A message for Yugo and Ayu

Sunday 26th- Its time to leave this nice town

Well it rained quite a bit overnight and there was also strong winds blowing but we were well protected by the trees behind us.

We both woke early and decided that we had better get moving unless we wanted to be finalising the caravan bits and pieces in the pouting rain.

At 1000 we pulled out of the camp-site as the heavens opened and the rain really came down and it was lucky that we had decided to pack up early.

The journey home took a little longer due to a major road accident on the A12 which required the police to close the Southbound carriageway for the air ambulance to land. We were diverted of the A12 and the police signposting was no existent and so Jennifer did her map reading stuff through small country lanes which is not great when towing a large caravan until we came to Dedham where there was a small marathon taking place so apart from the narow lanes we had to watch out for runners .

Anyway finally we made it back to the A 12 and carried on home where we arrived around 2.30 pm. We spent a short while clearing the caravan and then to the shower..

This was a lovely week in a nice town with a lovely site and no doubt we shall return again some time.

The next trip is a Cruise on the Norwegian Gem from Venice to New York so watch the pages for updates

Saturday 25th- It Looks like rain again

Well the weather is really changeable at the moment and there is quite a gail blowing at this time but not much rain and in dispersed with sunny patches . We sat outside for a while and then decided that as the weather forecast for the rest of the day was not good we had better get the awning down and put the bikes and chairs away. This did not take long and soon we started watching the qualifying for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

To watch the cars racing around the streets of a town that Noel know so well is amazing.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around town and checking out the ice cream shop.

A pleasant and quiet day before we leave tomorrow morning. Just checked the weather forecast again and it looks like heavy rain is expected at around 1000 hrs

Friday 24th – Rain is promised

We both fancied a walk today and Noel wished to visit the Library for a final email check before we headed down town and along the beach. The sky was changing as we walked into town but it stayed dry and we sat watching the sea for a while. Whilst sitting on the seafront we spotted a lone seal bobbing up and down and working his way down the beach. Unfortunately Noel did not have his camera.

We headed over to Aldeburgh Fish and Chip shop for a bag of Cod and Chips and then sat on the seawall again enjoying the view and the food. The sky was beginning to darken and so we took refuge in the ice cream shop, how convenient as it started to rain. The rain did not last too long and so over to the Coop for a little shopping and then the fifteen minute walk back to the Caravan Site. As we walked along the beachfront we could see the really dark clouds heading our way, we had arrived at the caravan and two minutes later the heavens opened and it really chucked it down for about an hour. Time for a little zizz, there is nothing nicer than being tucked up and warm in the caravan when it is raining very hard.

The usual evening of TV and so to bed with the rain coming down still.

Thursday 23th- A tour of Suffolk and Norfolk

We had decided to look at some other caravan sites in the area whilst sightseeing and so we headed off North in the direction of Lowestoft and then on to Great Yarmouth. On the way we stopped and looked at three caravan sites and were not impressed and again we were glad of where we had booked in Aldeburgh. The journey continued and we visited Caister-on-Sea and then across the Norfolk Broads to Cromer where we stopped in a shabby cafe but which did excellent ‘toasties’ and soup, by which time it had started to rain. From Cromer we pretty much followed the coastline around Sherringham which looks like a nice place, unlike Cromer, and on to Wells by the Sea and we were astonished at the size of churches in this area compared to the population and put it down to the Lords of the Land trying to outdo their neighbours. The rain was now coming down much harder, the radio was talking about heavy rain all over Suffolk and Norfolk and localised flooding and so we decided to head on back. It’s not a journey either of us would repeat as it’s not that attractive but we are pleased we did it all the same.

We arrived back in Aldeburgh and indeed there must have been very heavy rain as the ground was saturated, with large puddles everywhere but our caravan was fine.

Dinner was a vegetable and pasta dish and we also finished off the rest of the wine we brought from home and then watched the second part of a program about looking for Tigers in Bhutan which was quite enthralling.

And so to bed after watching ‘Mock the Week’ which is a rather rude review of the week’s news by a bunch of comedians.

