AND FINALLY

Hi Everybody,
Hope you enjoyed Wimbledon, Deb and didn't have too many traffic problems. Thanks to everybody for their comments over the last 3 months where I was pleased to get nearly 1500 hits on the blog.
Trip complete. But not before visiting this charming chap in Reims. The cathedral was under extensive renovation and cleaning so just a few details.

Huge building but not so ornate inside as some. Lovely stained glass windows designed by Chagall which I cannot do justice to in the photo below.

Rather different beside the doors is the smiling angel.

Nice town is Reims and only a short train journey from Epernay. Weather so hot just had a salad to eat so no great food stories here.

Final leg of our journey took us into the Ardennes in Belgium and the town of Rochefort. This is a particularly good area for beer but not much else. The mini train below celebrated all that is famous about Belgium, namely the Smurfs and Tintin. 

The train gave us a good view of the town from the forest. One thing it can't show is the state of the roads in Belgium. Seems to me every motorway in Spain and Portugal was paid for by the EU. The roads are superb, magnificent aqueducts and long tunnels but the roads are empty either because there is little demand or they are too expensive. Many of Belgium's road surfaces, even on major motorways would shame a third world country. 

Campsites are getting full of kids now so it is time for us to go.

Cheers!

Next blog will probably be 2016. We are hoping to replicate our 1988 motorhome trip through Holland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia (as was), Greece, Italy, France and home. How we managed then I'm not sure. No TV, Internet or mobile phones. Tanks passing us on the roads in Yugoslavia and a very dodgy ferry trip on open deck from Greece to Italy. Should be fun!

Enjoy your holidays

J&P

HEADING NORTH

Bonjour,
Thanks again for your comments. Wise words, Andy. I've passed on your detailed Greek economy analysis to the European Central Bank and so far so good.
Enjoy your Wimbledon day, Deb. Hope it's not too hot next week. The weather has just broken here. A shower of welcome rain having suffered some readings over 40c.
Thanks also for Dave and Sue's comments, by email, and pointing out that Royan doesn't exist. I meant Royat. They are also 2 other people who have visited El Rocio.
Our tour has now led to Chalon sur Saone which we visited a couple of years ago but had hoped this year to take a few lengthy cycle rides along the river and nearby canal. River Saone with town in distance below.

Couldn't resist probably the final bird picture of the trip. Heron ready to pounce.

A nice church in the main square and in line with my commitment to healthy eating and recognising raw is healthy, enjoyed a Boeuf a la tartare. I'm sure raw meat must count. Anyway it was served with raw egg, raw onions and raw gherkins. So it was only the chips which were cooked. Pauline enjoyed the roast veal so a very tasty meal all told.

Sadly the weather was just too hot to cycle as far as we wanted but a little way down the river found us a nice picnic spot. Water on the table here but this area produces some very tasty bottle conditioned beer so it was a nice change after so much ordinary lager.

Onwards to Epernay, the home of champagne. We took a visit to a small producer, Girost-Moussy in the village of Congy which farms only 4 hectares. Absolutely charming family run affair 

Cellar visit

And tastings with the winemaker and host Sebastien. 

And then to the larger producers in town, de Castellane 

 And Mercier with its huge history and vast cellars. 

Which included elaborate sculptures in the miles of cellars and employing hundreds of staff just below ground.

Inevitably we had to have a bottle from each which were all good value and still to be drunk.

We were also lucky to meet two new Australian friends, Jack and Shelley, who we hope to see in future. It's funny when you move from site to site you always chat with neighbours but rarely see them again. Hopefully this time we will meet again in UK or Australia.

We are into our last week and the final post next week will cover our visit to Reims and into Belgium.

So one last Cathedral, Deb, and some good Belgian beer.

A bientot,

J&P

PROUSTIAN PUDDING

Bonjour,
Thanks again for your comments. Plenty of wine to choose from in Haro but even more in St Emilion. Opera Deb? Bit highbrow for me but well done on an opera solo. At least it was an English opera although I'm sure you could have sung in Italian if called for.
St Emilion is a town totally devoted to the wine of the area. There are probably upwards of a hundred wine shops selling different vintages from different vineyards at different prices and even if you were an expert it would be impossible to choose. The problem is you are offered unlimited tastings but after the fourth of fifth sample you really can't taste any more. Below is the cellar at one of the vineyards we visited.

Vineyards wherever you look.

The town, in the distance has a few restaurants but all quite expensive. As I'm sure you can guess I'm first in the queue if pig's intestines are on the menu and indeed Andouillette appeared everywhere. However, you have to be in the mood and we weren't. So a small restaurant offering stuffed aubergine was chosen but it was pretty average. The restaurant in the excellent campsite was better but nothing unusual. The biggest shock was that the beer was 7 euros for a half litre. Totally outrageous! The campsite had a nice boating lake, tennis and table tennis and a pool with water slide. I used to love these but they need to provide a tsunami warning when I reach the top so I stuck to swimming.

Onwards to Royan which is a spa town in the Auvergne. We again stayed halfway up a mountain which makes a nice downhill stroll into town and a real trek back.

