BENICASSIM

Hola,

So we bid farewell to our site near Crevillent. On reflection, despite its' good facilities, the nearby towns are not nearby enough and is probably not what we are looking for in a one month stay.

So we move further north to the seaside resort of Benicassim. It is a very laid back, even genteel resort town and was once the scene of Spanish society who owned villas such as those below and threw massive parties for the rich and famous. It is according to our research an 80% Spanish resort which would probably be unbearable in mid-summer but right now is just about perfect. The campsite has all we need, tennis, indoor and outdoor pool, gym, bar and restaurant and a supermarket right outside. It is a short walk to the town and there are proper marked walking and cycling routes along the coast and into the city of Castellon. It is about as far north as you would want it out of season but right now the temps are in the high teens/low twenties which is fine as it is a particularly cold spring in Spain this year. 

There are some top restaurants along the prom, at least one serving probably our favourite Spanish dish, Arroz Negro. The restaurant we tried gave us almost certainly the best Arroz Negro we have eaten (and we've eaten a few!)

Last year, we remarked on the large number of Germans we encountered almost everywhere we went. This year is the year of the Dutch. Holland must surely be empty; nearly every van has the familiar orange number plates and the bars and restaurants full of Steve McClaren impersonators.

The university city of Castellon is a 45 minute bike ride away and was well worth the effort.

A very fine square flanked by a large indoor food market, cathedral, town hall and university there was plenty to see and do.

It was only a question of where to go for lunch?

Even the post office, below, was mightily impressive. So this might be our main resting place next spring if we decide to repeat this year's experiment. But in the last day or so we have moved north again to Mataro, a large, prosperous town about 25km from Barcelona.

We have so far had just one day in Barcelona (free bus from the campsite) and just enough time to confirm that Columbus is a Barca fan. And on the subject of football,

tomorrow is a huge day for CPFC. It will be the first play-off final I've missed and I'm unlikely to find it on the TVs over here. But for all fans out there, my one and only beer I've had in Barcelona so far is the locally brewed Moritz! So Moritz first goalscorer, 2-1 to Palace = 50/1 at your friendly bookies. I'd have been happier to find a beer called Zaha but we can't have it always.

Thank you Jude and Andy for last week's comments, the building materials might come in handy for completing Gaudi's cathedral.

Adios

J&P

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