Tuesday 21nd September- Back to the legs again

It seems to be the story of my life that whenever we get to a nice caravan site we find there is no or limited mobile phone connection whilst there is also no internet to enable us to check the email etc.But today we had decided to take a much longer walk all along the beach to the ‘Martell/ Tower’ and also Noel could take some photos for the BLOG. So we left around 1030, it was getting rather warm today and soon we were stripping down in the heat. We stopped at the big Hotel on the sea front for a cup of coffee and then walked about a mile or so to the tower. We were really getting very hot now and so headed back to town to ‘Kathy’s Cafe’ for excellent toasted Bacon, Blue Cheese and sun dried tomato sandwich and a nice cuppa.

We asked several shop keepers about internet availability and apart from the Hotels the only other place was the Library which we located on the top of the hill and we were able to check for messages. We got back to the caravan and put out the sun chairs and had a little zizz in the sun before heading in for a light dinner.We walked around the complete Holiday Park and it is so quiet, not your usual side by side mobile homes which are for rent, these are for sale to owners and cannot be rented out and so mostly they are for weekends and summers we guess. Some of the Mobile homes are very large about 39 feet by 12 feet with two bedrooms and furnished extremely well.

After an early tea we took a trip to look at the Sizewell Nuclear Power station and also a couple of caravan sites that were close by, but both were not worth considering compared to where we are which is really nice.

Wednesday 22rd September= Geoff and Sonja to visit

But first, in the morning we rode the bikes down to Thorpeness , a round trip of about 4 miles. It was much warmer again today and we were beginning to sweat quite a bit as we had not ridden so far before on our new fold up bikes. We passed some Almshouses and a large estate that goes with it and there are a couple of nice pubs close by, anyway we made it to the beautiful boating lake and had a cup of tea and a cake and took a few photos before heading back for a light lunch of chicken salad. Friends of ours live in a place near Eye in Suffolk about one hour away and they arrived at about 1615 and following a cup of tea and biccies we did a tour of the site and then opened a bottle of fizz which Geoff and Sonia had brought as a pre-taster for dinner. We had sort of planned to go to a pub which Geoff knows or the other choice was that we try a restaurant in Aldeburgh but finally the pub was overbooked and so we drove into town and went to a restaurant called ‘The Lighthouse’ where we had an excellent meal. The outside of the restaurant was covered with ‘Fodors’ and ‘Michelin’ and also Good Food Guides stickers and we can support their views. It will be well worth visiting this place again.

Monday 20st September- A nice cycle along the beach

The weather is great at the moment and we awoke to bright sunlight and listened to BBC Radio Suffolk over breakfast and their campaign to get all the potholes filled in the roads of the County. It’s strange to hear one Government Dept chase another.

We rode our bikes along to the town again and this time spent some time looking at all the shops and restaurants and then came across a busy looking Fish and Chip shop so we joined the queue and then followed everybody else down to the seafront where you can sit on the sea wall and eat your food with hoards of seagulls waiting for

the leftovers. The lunch was excellent and as we headed back we visited a small ice cream parlour selling Bennett’s Home Made ice cream, it was really good. After a good walk we settled down for a quick rest sitting in the sun until around 6pm and then had a drive along the other way along the beach to a place called Thorpeness. This also seems like a nice place, by this time we were getting a little peckish and so headed back to Aldeburgh and had a single course at Prezzo’s which is a growing chain of Italian Restaurant.

We watched the weather forecast for the next few days and it looks really

positive with Wednesday expected to be the best day of the week and with rain due on late Thursday and Friday. Tonight was the start of the new series of ‘Spooks’ which is a great MI5/6 Series. A good day indeed.

Sunday 19th September - A week in Suffolk

We had promised ourselves that we would use the caravan again before putting it into winter storage and when checking the weather we found that the East Coast of UK was going to be better weather than on the South Coast for the following week.

Our choice had been a site near Eastbourne then when looking at the internet we

found a site in a place called Aldeburgh in Suffolk which sounded rather nice and they had space for us. So we collected the caravan from the storage area on Saturday and made ready to leave on Sunday morning, which we did, at about 10:00 anticipating a journey of around four hours. The traffic on the M25 was light and so was the Dartford Tunnel and we joined the famous A 12 about seventy minutes later.

