Trip to Vilamoura

We decided we should take a trip along the coast to visit Vilamoura which a lot of people had recommended and so after a latish breakfast caused by the recent time change we left our apartment around 12.00 and headed off to Vilamoura  which took about 30 minutes as we too the long way round to try and see the sights.

What we were not expecting was high rise apartment after apartment and Hotels all crowed inn to one reasonable size area  and compared to where we are staying its not what we like about holidays. In our view it is like a mini Benidorm and as were early in the season there was not much traffic and no parking issues but we hate to think what it would be like if it were really busy. I think a lot of people stay there as there are lots of good golf courses close by which could be the reason for staying here.

A notable writer once said “ a good country walk is only spoiled if playing golf ” which may be appropriate as golf is not my favourite sport although once a year I play with good friends, and ex business colleagues, and last time it bloody poured with rain the whole time. Any way back to today, we decided we would not park but head back in the direction of our apartment 

 and do some necessary food shopping but also look out for a car wash as the car is a bit grubby. Several are mentioned in Google but when we got there one was a self service and the other one nowhere to be seen so will have to check again.

We arrived back at the Mall and luckily found a car park space, god knows what this place would be like in the summer, although the apartment complex does provide almost an hourly free shuttle to the mall. Umm,

 we thought its now lunch time ish almost 2pm and so we headed to Tonys Pizza restaurant where we had a nice meal and then back to the mini market for some food shopping.

For the rest of the day it was reading and listening to music and blogging and emails etc and then in the evening we watched the Netflix documentary about the amazing twister in Joplin USA which totally devastated a town killing well over 150 people. From there we watched the guy who did the Bangkok tour has flown to South Island in New Zealand to do a walking holiday, his name is Paddy Doyle and well worth watching with a really professional output.

And so to bed.

Its steak for lunch today

Well the weather has been very nice the last few days and today is no exception. Unfortunately Noel was still having some tummy issues which precluded him for swimming and so we went for a walk instead in between visits to the Loo. Unfortunately the LARS problem if you upset your system can affect you for 2/4 days before its sorts itself out and its a real bugger. And yet on the other hand I am still in the land of the living.

We had a relaxing day, Jennifer reading and noel listening to music whilst sitting on the balcony overlooking the estate pool complex. Around mid afternoon Noel cooked up up a late lunch of  USDA prime beef sirloin with salad, one slice is good enough for two people if you buy it from Costco which of course we did soon after we arrived. It was very tasty, a different taste to the UK Beef we get at home, but certainly very nice. We had a small amount of red wine left so we polished that off, one glass each, most frugal. The car need charging so we set that up and it took nearly 4 hours which is longer than last time, perhaps I am doing something wrong?.

In the late afternoon we received a call from our son to say they were putting up the newly purchased tent and would we like to see, Yes of course and so via Whats App video we could see it very well and it quite large and an ideal size for a family. Our two grandsons with the next door neighbours daughter were having a wow of a time in it, and we are pleased it is what they wanted.

In the evening we continued to watch a video on you tube about an English Guy who lives in Bangkok visiting all the nice places around the town which is very different to what I remember during my last visit in 2001, gosh so long ago, and it was most interesting. We seem to spend a lot of times watching videos of people travelling around the world rather than watch movies. Anyway we have been here about two weeks now and with a further two weeks to go, before heading North again.

The sun is shining

Well, first thing we went for a swim and go to the pool before it officially opened at 9 am , I thought it opened at 8 am so a few minutes sitting in the sun awaiting the official door unlocking. I always have to be careful at swimming pools as the tiled flooring can be extremely slippery . This pool is not to bad as they have rough tiles is most places except right at the main entrance. No when tells you that when having loads of chemotherapy that it cand , and most likely, will affect not only your balance but also the nerves in your feet and the skin seems to change so that every tile is an ice rink.  However I have a pair of special shoes for the pool and swimming just in case.

Anyway the sun is shining and the sky is blue, sounds like a song, and so we both spent some time on the balcony watching the world go by with Jennifer reading a copy of ‘Abroad in Japan’ and Noel listening to music. For lunch Noel made a smorgasbord, actually cheese and ham with biscuits, most enjoyable.

