to pretend that she was photographing the landscape. We stopped and chatted, they were from Italy and she had a Collie at home, we got them to pose for photographs.

We came across a little cafe, a welcome oasis in the hills. We had a snack and a drink before we entered the forest and continued our downhill walk.

I wanted to go up to Valluga 2 today, the pic above shows Valluga 1, right at the top of the right hand hill. The cable car goes from the hill on the left to the hill on the right – straight across the valley, not for the faint hearted. Valluga 2 is even higher. If you click the pic and look closely you might see a cable car in the middle of the sky.

We finished our walk by the railway line at 3pm, we walked just under 10km, the dogs probably did double that. We walked over to Galzig cable car, this is the big modern one that the dogs like. We got a car to ourselves.

We took the car to the main first)station then I left Susan and the dogs and went onto Valluga 1, it is a fairly big car and the driver comes in with you. It was me and 2 Italian families, they asked if I was from New Zealand as I was wearing a New Zealand cap. I told them I was from Scotland, he got very excited and showed me his socks which had the saltire on them, they then all sang Flower of Scotland. Apparently they all love Scotland.

These were taken from the cable car Valluga 1, the last one is the shadow of the car.

Looking back to the first station

Me and my new Italian friends boarded Valluga 2 car, it only takes 6 people, there was actually 8 of us but 4 were children so that was ok. The man just shuts the door and sets you off across the valley, pretty scary. We are heading for the top of the mountain in the middle of the pic above.

The top is pretty small, just a small mountain top with a satellite station on it as well as a toilet and a cable car station.

My new Italian friends took this for me. I spoke to Susan on the walkie talkie then we all got back in the car for the journey down. We changed to Valluga 1 then down to the main station where Susan and the dogs were. We all got in the main car to the village.

We had a snack in the town the went back to the house.

Later in the evening we collected Helen then joined some of her friends for a meal at a mountain restaurant. We had ribs and garlic bread, it was very nice and a pleasant evening.

We walked along this path to the restaurant

Roxy was there, the dogs were not that interested in her

The scenery from the table was great

A late night and we need to be up early.

Dogs go disco dancing 5 8 08

2008-08-06T07:23:00.002+01:00

Today we are taking the car to the garage to get the brakes looked at. I awoke to no internet connection so I wasn’t a happy bunny! I mucked about with it but could not get it to work. After breakfast I went and found Mr Pirker (the house owner) and mentioned it to him, he mucked about and it looked like it might be a fault with our lap top. Anyway, he also called the Garage and said we’d come in and told them as much as he could about the issue – he’s very helpful.

We drove to Zams, a little village about 30km away and on the edge of Landek. The guy stuck the car on the ramp and had a look, he immediately said we need new brake discs and pads. We have constant issues with the brakes on this car, these were new pads in Feb and we’ve only done 10k miles. When we get home we’ll need to get this looked at properly, there must be some thing that is causing these to wear so often. Anyway, we’ve to go back on Thursday at 8 am with it.

Susan had some washing on so we headed back to the house to deal with that. The weather was not great, on and off rain and low cloud, not a day for walking, the tops were in mist all day.

We went to the bakers to buy a roll for lunch then went back home to eat it. We went for a walk with the dogs, we walked out of the village then up the hills to the south near Nasarene, along the path by the golf course. We met a lovely Border Collie Bitch, she was very frightened of them.

This is the village from the path

This is the back of our house, our room is at the front.

These sheep live on the hill behind the house, totally white apart from the heads.

We went and had a look at one of the chair lifts to see if it would be possible to take a dog on, I didn’t think it safe enough then we walked back to the town to have a drink.

We saw this man with a dog in a trolley, can’t see the reason for walking a dog if you have to pull it round in a trolley.

We sat at a cafe and had a drink, well I had an ice cream then we took the dogs back to the room. We went back out again as I wanted to buy a pair of new shoes. I found a really good pair of walking shoes, original price 90 euros, reduced to 50 euros but when they went through the till they were 30 euros. I’m considering going back for another pair.

We headed back to wait for Helen to call, we are all going for dinner as it is Annes last night. We watched 24 whist we waited.

Helen called and we went up to a pizza restaurant up the hill, the dogs are allowed which is great, they just sleep under the table and no one bothers. The food was excellent, we had a good night – but it as just beginning.

Every Summer St Anton fills with bus tours, the most unlikely people to holiday in a mountain resort arrive by the bus load on tours from Britain. Tuesday night is Disco night and we always go along for entertainment, thats watching them, not dancing!

So, off we go to the Sport Hotel, the dogs come along as Helen knows the gay barman and he keeps dog biscuits under the bar. They have never been to a disco before but soon find someone to clap them. We have a challenge to pick the most likely person to first have a heart attack, in my mind it is the man with the Polyester Grey Slacks, shiny shoes and white socks, he’s rocking way to the birdie song, waving his arms in the air like a mad thing. Bright red in the face and sweating like a pig, he’s definitely for the ticker trouble! Anne reckons it is the woman in the pale pink trouser suit, plastic gold strappy sandals and markies shirt, she looks very pale too! Thankfully rumour of a complaint about the music from residents puts a stop to the disco so they all live to see another bus tour, and Anne and I can stop arguing about who is going to do the chest compressions and who is doing the mouth to mouth bit.

We find a “quiet” seat in the lounge, next to the young crowd (well the under 60s), you can spot them as the men have their Primark shirts untucked.

We sat chatting to a few people, the tour guide from Parries Bus Company and the driver, he loved the dogs and Dan sat getting petted all night. The tour guide was a little tipsy and spent the night bending over in front of me (and other people), her top was very low and everything was on show, there comes an age when you should not be allowed to leave the house without a bra! The gay barman brough the dogs some water in a tiny Diamonte bowl, it was hardly enough for a cat never mind 2 dogs and he kept refilling it, eventually he got fed up and brought a plastic one. He was very kind but extremely camp.

We headed home for a good nights sleep after the excitement.

Walk near St Christof 4 8 08

2008-08-05T12:29:00.001+01:00

Today Helen was off so she had suggested walking to a mountain hut near to st Christof, it’s not a long walk but very steep uphill then down hill.

We’d arranged to collect them at 10 so we were up and had breakfast, I went to the spar shop to get some fruit then we set off. We drove to St Christof and parked the car, the weather was not looking good and cloud was blowing up the valley.

We set off up the steep hill, it was a bit of a scramble at times.

The cloud as weird, it just blew up the valley like it was from a machine.

We stopped for a rest at a bench with a nice view, well it should have been a nice view if we could have seen something.

We got to the first plateau after about an hour climbing, there was a lake for the dogs to swim in which they loved. Pity the pylons spoil the view.

We carried on up the next uphill section, the path was getting looser. At the tp we stopped by another lake and let the dogs swim. We noticed ben had a big red graze / rash on his nose, he didn’t have it this morning when we left so he must have banged into a rock in all the excitement, we need to stick some tea tree oil on it later. e carry on again up the hill.

We stopped at the next flat bit for a bit of chocolate and a drink. Anne took this picture of us, Helen had been having a pee behind a bush and ran to get in the shot, you can just see her in the bottom left.

We debated the logic in going on, the mist was closing in and where we were going looked very dark and wet. We were more than half way there but none of us wanted to get soaked. Eventually we decided to turn back, it was a difficult decision but we met someone on the path who was coming back, they had said that there was no view as the mist had rolled in, the view was what we wanted so we turned back. It transpired to be the right decision as on the way down the rain rolled in and we would have been soaked.

A couple of mountain flowers for you, the bottom one is Alpine Rose, not sure about the top one.

This stuff is like cotton wool on the hillside.

We drove on to Lech, a really exclusive Ski Resort where Lady Di was a frequent visitor. It is a lovely little town but by now it was crashing down.

I thought this carving looked a little bit dodgy!

These looked better

We found a really nice baker with a little coffee shop round the back. Helen asked if we could take the dogs in, this is allowed in Austria, dogs are welcome everywhere, even restaurants. We had a really nice snack lunch then went for a wander round.

Lech main street

We drove back to St Anton, we had to wait at the tunnel as they are doing some work on it, making it wider, this will take 10 years to do which is strange as when it was built in the 1940’s it only took 5 years to build and they didnt have the machinery they do now.

We’re a little concerned about the car, the wheels get very hot and we can hear this wsh, wsh, whs, whs, whs noise all the time so when we got back I took the wheels off to check the brake pads, they seem ok. The man that owns the apartment came by and asked if there was a problem. I told him what the noise was and he seemed to know exactly what it was. Apparently the pistons that drive the brake pads are jammed with bake dust and wont be releasing properly making the noise as the brakes are now jammed on very slightly. This makes sense as the car struggled to get up the hill – I thought it was ‘cos we had Helen in the back!!

He’s suggested a local garage so we’ll head there tomorrow and get it dealt with.

We watched an episode of 24 then I went to the Swimming pool, it is a lovely pool, very modern and not very busy. Helen and Anne came for dinner bringing Chicken and Cous Cous with them. I set up Helens new tom tom for her.

St Anton 3 8 08

2008-08-03T18:19:00.001+01:00

It was an early start for us as we had a busy day planned, firstly we did a shortish walk, 8km, we took the cable car to the top of Galtzig and Helen had suggested a nice walk down avoiding the usual route. We followed the path to St Cristhof then turned back to St Anton.

Firstly we had to buy 2 passes for the cable cars, they are 34 euros each but if you consider the average cost of a trip is 10 euros it’ll not take long to make it pay. The dogs get free!

This is a really big and new car, very like the Falkirk wheel, you get in and it takes you up and over a huge wheel before you head off up the mountain, quite a feat of engineering.

The dogs are getting used to the cable cars now, they just sit and watch the view.

This is the view of St Anton from the car, about half way up. It was a little cloudy at the top so we expected to get cold but the sun was strong and it was still warm.

We nicked some bog roll from the toilet at the main station, we’ve run out and the shops are closed. Then we set off down hill, it’s very steep and going down hill can be quite sore on the calves, we’ll have strong legs after this holiday.

On the first bit of the path, this was actually a landrover track, we could have brought the car up!

We walked down, passed a few German women carrying big packs, they must be staying out the night. We found the lake that Helen had mentioned where they sat and had lunch last week.

Eventually we entered the forest and the walk was shaded, there are a few benches to rest on. It’s quite high up here so it is sometimes harder work than in Scotland.

We stumbled across this church just off the path, it was open which I found strange and it only had room for about 9 people.

As we walked back into town we spotted these huge snow making machines, they are all plumbed into the water supply and controlled by computer from the town. Sensors in the hill measure the snow levels and of it drops then these machines kick on and deliver snow to the areas where it is needed. There are over 100 of them spaced about the hillsides.

The big building on the right is the cable car station for this end of town, it’s a modern glass building.

We rushed back to the house as we had arranged to meet Helen in Samnaun, a little part of Switzerland, just across the border. Things are cheaper in Switzerland so Helen runs a bus to the town every week and people pay to be taken there. We had to follow along in the car as dogs are not allowed on the bus. We were running late so we had quick showers and then headed off for the drive of an hour.

It’s a lovely town, the sun was shining and it was very warm. We met up with Helen outside the post hotel, we were served by a very gay waiter, I had a huge ice cream for lunch!

Helen had to go and do work things so we wandered round the town a little, Susan bought a watch, I bought a swiss army knife – exciting ehh. We drove back and are meeting Helen and Anne for dinner in the restaurant down stairs later.

We’ve decided to stay here a little longer as we really like it. We now plan to leave on Tuesday 12th.