We arrived at Church Farm Holiday Park at around 1315 after an excellent jour

ney and were immediately impresses with the site. A large part is taken over for residential mobile homes and an area for touring caravans that is literally three minutes from the sea front. By 1530 we were all set up, the site is very quiet indeed, there must be around 70 pitches but only 20 or so were taken up and some of those are here for the season. We decided to walk into town along the sea front walkway this took about fifteen minutes and we walked around the town, which of course was closed, before going into a little pub for a pint before heading home to eat the casserole that had been made the previous day. A glass of wine accompanied the dinner and then we watched TV for the rest of the evening.

As we went to sleep you could hear the waves breaking on the stony beach and soon we were fast asleep in the land of nod.

Friday 3rd September 2010- It’s time to leave

Didn’t this week go so damned quickly as now it’s time to pack up and leave for the airport?

Our flight leaves at 1345 but you need to check in two hours before and so we left the Villa around 1015 and headed off via the motorway and arrived are the car hire return around the correct time. Check in was a little slower than Gatwick

and whilst waiting for the flight we consumed a product from that global restaurant chain called Burger King, what a come down.

The flight left and arrived on time and after waiting a short time for the bags to arrive on the carrousel we headed off the meet the driver of John’s car and then home for a nice cup of tea.

2nd September 2010- It’s raining

Overnight the weather changed and it started raining quite hard and so Roger and Sue charged down to the marina to put the side covers on the boat whilst it chucked it down with rain. So no boat ride today then.

So a day of rest followed and the weather improved throughout the day and by the evening the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds. During the day we swam and read and snoozed and drank tea and snoozed and then swam a bit more.

In the afternoon we went down to a local bar to see if Roger’s Dell computer would connect to the WIFI so that they could get a faster connection when the dial up connection was not fast enough and it worked ok. When discussing our plans for the evening and the restaurant we had booked the bar owner said they went there the other day and were disappointed how small the portions were for the price paid. Now Roger was beginning to have doubts particularly after the Valencia fiasco and the last nights Chinese restaurant who must have been making the dishes in a small town outside of Shanghai then put on a donkey to the airport and then flown to Madrid and finally sent by overnight truck to our table quite a bit later.

Anyway we decided to continue with our booking and we are all so glad that we did. The food was excellent, except for Noel’s entrecote steak which had been taken from the waiter’s shoe, but this was quickly replaced with a filet which most of the others were having and it was excellent.

The restaurant El Chemizo is situated overlooking Moraira Bay and it is a great place for a romantic dinner. I seem to remember that they also ran out of the wine we were drinking and as this was the third or fourth restaurant that this had happened in I am beginning to wonder how they stock wines in restaurants or is it that six of us quickly consume their stock, I am not sure but that could possibly be the answer.

Wednesday 1st September- A little sightseeing perhaps

We were all a little tired after yesterdays marathon event and still fed up about the restaurant which should have been one of the high points of the trip but became the low point, ah! Well let’s move on.

A quick croissant and coffee at a nearby coffee shop where the waitress was so helpful (unlike last night’s staff) and we walked across the square and waited for the first open top tourist bus of the day to take us down town.

In the centre of the square is an interesting statue?? Which none of us could work out what it was but the waitress told us it was female face from an historic age cast in what looked like old plastic bottles?? Left over from Roger’s wine cellar we understand.

The bus arrived and took us into town where we changed to the other route which takes your through the city and down to the port passing the Science and Cultural park where there were many newish buildings which must have cost a fortune and no doubt paid for by the EU with no doubt Noel Groves taxes. Bah Humbug.

The double decker bus continued its merry way through the port area, then blow me it stopped right outside the restaurant we were at last night. If only we had taken the bus or a taxi last nights challenges many not have happened, Anyway after placing a heathen curse on La Pepica and its waiting staff the bus turned round and headed back to the centre of town past the many old buildings most of them in good condition. We arrived back at the boarding point and following a quick snacky type lunch walked back to the station and boarded the train back to pick up the car.

