Our route home , 1550 kilometres, took us along the coast and to our first stop Almeria.
Now I know this may sound dull - but this is the first time I have gone any where with out an advanced reservation! For me part of a holiday is the planning, checking out where to stay etc, but for the next three nights we are just turning up and finding some where. How adventurous!
Our first night in the Gran Almeria hotel was a successful find, good value hotel, excellent Tapas nearby and dinner in very nice restaurant.
From here we headed to Peniscola, North of Valencia. The fortified old town rises 67 metres and is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip hence the name (Peniscola is Latin for 'Peninsular') There is an impressive lighthouse, a long 'strip' lined with hotels and apartments and a great beach.
We ate at a lovely restaurant directly over looking the sea & beach and stayed at the 'Hotel Don Carlos'
The old town , where there are many shops, restaurants and bars.
This statue depicts Benedict XIII who lived in the castle from 1417 until his death in 1423 .
Two canons! Look carefully.
and some great views.....
What was amusing was that the hotel we stayed in was virtually full with 90 rooms.
But it was there last night of the season, everyone had to check out next morning! imagine the scene .
And finally time to cross the border , back home in France and one final stop at Collioure .
The drive to get there is one of the most hair raising I have done (sorry Karen), especially as for the first time we hit bad weather.
But after finding a hotel, taking recommendations for an excellent restaurant we had a great night and awoke next day to clearing skies. Collioure is an amazing village. A small harbour , lots of bars, restaurant and galleries and a good beach, it is very busy in summer, even in the off season. Matisse & Picasso once visited, put it on your list!
And finally home. 12 days, 3500 kilometres accomplished.
So France v Spain. We cannot help, every where we go to ask the question - might we live here?
It is fascinating to watch the Spanish taking their promenades, notably families, even generations together. Everybody was extremely friendly and helpful. There eating habits are quite unique , we went to one bar for Tapas , it did not open until 8.30pm and there was a queue outside to get in, including families with young children . Smoking is still accepted in bars and restaurants! You are given bread in every restaurant with an added cover charge and you have to pay for water. We were invited to take aperitifs in one hotel with the management between 9 and 10pm before we went out for dinner.
No wonder they need a siesta! The weather further South is clearly hotter and drier which was very evident by the landscape much of which was quite barren apart from the orange groves near Valencia.
Of course visiting only gives a small glimpse of life in a country, but for us France remains our no 1 choice.
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