Our first day in St Anton 2 8 08

2008-08-02T21:04:00.001+01:00

We had a fair nights sleep, quite hot, these houses are designed for snow and cold weather but it is quite warm here. The dogs slept well despite a bit of thunder.

We had arranged to meet Helens Friend Anne by the church for a walk along the river to Petnau where we had originally planned to camp. We set off in glorious sunshine and high temperatures, the walk was long and flat which was good but the river was very distracting for the dogs. Too fast to let them in.

The logs are all piled up ready for the winter, so Germanic the Austrians, everyone is stacked neatly.

There was a few low level clouds but the scenery is breathtaking.

We stopped for a photo moment with the Jobby.

Eventually we arrived in Petnau, we had a look round the campsite where we had planned to stay. I have to say it is very nice, flat with a shower and toilet at each plot. There is a large shed with a shower cubicle, toilet and 2 basins and it looks very nice, it might even be possible to sleep in there if necessary. We got chatting to a british couple who were just packing up to travel home. They drove a Porsche Cayan, I cant figure out why you’d want to camp when you can afford a 60k car.

We had a snack and a drink at the cafe and walked back. In total we walked 12km so it was a good run.

We stuck some washing on then went out to find something for dinner as we are cooking tonight.

We had a relaxing afternoon, reading books and dozing in the sun, St Anton is a lovely place. Helen and Anne are coming for dinner tonight and we’re cooking so we went to Spar to get a few things then we went back. They arrived but Helen had to keep running off to see to tour buses arriving and to deal with guest problems. We’re now heading out for a drink. Tomorrow if the weather is dry we’ll do a walk then head to Samnau in Switzerland, Helen is taking a bus tour there, we’ve been before it’s nice. We can’t take the dogs on the bus so we’ll follow along in the car.

Breakfast in Italy, Lunch in Switzerland and dinner in Austria

2008-08-02T14:35:00.001+01:00

We packed up quite quickly, we’re either getting better or the thought of a proper bed has spurned us on a bit. We drove up the lake, we decided against stopping for petrol as we had half a tank left but as soon as we crossed the border to Switzerland we saw that the average price was 1.98 per litre, we’d been paying just 1.44 in Italy. I suggested we turn back and fill the car up in Italy but Susan persuaded me to forget it. Just as well as the price in Switzerland is in Francs and it actually works out cheaper in Euros.

We drove on through the Dolomites heading north towards Austria, we had to buy a pass to drive in Switzerland and another one to drive in Austria.

The scenery round these mountain passes is stunning, very Alpine, the air is fresh and clear.

We had to drive through the San Bernadino tunnell, this is the dogs by the village of San Bernadino.

San Bernadino.

We had a nice lunch in a service station where the dogs were allowed then we carried on to St Anton. We arrived in cloud and found our apartment. It is really nice, very well equipped and definitely worth the extra money.

We settled in then Helen and her friend Anne arrived bringing dinner with them, it was good to catch up and we had a nice evening. Our first night in the luxury did not result in as good a sleep as I had hoped, the pillows were too low but that has now been resolved with extra pillows. Best of all, we have a web connection at last.

Relaxing – 31 7 08

2008-08-02T13:40:00.001+01:00

We need to relax a little, the heat is so great that we’re sweating all the time so we’ve decided that as this is our last day in Italy and the Weather is so good we’ll spend it round the site and in the lake.

Ben is already finding the heat difficult, he lies in the open boot with the fan on most days, he was sound asleep.

We went to the lake and threw the sticks for them for an hour or 2 then I tried to hire a canoe but they were all booked so the guy said to go back later. We went back to the tent then went to the supermarket for something for lunch.

After lunch we went back to the lake and I got the canoe.

Susan had a shot, she quite enjoyed it really.

I raced the dogs for sticks, they normally won!

We spent hours with them on the lake, they loved it – so did we.

We showered, sat and read books at the tent then got some stuff packed away for leaving tomorrow. We had a pizza in the camp site restaurant, the food was good but like last time the service was very poor.

More 24 then bed.

30 7 08 – The other side

2008-08-01T16:24:00.001+01:00

Another thunder and lightning storm but not as bad,the dogs are getting better at it.

We headed north up the lake this time towards the Swiss Border, we were aiming for Cannobio which is where we had intended to stay but could not find accommodation. We drove up the hairy road, glad I am not towing a caravan here.

We got to Cannobio and found a car park then walked down hill towards the port area, or where we thought it should be. We found ourselves in a holiday complex Called “Happy Mag”, it reminded me of a modern version of Hidy Hi”, tour reps that looked unnaturally happy, wearing orange polo shirts, practicing the Happy Mag song as they went. Kids Clubs, Welcome Meetings, Entertainment, competitions, disco bars – not our kind of place, we made a hasty retreat.

We walked back towards the main town, on the way we found a Tourist Info office so we went in to get a map, that was when we discovered that we were not actually in Cannobio but in Cannerro, a few kms before. We found the harbour and sat and had a drink looking at the stunning scenery.

Some of these houses look stunning, I’d suggested that they might want to do a house swap sometime – Susan does not think so!

Susan looks good with a lamp growing out of her head.

The old harbour

We followed a walking route we had collected from the tourist office and then went back to the car. We drove on up to our original destination.

We arrived in Cannobio and found a car park.

It’s a lovely town, I’d come back here anytime. Even away from the port in the “real” town it is beautiful.

We found the old wash house, the door was open, well after I’d put my shoulder to it!

This is by the harbour, the area is really stunning.

We had decided to go over to the other side of the lake, we could drive round or take the ferry. The ferry costs 34 euros and driving would be 90kms, at 6 miles per litre and fuel at 1.50 per litre – it was cheaper on the ferry, and more fun too.

We drove down the lake to Intra and took the ferry to Laveno.

Our car was first on so we were right at the front of the boat.

You can just see bens head staring over the back seat at all the water.

The ferry captain was a little off course and was doing 18km per hour.

Ben could not contain himself and tried to get over the seat to see the water.

Laveno does not have much to offer but it does have a cable car, the Cable cars on this side dont take dogs but this one might so we went to ask. Susan went in and asked, she called me to say it did and she had bought tickets so I got the dogs out and followed her in.

It turned out to be just buckets hanging from the wire, no room for all of us so it was Susan and Dan in one and me and Ben in the other.

Dan was not happy, they went first there was a gap at the bottom of the door, Dans tail was hanging out the gap and wagging all the way up.

This is what we were in for 18 minutes to the top.

It’s a bit blurry – sorry.

Ben sat on the floor shaking.

The view from half way up across the lake to the side we are staying on.

At the top it got cloudy and there was more thunder. The view was pretty good though.

The journey down as not any better. Dan refused to get in the cart, you only get a few seconds to get in and get the door shut. The man had to grab him by the Harness and throw him in, he looked so undignified with all his paws flapping about as the guy dumped him in the bucket.

We drove north to Calde which is supposed to be the Portofino of the area, we were unimpressed so we had a drink, gave the dogs a swim then headed back to the port to get the ferry back.

We drove down to Pallana for dinner, had a nice meal but 2 women that didnt like dogs ended up sitting next to us which was unfortunate so we skipped dessert and bought an ice cream at a shop along the port.

We headed back to more 24.

29 7 08 - Stressa

2008-08-01T16:14:00.001+01:00

It was a bad night, heavy rain, thunder and a remarkable lightning storm that lit the whole lake up. The dogs were very frightened, Dan sat on the bed panting and dribbling saliva on me. It lasted about 2 hours but then it was over and we got to sleep.

Today we went to Stressa, a large resort town down the coast from here. It is very plush, full of large Victorian style hotels like the Grand, the kind of places we should be staying rather than in the tent.

This is a typical Italian scene, forget Pasta and Ice cream, it is mobile phones that feature heavily in Italy.

There are 3 Islands off the coast, this is one of them. We had discussed doing a tourist type boat round the lake but although dogs are allowed they must be muzzled, we do have muzzles but it is cruel to muzzle a dog in at like this as it restricts their ability to cool down by limiting their panting. It is possible to rent a smaller boat but we decided against it.

We walked round the town, there are many typical Italian buildings here.

I really liked the tiling on these balconies.

We walked along the beach front and let the dogs swim for a little while.

These lovely gardens were by the waterfront.

I found a decent internet shop so caught up on emails etc, Susan sat in the sun. She was approached by a couple from Yorkshire who wanted holiday friends – they were on the last day of the holiday so had treated themselves to “Lasagne and a glass of red wine”, seems odd to go to Italy and keep this as a going home treat. They soon buggered off when I appeared!

We stopped by the supermarket to get something for dinner and headed back to the tent. We had some lunch then went to the beach for a few hours to let the dogs swim.

We made dinner and watched 24.

Our first day in the Italian Lakes

2008-07-29T13:20:00.001+01:00

This is the view from the campsite restaurant taken last night at dinner.

We had a good sleep, the campsite is good, quite close to the main road and therefore quite noisy in the early hours but otherwise very good. We didn’t have anything for breakfast so that was a job for today.

After showers we set off down the lake side, we stopped in a couple of towns and walked round, we had breakfast in Intra then as it was not very much we had a toastie in Palaza. We found a supermarket and bought what we needed for eating, we also bought a fan as it gets really hot in the tent during the day. The fan has a european plug on it and our tent electricity system only accepts UK 3 pin plugs so that was a challenge to overcome.

Some random views of

We walked the dogs a little way by the lake then eventually gave in and let them swim a bit.

We bought some stuff for lunch and headed back to the site to eat lunch and relax, Susan wanted to use the washing machine too!

It was baking hot and there was no respite from it so we decided to go and have a swim in the lake.

We threw a stick for the dogs for ages, they must be knackered. I got Susan and the dogs organised to race for a stick to see who was the fastest swimmer.

Susan is in the lead

And she gets the stick and wins the lolly pop

Dan gets frustrated and tries to take it from her.

We went back and showered, read our books then went out in search for an adapter to allow us to use the fan in the tent. The 2 brothers that own the camp site are really helpfull and took ages to show us how to find the Italian version if B&Q where they might sell what we want. When we found it I was skeptical that they would have it but they did, it cost more than the fan but it’s worth it.

We stopped by the harbour in Intra for a drink, this was what was happening across the road. We eventually found a restaurant for dinner that had an outside seat for us. I found an internet cafe but it was really crap and I could not upload the blog so I have no idea when this will be sent. We came back to the tent to thunder, lightning and rain.

Chamonix – Lake Maggiore. 27 7 08

2008-07-29T13:19:00.001+01:00

We had a good sleep in our hotel room and woke to good weather, very hot and a clear blue sky. It was a good decision to have a hotel room for a night as we have 5 nights camping in Italy.

We packed up, paid the bill then drove to Chamonix for breakfast we stopped at the field to the rear of the town and threw the ball for the dogs, we get loads of strange looks from other people when we do this. This field is where they teach people to parasend.

This an was being taught to get the chute up and fly, obviously he was not going to to far.

This is a good place to exercise the dogs, Chamonix is a lovely town, it reminds me very much of Aspen, clean, open, fresh and friendly.

Susan took this, no idea what it is of.

We had a nice breakfast in the main street then set off for Italy, our journey took us through the Mt Blanc Tunnell. 11km of passageway, the scene a few years ago of a horrific accident caused by a truck fire where many people died. The safety precautions are good, lots of advice and rules to stick to. It cost 33 euros to use, at that rate it works out at about 3 euros per km, I could build it for that!

