willis, Author at Sandals N Socks

Madrid

willis — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 10:08:59 +0000

Madrid

Because Dom wanted to catch an early coach to Benidorm we set off for Madrid from Segovia around 8am, apparently Dom didn’t realise there was an 8 in the morning as well! Not the fastest train but we were soon there, we just needed to find the coach station now! It turned out not to be a problem, the main route through the city would take us there, unfortunately it was on the other side of the city, oops!

We decided to walk and take in the sights on the way.

It probably wont surprise you to find out it’s a really busy city and not just around the attractions, there are cars and people everywhere, but surprisingly not in the parks and gardens, and there’s plenty of green space.

There are the obvious places to visit, museums etc, but there are little things to find all over the place; most roundabouts (and there are lots) seem to have a statue or fountain on, winding back streets lead to small squares full of people sitting outside the bars and cafes chatting and generally watching the world go by.

Some of the sculptures are a bit bewildering, but there seemed to something new at every turn.

I’m not sure if this poor lady had drunk too much wine or had forgotten where she’d parked!

Why? this has got to be one of the strangest ones I saw, and this is the polite angle!

Even the buildings have a style of their own.

Cat wanted to get in on the action

They’ve even got a football team, who knew?

There are loads more things to see and do, if I told you everything we got up to it’d get boring,!

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From Portugal To Madrid

willis — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 16:05:28 +0000

The road from Portugal to Madrid

Following our adventures in Portugal, our next destination was to be Madrid, Dom had been invited to visit some friends in Benidorm and Madrid was the best place to catch a bus, so watch out Madrid we’re on our way!

A Rue De Valdeorras

It’s quite a drive so we did it over 4 days, stopping at some wonderful places along the way, first night was at A Rue De Valdeorras: obviously once an affluent area but now perhaps a little down on its luck, non the less a very pretty and welcoming town.

We were parked up next to the gorgeous little lake, right next to the football ground and sports center, quiet at this time of year, but you can see it would be much busier in the summer.

Leon

The road then took us to Leon, a much livelier city, full of life: perhaps too much for us quiet country boys!!!

Part of the journey to Leon was through a great valley with vineyards all down one side, the road was a bit twisty but well worth it for the view.

Ampudia

This little village sits on top of a hill rising from the extensive open planes of middle Spain, there’s a great castle that keeps watch over the countryside. looking out over the plain it’s like you can see all the way to tomorrow!

Segovia

Segovia was to be our parking spot while we visited Madrid as it’s only around 35 minutes by train into the city.

The town itself was very busy with tourists due to its extensive roman ruins, and possible the most complete roman aqueduct anywhere in Spain

So what other highlight did Segovia have? …… an Indian restaurant! We though a treat was in order having been sooo good for weeks, mainly because this was the first Indian we’d seen since being away! and fair play it wasn’t bad, not as spicy as you’d expect at home, but pretty good! We were parked at the towns bullring, a very big one with loads of space and just 5 minutes from the train station so happy days ….. Madrid here we come!

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Portugal, Vila Nova De Cerveira

willis — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 14:45:25 +0000

Portugal, Vila Nova De Cerveira

A quick drive from Tui and we were over the border exploring Portugal and ended up in Vila Nova De Cerveira. It’s a really pretty little town right on the river Minho, which creates part of the border with Spain.

There’s a nice town square with a couple of bars and a medieval castle to explore.

You can’t quite see in the picture above that the wall was covered in giant spiders, luckily for Dom they weren’t real, but they did have an even bigger mother

The town lies at the foot of some hills, and on the ridge of one there’s a ‘statue’ of a stag, closer inspection needed! Around 5k, all uphill reaching 200m in the beautiful Portuguese sun and we were there, worth every step just for the view.

Not a long walk, but a knackering one, I’m sure it’s hotter on this side of the border! The views were mostly of Spain, just a stones throw across the river, well if you’re good at throwing stones that is.

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Tui

willis — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 10:54:39 +0000

Tui

Until I saw it on the map I never realised there was a place called Tui, I just thought it was a travel firm! It turns out to be a very old and important city at one of the crossing points into Portugal. The main city is the usual collection of modern and old buildings, a couple of squares and was full of life. The old town lies around the cathedral, which itself sits on a hill.

As with most of our adventures there was no plan to visit the cathedral, but we did anyway, and we were very glad we did.

It was consecrated in 1225 AD during the monarchy of King Alfonso, although building work actually started over a century earlier. It was surrounded by a protective wall, offering a safe haven should the city be under threat.

Once your up close you can’t really see the size of the cathedral as it’s surrounded by other buildings, but the main entrance is still quite impressive, and once inside you start to appreciate the beauty of, not only the interior decoration but also the actual building itself.

Ornately carved alters, a stunning pipe organ and artworks all add to the splendour, and luckily the admission ticket (4 euro) includes an audio tour so you can really appreciate what you’re seeing.