It was this point things seem to be go wrong. I have a spare mobile phone, for emergencies, which also holds all my years of CD’s and LP’s etc which I use when travelling to listen on airplanes etc, suddenly decided to be corrupted it says. If I was at home I could have sorted it as all the master copies are on one of my hard drives should their be a failure.  Oh well something look at when we get home.

Later in the afternoon there was some football with Brighton playing Notts Forest, a slow first half with the second half better and then extra time going in to penalties with Nots Forest being the winners. Shame really I don't really support either team but thought it would be nice for Brighton to win, but not to be. Dinner was poached cod with some leftover salmon with mashed potatoes and veg and we cheated and had a glass of wine from the bottle that we are due to open tomorrow as we are due to have steak, well it is Sunday.

Now things really started to go pear shape, we have used for some years when travelling a ROKU Dongle which when plugged in to the HDMI slot of any TV and via the internet, Hey Ho, you can access Netflix, BBC I-player etc and which we have used for the past two weeks, suddenly has stopped working. So I spent some trying everything but I think its had it. So it is unplugged and reset and will leave overnight to let it think what punishment it will befall, so know looks like will have to plug the Notebook PC into the Tv and watch programs this way. I could try and order a new one but it will be all in Spanish and arrive to late for areal use.

I noticed that when looking at both Facebook and you tube many US Citizens are having there Tesla cars scratched or keyed as they don't like Elon Musk, last year he was a god, but know he his not liked by the presumably Democrats as he stirs up the US Government finances. Well people fail to realise that the Tesla car is fitted with seven cameras and it fully records the action and so these so called stupid people are getting picked up by the the police and ruining their lives. Clearly these people are idiots when you see what Musk has done with Nuralink and also help saving US Astronauts.

 

Another day in the office- Ha

Another peaceful day around the apartment, we have decided it is quite tiring not doing to much. In the morning spent a while catching up on emails and blogging as usual as there were two days to be recorded. U go thro a day sort of thinking what you are doing and I can remember this for tomorrow but then tomorrow arrives and u think now what did we do.

However we did remember and what we did was spent quite some time looking at routes to get back to Santander for when the time comes. With the Easter holiday there may well be a lot more people looking at Hotels etc and if we want to stay somewhere nice and at a reasonable price its better that we begin looking now. A good friend recommended some while ago a Parador on the North West Coast of Spain in a place called Baiona and it looks jolly nice and when I looked at the pricing a couple of months ago it was expensive but doable at £ 180.00 per night, but when we came to book the lowest price I could get was £ 320 which for a night stop , no way. So this meant our route back was changed and so where to go?. So after due consideration and rather than just spacing the days out we thought where is nice and we have not been to the famous Douro Valley and so have booked in at a very nice hotel for a couple of nights.

 So we have planned our route home from here to Evora, No I will let you know when we do it.

Today we had a late lunch of salmon and prawn salad sitting on the balcony as it was warm enough but once the sun disappears it does call down quite quicky we have noticed. In the meantime , back in the ranch, Broadoaks Park held the annual meeting with the estate management company, its a shame we missed it but we did not know when booking this holiday they would call for a meeting with just two weeks notice, this Management Company is rubbish.

In the evening we  watched a guy touring areas of Bangkok which in al my many years of visiting did I ever see, but when working u get to see only the usual places. Following this we watched the ‘Plank of the week’ from Talk Tv , always a good watch and you learn some outstanding stupid things that so called intelligent people have done.

Whilst finishing up this Blog have just read briefly why Just Welby did nothing about the paedophiles in the Church of England, it was overwhelming he apparently said. This guy should be hung , drawn and quartered.

A road trip to Tavira is planned for today

Well we left the apartment around 11.00 and headed out via Amancil town centre and around the outskirts of Faro and then due road works ended up in place called Olhao which on the outskirts is pretty rubbish. In fact the complete journey that looked ok on the map was a rough very bumpy and pothole road with so many car dealerships you cannot imagine.  Due to road works our drive thro Olhao was brief but most interesting that there is an area by the sea front which had loads of shops and restaurants and bars

and was very busy. parking might be a problem but as that was not our destination we carried on with anticipation of visiting the Venice of Portugal.

