| Summer 1992
Tues. May 26th 1992 We weren't going to take any chances with missing the
flight to London so we arrived at JFK Airport (New York) 3 hours early only to find the
flight fully booked and Helen and I were stuck in separate rows - in the smoking section!
Fortunately we were able to swap. I smoked about 10 cigarettes that night but I wasn't
holding any of them. (The guy beside me was!) We survived however and arrived 6 hours and
10 minutes later at Heathrow where it was about 8:am. We saw wonderful green countryside
as we landed. Wed. May 27th. We were terribly overloaded with our packs despite our careful packing but we managed to make it to Victoria Station where we gladly dumped our bags for the day before immediately heading to the 'changing of the guard' at Buckingham Palace. After that we wandered through St. James Park up to Trafalgar Square then to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Palace Horse Guards before slowly making our way back to Oxford Circus where we met Jeremy and Anne at the Argyle Arms for a drink. Although we didn't know it then, we would end up spending a lot of time living with Jeremy and Anne and we used their house in Toddington as a base while we would go back and forth from England to Europe. With the number of people and hustle and bustle of the
city, I agreed with Jeremy when he compared it to New York without the homeless. For dinner I had my first of a real Bitter and Helen got to
try alcoholic cider. Thurs. May 28th We didn't wake till 12:30p.m. Helen said I snored. I don't
think so! We walked down to the village of Toddington - not "downtown" as we had
wrongly said. Toddington has 8 pubs and was once listed in the Guiness Book of Records for
the most pubs per capita. Apart from the pubs it also has a couple of Chinese/Fish &
Chip restaurants, and a few other shops but certainly no gridlock. Fri. May 29th. We headed to London again today in search of several van
dealers mentioned in a book we had bought with us which described traveling Europe in a
van. This would become our bible and very read it over and over again learning all would
could. Unfortunately the book wasn't always current. It took us a couple of hours before
we made it to our first van place - which wasn't there anymore - it had been liquidated a
year previously. We spent the next few hours calling several others and traveling all the
way from Hackney in East London to Ascot in the south west. We were nearly pressured into
buying a van quite a bit more expensive than we had planned but I decided to look around
instead. This was were we first met the man we referred to as scumbag. The stereotypical
used car salesman and high pressure van dealer. Sat. May 30th. Today we relaxed again, and researched possible van places.
In the evening we tried a couple of local pubs - the 'Sow and Pigs' and the 'Odd Fellows'.
That was followed up by my long awaited meal of fish and chips which were great covered in
vinegar and salt. Sun. May 31st. Today we started early despite my 'heavy head' from the
beer last night. We were van searching down around Heathrow and having about
as much luck as last time when we came across scumbag's garage. Just for the hell of it we
stopped and got to talking to a guy who happened to be waiting there to sell his van back
to scumbag. After a quick test drive I offered him 1750 pounds which he happily accepted.
We now had a new home - a red and white Volkswagen van (known as a kombi in Australia.) Mon. June 1st Our van is officially known as Vanessa - a name Anne
suggested over dinner last night. We joined AA (Automobile Association not Alcoholics
Anonymous) and got insurance through them also. After visiting AA we took a quick trip to the village of
Cambridge, famous for the big university up there. Much of the trip was spent getting used
to driving such a large car, having sold our tiny Dodge Colt before we left. It also took
me a little while to get used to driving a manual (stick shift) after driving an automatic
for a while. Of course I was also driving on the left hand side of the road too. Dinners was a wonderful roast beef dinner just like home. Tues. June 2nd. Registered the van in London before visiting St. Paul's. We
climbed all the way to the top, stopping at the 'whispering gallery' halfway up. Had a
'real' meat pie for lunch which was delicious. Our second touristy thing of the day was a
visit to the Tower of London which is actually more of a castle or a fortress than just a
tower. The Tower of London is home of the crown jewels, the Beef Eaters (in their red and
black outfits), and the site where a couple of Henry VIII's wives got the chop. Wed. June 3rd. Filled the van up with all the stuff we think we may need
to survive out on the road. Even found the meals called "Bean Feasts" that my
brother Andrew had raved about. Cornish Pastie for dinner. I am certainly getting lots of
old favorites to eat. Thur. June 4th Another visit to London. Today was a cultural stop at the
British Museum, and incredibly, I actually enjoyed the 2 ˝ hours we spent in the
Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek & Literature parts that we visited. We followed a tour
suggested in one of Helen's tour books and actually learned far more than I ever normally
do at a place like that. After fulfilling our cultural commitment for the day we ate
a filled baked potato in Covent Garden before going to see Harrod's famous food halls. Fri. June 5th It rained all day - did nothing worth writing about except
for a curry dinner at a Toddington Indian restaurant with A & J. The food was OK but
Helen didn't enjoy the after effects the following day (from me). I guess my body isn't
used to it. Sat. June 6th. Again, nothing much to write about. Visited a large
shopping center and a huge supermarket in a village called Milton Keynes to the north of
Toddington. Had dinner with Jeremy's best friend - Joff and Helen. Sun. June 7th. Drove to Dover to catch a 12:00pm ferry to Calais, France.