We arrived into Italy to absolutely no fanfair, Ben fell asleep in France and woke up in Italy, not sure he understands the significance of that. We stopped for a break at a service station but other than that we just drove.

This flower was growing at the service station, having not featured a flower for a while I felt it was time.

We arrived at Lake Maggiore, it is a good day but looks thundry. The lake is stunning, typical Italian scenery , crazy drivers and loads of cars.

Our site is by the lake, the road separates us from the lake but there is an underpass, we were the last pitch but it is a good one, high up on the terrace with good views of the lake. The ground is like concrete, getting the pegs in was a real challenge, in the end I borrowed a hammer from our neighbour.

After we got set up we took the dogs to the lake for a swim.

This is the view from our pitch. Just below us is 2 young dutch couples, about 20 (ish), Susan thinks she’s watching a porn film when she looks over, they are getting up to some interesting things – it’s all too much for me and I don’t look – obviously.

Tonight we will eat at the restaurant at the site and tomorrow do a bit of exploring.

Chamonix 26 7 08

2008-07-26T19:02:00.001+01:00

We awoke after a borken sleep, not so cold but very heavy rain that had Ben in the bed with us again.

We went to Chamonix for a few things and to go back to the tourist info, you get free WIFI there which is handy, I’m in discussion about another couple of Wedding Bookings so wanted to check emails. Also, our enjoyment of camping is running out so we’ve decided to rent an apartment in Austria, the camp site is quite expensive at 240 euros for the week, we can rent an apartment for 340 euros – no brainer in my view so we need to look at some options.

We find a couple of options and Helen has also said that her friend might rent us her apartment. We’ll come back to this later.

It’s market day in Chamonix so we have a look round and take some pictures.

It was mainly food, pity we cant keep anything cool as some of it looked lovely.

We’ve decided to take the mountain train up to the range and then do some of the walks around the summit so we head for the station, the weather is not so good today, cooler and cloudy.

Ben was not keen on the train journey but he was ok.

We arrived at the top, it was cooler and getting cloudy so we decided not to walk too far as we didn’t have our waterproofs. There is a hotel at the top, it looked nice and we must have a night here in the future.

We walked over to the area where you can see the glacier, it was too dangerous to go on it so we stopped and looked at it. Apparently it is 120 metres deep and it is getting thinner by 4cm every year.

We headed back for the train, the clouds were closing in and rain was not far off . The train was packed and as we waited for it the thunder started, the dogs were beside themselves all the way down the hill, then the heavens opened and we had rain that was something else, torrential is probably not strong enough a word.

When we got to the bottom there was more thunder and I said that as the car was about a mile away I should go and then come back to collect Susan and the dogs, no point in everyone getting soaked. I got drenched on the way to the car but at least it was only a T shirt and shorts to try and dry, oh and shoes!

We checked into our hotel which is basic and comfortable and I had a great shower, we went out to have a look round leaving the dogs in the room. They are fine and Ben has found that he likes to sleep in the wardrobe.

Heading out now for dinner.

Chamonix 25 7 08

2008-07-26T19:01:00.001+01:00

It was a cold night, really cold, we were up a fair bit of the night. As a result we were totally knackered by the morning. We set our hearts on a lazy day. Once again the weather was really good, ver sunny and hot.

We headed into Chamonix, we had to go back to the laundry and hand in the bedding to be cleaned. Susan wanted new walking shoes, the ones she has are really too small for her and as a result she had sore feet after yesterdays hike. Whilst she did that I sat with the dogs in a bar.

We had a look round Chamonix, it’s a beautiful town, especially with such great weather, we watched the paragliders coming down from the peaks – still tempted, maybe tomorrow.

We went back to the tent but it was too hot to sit out so we went for a walk round the woods with the dogs, it was a good walk, nice and shady. We stumbled across this Gite which had a little cafe in the garden, it looked nice so we stopped for a drink, we debated staying there for the next 2 nights but it transpired that it was like a hostel so we binned that idea, however we are now in the mood of a decent bed for the night so the guy suggested we try next door. They were full!

Boyed by the possibility of a proper bed we decided we’d stick the tent for another night then check into a hotel for the last night so we decided that when we went back to Chamonix for the washing we’d go and find a hotel.

We went back to the tent, I had a shower then we went into town to the Laundry and to get something for Tea, we went to the Tourist office but they said to try again in the morning, we decided to try a few hotels directly. We drove in to the village near to the camp site and found a hotel that takes dogs, they had a room free that met our budget so we booked it for tomorrow night. Our luck was getting better as we found 20 euros lying in the street outside the hotel!

We went back, cooked dinner, watched 24 and went to bed, it was not as cold but the rain came and boy it was torrential.

Chamonix 24 07 08

2008-07-25T11:01:00.002+01:00

God it was a cold night, the temperature was down to almost freezing and we really didn’t sleep well, talk about a change – from being too hot to sleep to being too cold to sleep, never happy! It is clear blue skies so no cloud cover means no insulation to keep the daytime heat in.

As we had arrived late the night before we didn’t have any provisions in so we had breakfast in Chamonix in a little cafe by the road side. Chamonix is a beautiful town with spectacular scenery all round, well up there on my favourite towns.

There is a pet shop selling all sorts of stuff, the dogs liked the look of the fluorescent rucksack.

This little church sits by the tourist information centre.

Mt Blanc from where we had breakfast.

We needed to get some clothes cleaned so we found a laundry and left a bundle of clothes for cleaning and agreed to to collect them later. After that we went to the bakers to get some sandwiches for lunch as we planned a walk in the afternoon. The plan is to take one of the cable cars (only a few take dogs) to the summit of a nearby mountain then walk either to another cable car or walk back down.

The dogs soon got used to the movement of the cable car.

Chamonix from the cable car.

We took the cable to the first station then got right on the next car to the very top. When we got out it was so high we struggled to breathe, even worse than when we were in Aspen. I walked up to the view point at the top and really struggled to get a breath.

These views are from the very top.

This is me at the top station.

People paraglide from the top, it looks great fun. Susan says I can do it if I want.

We threw some snow balls for the dogs, they had a ball.

Their latest landmark, Mt Blanc.

We were at 3270 metres above sea level.

Waiting for the cable car Ben net a huskie from Holland.

We took the cable car back to the middle station, we decided it was too risky to walk from here.

We set off on the downhill path.

About a third of the walk was through trees which was a welcome relief from the sun.

Mt Blanc from the campsite when we got back. Clear blue skies means another cold night.

We went into Chamonixto get the washing and to buy some provisions for tea and breakfast. We sat and had a drink in a bar by the river, I bought a metal sig bottle to store water in and to use as a hot water bottle at night.

We had dinner then watched 24, I got into trouble from the campsite man for letting dan off the lead.

Chamonix

2008-07-24T09:49:00.001+01:00

We had a nice meal sitting outside a french cafe in Millau. We decided that we were fed up with putting the tent up and taking it down so often so we’ve decided to change the route. We’ve decided to push on today to Chamonix at the foot of Mt Blanc, Europe's highest peak. It is over 600km but we decide a day in the car will be worth it.

Millau centre at night.

We had breakfast outside a little cafe near the hotel.

After breakfast we set off for Chamonix, it took hours and hours but eventually we rolled up and after phoning a camp site we found someplace to stay for the next 4 nights, it’s on a bit of a slope but we’ll manage.

Our first view of Mt Blanc

Views from the camp site.

Hoping for an early night and a good sleep, it is very cold here, we’re going to regret moaning about the heat in Spain.

Carcassonne - Millau

2008-07-22T19:29:00.001+01:00

We had a good sleep, nice comfy beds and not any noise, luxury by our standards.

After breakfast we walked the dogs round the park for a bit then drove to Carcassonne. It turned out to be a lovely city, split into 2 parts by the river, the old part on one side and the new part on the other side. The sky was blue and the temperature was high.

We rented an audio guide from the tourist office and decided to do the walking tour of the old town but we got slightly confused and didn’t realise that the audio guide was for the new town. By the time we found out we were in the old town and decided to scrap the audio guide and carry on.

This is the main part of Carcassonne

Susan and Dan in the main part

The new town from the river.

A pet shop that sold doggy clothes, thankfully all too small for our dogs.

The old castle ramparts

And again

Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of occitan cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender. After capturing Raymond-Roger de Trencavel and imprisoning and allowing him to die, Montfort made himself the new viscount. He added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and the kingdom of Aragon (Spain).

In 1240 Trencavel's son tried to reconquer his old domain but in vain. The city submitted to the rule of kingdom of France in 1247, and King Louis IX founded the new part of the town across the river. He and his successor Philip III built the outer ramparts. Contemporary opinion still considered the fortress impregnable. During the Hundred Years' War, Edward the Black Prince failed to take the city in 1355, although his troops destroyed the Lower Town.

In 1659, the Treaty of Pyrenees transferred the border province of Roussillon to France, and Carcassonne's military significance was reduced. Fortifications were abandoned, and the city became mainly an economic center that concentrated on the woollen textile industry, for which a 1723 source quoted by Fernand Braudel found it “the manufacturing center of Languedoc”

This bird was eying up Dan for dinner.

She was handing out leaflets.

This guy was painted like a statue, we didn’t give him any money

We took this for Susans brother, he likes Knight Templar things

Susan was tired and needed to sit down

We walked round the old walled city for ages, it was busy and really interesting. Not ideal having dogs but the French are quite geared up for them and many other people had dogs too.

Even the bottoms of the drains are ornate.

We handed back the audio guide, told the guy it was very interesting an headed back to the car. In the 10 mins I was standing outside the tourist office, at least 6 people stopped and said what lovely dogs. Collies seem rare here too.

We headed back to the car and drove the 200km to Millau. John and Jenny had suggested that the Millau bridge is good to see and it certainly gets a bit of publicity, it’s certainly a very attractive structure. However, I was a little --- underwhelmed!

We’d decided to have a hotel again and chose Millau as the place, it looks a nice town. We parked in the centre and found the tourist office, they suggested a few dog friendly hotels, we booked into the first one, not great but only 65 euros and in the town centre. The town looks lovely and we had a bit of a walk round. We decided that we might as well drive the bridge and go to the viewpoint so we set off again for the main road. We stopped at the viewpoint and it was very nice from here, quite artistic and better than from the other place. We took a few pics

This is from the original viewpoint and you can just make out the bridge in the distance, click the pic to make it bigger.

It looks much better from here

They can tell their pals when they get back that they have seen the Millau bridge

We drove back to the town and stopped by the river to give the dogs a swim.

No idea what these girls were doing, Susan thought they might be watching the shadows on the pavement.

We got to the river and there was a couple with a black lab so I bent down to unhook bens lead, I managed to get the strap from my camera round his neck and he took off dragging my camera over the stones and into the river. It is knackered but at least I managed to save the pictures. Not a happy bunny but the dogs had fun.

We’re heading out for dinner and a walk about the town. Camping for the next while so not sure when the next blog will be. I’ll continue to write it and publish it when I get a connection.

Andorra – Limoux 21/7/08

2008-07-21T21:39:00.001+01:00

We had another bad night with thunder and lightning, Ben was once again running around the tent like a mad thing. We didn’t get a lot of sleep. We are driving on to Carcassonne today (or thats the plan) so we pack the tent, the first time it has been packed away damp but it’ll survive. The weather had improved considerably by the time we were getting ready to go. We dropped the tent down , Susan said “whats happened to the tent, it’s moving” we realised that Dan had sneaked into the tent before we let the pegs out, we had to lift it up and get him out.