Boy what a let down , the town centre is quite old with lots of road closure due to road works and so we were diverted here and there but there appears little to be like Venice. As we drove out of the town we came across an area where there were deserted warehouses and eventually the road ended with a small port where a local ferry service was apparently operating and so we sat there in the sun for about 25 minutes and talked about how to proceed. Parking in the town looked very difficult whilst Noel was having some issues down below and so we decided to return the the area we know  well and have lunch in the Irish restaurant. This time we travelled along the Motorway to Amancil which had much nicer views and could not believe that as we arrived in the very crowded car park that a car pulled out just where we wanted to be. You can be lucky sometimes.

We had a good lunch with Noel the fish and chips and Jennifer had the daily special of Celery and apple soup followed cod on a bed of creamy potato and onion and more like a pie, but very good she said. We then proceeded to the supermarket for a few things and found some English style Danish bacon, wow bacon sarnies tomorrow guys.  We got back to the apartment and in the early evening watched an English guy who apparently lives in Thailand starting out to complete the famous Maclehose trail in Hong Kong and it was his first experience on camping en-route and so had lots of hiccups. Its a very hard trip and took him four days in poor weather although part of the way thro it got so bad that his safety was at risk so spent the night in a hotel. But well worth the watch.

 

Later in the evening we had a video chat with our son and daughter in law. So a good day apart from Noel eating what was fatty yogurt which screwed up his system for the day, big mistake and not to be repeated as the effects carry on for a couple of days.

Anyway we plan a quiet day tomorrow and will work on our remaining travel plans to get back to Santander. Its always difficult the first time round but should we do this again we will know what to do.

Sort of a quiet day

We decided to have a quiet day in the apartment and spend some time planning our route back from Quinto De Largo back to Santander in Norther Spain as we require Hotels for seven nights between leaving the apartment and checking on to the ferry.

We decided some while ago that rather than rush over two days back to Santander we would take a country route and stay in some Hotels or Paradors as appropriate although we discovered that as we will be travelling during the Easter Holidays one Parador that had been recommended by a close friend which is on the North West Coast of Spain was about £ 350.00 per night which is a bit to much for a one night stay. So we spent several hours looking at routes and Hotels and have pretty much made up your minds which way to go and where to stay. You are often torn between having lots of one night stays of a reduced number of two night stays, most difficult to make a decision some times. Anyway we have booked a Hotel in Evora for two nights to get us going and also for one night in a place called Gijon which is just over the hours from Santander port as we thought it would be nicer to stay away from Santander as room prices were high.

Anyway with that roughly completed we spent the rest of the day reading and Noel doing his usual blogging etc. For lunch we had some Hamburgers from Costco which were very good along with mixed veg and mash, nothing like living the high life. Noel also spent some looking into the Broadoaks Security camera review to update residents before their meeting on Thursday evening. Tomorrow we will travel to a place called Tavira which has been described as the Venice of Portugal, should be interesting to see what it is like.

So that's it for today apart from the usual minor political comment that the US democrat supporters seem to have lost their minds…fun to watch

Earthquake in the Algarve

When reading the paper last night it was stated that at 0518 hrs Tuesday morning 25th March there was an earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale which apparently, thank heavens did little or no damage. It would appear that a small number of population did feel and notice but for us tucked up in bed, absolutely nothing.

Jennifer decided to do the washing today in a Hotpoint washer with not instructions and the machine has lots of knobs and buttons but somehow she overcame the challenges and everything seemed to go well. Today when writing this blog Noel downloaded the instructions for the next time its used, perhaps we should have done this the first time round. Apart from this excitement the day passed quite peacefully what with the sun shining on the balcony and although the temperature was on about 17C the sun was burning your skin if you were not to careful. Lunch was pent sitting on th balcony with Spanish Iberica ham together with French brie, nothing like being an international foodie.

For dinner in the evening we enjoyed cod with rice and prawns and broccoli washed down with the last remaining chardonnay and then an evening watching some TV. There are so many films on Netflix sometime you don't know where to start and so we ended up watching a fil we had seen before with Dustin Hofmann called the runaway jury with Gene Hackman RIP playing his part so well.  Following the film there was another recent Peter Santenello film about another area of Florida called St Augustine which we visited some years ago on one of USA trips.

