Historical monuments
S and R – Mesquita in Cordoba (see Moors and More Moors)
Sc – The fort at Figueres – a nice long walk around the ramparts through scrub that smelled of rabbits. Rather windy and wild, but I don't mind that, it adds to the fun if things blow past you as you're walking!
Museum
S – Dali museum in Figueres. Fantastic place – partly in the old theatre and partly an ancient tower; all highly decorated by Dali in a surrealist style and it was where he lived before it was a museum. It's such an amazing building from the outside, and inside it's packed full of unusual artefacts; both those created by Dali and ones produced by other people that he liked. It was a bit unclear how much of this museum was really his creation and how much was by others; all it says is it's developed according to his wishes. Some pieces are clearly by others (eg the Mae West living room reconstructed in 3D from his painting). Many of his most famous works are not here, but there was plenty to keep us occupied for a couple of hours.Some things were quirky and fun, others very clever, and some quite disturbing. The artwork was really interesting, but I'm glad I never met the man; he was clearly bonkers!
R – The Fallas museum in Valencia. The museum keeps bits of examples of fallas dating back to the 1920s. From the photos you can see that what they've kept is just small parts of the overall display. It's fascinating to see the uncannily lifelike early fallas changing in the 1970s to a more caracature, cartoon- like designs they favour today. The techniques have changed too, with wax and papier mache giving way to plastics and carved polystyrene.Wonderful, exuberant ephermeral art.
Sc – '¡Perros No!' I stay in the van and keep guard while they look at stuff.
Meal
S – Tapas in San Sebastian. The selection was great but the service in one place was amazing – the place was so small and crowded that you had to shout your order over the heads of people standing at the bar and when it was ready the barman gave you a nod and passed it over people's heads to you, while you hunted for a flat surface to lean on. When you finished eating & drinking the barman would just remember what you'd had and tell you the total price (very cheap!) I'm sure he couldn't really keep everyone's order in his head as the place was frantic and everyone, including us, ordered a few things at a time and kept going back for more. However, our bill seemed right and he certainly didn't have time to write it down.
R – Simple menu of the day at a roadside 'truckers stop' in Catlaonia. Just a dull '60s concrete building with a similarly dull looking hotel behind it, surrounded by a rutted unsurfaced lorry park full of cars, trucks and horse boxes. Fascinating mixture of customers; truck drivers, men in fluorescent trousers, hunters in muddy boots, horsey people in riding boots and Andalucian jackets and people who'd obviously dressed up to go out as a family for Sunday lunch. There was a choice of half a dozen entrees and a similar number of mains. Simple, unpretentious but delicious. Total cost 24 euros for two of us for three courses with wine and coffee and unlimited people watching.
Sc – Being fed my tablets wrapped in expensive Serrano ham in Calpe.
Food discovery
S – Cardo (called cardoon in UK but a very old fashioned allotment vegetable, not really eaten any more). It looks like celery, but tastes like artichoke and is delicious. It seems to be grown on every allotment in Spain (especially the North) and is sold fresh or in jars in grocers and supermarkets. We're going to have to have a go at growing it when we next have an allotment or a big enough garden.
R – Serrano ham bought from the delicatessen counter rather than in a plastic packet. If you get the stuff that's 30 to 40 euros a kilo (or more) but ask for just 10 wafer thin slices it isn't very expensive but is a delicious treat.
Sc – Sometimes people drop bits of tapas on the floor outside bars – I like that.
Walk
S – Climbing up the red rocks – 'los Mallos de Riglos' in the foothills of the northern Pyrenees. Hard work and very steep but worth it for the views and the sense of achievement when it was over! We took about 4 hours to do the walk (3 to get up and look around, 1 to get back down!) and the weather was perfect. As we walked we could see (and sometimes hear) climbers making their way up what looked like completely sheer rock faces whilst we stuck to the walking tracks and wound our way up to the peaks.
R – Walking up the riverbank near Monte Perdido along a beautiful and incredibly clear river tumbling through a green woodland. You could see straight to the bottom of pools several meters deep, with trout hanging suspended like a child's mobile. There were a series of pools and waterfalls in steep gulleys and we could often hear a waterfall thundering completely out of sight.
Sc – Playing in the thick snow in the Pyrenees. It's hard work chasing your toy when the snow is as deep as your legs are but it's great fun and you can pretend that you've lost your toy and then dig it up again.
Animals
S – Not really wild, but the 'dancing' horses at Jerez were amazing. I'm not a 'horsey' person but the strain on the faces of the riders, and the sweat and steam from the horses (even though the areana was freezing!) showed what hard work it was to get such huge beasts to prance about, walk diagonally or backwards and stand on their hind legs.