We headed of up the hill again to walk the dogs along the same path as yesterday, we walked a bit of the way then walked back again. It was sunny and hot.

The road to France took us through Soldeau, this is another lovely town, maybe come back here another time. We elected to take the tunnel to the border with France, I regretted it as soon as we had paid the toll, we’ll miss the scenery. As we drove down into the tunnel we saw what we thought was smoke, this was slightly disconcerting but as we came to the end we realised that it was actually fog and the other side of the mountain was covered in thick fog and rain. Visibility was less than 20metres and some people didn’t even have any lights on. We found a petrol station as petrol is cheap here at 118c per litre (in France it is 167). We drove through customs hoping that they would not pull us out for a check, repacking the car in the rain would not be fun. They seemed surprised that we said we had not bought any booze or fags but we explained that we had no room for either.

We followed the country roads towards Carcassonne. About half way we found a ski resort that was open (not for skiing, walking) and we had a sandwich. We found ourselves in Limoux, about 15k fro Carcassonne, it looked like a nice town and the tourist info centre was just on the road. We had decided to treat ourselves to a night in a hotel so we wandered in and asked if they could find us a room. A nice girl spoke very good English, she explained that her boyfriend came from Fleetwood, she even had a North West accent. She found us a room in a dog friendly hotel an here we are.

Limoux is a market town and sub-prefecture in the French département of Aude, a part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Languedoc-Roussillon région. It lies on the river Aude about 15 km due south of Carcassonne.

After getting freshened up we took a stroll into town and had a drink in a cafe. The prices here are so high,it cost us 7 euros for 2 drinks, in Cortes it is 2 euros.

This area is famous for Wine but I didn’t expect to see a Distillery.

We wandered down to the river and then walked across the old bridge, wandered around the other side of the river, past the hospital then back across the new bridge.

We walked back towards the hotel, on the way I saw this sign and thought it was quite good, it says if you take my space you can have my disability too.

After an hour in the room we headed out for dinner. We went back to the main square and sat outside a restaurant with the dogs. It was very pleasant.

Tomorrow we go to Carcassonne and then onto Milau to see the famous bridge. We’ve changed our route slightly and are now spending 1 night in Milau, 2 in St Etien then 2 in Chamonoix.

Andorra

2008-07-21T18:44:00.001+01:00

We had a bad night, the campsite is very noisy. At about 2am Ben started running in circles round the tent, we could not figure out what was wrong with him but after about 30 mins the sky lit up and then we heard thunder. He had obviously heard it before us.

We put his anxiety wrap on him and it did make a little difference but he was really stressed out, he ended up in the bed with us, right in the middle with his head on the pillow and his body under the duvet! The rain started about then so it was a long night.

We awoke to great weather, blue sky and only a few light clouds. Andorra is a stunning country, very like the alps, high mountains covered in pine trees. We were late up so we had a quick breakfast then headed for the hills. We had found a route that was about 6 miles with not much climbing, it was really too hot for any real exercise. The route was great, brilliant views of the town of Encamp and the valley through the country.

The walk was quite busy with lots of families out for the Sunday exercise, we same other dogs and even managed to steal some pooh bags from the dispenser. I like pooh bags that have the town written on them, I still have some from Aspen.

The youngsters of today – this girls trousers were so far down most of her pink pants were showing above them. Additionally, she had her top rolled up so far there was a danger of spillage from above.

The best bit was at the half way point there was a coffee shop for us and a lake for the dogs.

We sat at the tent for a few hours reading books in the sun then we decided to go to the main town, Andorra La Vella for a look round. Being Sunday we didn’t expect anything to be happening – and we were right. We had a drink in a street side bar then headed back to Encamp for dinner.

Dan was very interested in this Northern Inuit dog across the street.

When we got back to Encamp we realised that there was no where to eat, we hunted round the whole town but the few places that were open, we didn’t like the look of. Frustrated and hungry we headed back to Andorra La Vella for Burger King, so we sat outside Burger King by the main road and ate a Burger.

We headed back to Encamp (getting used to this road now) as we had spotted a nice ice Cream shop, it also had web access but that had nothing to do with it! We sat there and had ice cream until about 11.00pm. We drove back to the camp site and Susan realised that one of her shoes had fallen out the back of the car, it must have happened when the dogs jumped out. We had been 5 places since she last saw them so I headed off in search of the shoe. Back to Andorra La Vella (again), I found it in Burger King. Cinderella eat your heart out.

Andorra 19 07 08

2008-07-20T20:40:00.001+01:00

We left vinyols and drove pretty much due north towards Andorra. We elected to take the country road rather than the motorway as we reckoned the scenery would be much better – we were right.

We took the C14 right up to Artesa then headed slightly East then north again, through Ponts (a lovely little town) then we stopped in Organya for lunch, there didn't seem to be much to the town but we found some really nice buildings behind the main street. We noticed as we drove north and inland the scenery changed, it is more like rural France, the houses are like what we would imagine rural french houses look like. The language is Catalan or Castillian both like Spanish but with enough of a difference to make communication difficult.

These 3 pics above are from Organa.

Whilst I remember here are some pic taken round the camp site yesterday.

This wee girl was fascinated by Dan

So back to today, as we approached Andorra, the Guardia Civil were out in force, something big was going down, I suspect they were looking for drugs or something as they had pulled over some motorcyclists and they all had sub machine guns out.

We crossed the border into Andorra with little fanfair, there was a huge queue for people leaving and going back to Spain as Andorra is a tax free country like Gibraltar so they are always on the look out for people with to much booze. We have hardly a spare inch of space so we wont be trying to smuggle.

The roads are very busy here but the scenery is stunning, very Alpine. Susan and I came her about 10 years ago with Dave and Alli for a Skiing holiday so we recognised some places.

We drove through the main town Andorra La Vella and on to Encamp where we had decided to Stay.

The temperature is very high, it touch 45 degrees Celsius at the site and we sweated buckets getting the tent set up. I walked the dogs a bit and Susan did her washing.

Encamp - Andorra.

We walked into town and had a very cold drink then found a supermarket for a few things. The problem with camping is that we can't keep anything cool so we need to buy fresh every day.

Tonight w are going to have a Pizza then watch more 24. The sun has just dropped behind the hills 19.54 local time so already the temperature is dropping - Bliss!!!

Reus 18 7 08

2008-07-18T18:30:00.001+01:00

We awoke after a good sleep, probably the best sleep we have ever had at a camp site. It is really quiet here, even the child next door was quiet and the dogs in the farm fields round about stopped barking quite early. We watched 2 episodes of the latest series of 24, it is looking like a good series and I am sure we’ll watch more tonight. If you want to see where the site is then go to Google earth and type these co ordinates into the box

41 06.720N 001 02.861w

I took the dogs round the campsite for a walk, we passed the horses, chickens, frogs, fruit trees and veg plants. We had breakfast and showered, it became apparent that the family next to us were departing today as they started the mammoth pack of all their gear into a rather smart Mercedes. We got chatting to them and it turned out that they were from Belgium, a really nice couple, as usual spoke various languages – put us to shame. He’s a risk management consultant, I think like the scatty woman from the Apprentice.

They told us about a nice beach where it is quiet and we could walk the dogs, he gave me the co-ordinates from his GPS but by accident he gave me the co-ordinates for the camp site. Not to worry, we found it no probs. It was a small beach but enough for the dogs to get a good run so we spent an hour there then came back to the site for a drink. I did a bit of emails and then we walked round the site.

In the afternoon we went into Reus, this is a surprising city, I’ve never heard of it before but it is lovely. It is the birth place of Gaudi and Salvador Dali so there are lots of Architectural things to look at. We got a leaflet of the walking tour and followed it.

It’s not that easy in a city with 2 dogs but they came along with us and were ok with the people and the traffic.

We had lunch, did the walk looking at the architecture and had ice creams then headed back. We needed something for Tea so we stopped by Carrefour, Susan went in for 3 things, when she came back I saw her with 2 full bags, there was a Gaucin moment when I said I thought you wen for a curry sauce, she didn’t throw her bags down the road so that was ok.

We’ve driven back and are going to send the evening at the site, probably in the little bar by reception then dinner, 24 and bed. We leave for Andorra tomorrow.

And just for Gordon, yet another Spar shot –this one had a cafe in it.

Gaudis birth place, not very glamorous!

Algorfa to Tarragona

2008-07-18T12:33:00.001+01:00

We set of early after quite a good sleep, i was not a very exciting journey, mainly motorway or toll roads although we did take an option to leave the coast and take a quieter road inland. We ate up the miles quickly and arrived in Tarragona about 5pm.

The camp site is quite nice, very ecological where you camp in amongst the trees. There is a small lake and an area set aside for planting and growing veg and salad stuff. The staff are very nice and we are camped next to a German family who have a little boy that is very interested in the dogs, he wont leave us alone.

We needed to get some milk and things so we drove into Reus, a biggish town about 5km away. It looks like a really nice town so we’ll probably go back tomorrow night for a look round.

Sorry not a lot else to say about today!

Beirut

2008-07-18T12:32:00.001+01:00

We had a good sleep in a proper bed, I was awake for a while with toothache, I really need to see a dentist. We thought we had been transported to Beirut, the fireworks were really loud, not sure if they were practicing for tonight or if they were just set off randomly, we had the dogs on the bed shaking.

After breakfast Alex and Christine took us for a drive to the beach, we had hoped to walk the dogs but there was a sign saying no dogs on the beach. However, we took a chance and just took them on, we let them run for a bit then the rain came on so we headed for a coffee.

We walked back to the car and then we went to try and find a supermarket as I need a face cloth. The place was mobbed, hundreds of cars fighting for a space, the rain was pouring down. We ended up in Lidle and bought some stuff for lunch. We headed back to the apartment and spent the afternoon watching a DVD.

It was very close and thundry.

We ate out at an Indian restaurant. Tonight is fiesta night and the fireworks will be really loud so I elect to stay in with the dogs, the others go out to watch the festivities.

Trevelez to Algorfa

2008-07-18T12:31:00.001+01:00

It wasn't a great night, after moaning so much about the heat some people will consider it payback to hear us say that we were actually quite cold in bed last night. We'd had a lovely meal in a little restaurant / bar in town, we took the dogs and sat outside.

In the morning we packed up, somehow we have managed to accumulate even more stuff and the car is even fuller than it was. The campsite was great and I said to the owners that we might be back.

We took the long road to Algorfa, this involved driving over the highest road in Spain where the pass reaches over 2km above sea level, this must very isolated in winter, apparently the snow is regularly 4 metres high here, it is where most of the Spanish ski resorts are located.

We stopped on the mountain pass to walk the dogs and take some photographs, I cant get over how much this reminds me of placs in North America like Aspen or Vermont.

Right on the top of this hill you can see a domed white building, there are a few of these round here, we were trying to figure out what they are for, the might be observation posts for fire risk.

We stopped for Lunch in La Calahora, in a grotty bar but the food was good. We then joined the motorway which was actually a welcome relief after the twisty mountain roads. Susan took over driving.

We arrived in Algorfa at Susans Brother place about 5.30 and had dinner. This is the festival week and as a result there was fireworks, the dogs were terrified so we put them in the car in the underground car park, the seemed happier there.

Alex took us for a drive around then we went into town for a drink. The festival was in full swing, it is the festival of flowers.

We headed back to the apartment, it is good to have a proper bed for a change.

Our first night in the tent

2008-07-14T17:40:00.001+01:00

We had a bit of supper in the restaurant at the camp site, it was nice but we were tired so we had an early night. It was a reasonable sleep, disturbed a couple of times, once by Susan needing to go to the toilet and the other by rain. We’d been expecting rain as the cloud base is pretty much at the level of the site. We heard everyone in the site running about grabbing towels and other things they had left outside.