 Its one of the oldest towns in the USA and steeped in history what with the Brits, Spanish and Portuguese all playing there part. Some of the building are quite beatiful and one building in earlier times had the largest indoor swimming pool ever but now in later years converted in to a restaurant. Well worth watching.

We have also been watching the fun and games re Elon Musk and the burning and damaging of Tesla cars, stupid people as they don't realise that the car records video of their actions so make it easier for the police to catch them. Also the release of some private chat and laughing at the Europeans has not gone down with the EU Government but it does rightly reflect the state of the EU. Also what with Mr Starmerarma offering to police the border between Russia and Ukraine with British troops is a bloody joke as we cannot stop a bunch of immigrants on a rubber dinghy arriving in Dover. So please tell me how the British troops will do this. U may need to bring back conscription for all cultures in the UK, that will send a lot of them packing.

Thats my moan for today

The sun is finally here

Woke up this morning with the sun beating thro the blinds although the temperature currently is still not back to normal but that will happen in next few days we understand. Noel as usual pursued some Broadoaks site work and also caught up with the previous day blogging and then to discuss our  plan for today. We decided that it would be nice to walk down the road to the Shack which we had visited briefly last week and so after also deciding to try to charge the car with the local EV connecter. Let me divert for a moment, although I have charged the car at home many times I have not had the opportunity or need to charge using the stand alone EV chargers.soe here is a bit of a history.

When receiving the car in November I downloaded a lot of apps offering connections, being an amateur and understanding little about the subject I connected with about six apps and so when trying to find where my local EV charger is here in Quinto De Largo 5 out of 6 said nearest was to far away and then as a last resort I tried the Octopus App, we use Octopus for home utilities , and it showed that there was one charger on the estate site where we are staying, wow.  So we located the EV charge unit and had a bit of a fiddle trying to understand Portuguese instructions but by playing with the app suddenly their was click and it all started working, brilliant.

So anyway after this we walked down the road and it took about 15 minutes, would have been faster without my slow walking pace, and although the car park by the restaurant was full the restaurant was not and so presume others were walking around the lake etc. We found a seat and had a most enjoyable lunch and it was like eating on a beach environment and something will do again later this week as its a good walk.

The car using this EV charging unit took longer than I thought at 4.5 hours so need to understand more about how this works as I did read something about its the cable being used slows down the charging speed.

In the evening Noel watched the England football game where it was almost the same formula as before, keeping the ball and sending back and forwards along the  centre line with very few real solid attempts. Recognising that the opposition being of lower standard and they focused on defence and so there was perhaps 30 or more shots at goal mostly from within  the penalty area and only out of two worked but the only one attempt from outside the area  was the free kick with a 100% accuracy so why do they keep trying to get the ball in the penalty area when you have a better chance from outside. I know I am not a football manager but some things to me are quite obvious.

Steak for dinner tonight

Well, the has finally sun has arrived after a week or grey clouds and lots of rain and although its not really warm, being in the sun is not bad and according to the weather forecast over the next week the temperature it will improve significantly. So did some more Broadoaks residents stuff and sent a few emails and what’s app message and of course updated this blog.

Jennifer enjoyed her reading and Noel followed up on the current news which is pretty awful. I am disturbed that whoever these idiots are in USA trying to kill Elon Musk business are not of sound mind and I wonder is they are all Democrats??? and if so they are a disgrace to their party. With judges trying to overall a president to people setting fire to Tesla cars its an appalling state of affairs this is not what a being a Democrat is all about. Hopefully the US Government will get a grip on these people as they did recently in the UK during riots in the North of England of children being stabbed by and illegal immigrant.

Anyway back to a different subject of dinner for this afternoon. On our recent visit to Costco Seville we picked up a pack of four USAD Sirloin Steaks which one was enough for the two of us. As usual with a new cooker and different frying pans there is always a risk that everything goes wrong but somehow all worked out well and the steak was excellent along with the salad. Being USA Sirloin it had a different taste to the UK sirloin but was tasty and and also nicely tender, perhaps in retrospect I should have taken a photo but will do so next time. We finished off the strawberries again left over from the Costco visit and boy were they good.