The next best thing in Tui was a great bakery we found, Panadaria Progreso https://www.facebook.com/PanaderiaCafeteriaOProgreso/ Cakes to die for and with each beer a slice of homemade pizza. You’ve got to love Spain, beer in a cake shop!

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Monte De Facho

willis — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 09:30:10 +0000

Monte De Facho

With no particular destination in mind we went exploring the coast road around the peninsula between the estuary’s of Ria De Pontevedra and Ria De Vigo. Dom was in charge of navigation and decided we’d visit a lighthouse, well t was something to do.

30 minutes of great, scenic roads later we arrived at a parking area, right on a headland overlooking the Illas Cies (Cies islands) what a view, the drive was worth it just for that. On a notice board in the car park there was something (in Spanish) about some archaeological site and it seemed silly not to investigate.

The walk wasn’t long but the path was really uneven, made up of large boulders, and was uphill! my favourite!!

It turned out to be a really cool dig site exploring an iron age village, although no excavations had been done for a few years it was still a work in progress.

Plenty to explore here, they’ve even recreated what one of the ‘houses’ would have looked like.

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Road Trip Sound Track

willis — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 15:09:10 +0000

Road Trip Sound Track

Well we’re a month in and have done well over 1,000 miles, but still loads to go. A part of being on a road trip like this is the lack of distractions like tv. We’ve watched all of Game Of Thrones, only because I hadn’t seen any of it and was feeling a bit left out, a few movies but not much else.

One of the best things is having the time to revisit all that music you’ve not heard for years, but still think is great. As I write this we’re listening to ‘Hotter Than July’ not played it since the late 80’s, it’s even better than I remember!!

Artists on our play list range from Dire Straits and the Eagles through absolutely everyone from the 80’s right to Hendrix and the Beatles, we’ve even got Christine and the Queens amongst other up to date stuff. Dom seems to be enjoying listening to artists he’s never even heard of, even if they’re not quite up his street.

So remember if you’re planning a long road trip take plenty of music, including stuff you don’t know.

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Arcade

willis — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 14:16:24 +0000

Arcade

Our journey South, towards Portugal, has brought us to the town of Arcade. It’s not a huge place, but it’s very picturesque and very Spanish.

The aire is right on the waterfront, next to a little park with children’s play areas, skate park and small football pitch. During the day the area is a haven for the more senior members of the community, walking, jogging (mostly going just a bit faster than the walkers) and generally relaxing, but in the early evening it attracts the families, with all generations joining in with the fun and games.

It’s great to watch this part of Spanish life as the community comes together to relax. A couple of minutes walk into the town and we found another square buzzing with life, the sound of laughter and chat being far preferable to music being pumped from bars as you tend to get in the more tourist areas.

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Santiago De Compostela

willis — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 14:03:00 +0000

Santiago De Compostela

Santiago De Compostela is the main destination for pilgrims walking the way of St. James (Camino De Santiago).

There are 2 main routes, one starting in Lisbon, Portugal and the other in the french town of St. Jean Pied De Port (620k and 800k) but to qualify for a certificate modern day pilgrims only need to walk the last couple of hundred k.

The pilgrimage to visit the relics of St. James in the cathedral of Santiago De Compostela is undertaken by 1,000’s of pilgrims each year and has been followed since early christian times.

Santiago De Compostela itself is a city of 2 halves, the old and the new. The old town is a warren of narrow streets weaving their way to the cathedral at the heart of the town, all lined with shops selling every conceivable item that it’s possible to print some reference to the pilgrimage on. The new town on the other hand has wide avenues, long pedestrian shopping streets and seemingly no mention of the pilgrimage that brings most people here.

After spending time in A Coruna we were a little disappointed with Santiago, it just seemed a little ‘flat’, perhaps because most pilgrims are in groups that stick together. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of life in the city, loads of bars etc, but there wasn’t that ‘spanish’ feel we’re becoming used to, but do visit and decide for yourself.

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Cabo Fisterra

willis — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:18:07 +0000

Cabo Fisterra

Cabo Fisterra, or Finisterre if you’ve ever listened to the shipping forecast, is the one of most Westerly points in Spain, and was once considered as the end of the world by the Romans, today it’s the final point for many pilgrims walking the way of St. James.

Even Cat wanted to get in on the act, but it was a bit windy!

We didn’t stay long as the wind and rain were really closing in, but you can appreciate why the Romans thought it was the end of the world, especially on a day like we had.

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Caion

willis — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:06:52 +0000

Caion

After our time in the city of A Coruna we needed some quiet time so headed off for Caion. It’s a great aire, set amongst the pine trees and literally on the beach.

I found a nice spot on one of the rocks and was so chilled I ended up sitting there for hours watching the tide coming in. what a way to recharge your batteries!

Watching the tide come in

While watching the tide you notice all sorts of things:

Unfortunately on day 2 the weather changed and we had rain, and the forecast said it was going to be with us for a couple of days. So not being a fan of sitting on a rock in the rain we decided to find something more interesting to do.

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