We had our breakfast and showered then headed off to give the dogs a good walk. The campsite owner had recommended a walk along the valley floor following the river. We took the wrong path but none the less had a good walk and the dogs had a ball.

This is trevelez from the start of the walk

We found a river.

Ben on the foot path

The scenery is stunning round here, very like areas of North America an Canada that we have been to with high mountain passes and little villages.

My picture very rarely appears but Susan took this one.

Tesco treats all the way from Scotland

Dan hiding in the bushes.

Yet another river

We drove on past Bubion to Capileira, both of these little villages are lovely quiet places, home to arty farty people and frequented by walkers.

Looking south over the Lecrin Valley. This area is home to Dave Stewart of “Driving over Lemons fame”.

This is bubion from Capileira.

We had a nice lunch and Susan bought a new handbag (She needs a new bag like a hole in the head) from a leather shop then we drove on to Bubion.

Susan and the dogs talk to a donkey tied to a tree.

I had a wander round a Buddhist shop, not very exciting.

We found this place where they presumably used to do their washing, full of sinks with ridges on them.

When we got back to the site the owners dog was out. She is a 3 year old Border collie called Aisha, she is lovely and Ben and Dan were in heaven when we let them out to play. He bought her on the internet from Hungary, she cost over 700 euros and was sent by DHL in a crate. Apparently you just can’t get Collies here (a money making venture for me I think). The guy wants to breed her and I suggested for a fee they could use Ben but she’s not due a season for a few months – never mind.

On our way, the first stop

2008-07-13T20:11:00.001+01:00

The morning was like all others really, I set the alarm and walked the dogs for a couple of hours as they were to be in the car for most of the day. When I got back we cleaned (again), it’s amazing, we gutted the house yesterday but we still found dog hairs today. Anyway, it was a quick clean and tidy up,throwing out old food etc. We set off at 11.30 and stopped to drop the laundry for Nafeica. We decided to take the coast road, it was expensive on the tolls but much easier for us.

We drove along right past Malaga and Nerja, we stopped for lunch and stumbled across a retail park place with burger king, bowling alley etc so we had lunch in a restaurant there the Susan drove the rest of the way.

The new road ends and it is necessary to drive along the old coast road until the new Toll road is finished. The coastline here is stunning, very like Italy, great views. We’ve been here before but I can’t remember it. Near to Salobrenia we left the coast and headed north into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, we had a weeks holiday here a few years back so we knew the area. We drove up past Orgeva and into the mountains.

This is part of the new road being built, quite a feat of engineering.

We carried on getting higher and higher, we’re heading for the highest campsite in Spain, hopefully it will be cooler.

This is Orgeva from the mountains.

Susan waiting for me to finish taking pictures.

We can hardly see the dogs.

We found the campsite easily enough, the first thing we spotted was a lovely Border Collie, very rare in Spain, it is owned by the camp site people and is a 3 year old bitch. It wasn’t very friendly to our dogs, maybe when it is off the lead!

We set the tent up and get organised, it taes about an hour but I am sure we’ll get faster. The weather is good, cloudy and cool – but not too cool! Being very high up at 1600 meters above sea level makes the weather changeable, at the moment is it fine but who knows!

We set off for a walk into Trevelez, we thought we had been there before but we didn’t recognise it so we must be thinking of somewhere else. The woman in the camp site had said that there was a path that was a good walk into town but not to do it in the dark. We see why, it was about 110cm wide with a river on one side and a steep drop on the other.

We walked round Trevelez for a while then had a drink in a grotty bar where they tried to sell me out of date coke! We walked back along the road, much safer! We’ll eat in the camp site tonight.

There is an internet connection at the site but it looks a bit basic, not sure if I can post this tonight or if it will have to wait.

Last Day

2008-07-12T22:12:00.001+01:00

Well, our final day here in Cortes. Yet again we clean, despite trying to keep on top of things we manage to fill a carrier bag with dog hairs. I awoke early with the dogs making some sort of noise, couldn’t get back to sleep again so sat and read my book.

After walking the dogs and breakfast, we cleaned, really got stuck in and cleaned the house, every nook and cranny was dealt with. The house looks good now and very ready for our guests on Friday.

We’ve been having trouble with our Mobile broadband modem and we have promised some guests that they will have internet connection in the house so we really need to get it sorted. I think it may need credit on it so I wandered along to the shop but they were closed, the other shop was having trouble with the machine and the bank could not do it. All the way I was followed by Mary Bekers dog Brian, he is very sweet and danced around my feet as I walked, he came to the shop and the bank, we were almost home before he eventually headed back.

We had tapas for lunch next door then went to Ronda to try and get the Vodafone shop to get it fixed. The vodafone shop was closed so we had a drink and mulled over our options. We settle on leaving it and let Nafeica sort it out. However, opposite the car was a Internet shop so we went in there and checked our emails etc. The guy was very helpful and spoke good English so we decided to ask his advice. He was very helpful, got vodafone on the phone, made various calls and eventually got it fixed for us.

We came home and finished off the very last bits of cleaning then went to Fuente for dinner.

I booked our Chunnell crossing for the 16th August, very sad, seems so final somehow.

Friday

2008-07-12T18:49:00.001+01:00

Cleaning again, sorry this is not very interesting, it’ll get better once we get on our way again – promise. We sometimes wonder if renting the house is actually worth it, especially when we spend so much time cleaning, making beds etc. The real problem is dog hairs, they are everywhere and no matter how often we clean they still seem to be there, the dogs molt so much here.

Anyway, I set the alarm and got up to give the dogs a good walk before sun rise, the Scout / Christian place near to Jimera is coming to life now, there was a young lad sleeping on an old sofa at the side of the track the other day, he got a bit of a fright when Dan stuck his cold wet nose in his face.

After breakfast we got stuck in to the cleaning, today it was the bedroom and living room, I also cleaned and hoovered the car it is a slow process in the heat with many stops for drinks. We also packed most of the stuff in the car, we’ve accumulated a fair bit of stuff so we needed to plan the packing well, it all seems to be ok with the bulky stuff now packed. We’ve just got the ods and ends to do now.

The phone was eventually cut off on Thursday, I was surprised as it seems normal that this can take months to achieve, perhaps stopping the direct debit was the trigger. They Internet connection was still live and I was wondering if perhaps they had forgotten it and we’d have a web connection free, no such luck, it has gone now too.

After lunch we set off for Gaucin, we have rugs to collect from the laundry, we’d also decided to try the new restaurant / hotel Molino Quatro Porado near to Benajoan on the way back.

We collected the rugs then headed up to Ronda, we parked in the new car park at the top of the town, it is very swanky and professional, not too expensive either. We had ice cream at the usual place then went to the Vodafone shop to get some credit on the Mobile Internet card but I needed another number which I didn’t have so no such luck. We walked to the square for Pick n Mix, it was closed, we’re not having any luck spending money here. Susan wanted to go and buy some cakes from the Nuns, it’s an odd place there is a sort of revolving hatch where you shout what you want then put money in the shelf it spins round, the money disappears and your goods are there in place of it.

We had time to kill so we wandered round the shops a bit and had a drink on the main drag then bought a (yet another) new shower head before heading back to the car. We drove to the hotel, it is very nice, obviously had a bit of cash spent on it, it advertises locally as having an Italian Chef and we fancied a change from Meatballs, pork chops, lamb chops etc. We were first there, the place was deserted then eventually this English man arrived wearing shorts, he was obviously the owner. He took us out to the terrace by the river, all very civilised. He went off and left us for ages with no drinks or menu, it was a bit odd. After about 20 mins he reappeared having changed into long trousers for the night time service, however these trousers were in worse state than my painting trousers, the type you get in Spanish markets, dirty, old and torn, it was all very bizarre, he really did look like a tramp. We tried to engage him in conversation but it was difficult, he said he’d been open a year and business was not good due to the strength of the Euro and the economic situation in the UK.

On the plus side, the Menu was good, a nice choice of different food with an Italian flavour. The food was excellent, well cooked, nicely presented and tasty. Quite reasonable too!

The place got a little busier after 9 but I don’t think the hotel was very busy. When we left Susan got chatting to the Chef, nice chap, seemed to be enthusiastic about his job.

We drove home, walked the dogs, watched some rubbish on Telly then went to bed.

The blog will be a little sporadic from now on, it is my intention to write it every day (ish) but we can only upload it when we have an internet connection.

Getting ready for the off

2008-07-10T22:04:00.002+01:00

It wasn't a good night, I was awoken by Ben barking at something, then as I was awake I managed to tune into some other dogs barking in the distance and as a result I could not get back to sleep. I was up for over an hour. When I got back to sleep I slept for ages and Susan had to come and wake me up at 12.00 with breakfast.

We headed along to the bank, we needed to send some money to a camp site as a deposit for our pitch and we also needed to get some more cash out to see us through our trip. We stopped for a drink in Fuente.

When we got back we had lunch then got stuck into our tidying up and packing. We cleared out our wardrobe and threw out stuff that was of no use to us. We cleaned the terrace and the upstairs, it is really hard working in this heat, very opressive.

We've only got the car to finish and pack which we'll do tomorrow then a final clean on Saturday of the rooms we are using at the moment.

After dinner when it was a little cooler I walked the dogs then we relaxed for the evening.

This is the house from the olive groves with the sun setting over the mountains.

These chickens were born just after we arrived, they are not as big as I thought, maybe they will be for sale at the chicken man soon.

This donkey is a new addition to the walk, we call him Ned and he likes to sniff Dans bum.

Hair

2008-07-10T13:47:00.001+01:00

9/7/08

Susan has another hair appointment so we’ll be leaving the house mid afternoon. I set the alarm and got up early to give the dogs a good walk. We had breakfast then Nafeica arrived to sort out some details for when we have left, she is going on holiday so we need to sort out a few things. Nafeica drove us to the bank and we cancelled the direct debit for Telefonica, that should make them pay attention!

We had a coffee in Santiagos then walked back along the road to get started cleaning. However, we changed our mind and decided to look into booking some camp sites in Italy, we have had some problems finding a slot as they all seem booked up. We almost ended up in a hotel at great expense as that seemed to be the only option, however we think we have found a camp site, not where we wanted to go but a little further south but still by the lake.

We did a little tidying then showered and headed off to the coast. Susan uses a hairdresser in Sotogrande so we headed to La Linea Carrefour first as we needed a new data card reader to take with us, also I’d stood on the USB dongle that stores our music so we needed to buy a new one of these too. We got slightly lost and ended up in another gated community and as a result we were running a little late.

I dropped Susan off just on time at 5pm then I went to the Yacht club for a drink, I was a little out of place with shorts and sandals, the coke was 7 euros so I didn’t stay long. Instead I went for a walk along the beach, I walked quite a distance and once again came across a load of naturist, it must be official but there are no signs up.

It was time to head back so I drove back to the hairdresser, found a toilet and cleaned my feet in the sink. Susan arrived and we headed off.

We had planned to go back to Casares to one of the restaurants up at the top as we think eating here as the sun goes down would be very nice. Most of them were closed as seems the standard in Spain but we did find Restauranta Terraza which looked ok. We were the only people there and no one else arrived, the food was ok, the service was ok – thats all I can say about it really! We did befriend a little cat and gave it some meat that was good.