In the evening we watched the old film ‘Love Actually’ which is a highhearted story of love in different ways with some good performances and well with a second watch.

 And then it was time for bed,,,

 

Not much to report today

A quiet day today and enjoyed the rest and relaxation with a bit of reading and catching up with some Broadoaks Park Estate stuff. I have been involved in reviewing the security on site with both the local Police and also a Security Company with a good reputation suggested by another resident. There is rather a stupid security TV camera at the entrance of the Estate which is less thn useless and it needs to be changed. But not all people of the estate like the idea of change for reasons I cant explain. Oh well lets see.

Jennifer went for a swim in the pool today which she enjoyed as in the complex apart from the pool which is under cover and heated there is also a small gym, as Jacuzzi and of course changing rooms. Unfortunately it was one of my off days so could not go and hope all ok for tomorrow. Unfortunately my LARS symptoms does give me problems on a daily basis and it makes life very frustrating as when looking forward to swimming you cannot although I have special swimming gear but its nice if you have problem.

We watched a fil on Netflix in the evening and followed by one of Peter Santanello a US You Tuber who makes documentaries on people and their environment and this time it was people who lived in the least populated area of Florida which most interesting as un beknown to us some years ago en route to see friends on the Gulf Coast we actually went thro this area. There are still so many places to go and see and not so many years to go. The problem of travelling with most expensive Health/Travel insurance is an issue for us, its not good getting older.

Anyway hope to go swimming tomorrow.

More rain

Our plan was simple one today which was to go and so some light shopping at the local Mall but during the morning the rain was very bad and with very strong winds so we decided to forgo shopping at least for the moment.

Noel chased up some emails and talked to a couple of colleagues and in the meantime the rain had stopped and in a short time the roads were quite dry and so we headed off to the local mall. We had hoped that parking would be easy but it was packed again perhaps because it was lunchtime eith all th local workers flooding in to for lunch. Eventually after touring the car park we were lucky enough to spot someone leaving  and waited for them to go and finally we were parked and I still cannot belive it we were right next to the supermarket, in fact less than ten yards away.

The supermarket was very busy with people lining up for their takeaways etc and so we did the rest of the shopping and headed off home for a lunch of cheese and baguette sitting on the balcony as the rain was till holding off but it is not warm. In the afternoon we read and did iittle chares around the house. It was strange that late morning Jennifer asked I wonder when they come to service the room and it must have been less than two minutes later there was a knock on the door and two staff came in and changed the bedding and towels and a general clean up all round.

For dinner tonight we had some Costco salmon pieces with boiled rice with broccoli and some more wine, naughty before Noel started to watch the England vs Albania game. I was not convinced by the teams performance although they totally dominated the Albanian team but it was all to slow build up and the Albian defence new exactly where the next ball would be played and covered it. Gosh, If I was in charge I would give them all a kick up the backside  and move the ball a lot faster. We then watched plank of the week, one of our favourite programs and got infuriated when you hear that more than one million refugees are on benefits and to top it off you can cheat your way to n all expenses paid for car. The final straw was the speaker getting the taxpayer to cover the cost of his painted portrait to the cost of £ 50K. This bloody country has gone to the dogs, thanks to both current leading parties.

A day of recuperation

After a long but tiring but very nice day on Wednesday we decided to have a day of rest and take it easy for the day. Noel caught up with a couple of day with blogging which were missing plus some usual correspondence.

Jennifer was reading and so Noel started to read a book about the early days in Hong Kong which had been recommended and it starts off in the early 1800’s and is very details with the history of many of the original founders and their lifestyle and business. Hong Kong had a tortured start up with people of many nationalities and religion all working to one end , to make some money and survive. Marriage between European and Chinese/Asians was frowned upon and so many of the richer guys had private arrangements and in later years when leaving Hong Kong to retire to their country of origin would leave large dowries for their girlfriend whilst in some cases not at all.

We had plenty of the Costco purchased chicken left over from yesterday and so indulged in a nice chicken salad washed down with a glass of red plonk and then started to watch the some Tv before an early night. The weather so far has no been kind with lots of rain and strong winds which is due to still go on for a few more days. In Spain there are areas of of bad flooding and even around Seville which we visited earlier the week many rivers appeared to have burst their banks.