This is an area of extinct volcanoes such as the Puy de Dome, below, but didn't attempt an ascent this time as the weather is turning hot. So mainly swimming, a game of tennis an boules was our main exercise. We managed to find an excellent logis for lunch in which we found ourselves, once again, the only customers. A market menu for 20 euros was top notch, no choice, but an amuse bouche of foie gras with a raspberry coulis was followed by a starter of cold asparagus and tomato soup, a main course of sensational beef and a pudding of a fruit compote with a bergamot ice cream and a small box of madeleines (hence the tortuous title link) which was excellent. Certainly there are less French eating out these days at lunch although at the supermarket brasserie the next day it was nearly full.

A church below was nice and simple but no bird pictures, this week Deb, but your overall sypnosis of our travels was pretty much spot on.

We will be continuing our journey northwards through France so more next week, maybe including another bird. Thanks for reading.

A bientot,

J&P

TOLEDO & A GLASS OF RIOJA

Buenos Dias,
You can't put a price on a view like this.

Actually, you can. 34 euros a night which is twice what we normally pay. In truth the view of Toledo is the best bit. Sitting in the restaurant with a cool drink and some very good food looking over the city is just fine. Otherwise the town is fine if you have not had your fill of walled medieval cities and gothic cathedrals, as below, but we have!

One thing we have noticed throughout our trip has been the high number of American and Japanese tourists who have been missing for the last few years. The weather was a bit cooler in Toledo and as we approach our next destination, Haro, in the Rioja region, it is a bit chilly. Many websites have said that Haro is not particularly nice and it is a bit scruffy. But we like scruffy. It's a working town and still has attractions like a decent art gallery of local artists and many street sculptures covering the area's devotion to wine.

Of course there is a stork to view on top of the bell tower.

And views over the looming mountains from the campsite which offered a very tasty braised quail as part of their menu del dia.

And some good restaurants - this one where we ate is on the site of an old convent and produced good local food involving beans, lamb, sweetbreads and sucking pig. All in typical large portions.

Of course we visited a couple of wineries and sampled some excellent vintages. The one below, Lopez de Heredia, offered large glasses and we had already enjoyed one of their wines the day before. So a couple more bottles have found their way into the van. We also visited Gomez Cruzado and a couple more bottles followed us to the van.

Leaving Haro we are heading north and a big clue as our current whereabouts. On the wine trail again.

Many thanks again for your comments. I must admit Andy, I know you are legendary fisherman but catching your cod already filleted is a new high.

Adios

J&P

ADEU PORTUGAL

Bom Dia,
Finally in Portugal a few days on the Algarve at a place called Quarteira. Apart from a tasty shellfish plate and a nice pool at the campsite, there is not much to do.
A cycle to the harbour at nearby Vilamoura but this could really be anywhere.

Many thanks for my birthday wishes. The lack of a Nikon D3100 round the snout suggests this is not the Japanese lady, Deb. Think more likely Herr Juncker!

Enjoyed Portugal even though some of the prices were more than expected. Fuel was 20% more than in Spain, all motorways are tolls and in my experience the most expensive certainly in Europe. Public transport is more expensive than Manchester and only food and drink as far as tourists are concerned is cheap. But the people are very friendly to us and to each other. Quite formal on buses but strike up jolly conversations with each other rather than continual texting as in Spain or noses in books as in France. 

I feel a little sorry though for the last king of Portugal, Manuel 11. I'm sure growing up he dreamed of being dubbed 'the Great', 'the Magnificent', even 'the Terrible' would have been ok. But left with the epithet 'the Unfortunate' could only see him sadly portrayed by Charles Hawtrey in Carry  On Up The 

Tagus. 

My birthday was spent in Spain in the 'world famous' (not to us) El Rocio. It is an extraordinary place 

with roads of just sand

and alive mainly for 3 weeks of the year when there are pilgrimages where thousands of people visit the shrines and line the streets for processions. The rest of the year there are still plenty of visitors to see the church and its interior,

but the other reason for visiting is the National and Natural Parks which are home to many kinds of birds and the sadly elusive European Lynx.

The birds are great and we took a 4wd tour to explore some of the park. Storks, flamingoes, cranes and many birds of prey can all be seen.

And toucans! (Sorry wrong trip.)

And wild horses.

Sadly nothing too exotic for birthday lunch. A rich partridge pate being the best I could do. There are plenty of partridges in the parks. So we will start to head north through Spain to hopefully slightly cooler climes. It touched 37 degrees earlier and that is pretty hot! Thanks for reading and adios.

J&P

SINTRA

Bom Dia,
We are staying a couple of bus rides from the town of Sintra which was for hundreds of years the Monarchs had their summer residences. And what palaces they are!

Inside and out. The grounds are extensive and all was well until a dual assassination in 1910 leaving the last king Manuel 11 in power for a couple of years, then revolution, various military dictatorships finally leading to that nice Mr Salazar holding power till 1974. Be careful what you wish for. Enough of the bor

ing bits. And some more pictures of the 2 visits we made and still only saw half the palaces. My only criticism as usual is that this is a UNESCO world heritage site. Thus too many people in areas not meant for mass tourism and the opportunity for tradesmen to charge treble the going rate. Actually, here it has only been double.

We always feel compelled to reach the top of anywhere we go and again we've succeeded.

Too many lupin beans methinks!

Wide range of tourists here. Particularly many more Americans and Japanese than usual. Talking of which, I know Japanese love their photos but this particular lady took 3 shots of the side of our bus with just the number showing; then took out a wrapped gift and took 3 photos of the packaging. You couldn't make it up!

Next up a few days on the Algarve. Thanks for reading.

Adeu

J&P