We drove back slowly over the bumpy roads, the car is now fixed and we don’t want to do the damage again. As we drove out of Gaucin the sun was just hitting the mountains over Cortes so we stopped and took these photographs.

The Big Clean

2008-07-08T21:04:00.001+01:00

Not a lot to report today as we’ve began the cleaning in earnest, we leave here on Sunday so we must get on.

I awoke early to take the dogs out then had breakfast and drove down to the garage to hand in the car for the repair. I noticed the parts that Mazda supplied didn’t have any nuts, presumably you are expected to use the old ones but I cant see how, these will no doubt be damaged as well. Anyway, the mechanic said no probs he’d get them at the Ferriteria up the road, I had an image of him removing the old ones and not being able to get the new ones on. I said that before he removed the old ones I’d be happier getting the nuts. We drove up to town and found the ferriteria didn’t have them and he said we’d need to go to Ronda.

We drove back to tell the mechanic, on the way we passed the other garage in town, Susan said that we should try and see if he had them in stock so we went in. He found this huge bucket of old nuts and bolts and tipped it out on the floor. The 3 of us scrambled around on the floor looking for 4 nuts that fitted, success we found them. He wouldn’t take any money from us.

We drove back and left the car then walked home.

We spent the afternoon cleaning and making beds, I also worked on uploading the photographs from the weekend then we had dinner. After that we went to Fuente for a drink,

Have a look at :

www.amforbes.com/Clients/ness

www.amforbes.com/Clients/johnstons

Back in Spain

2008-07-07T19:29:00.001+01:00

Well I’m back after a long and tiring weekend.

The Game Fair was ok, tiring and long days trying to find inspiration on things to photograph, as you’ll see from the shots below it was not all hard work – these shots were taken for Johnsons of Elgin and Ness Clothing.

I had a good night with Tom and Jenny on Saturday night with Mum for dinner on Sunday as that is the last I’ll see her until mid August when we return. Tom took me to the airport today, it was very good of him to get up at 4 am to collect and drive me to Glasgow. All was well and I managed to get the car parts through the security with only a little hassle. The flight was good and bang on time, Susan was waiting for me and we headed off to La Canada for a few bits and pieces.

We tried to buy a new shower seal but again there were none available, however we did get a Smoke Alarm, new pillows, new rollers for the shutters, towels and a storage box. We also managed a nice Menu del Dia which was very good.

Home to re-introduce myself to the dogs. I gave them the 2 squeaky balls that Mum had sent them, Ben destroyed his in less than 30 seconds then sat looking at Dan trying to get his from him. These balls had been in my rucksack all day and everytime I put it down it squeaked.

We’re still having trouble with Telefonica, they still have not sent this letter that has been promised over and over again and to rub salt in they have billed me for fixing the problem that caused the phone to go off a few weeks ago. I’m going to cancel the standing order at the bank and they can sing for the cash.

Game Fair and Travelling

2008-07-05T19:09:00.001+01:00

Thursday I'm heading back to Scotland to shoot the Game Conservancy Scottish Fair so we're on our way to Malaga Airport. I'm driving us down adn Susan os driving the car back, her first big journey driving alone in Spain. The journey was really good, no hold ups or any hassles at all, we took the road that passes Ardalles. The best way to go is onto the main road round Malaga and into the airport from the south but Susan is not keen on that road and has decided that she will come back via Churriana so we decide to go in that way so that she can remind herself of the road. Tom Tom takes us an unusual road and we find ourselves on a tiny back road with loads of lorries, it felt wrong but it Tom Tom was certainly showing that it was the fastest way so we cracked on. It turned out to be the back road into the airport that comes in near car park 3, we've heard about this road but never found it. It is so much better as it cuts off loads of busy roads. Susan dropped me off near the car park and I walked the last 15 mins to the terminal. I had a drink in the cafe and waited for a while, Susan called to say she was well on her way to Ronda so I headed through security and to the gate, everything was on time and the journey went well. Arrived n Glasgow on time, having done this flight many times now I've sussed out the best plan, if it is a bus from the plane to the terminal I make sure I am last on the front bus, that makes me first off and thus first at Immigration, straight through and with no bags to collect I was out of the airport less than 5 mins after getting off the bus, the link bus to the city centre was just about to leave and I was on it, in Glasgow for 3.15 - great. I went to get a ticket for the 3.30 Megabus, apart from the pouring rain and wind this journey was going well (too well). The megabus was full I was told, bugger it was going to well. I ran through the rain for Buchanan Galleries to get to the Train Station, half way there I had a thought, somebody surely wont turn up for the bus and I might get their seat so I ran back through the rain to the Bus. The surly megabus man said I could hang around but he was not promising anything - fair enough I waited. After a while these 2 women that obviously knew him came over and I saw that they didn't have tickets but seemed to be getting on so I went over and said that if there was a spare seat surely I should be on it, sure he said but we're full from Perth so I'd need to chuck you off there - now why didn't you tell me that 10 mins ago? So I ran back through the rain to the train station and on the way rang Mum to say I was running late, she siad she would collect me in Perth and run me to Dundee - brilliant so I ran back through the rain again to the Bus station, the guy was still there so I said could I buy a ticket to Perth, no sorry Mate he said you're too late I'm off - (I'm not your mate by the way just in case you are reading this) give someone a reflective jacket and suddenly they become officious! So, again back through the rain to the train station, "can I have a ticket on the next train to Dundee please", that'll be £18 and you've just missed one by 3 mins I was told - thanks for telling me that ! I was soaking by now so I headed off to the loos to try and dry off a bit, I met someone who's Wedding I had done last year in Perth, cant remember their name (sorry, very embarrasing). I rumaged around in the case for something to wear that wa dry, unfortunately it was only Susan clothes but she did have a fleece that looked ok, I stuck that on then used my wet T-shirt to dry my hair . Then I got the announcement that the train was delayed due to flooding - great, what a day! I managed to get to Dundee for just after 6.30, Pam collected me and we went back to their house for Dinner, I bought the car, said hello to their new dog and then headed home. Friday First day at the Fair, the weather was kind and I managed to get a few shots in, see link below. It was good to be back here, not a great deal to report that the pics wont tell. After it had finished I shot home for a quick shower then collected Mum and Margaret then went to Sandy and Frances house for a meal, it was a nice evening - thanks Sandy and Frances. Sandy had the 2 parts for the car so hopefully I can get thrm through as hand luggage on Monday. Dropped Mum then Margaret off in Dundee then headed home after delivering the cheque. Link - Sorry having trouble uploading the shots, I'll do it next week and repost the link

San Francisco

2008-07-02T21:14:00.001+01:00

Today we are going to San Francisco, not the one in America but the one by Ronda, it’s a Barrio, a little town attached to Ronda by the old gates to the old town. We’ve been looking at it from the Old Convent for ages but never ventured down. Today we drove by Atajate and up the road to Ronda, this road brings you to San Francisco and we had planned to park there. We struggled to find a parking space so we drove into the old town and parked there.

We walked back down the hill, it was baking hot so we stopped off for a drink in a bar before we went exploring.

We walked round the square for a bit, it was quiet and had a few old men sitting playing board games in the corner.

This is St Frances (or a statue of anyway)

We walked through the old gates and took this photograph looking back through the square.

Susan stopped off in the shade before we walked up the hill.

This hat took her fancy but eventually decided that it would be a waste if 6 euros.

We found our way up to the old walls of the town, it was a bit hairy as there was no barrier, we took this shot looking over the wall to the old main square.

The car in the bottom left had a puncture and was parked right in a junction, it took them over an hour to get the wheel changed.

The disused convent in Rondas old town.

On the way back to the car I noticed that someone had placed a slice of Pizza on the wiper blade of this van – wonder why.

We drove back through Ronda to Mercadona for a few bits and bobs then we decided to stop at the bar opposite the station in Benajoan, we’ve eaten at the station bar before and been very happy. We didn’t enjoy this place as much, the waitress was surly and the food pretty tasteless.

We got home and watched a bit of telly then went into town to get a few things, we needed buttons for the duvets and Sausages from Kirsty and Richard.

We had dinner, watched Wimbledon and checked out a few more campsites for our journey home.

No blog for a few days as I am heading back to the UK to photograph the game fair.

Casares

2008-07-01T22:17:00.008+01:00

I set the alarm and got up early before it got too hot, I walked the dogs the usual way round the tracks at Jimera, it's a really nice way to start the day - almost as good as lying in bed!

We did a bit of work round the house, dealt with some emails etc then had lunch and sat on the terrace for a few hours reading books. After that we set off for Casares, we've been passing this village for years but never ventured in.

Susan drove there and we mucked about trying to find a parking space, we should have followed the road above the village and parked there but we eventually found a space near the Health Centure. I find it odd that the Doctors has a bar right next door, the old men come out the Docs and head right to the bar.

We took this on the way into the village.

Some new apartments at the top of the town. We're quite impressed, it is a nice clean town.

Wer stopped for Ice Cream, well Susan had some, I obviously declined as my body is a temple!

We stumbled across this little courtyard and disturbed this lovely ginger cat.

If you want to buy a run down old house then give Razon a call on the above number.

Not a very Spanish sounding surname, lots of Brits here.

More local cats, probably strays but they all seemed well fed and cared for.
Eventually we found our way to the old Castle at the top of the town, only to discover that someone had their washing drying in the middle.

Casares from the castle, it's a lovely place to get views from.

The municipal pool looked so inviting in the high temperatures.

These new apartments built recently really spoil the view and the landscape - what a shame and I bet most of them are empty.

Looking to the coast, Gibraltar was visible in the haze but you can't see it here.

You can just see Gib and Africa through the haze.

The cemetery was closed.

This price list was pinned near the cemetery, it costs 350 euros to get dug up again - why?

We drove down to the coast and stopped at Duquesa for a curry, it was as good as usual. We finished off with a walk round the port looking at the boats and deciding which one we will get on Friday when the numbers come up.

We stopped on the way home and took these shots as the sun set over the mountains. We're getting used to these mountains and we have to remind ourselves that they are stunning.

I walked the dogs round the olive groves and we saw the smallest puppy ever, I am sure it was too small to be away from its mother. It was only about 5" long and was a doberman. It was running along with it's owner crying. Dan was very interested but I had to drag him away.

Vet – Again!

2008-06-30T19:47:00.001+01:00

Sorry, not a lot to report today. We had planned a day out in Casares and then to the coast but we had to take Dan to the Vet again. We spotted his abscess had come back which the Vet had suspected might be the case. We’ve made an appointment for this evening.

With Spain winning the football last night we had expected a very noisy night but it wasn’t bad at all. There were a few fireworks then a few car horns but it all went quite early. As a result we slept quite well, the heat was the only thing that kept us awake.

We slept late (again) then we drove to Gaucin to the laundry to get the rugs cleaned ready for us to leave, it takes over a week to do so we thought we best take them today. On the way back we were stuck behind the cork lorries dropping cork over the road so we decided to stop at Bar Parra for a drink so that the lorry could get ahead.

We had lunch when we came back then we sorted out some clothes and things so that we are a little closer to being ready to leave in 2 weeks time. It is like when we left Blairgowrie, there is loads to get organised, especially as we have people renting the house just after we go.

We set off for Ronda at 5 and parked near the Peligono, we walked to the bank to take out our weekly allowance then up to the vet. As usual they were running late and we had to wait. It is so relaxed there I wonder how they ever make any money. It was the same Vet that Susan fancies so she was happy, he had a bit of time sitting with Dan chatting to him on the floor – it is really nice that he does that. Anyway, he said that it is best to leave the abscess as it is, it really needs surgery to cure it properly but he cant do it as he is on holiday next week then we leave right away. We’ll get it dealt with when we return, he says it is ok to leave it until we get back. He didn’t even charge us!