In the evening we went for a short walk around the area and the road name is dedicated to Ayrton Senna the famous F1 racing driver who died some years ago in a bad race accident. There was a memorial to him as apparently he used to live in Quinto De Largo the area in which are staying.

On a political note have watched the disgraceful attacks on Elon Musk, If you think the democrats could sink any lower than their efforts to stop Trump then you were wrong . Musk has given large amounts to charities which was praised at the time and now he is being accused of avoiding tax because of his charity payments. You cant win. In the meantime in the UK you have the labour party spending money like it is going out of fashion and spending fortunes on travel which surely cannot be necessary as they are appointed to run the Uk which they cannot so very well at all so far. The only light at the end of the tunnel is that they are closing down the Top Brass of the health service with is overladen with chiefs and not enough Indians , as they say.

Ah thats enough moaning for one night.

Yes we actually went to Costco

The nearest Costco to where we are currently staying is in Seville, Spain which is quite some distance from where we are staving, actually its 2.5 hours driving mostly on Motorway and over 200 kilometres each way but we were not deterred as we know the quality of Costco and it was a day out to see the countryside. So we left the apartment at about 0915 and headed for the motorway that runs from Portugal in to Spain and the quality of the road surface was up to and if not better than Surrey standards with really large potholes largely on the nearside lane which explains why so many cars were driving on the outside lane on an almost empty Motorway. Along the way there were road repair crews using a most ridiculous method by filling the holes with ready made tarmac in plastic bags leaving them a few minutes and then moving on the next one and in the meantime a large truck comes along and kicks out the recently laid tarmac, this sounds more like India not Spain.

We arrived at Costco and of course it a very large building and there were lost of cars in the car park but inside due to its size it was really easy to walk around. So we purchased a supply of steak, prawns, salmon etc along with some other stuff all of which we can take home should we not finish before leaving. Lunch was the usual hot dog with a coffee and then to head back home after filling up the car with fuel as they had a petrol station at this location but for some reason my UK Costco membership card did not work so as there was not an attendant I ended up paying the non membership price which was still considerably lower the motorway prices.

We arrived back at the apartment at around 1545 and emptied the car of our shopping followed by a well earned cup of tea and a little rest before having dinner comprising of Costco chicken and salad with a glass of wine and then followed by watching a Netflix series which got good postings called ‘Adolescents’ which we thought we would watch over wo nights but it grabbed your attention and we ended up binge watching all four episodes. I was hoping for a good ending but it did not turn out that way.

And so to bed and quiet day tomorrow

Lets take a look at Quinto Del Largo

It was mixed weather this morning and so we decided that we needed to do a little bit of shopping it would also be good to drive around the area to get an idea where we are. Well it became very obvious we are in a very expensive area of Amancil and with some really amazing houses and apartment blocks and the amount of new building taking place was most impressive. There are some really amazing houses which I guess run into the multi million pound mark and those with sea views would no doubt be more. There is an impressive amount of work for gardeners in this ear with huge garden after huge garden and with very little if no security which is very different to place in Spain.

We came across the lake beachside bar called the Shack which somebody we had met over dinner had recommended and it was quite busy although it was not particularly warm but it was within walking distance of the apartment we are staying in.

So before shopping time was moving on and it was near to 13.30 and so we thought lets go for lunch in the Irish Pub called the Cheeky Pup  but when we got to the Mall the parking was horrendous and everything seemed full and then we spotted one space and so snuck in there. In view of the parking issues we thought the Irish Bar would be packed but we were oh so wrong and we had a huge choice where to sit. Noel chose the Fish and Chips and Jennifer the daily special with was carrot soup with spinach, an unusual combination but it tasted great, followed by a massive plate of food containing Tempura made from John Dory fish, with rice and a salad and half a melon for desert and by which time Jen was full, no tea tonite then.

We did our shopping and then headed back to the apartment for a brief rest and then in the evening watched the last few episodes of the Netflix F1 series called ‘Drive to Survive’ which we enjoyed and then headed off to bed.