We arrived back in Moraira and went straight to the pool looking forward to a dinner at the local Chinese restaurant which was good. Tonight the restaurant was quite full and there appeared to be a slowdown in the food delivery department which we understand was being caused by a new chef from China who could not understand the Spanish names for Chinese dishes or something like that. To fill in the time whilst waiting for the food we demolished a few bottles of wine until came the cry ‘No more’ and so we changed wine allegiance yet again.

The food was good but when you wait two hours for it it’s such a shame, never mind perhaps next year the chef will have learnt the dishes.

Back home to the Villa and the last glass of wine on the balcony and then to bed to recover from our last two days of travels.

Tuesday 31st August- What a day in Valencia

It all started out so well. A light breakfast and just before 9am we left to drive the forty minutes of so to a place called Xeraco where we would find the Railway Station and take the train from there to Valencia. Rog and Sue had been here before some while ago and did not find it easy to locate the station due to all the road works and so prior to leaving Roger had spoken to a friend to finalise the details. The road system in this town had changed yet again and we got rather lost, so we stopped and asked a farm worker how to get to the station. To Roger’s surprise the man said the station had closed over a year ago as they were working the track and the train did not stop here anymore. He therefore recommended that we head back the way we had come for about 10 minutes on the motorway to a town called Gandia where we could catch the train.

After leaving this chap we also got a little lost trying to find the motorway and then Roger suddenly recognised the road and a few minutes later we were at the Station, purchased tickets and a few minutes later the train arrived and we were on our way to Valencia. This guy by the side of the road must have been a nutter!!

The train journey to Valencia took about 45 minutes and we went through the paddy fields where they grow the rice for the famous local Valencian dish of Paella which we are planning to try at a restaurant recommended to us later today. The train also passes through rather poor areas of the city with some really broken down housing and even people scampering over rubbish dumps looking for stuff which reminded me of similar scenes in India and the Philippines. We reached the main station in Valencia which is a really beautiful old building and then located the Metro which we would take across town to our Ibis Hotel where we would dump our bags and then head for some touring around on the open top bus. By late morning this had been completed and the bus arrived just a short distance from the Hotel (and not where some nice young ladies passing by had informed us) and we eventually arrived in the centre of town. But we were all getting

hungry and after a little dithering by the men and complaints from the women we settled on a place where the food was really very good but turned out to be a rather expensive for what we had eaten, but we are in a main town we thought.

We spent the afternoon walking around town and taking photos of this quite beautiful city and about 4.30 pm decided to head back to the Hotel for a shower and then head out for dinner at a restaurant called La Pepica which is on the beach near to the port. We were undecided whether to use our Tourist Bus tickets which would have dropped us off right by the restaurant but this would take two buses and around ninety minutes and as the hotel staff had said there was a modern electric tram service which would get us there and this was only 400 metres from the Hotel and would take about 40 minutes we decided to use this means of transport as it would be a lot quicker, boy were we wrong!

We found the tram stop whilst unfortunately Sue slipped on the pavement and so we had casualty number one. The tram arrived after a short time and after we had worked out the

ticketing system where you purchase the ticket and then immediately stamp it thus negating it and only then do you get on the tram. All was going swimmingly well and we were perhaps a third of the way to our destination when the tram stopped. They said that they were not going any further as there had been an accident and the power to the trams had been turned off, so please get off my tram whilst I go for my dinner. No help was offered on how to continue and we did not know where we were until a nice young couple decided to help these lost ‘Brits’ and said all we had to do was walk down there and cross the bridge and get a Number 1 bus and hey presto we would be there. One mile later we found the bus stop and jumped aboard and we assumed that as the tram had stopped working that the bus company would accept our tickets and although Roger argued our case for about ten minutes we ended by paying again. The bus stopped ever few yards, it