R – Red squirrels. In Spain they're still the standard squirrel you see in the park. They're so familiar from Beatrix Potter and the Tufty Club but I've never seen one in Britain.
Sc - The wild boar that had been digging up roots alongside the path when we walked in the hills above the orange groves at Carcaixent. I didn't see any actual boar, but they smelled delicious! Apparently the people saw wild boar snuffling at the side of the road and running across the road away from hunters, but I must have been sleeping at the time!
Birds
S – I was going to say storks, but then I remembered the Hoopoe. I had previously thought that these were mythical birds – included in bird spotting books as an ornithologists joke. We saw a couple in the bushes of the carpark outside the Valor chocolate factory in Vilajoyosa and I was delighted. As if the chocolate wasn't enough to make my day!
R – A lone Lamegeyer sitting in a field on the way to Monte Perdido National Park, looking absolutely unlike anything else.
Sc – Chicken!
View
S – Waking up and opening the skylight above the bed to see the red rocks at Riglos lit up by the morning sun. We had parked alongside some other vans in a carpark at the foot of the rocks quite late on in the evening and it wasn't until the morning that I realised how lovely the rocks were. The view through the front windscreen was pretty special too – looking down over the tree filled valley below us. One of the great things about this trip is the ever changing views through your bedroom windows!
R – Looking down over Rioja from Puerto de Herrera, a high mountain pass on the way to Vitoria. The Rioja vineyards in autumn look fantastic. The different parcels, and presumably the different varieties, of vines take on different shades from red to yellow. Some parcels are neatly pruned and look stripey, others are a smooth block of colour. Here and there smoke rises. The countryside is dotted with bodegas all shapes and sizes and vintages. Quite a few have pools of water to keep the wine at a stable temperature, which glitter in the distance.
Sc – Any stretch of beach without a '¡Perros No!' sign.
City
S – Granada. I've visited it three times now and would still go back again. I love the Alhambra, but am just as happy wandering through the old winding streets filled with Moroccan shops and stalls. Each time I go I find another part of the city that I've never seen before – this time it was the old gypsy quarter, where the cave houses are. I'd like to go back there again and maybe see if we can find some authentic flamenco to watch / listen to.
R – Valencia. The town is full of life, culture and architecture. We had time for a good look around without having to worry about Scooby being bored (thanks Mum and Dad!) so we got to see a lot of the city's cultural and material riches. While we weren't there for any of the big festivals, the town's museums give you a taste and there's no shortage of shops selling the magnificent clothes that they like to wear on special occasions.
Sc – San Sebastian. There is the most fantastic soft, sandy beach right alongside the city and lots of doggy friends to play with. For a Spanish place it's really very French in attitude (i.e. dog friendly!)
Campsite
S – Puerto de Santa Maria on the South West coast. The perfect place to relax (and recover from illness!) The site was lovely and sunny, busy but not noisy, just across the road from a lovely stretch of beach and within easy reach of Jerez and Cadiz.
R – The campsite at Navarette in Rioja. It was nothing fancy, but a simple family run place with a friendly relaxed atmosphere and all the essentials; peace and quiet and hot showers. The campsite bar was open to the whole community, so was normally serving a couple of guys who worked in the fields. ... and Reception sold wine from the local Bodegas Navajas – an old favourite from the UK.
Sc – Christmas at Camping La Merced in Calpe. I could spend many happy hours lying on my bed in the warm sunshine while nice German people made a fuss of me.
Free parking spot
S – Almeria. It's a surprisingly lovely town (well it surprised me – I'd been influenced by the Pogues song 'Fiesta' and thought it was a resort like Benidorm – full of drunken Brits; but it's not at all like that.) We spent a few nights alongside other motorhomes in a quiet carpark right by the the promanade and the beach, only a short walk from town. Every morning and evening we could sit in the van and watch hundreds of Spaniards, of all ages, walking along the prom; some with dogs, some without, some walking for 'fitness', others strolling and chatting to friends, as well as young people rollerblading, skateboarding, cycling .... Fascinating to watch – it's no wonder they have a lower rate of heart disease than the British, as it's usually too cold and wet to take a walk for pleasure twice a day in Britain.
R – After a stressful drive trying to battle our way out of Cordoba, we drove to the end of the road at the top of the hill in the forest above Medina Al Zahara. We could see the lights of the outskirts of Cordoba stretching out infront of us, trains passing silently in the distance. Then cloud would blow over and there would be total darkness.
Sc – Cabo de Trafalgar. Lovely and warm, right by a huge beach and loads of doggy friends and doggy smells to sniff. The surfers reminded me of my old friend Gary the dogwalker too.
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