The rain in Spain falls mainly in The Algarve-it appears

First thing after getting up and having a cup of tea we set about unpacking all our bags and setting up connections for PC and mobile phones and also the the Bluetooth speaker on which we can play music.  This we completed by around 10 am and then had a light breakfast and now we had moved in, as they say. Well were both a little tired today and decided to hunker down in the apartment whilst it rained and blew strong winds outside, lets hope this does not last. With a breakfast of bagels and a quiet time reading and resting we passed the day until lunchtime when some ham and tomato sandwiches were enjoyed. The afternoon was spent with Noel catching up on some Blogging so as not to forget what we did for the past few days when travelling here. Later in the afternoon we both had a short zizz.

The apartment has been well looked after and very clean, including windows and everything and for Jen to compliment on this is something to behold.  We have discovered that the apartment TV although a little on the small side is connected to a SKY Box and so we will be able to watch football and also did a catchup on the the first F1 race of the season in Melbourne and we were able to watched the replay.

Not much more to report on this except I forgot to mention when on the boat travelling down to Santander we met a couple who had moved four years ago from Ripley to a small cottage just on the outskirts of Wiviliscombe . Well as I write this note the sun is shining and the estate looks quite nice and does not appear to be full up looking at the number of cars. We also briefly met a couple in the Pizza restaurant the other day who were in town doing jobs on their house before renting out in the summer when they said its a terrible place to be with too many cars and people.

Well that's it for the moment

On to our destination in Portugal, called Amantil

After breakfast we left the hotel in the rain, we had intended another walk but with heavy rain forecast we decided against it also neither of slept well so were a little on the slow side.

The SatNav gave us two options to get to Amantil and we chose what would turn out to be the best but also the slowest. When planning this trip months ago we decided that after our nights stop we should then go to Seville to do some food shopping at Costco only to discover later that they do not open on Sundays, blast!!

Anyway the route we had chosen took us up in to the mountains with very windy and poor road surface roads for several hours but with really beautiful scenery and so it was well worth the effort. During the first part of the journey we noticed what with all the steep uphill climbing the fuel gauge was going down a little to fast and we got a little  worried that may be we wont find a petrol station open on a Sunday but we need not have worried as we eventually came across a town with three open petrol stations.

Leaving Spain for Portugal with a time difference going back to UK time we joined the Motorway network in the direction of Faro and by this time it had started raining quite heavily but on joining the first motorway there was a sign pointing you off the road marked tourista which I took to mean for a tourist shop only I think it was designed to manage people who wish to drive on the Portuguese roads you need to have a pass to pay tolls and so thought Oh dear should I have gone in there but I di have a paid for pass anyway. A little later we stopped again for a brief pit stop and then noticed the overhead cameras to check cars for the Toll Pass and on the right there was signboard stating the amount to pay but no charge was shown, how odd, but I worried in case I had done something wrong. Later the following day I discovered that the Portuguese Government from the 1st January had taken quite a lot of Toll motorways out of the charging system and made them free including the one we had travelled on , relief…

We eventually arrived at our destination called Lakeside Country Club and checked in and it was wet when we unloaded the car and room electric had been switched off and was cold and so resolving this we had originally planned to have dinner at the on site restaurant only to find it was closed on Sunday night, damn. The receptionist told us of a shopping mall about two miles away which had a selection of restaurant’s and a supermarket and so after emptying the car we toddled off in the rain to find this place. The supermarket was small but quite comprehensive and so after deciding we could get our supplies here but that they don't close until 8 pm we found an Irish bar and had a beer and watched Newcastle beat Liverpool 

only the place was full of Brits and Irish and rather nosy. So we had also noticed and much quieter Pizza Join called Tony’s where Noel had a very tasty Margherita and Jennifer the chicken Palmisano 

which looked rather large which I did not think she would finish but she did. From there we headed back to the supermarket and spent 20 minutes building a supply to last a couple of days.

We got back to the apartment and discovered that the TV had alls the Sky Sport channels and many UK channels and so watched a couple of programs on BBC before going to bed, with the rain still pouring down.