seemed, and the traffic was bad and as we were getting close to the beach area we were held up by the Police who were conducting a ‘Drugs Bust’ with guns, Whoaa.. finally the driver said get off here and go down there which we did only to find the restaurant was not there at all. It was now 8.10 pm and getting a little late as our table was booked for 8.30 and we had planned to have a drink somewhere first. We asked several people about where the restaurant was and they said down there, and we said how far?? And they said not far. So we walked with the girls in their high heels and the men in their soft shoes, and we walked and we walked for ages until we came to a Police Station and they it was about 400 metres along the beach except it wasn’t as it was more like 800 metres. We phoned ahead to the restaurant and apologised for our late arrival and we hoped to be there by 8.40 pm but we did not get there until 8.55 pm at which time we were all very exhausted after about three mile hike from the bus stop not forgetting the mile from where we got off the tram to find the bus and the half a mile from the Hotel to trams stop. So after 4.5 miles and lots of cursing and swearing at people we sat down to enjoy our anticipated meal of paella.

We ordered a nice bottle of wine and two Paellas, one was a seafood one the other a mixed. Whilst waiting we shared some Spanish omelettes which were OK until the Paella arrived. The seafood one arrived first and was shown to us in the pan and the waiter took it away for serving. We waited a little while and I looked around to see what had happened and the waiter was now taking an order from another table and the Paella was getting cool. Finally he headed back to the serving point and shared out the food on what turned out to be cold plates and so by the time it arrived back to us it was just lukewarm and not eatable. Noel complained to the waiter and he said it would be taken back to the kitchen and reheated.

In the meantime we had to chase for the glasses of Cola ordered, now twice, and when we ordered another wine they said ‘No more’ and that you must change. The other Paella arrived and was much warmer and there was mixed opinions as to its quality but we all agreed that the service was poor.

Finally the seafood Paella arrived back and it was still not really warm but now it being so late we just ate it. In the meantime the second bottle of wine had gone we ordered a replacement and they said ‘No more’ and so now we were on our third different bottle of wine, this is ridiculous for such a so called well known Restaurant. I say well known as there were signed and autographed photos of everyone from the pope to the Spanish royalty and even some well known American film stars. I bet they did not have to suffer cold food and different wines and so Noel went and gave the restraint manager a bollocking although he is not sure they really took it on board. The report of the restaurant is now loaded on tripadvisor.com so see link below.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187529-d987414-r78223467-La_Pepica-Valencia_Valencia_Province_Valencian_Country.html

We came outside the restaurant and took two taxis (one driven by Fernando Alonso and the other by his brother) and we arrived back at the Hotel twelve minutes later. It had taken us two hours to get there and twelve minutes to get back, bloody hell this is ridiculous. Roger was now ready to leave Valencia and blow up the station on the way however he was persuaded to stay and enjoy a very large glass of brandy poured out by a young Hotel staff member who thought you served it like coca cola. So not too bad really for three Euros a glass.

Our feet were ruined and we were all exhausted and after such a bad meal and all the travel difficulties we headed off to bed.

Monday 30th August- A quiet day in Moraira

Today we decided, as it was quite windy, that it might be a little rough for the boat and so we would have a relaxing day by the pool and just enjoy the sunbathing and the odd forty winks. We are scheduled to leave for Valencia tomorrow for two days and so a quiet day reading and enjoying the sun seemed like a great idea.

We had a light lunch and continued our very tiring rest by the pool until about six pm when we headed off to a new bar for a pre BBQ drink only to find that it was closed. We then headed across the road to another place where although the view is nice the service is appalling when delivered by the waitress from some Eastern European country.

Roger cooked up a great BBQ of sausages, pork chops and many other types of meat with a great selection of vegetables and strangely enough it was all washed down with lots of Spanish Vino tinto.

A very relaxing day was had by all and as an early morning was necessary tomorrow we decided to have an early night.

Sunday 29th August 2010- A visit to Javea

A nice late and slow breakfast on the balcony and a morning of relaxation before heading off around midday for a seaside town called Javea which apparently has the largest English contingent of Spain. Surprisingly there were few signs of ‘Fish and Chips and Sunday lunch served here’ signs and there is a very long and attractive beach where there are a number of bars and restaurants. We walked along the promenade and stopped for a pre dinner beer and then we headed off to a Restaurant called ‘Pepa’ which overlooked the beach, it was a very smart place to. The food was really excellent, Jennifer had half a whale of a fish and the ‘boys’ had the ribs which we could only just about finish. This was an

excellent restaurant and the service was good and so was the ambience, what with the sound of the sea and watching the bikini clad ladies walking along the beach, it was just like Weybridge high street I thought.