We stopped at Mercadona for a few things then drove home for dinner. We’ve got caught up In Wimbledon, well Susan has! More tiding up later on.

Spain Won

2008-06-29T21:41:00.006+01:00

It was a hot night and neither of us slept well so I was up early to walk the dogs round the tracks at Jimera, Susan slept on.

After Breakfast we took the dogs to the River Genal to let them have a swim and a bit of a cool down in the water. This river runs (unsurprisingly) through the Genal Valley near to Benarraba so to get there we drive to Benarraba then down the dirt track to the valley floor. This area is popular with families swimming and having picnics so we were not surprised to see a few folk swimming and splashing about.

The scenery was quite nice!

We threw a stick for an hour or so, let the dogs swim and sat in the sun ourselves. The dogs loved it. After that we drove to Algatocine, we've been here a few times but normally just driving through so this time we stopped for a drink and had a walk round.

These flowers were everywhere which was nice to see, they are a little dried out now.

We drove home, had lunch then I had a siesta, I dont know why I do this, I always feel lousy if I have an hour or so sleep in the afternoon.

We went next door for dinner, I was a little disappointed with them this time. They have two sides to the restaurant, one is set out with proper cutlery and tablecloths -the other is just paper covers etc. We sat in the posh part and looked over the menu, what Susan wanted was not available, what I wanted was not available so I asked if I could have tapas. The waitress said I'd need to sit on the other side of the room to eat tapas. Considering they didn't have what we wanted I'd have thought they would have let me eat Tapas at the same table as Susan. Anyway I found something else but it wasn't great - not a happy bunny!

Spain have just won Euro 2008 so the fireworks and tooting of horns have started - it'll be a bad night.

2 Days in one

2008-06-28T18:56:00.003+01:00

Friday

We're entertaining KIrsty and Richard tonight so we need to stock up on some provisions, we head for Ronda.

We park under the Supermercado and take the chance to try and find Voltasure to buy an adaptor for the camping elctricity and we are told that Voltasure was the shop to get it in. We walked over the railway line and stopped this man and asked him the way, he gave us some directions and it sounded like a long way but we set off. We got waylaid on route and slightly lost, surprisingly the same old man came along shouting that we were going the wrong way so he got us back on the right track.

On the way we passed a dentist so I went in to enquire about my tooth, they couldn't help me as the crown would have to be made in Granada and the lab shuts down for July, it looks like it'll have to keep until I get home, thankfully it is not sore.

We found Voltasure and managed to get the adaptor with no hassles, we walked back to the supermarket for the shopping.

The afternoon was taken up with cleaning, setting tables and preparing food. We had a good night with Kirsty and Richard, a reasonable amount of alcahol was consumed (by some people) and it was a late night, in fact it was a very late night so we slept late.

Saturday
We were very late up so we wandered into town to the market for fruit, had coffee in Santiagos then went back to have lunch and lie on the terrace, there is a little breeze today which keeps the temperature down. After a while we headed back downstairs for showers, I started packing my bag for my final trip home on Thursday.

We're having chicken from the guy round the back for dinner then an early night.

A journey to Algeciras

2008-06-26T21:59:00.006+01:00

Last night I came across a bag of Chocolate Eclairs so I got stuck in, on the 2nd sweet it felt a bit odd like something was stuck in the middle, to cut a story short a crown has fallen out, I'll need to find a dentist that speaks English so that will probably mean a trip to the coast next week.

Today we're off to Algeciras on the Train, the trip is more about the journey than the destination.

I set the alarm and got up early to walk the dogs for a while in the cool morning temperature. We had a good walk along the tracks at Jimera, I didnt let them swim as they get really dirty when they have swam.
We had breakfast then got the 10 30 train to Algeciras.

Algeciras is primarily and unashamedly a port and industrial centre, sprawling round the far side of the bay to Gibraltar. When Franco closed the border with "the Rock" at the nearby La Linea, it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers who used to be employed in the British naval dockyards and in order to break the area's dependence on Gibraltar.

It is an industrial city that supports the large deep water container port and nearby oil refinery. In the port area there are many Moroccans in transit, particularly during July and August when migrant workers return home for their holidays from their work in France, Holland and Belgium. As a consequence, there is a strong Arab influence here with many of the signs in Arabic as well as Spanish while, in the backstreets, you can find several traditional tea shops which specialise in the traditional Moroccan mint tea. Algeciras may not be a beautiful city but it does have a gritty individuality about it and, unlike some of the Costa resorts, is a very genuine place with a real port atmosphere. There are lots of reasonably priced restaurants to try - several with terrific views of the nearby Rock of Gibraltar, we didn't find one of these though. Those that find the time to wander will fine quiet parks and tree lined plazas almost hidden away from the rushing travellers.

This is the station at Jimera, it 's a lovely little station, well looked after by the station master.
The journey was interesting, we' ve never been on this part of the line before and it is good to see things from this angle.

We arrived in Algeciras and basically followed our noses until we came to the port area, not very appealing, the stopping off place for North Africa and has a feeling of dodgyness. We found this little alleyway with these paper decorations, it turned out to be someones house.

We found the market, it was really busy and lively with lots of Picture opportunities.

These snails were still wriggling.

It is possible to buy meat from Bulls that have been killed in Bull Fights.

No idea what these are.
This is Octopus

This is somethings Lung

Interesting way of decorating.

A few lonely fish, yours for 3.50, just take the fish and leave the cash.

He was very proud of his big Tuna Fish, the woman in the background wanted her picture taken too.

The main square - very hot
We had a game of Bingo and did some shopping

This pigeon was eating a dead pigeon.

We went to the tourist office to get a map, walked into the office and picked up a map, we sat and looked at it but it didn't make sense, we found the station and the port but the Tourist office was in an odd place, we just couldn't position it right. I went and asked the woman at the desk to show me where we were. She pointed out that we had a map of Jerez, not much use in Algeciras!

After a wander round the town we headed back to the station and decided to have lunch in the station cafe. Normally these little cafes are really nice but not this one, the staff were surly and bad tempered, the food was poor and the air con was broken so not a nice time. For the first time this trip I didn't leave a tip.

We took the train back to Jimera and came home to wait for the Electrician. Eventually these 2 guys appeared and got started, it took about an hour to get the problem resolved, a faulty cable to the main board. We got 2 sparkies for an hour, call out, cable and it cost us 15 euros, not bad.

Our first tomato, it tasted great, we'll probably have more tomorrow.

Not a lot to report

2008-06-25T22:20:00.002+01:00

Sorry, not very exciting today, we were expecting the Electrician to come and look at the lights but late on we got a message saying he was coming tomorrow. As we were waiting for him anyway I decided on a few jobs round the house. I defrosted the fridge freezer and gave it a good clean, then I resealed the shower to see if we can get to the bottom of the annoying little leak then I fixed my trousers - bored yet!

Susan did a bit of cleaning, we walked in to the bank to get some more cash, then had coffee at Santiagos and bought some carrots and came back for Lunch.

Tried out our new sunbed, it is fine, cleaned a little more and I sorted out how much money we have left to complete the trip, not a lot is the answer, we might have to dip into our reserves at the end.

I had an other Wedding booking, a couple from Stirling, had a long chat to her on the phone and sent her the DVD link

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=2861249&alb=0

She was impressed and has booked me up for next April.

Had a few walks with the dogs, just back from the last one, it is quite cool now so much better for walking.

2008-06-24T22:25:00.004+01:00

I got up early to walk the dogs for a while before it got too hot. We've planned a trip down the coast later so we'll be leaving them for a time. I walked for around 2 hours along the tracks at Jimera just after 7.30, it was cool and pleasant.

We saw yet more sheep, no cows this time. A few lambs though.

Ben watched over them whilst they ran past us.

This is looking down the valley towards Ronda just as the sun came over the hills, the temperature soon rises when the sun comes over the hills.

On our way back we spotted the sun rising over the railway lines.

I let the dogs swim for a bit, the ducks didn't seem too worried about it. They get really wet and dirty.
Dan'll need another bath.

These cats were sitting in the sun at a doorway.

After breakfast we sat in the sun for a while, it seems cooler today but maybe we're just getting used to it, we certainly needed the brolly. We did a few loads of washing, tidied up after the dirty dogs, I brushed the dogs (again) and then walked them round the olive groves.

Nafeica finally called to say the sparkie is coming tomorrow night so hopefully he will be able to fix it. We set off for the Coast at 2.30. We need new sunbeds, no matter what we do our guests seem to break sunbeds, every time we come here we need to buy more. So, we head first of all to Carrefour to see what they have to offer, Susan drove and we parked underneath. They didn't have any that we fancied but we bought some Jam and Fruit & Fibre (they are the best). We drove to La Canada to try and get a new seal strip for the bath but they have run out, in next week - not having much luck so far! However Casa is next door and Susan just LOVES that shop so I sat on a deck chair while she shopped. We went to the supermarket next door and found a sunbed, we've bought it so we'll see how it goes. I got pick and mix then we set off for Puerto Banus.

We looked round the supermarket at El Cortes Inglis, they sell some hoover bags but we've forgotten the part number so no luck there. We did get some boil in the bag rice and cheese though!

I fancied Italian and David said there was an Italian on the port that is good.

A little boy was chucking bread for the fish, some huge fish here.

The italian have got it sussed, they create a Queue at the door suggesting that the place is mobbed, people seem to just join the queue, however the restaurant is half empty. It was good mind you. This area is the home of the rich, trendy and glamorous people so we naturally fit in well, if only I had ironed my Primark T Shirt.

There was a woman at the next table with exceptionally large - well you know whats, when she leaned forward to get up I said "cor she's a big girl", she was, in fact a dwarf so I felt a bit bad.

There was something going on at the cartier shop, Police, Security and Photographers. A crowd had gathered and it was clear that some famous celeb was inside. We waited for a while and an Irish man told me that it was just the grand opening of the shop and nobody famous was there.

This is the sort of totty that they roll out for these kind of events. Once we found out that there was no celebs we picked up our supermarket bag of boil in the bag rice and cheese and shuffled off.

The med from the port area.

Some virgin surrounded with loads of money.
Typical sign on a shop doorway, this shop sells shorts at over £100.

And finally, this is what I see most mornings on my pc, weather for Malaga and Dundee, guess where I'd rather be?

Not so hot

2008-06-23T20:53:00.005+01:00

Last night the lights in the bedroom went off and we can't figure out why, it's not a fuse and it only affects the main light and 3 of the sockets, the other socket works ok. I asked Nafeica to call an Electrician today but have not heard back from her. We woke up early and I took the dogs out, it was slightly cooler, partly because of the thin cloud and also because it was early.
After breakfast we took the car down to the garage to get the oil and filter change as well as the knocking noise looked at. We left the car and walked back up the road to town.

On the way I took these photographs of Grapes and prickly pears on the outskirts of the Peligono, if anyone is here in September you might want to go and help yourself to some nice grapes.

We had a drink at Los Amigos bar and sat watching the world pass for a while, this Old man took a real liking to the dogs, he looked to be around 100, very frail but still wanted to know if both dogs were MACHO.

We tied the dogs up outside the market and bought some salad stuff and fruit for dinner, we then went to the butcher and walked home. Being stuck around the house with no car I decided to get on with the painting so painted the railings in the upstairs bedroom, kitchen and spare room, only the terrace and bathroom to do now.