We arrive in Santander

Its an early morning arrival at about 0700 local time and so they start playing music in all the cabins to wake you up at about 0545, ( really nice) . So we packed up our overnight bags and departed for the breakfast room and had to wait about an hour before they said we could return to the car. We had to wait nearly 45 minutes sitting in the car before we could drive off an then headed for immigration, which was quite quick, and then to customs where we were pulled aside and asked how much money (cash) do we have to which I answered about 450 Euros, he then disappeared with Noels passport and retuned with a form I had to sign as he kep on telling me its OK to sign, don't worry he said, but I did for a while.

We drove out of the Port which seems to be going thro some changes and it took about 10 minutes, it seemed like, to leave the Port and then in to and around the town of Santander where there were also lots of road works in place. After about an hour we started to climb and to the point we were beginning to get surrounded by snow capped mountains and with signs for skiing which we did not expect and the outside air temperature dropped to 2C and with the car warning us of expect ice patches.

WE headed South on the motorway and we had set ourselves a longish drive for the first day of about 6.5 hours plus stops but the roads were empty compared to UK roads. We stopped at a café/petrol station and filled up the car with fuel and purchased a sandwich for lunch of toasted ham and cheese which we sat and ate in the cafe.

With bladders empty and tummies full we continued to head South in the direction of Seville but as we got closer we turned off to the right and headed to our Hotel in a place called Zafra and it was one of the Parador Hotels of Spain. If you don't know Paradors are historic building of Convents, Monasteries , Castles etc which are to expensive for local towns to up keep and so the Spanish state will take them over and adapt them to Hotels , we have stayed in this chain on previous visits to Spain.

We checked in and were given a room, nay suite, on the 2nd floor it was quite large but an odd shape but was Ok for our purpose. After a brief rest we went for a walk around the old town which was quite busy and then decided a beer would go don well and so we found this little bar which was doing a roaring trade and enjoyed a couple of beers before heading back to the Hotel at around 1930. Dinner in the Hotel would not be until 2030 and so shortly before we made a trip to the bar to check it out and then on to the restaurant which was quite quiet.

 Noel had the fish after explaining his food restrictions and Jennifer had the venison which she enjoyed but most likely it had garlic in and what with a late dinner time, which we don't, we both found it difficult to sleep. Not such a long drive tomorrow.

Here we go again

We ll after being disappointed that we could not go to Florida due to very high Travel Insurance cost, once you get over 80 they charge you like a wounded bear, and so we decided to go to Portugal instead. So today was all about packing up the house and driving down to Portsmouth to connect with the Brittany Ferries ‘Santona’ newish ferry ship all the way down to Santander.

We finished packing up the house, took a little longer as the previous evening Jennifer hosted a few ladies from the Broadoaks Park Book club which entailed a few glasses of Prosecco and some foody bits and pieces. Nevertheless we finished up about midday an then had easy afternoon loading the final bits in to the car and heading off at around 19.00 hrs. The journey was easy with very little traffic and we arrived quite early at around 20.15 in plenty of time for the ferry leaving at 23.30. Finally at about 2245 we started to board and the car deck weas a spotless white as the ship was less than two years and part of the refurbishment of the Brittany Ferries fleet.

We made out way to the cabin which was fine and the ship was quiet and barely noticed any movement and so was  most conformable.  In the morning we went to the CC Club which is a premier space set aside for people who pay more and there we obtained breakfast of scrambled eggs nd bacon and there was sausages ( onion?) who knows so took is easy although the potatoes may have contained some onion which I discovered later. We sat there for a while after breakfast and watched to world go by and then back to the cabin for a rest of book reading before lunch. The food for lunchtime was limited as far as I was concerned although Jennifer had the Pork stew and rice which she said was fine, for me it was bread and cheese but the cheese was very good so no problems.

The back to the cabin and Jennifer went up to the open deck for a while whilst I as taking care of my body after the onions and then in the evening we went back for dinner and there was a curry and rice plus a vegetarian option and for me , well it was bread and cheese.

During the afternoon we had sailed quite close to the coast and thro some islands which I believe are the Isle Molene and we were quite close the coast at times. After dinner we went back to the cabin and with both of use reading , me a book on the establishment of Hong Kong and Jennifer The Covenant of Water.

And so to bed.