Javea suffered badly in 2007 when there was a deluge of rain all around them and a major storm almost turned the area in to wasteland. Boats were washed down the river and smashed against the bridge and it was an awesome sight, see video, and the beach looked like the aftermath of a war, thankfully all has been restored.

So we headed back to the Villa and had a quiet afternoon and a light snack on the balcony and I am afraid we tested more of Roger’s wine until quite late.

Saturday 28th August- Quite a busy day really

The sun was shining as we arose and we made plans for the day which would mean there was hardly any time to breathe. Over breakfast it was decided that a trip out in the bay on Rogers’s boat would be great and go for a swim in the sea as this time there were no jelly fish to mess up our sea swimming. Swimming in salt water is great, providing you don’t

Before leaving the house we checked out some wine and headed off and when reaching to town square where the Restaurant tables should have been under the palm trees we found that it was a special day and there was a huge stage and music and so our tables were laid out along the road. The food was really excellent and most of us tried the roasted lamb which was quite something special and of course a further investigation in to the local wine production whose producers were now aware of our arrival and on full alert! swallow any, and we swam around for a while and then headed back to the house for a shower before heading off in the cars to Calpe a nice town about 20 minutes away.

It had been our intention to go there on the boat but the swell was too high for a comfortable journey. Calpe has a very large group of full time English residents although you would not have known it when walking along the beach as the only language heard was either Spanish or French. We stopped in a little beach bar to check that the beer had not gone off in the heat before walking along the seafront checking out the seafood restaurants. We finally picked one where a deal was struck for a light lunch and three bottle of house wine. The food was pretty good but not too much to ruin your appetite for the evening. We took a few photos in Calpe including one of the girls cuddling the front of house staff (see photo) before heading back for a little ziz before the evening trip to Teulada for dinner.

At around 10 pm the street had livened up and there were lots of young children all beautifully dressed up and then groups of adults with the ladies in fantastic white dresses as they paraded along the street. We stayed and watched the well presented show but of course not understanding a word. Unfortunately my camera battery has decided to pack up and so I could only take a couple of photos to record the event, I was a little annoyed that I had not brought the spare battery, oh dear you live and learn. I must have forgotten my old Scout motto ‘Be prepared’

We headed back to the villa and sat around talking until after midnight, what a great day and slightly busy.

Friday 27th August 2010- Off to the sun in Spain

Why is it we always end up with early mornings when going on holiday?

Today was no exception as John and Lyn picked us up at 0615 in Weybridge and we headed off to Gatwick Airport. During the past few days the weather in UK had not been good and there was a light rain in the air when we left.

It was a short journey to Gatwick where we dropped off the car for some Valet parking and headed to the terminal. Check in at Monarch was quite fast and it was not long before we were having eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Two hours later and the Captain came on the intercom to say we were shortly arriving in Alicante and the temperature was a nice 40 degrees Centigrade.

We picked up the hire car and headed North in the direction of Valencia on the AP7 motorway and it took us about 70 minutes to reach Moraira where we stopped at a shop selling beach stuff and lots of Spanish tat and then headed off to Roger and Sue’s house.

Upon arriving at the bottom of the hill near their Villa we stopped and donned our ‘holiday gear’ which was well received by our hosts and this required a few photos.

A quick unpack and into the pool for some relaxation in the sun with a little light swimming, gosh it was hot, and then resting by the pool, all bloody hard work really. When early evening came around we had refreshments on the balcony and then presented our hosts with the official ‘Brits on holiday photo’ (see above) and then sat down to some excellent Beef Bourguignon and washed down with copious amounts of wine. We had a great evening and even tasted some of Roger’s Brandy and it was quite late before we hit the sack. It was still very warm and when you are not used to sleeping in about 27 degrees it takes a little getting used too but I guess the alcohol helped a little and soon we were in the land of nod.