I've finally had enough of Telefonica, the speeds dropped below dial up rates and we get faster connection on the mobile broadband. I called to cancel but even that is a chore, aparently they send me a letter then I call back and cancel then - we'll see!

Susan did some Spanish learning then we walked back to the garage to collect the car. The oil change was more expensive than I expected at 55 euros, he also found the source of the noise, nothing serious - a stabalisation arm for the suspension, he can't get the parts for 3 weeks as they come from the Uk so I might try and get them when I am back next time then get him to fit them.

Back home, more Only Fools, the episode with the bar scene, what a classic, no matter you know exactly what is coming I still laugh. I cooked dinner, Susan wallked the dogs.

Another Hot Sunday

2008-06-22T21:14:00.006+01:00

Well the hayfever is better today, the big clean must have worked because I managed a good sleep and only now am I sniffing a bit. We did get woken up early by someone ringing the bell of the house below us and setting Ben off barking but it was over quickly. I walked the dogs and made breakfast.

We did a bit more housework, ironing and oven cleaning for starters, we're trying to keep on top of these things, especially on a Sunday as there is very little else to do on the Sabbath! It started off a little cloudy and was quite pleasant but that soon shifted and the sun came out, the temperatures are rising, predicted 35c today and boy does it feel like it.

We walked into town to the bank and then had tapas for lunch in Fuente, sat and watched the world go by for a while then came back and watched a little telly, I tried sitting on the terrace but it was just too hot.

I took the dogs out to Estacion and did the circut letting the dogs in the river for a swim.

We were chased by a huge cow with horns, dont think it was a bull as it was protecting a calf which is why it was unhappy with us. The dogs and I hid behind a tree and I managed to shoo it away with my walking stick, we made a hasty exit.

I spotted this old house up on the hillside, Nafeica had mentioned it - she said it was a great old ruin that had a big internal courtyard and would make a great house. I walked over to have a look, the house was full of sheep and lambs, I made the dogs stay outside.

This room had around 50 sheep and lambs in it, I was at the doorway and they could not get out which seemed to stress them so I didn't stay long.

This little lamb was black and white - it looked like a Border Collie, Ben was very interested in them but he stayed away when told.

On the way back to the car I noticed these little kittens on a wall, there was loads of them, around 15 so they'll take a little looking after. We played in the river for a while then walked back over the bridge to the car and drove home.

I made dinner, we had a little chicken and a few ods and sods lying around so with the freshly grown herbs I managed to make a respectable chicken tomato pasta thing.

Dust and Food

2008-06-21T22:02:00.001+01:00

It wasn’t a great night, my Hayfever is really bad at the moment, by far the worst it has ever been and I woke up at about 5 and sat in the livingroom for an hour and a half before getting back to bed. As a result I am like a half shut knife today. I cant figure out why the hay fever is so bad at the moment, the NHS website suggests an allergy to dust so I decide we will have a grand clean today.

Susan walked the dogs and after breakfast we started the clean, just the bedroom but we cleaned every nook and cranny, sucked the dog hairs up and washed walls, doors, floor, even the lamp shades got the treatment. Hopefully that will make it easier to sleep. Susan thinks it might be the flowers on the balcony so we’ll move them and see if that helps.

After that as we were in the mood we had a little clean round the rest of the house, we’ll need to have a great clean in 2 weeks before we leave here so no point in doing it now. However I did the ironing and washing, it is quite good washing knowing that it’ll dry as soon as you hang it out.

Again it is really hot, strange looking at the weather for Scotland and seeing cold and rain, even hailstones in Aberdeen I believe then seeing that we can pretty much expect sun and blue skies for the next 2 weeks with temperatures in the 30’s.

By this time it was mid afternoon and far too hot to go out so it was another few hours in the house reading books and watching Only Fools.

One thing we have tried to do many times before was have dinner in Quercus, a lovely restaurant in Jimera so we decided to give it a try tonight. It is a lovely restaurant and the food is excellent, it was very quiet which is a shame – I hope it does well as I’d hate to see it fail. We had a good night, and it got busier later on.

Back home to the dogs and off to bed.

Ronda

2008-06-20T21:13:00.004+01:00

We need to get an adaptor for the camping electircity thingy so we set off for Ronda, not too early! We park under the square then have ice creams on the main drag and watch the world go by. After that we started the hunt for the adaptor - this involved going round all the fereterias in town until we had exhausted them all - with no luck.

This dog sat patiently outside a shop waiting for its owner to come out.
This shope sells only white clothes, any colour you like so long as it's white. It is very popular. Susan looked at the shop that sells these odd toy cars, some famous artist makes these very large and odd (quite funny) model cars. She got her Boots bonus today so is feeling flush.

It was too hot in the afternoon so we spent the afternoon indoors again watching Only Fools, it seems such a shame to shut ourselves away from the sun bit it is so HOT.

I took the dogs out about 7 when it was a little cooler and we walked for an hour or 2 up the tracks at Jimera.

Dave and I walked across this river bed in April and it was so wet that we had to wade across here in a river in spate - what a change.

The little village in the middle is Jimera.

Ben and dan at the Old Oak Tree - Yellow Ribbons anyone?

Back for supper then the dogs got a bath - not happy about that.

Another Lazy Day

2008-06-19T21:12:00.001+01:00

It’s amazing how time can just disappear when you’ve nothing on. We awoke late again, well I was up early and Susan slept in, it is really hot again. By the time we had breakfast and got ready it was after 11. We drove down to the garage to let the guy have a look at the car, we’ve booked it in for an oil and filter change and asked him to have a look at the knocking noise from the front. We have arranged to take it back on Monday.

We drove up to town and bought some fruit and veg in the market then went onto Santiagos for coffee. We sat for an hour or so in the sun then walked up to Dia for a few other things, then drove home for Lunch.

It was really too hot to do anything in the afternoon so we had to sit inside watching only fools and horses on DVD, the old ones are the best.

Dinner, more Only Fools then bed, sorry not an exciting day, relaxing and enjoyable but not exciting. We were both bitten by mosquitos but Susan has reacted the worst, her legs have all come out in big red blotches but she wont let me photograph them.

We only have 3 full weeks left here in Spain and we still have a list of things we want to do so we’re cramming them in now.

Too posh to camp!

2008-06-18T20:26:00.001+01:00

We awoke early, well we didn’t really sleep well. The site was very noisy, traffic was flowing very fast on the road by the site which went on all night, there was dogs barking somewhere and to top it all someone was shooting something through the night, Ben was beside himself and tried most of the night to get out of the tent.

At around 2am we decided that we would pack up and leave in the morning. We did eventually get a bit of sleep but not much.

I took the dogs to the beach early for a long walk, it was very pleasant, almost empty and the dogs ran for miles, so far Ben now has a bad limp. We packed up and had showers then headed off, explaining to the woman in the reception that it was just too noisy for us, she agreed and there were a few other people checking out for the same reason. On the whole it was not a nice area, we saw a few more hookers on the way out and we just felt it was a bit of a dump.

We had always planned to go to Portugal so we thought as we were this close we better pop over the border and have a look.

We drove across this bridge to get into Portugal, it is a stunning structure and the clear blue skies make it all the better, it is our first brand new country on this trip.

We found ourselves in Monte Gordo, we saw the sign and and Susan thought that Mum had had a holiday here in the past so with nothing better to do we followed our noses and landed in Monte gordo. We kind of followed our noses towards a car park by the beach. This is where we had our latest interaction with the Police. Just as we drove into the car park we saw a load of them and they called us over. Susan tried her best to converse with them in Spanish but it was not happening when eventually they realised we spoke English and out came a couple of cops that spoke very good English. Apparently we had driven through a no entry sign. I was not sure what was going on but Susan reckons that we were close to getting a ticket but we were nice to them so we got off with a telling off and comments about getting new glasses – just spent over £100 on RayBans!!!

These are the no entry signs we missed, how could we?

We drove back over the border to Spain and headed back to Cortes. There was some discussion about finding a new site but I was just not keen to go to the hassle of putting the tent up again.

We stopped at the same service station and had another lovely lunch in the sun. On the way back we stopped for a short walk outside Benajoan, we took these photographs of the limestone crags round this area.

Glad to be back, we did learn a few things though. How we will ever get all our junk back in the car in 4 weeks time is worrying me slightly. We’ll have a practice run soon so that we can work out the best arrangement.

Isla Cristna

2008-06-17T20:12:00.001+01:00

Today we are camping so I am writing this blog with no real certainty that it will be able to be published but we’ll see. We set off later than expected (no surprise there then), we packed the car and still wonder how we will ever get all the stuff we have home, this is what these trips are all about though, learning. We must try various ways of packing the car to see how we get on.

We drove up the Seville road and round the ring road that circumvents the city, it is a huge city and the road was very busy, quite stressful to drive. We found a lovely service station where we stopped for lunch, it was really good and we sat outside with the dogs, it is so hot here, dead baking heat!

This area is known as sunflower alley, it is easy to see why with fields of sunflowers everywhere, it is fascinating to see them all standing facing the sun – and so much better than rape fields.

About 5pm we arrived at the camp site, it is fair to say that our first impressions were not good, we drove down a causeway past hideous developments, there were lots of young girls standing by the roadside, we though they were hitching a lift but on reflection we think they might be hookers. There are a lot of boats docking her so they might be looking for Sailors. The site is ok, better in some respects than the last one, the toilets and showers are better and the whole place seems more professional. However, there are the equivalent of Spanish Tinkers camping and the ground is a sandy earthy surface, not good for holding tent pegs and for keeping 2 dogs clean. Somehow I imagined European sites would be acres of neatly trimmed grass!

We walked over to the beach and walked the dogs for a while chucking the ball, they loved it. The beach was still busy and we soon had an audience of people watching them bring it back.

Back at the site the man came to connect our electricity up for us but we have the wrong adapter so he went and found one for us but we’ll have to buy one ourselves for the future.

Susan is cooking dinner then maybe a DVD and bed.

Lets see if I can get this sent off.

The Arbuthnotts

2008-06-16T20:23:00.001+01:00

Today we are having visitors, The Arbuthnotts from Aberdeenshire. I know Keith through Photography work and he and his wife were in the area so called in to see us.

So, taken the above this morning was cleaning – again. We slept in a bit, it had been really hot yesterday and into the night, we slept with the door open in the bedroom but during the night it got cold so I got up and closed it, it was then quite a comfortable temperature. I took the dogs round the Olive groves quite early before the sun was too strong, the house is quite warm during the day so we need to walk them when it is cool.

After breakfast we gave the house a quick dust down, it was not too bad but dog hairs are relentless and get everywhere, the heat makes them molt continually and there is always dog hairs floating about. I chopped the top off the tomato plants to help them grow a bit and then we waited for the Arbuthnotts to arrive. Our big treat when I go home (apart from the cheese) is the Sunday Times so we worked our way through that.

Keith and Gilly arrived just after 1, we sat on the terrace for a while then had a quick walk round the town before landing at Santiagos for lunch, he was the usual attentive self but I confused him by having a fanta rather than a coke.

It was nice lunch and we had a long chat. We walked back to the house then they left to head back to their holiday home near Gaucin.After a large lunch we were both tired so we had a little Siesta, really getting into the Spanish way of life. I always feel rough after I have had a couple of hours sleep so Susan took the dogs out then we started the grand pack for our trip to Portugal tomorrow. We are planning on stopping just on the Spanish side of the border but will spend a bit of time in Portugal.

We packed most of the stuff in the car and will finish tomorrow. A light tea then off to bed.