This is the real beginning of our adventure! No hassles from immigration at either end. In
fact the French didn't even look at my passport. Hope we don't get hassled when we leave. Our first experience with the frustrations of not knowing
the language occurred today. Spent about 2 hours searching for this stupid caravan park.
We finally arrived however and enjoyed cooking pasta for dinner. Yum. Actually, after such
a long trip anything would have tasted good I reckon. While we were lost we kept asking
people where the campground was. Everyone just kept saying "de la droight" (sp?)
- meaning 'To the right'. Mon. June 8th. Our first night in Vanessa last night - not the quietest
sleep we've ever had - spoilt by a big bunch of noisy German speaking people drinking wine
and being idiots till the wee hours. The camp ground here is a very communal affair -
actually crowded is a better word. It is however very close to Paris - being 15 minutes by
train (RER) and 10 by bus to get to the center of Paris. That in itself makes it a decent
spot to stay regardless of all else. Our first experience of toilets without seat - squat
and drops! Today we headed to Paris and bumbled by with the bus and
train connections. Fortunately the Metro is similar to the London Underground so we didn't
have too much trouble finding our way around. Paris is another huge city like London or
New York. Our visit today didn't really give us a great idea what the place is really like
as we were just near the main tourist attractions. Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe
- not in itself so exciting but a must see on any itinerary. We then zoomed to the top of
the Eiffel Tower which is a lot less interesting up close. It is still pretty cool to look
at from a little distance. Elevators (which go diagonally up the tower's legs) are
courtesy of Otis my old company. After a yummy sandwich on a baguette, our final stop was
Notre Dame Cathedral which I didn't think was as breathtaking inside as the Notre Dame in
Montreal but certainly a superb monument for its time - 1100 A.D I believe. Tues. June 9th. We will read our tour books more carefully next time as we
got a late start today and arrived at the Louvre museum to find it is closed on Tuesdays. Plan B was the Orsay Museum instead which contains more
modern paintings - stuff by people such as Monet, Degas, Van Gough & Renois. I'm not
surprised Van Gough never sold any paintings while he was alive - I am surprised his stuff
EVER became popular. He was obviously a bit of a sicko. Monet is pretty to look at - his
work - not him! Especially the garden scenes he painted at his Gueverny . Cezanne, Manet
& Gaugin didn't do anything for me. I'm sure my sister Jane would have loved this
museum, I remember she used to like Monet. After lunch we took a walk past Place de Concord - the site
of many guillotinings including Louis VXI and Marie Antoinette. Then we went up the Champs
Eleysee to the Arc de Triomphe. Finally we had something to eat - a crepe & something
with chicken in it from a little café somewhere in the Latin quarter. Wed. June 10th. Hels kicked me out of bed early today so that we could make
the most of the day. First stop, the Louvre - France's most famous art museum
and one of the best in the world. It's three most well know pieces are the "Venus de
Milo" - a classical Roman / Greek statue (of a woman with no arms), the "Winged
Victory", another famous statue, and the Mona Lisa. The whole museum has been changed
around since our guide book had been written so most of the rest of our time was spent
looking g for one painting or another. Following that, just for something completely different we
visited the sewers of Paris and watched all sorts of things float by and kept an eye out
for the odd sewer rat. Our final stop was the Church of Sacra Coeur and Monte Marte - once
famous for it's artists but now overrun with T-shirt, postcard and 2 minute sketch people
(and people that will cut your profile out of a piece of paper with a pair of scissors in
ONE minute.) Thur. Jun. 11th Today was the day for the palace at Versailles - the home
of Louis the VIX - a huge place with extravagant furnishings and equally impressive garden
in which Hels and I literally got lost today. Fri. Jun. 12th. Today I visited the Spanish Consulate while Hel's slept in
till late. Since I can't speak French or Spanish I had a little problem. Well, to cut a
long story short, I should get my visa on Monday which means staying here a couple of
extra days but if I understood correctly I can only get visas for 3 entries. Not 4 as I
had requested. This afternoon we visited a hypermarche - 'Euromarche', a
large supermarket which also sells t.vs, clothes etc. We stocked up on essentials like
Mars bars. Sat Jun. 13th. Today was one of those visits we occasionally have to do
just to say 'been there, done that'. We spent the day at Euro Disney, which to our
surprise and slight disappointment, was similar in almost every respect, to Disneyland and
Disneyworld in the U.S. The exceptions are that a number of the big attractions from the
U.S parks are missing - probably to be built in the future I suspect, and that many of the
announcements are in French and some rides names have been Europeanised. But why did they
have to put sugar instead of salt on the popcorn?!?!. The park only opened a couple of
months ago. This, plus the fact that it was a glorious sunny Saturday meant that the
crowds were enormous. 1.5 hours wait on one ride! Sun. Jun 14th. Today, probably our last full day in Paris, was spent doing
one thing Helen wanted to do & one thing I wanted to do. We started out at the
Pompadeau art museum - the contemporary art collection with surrealists, cubists and
abstract art. The most well known artists are Picasso (cubist) and Salvador Dali
(surrealist). Both Helen and I found it difficult to be serious about paintings with paint
splashes such as those by Pollock or paintings consisting wholly of holes in a piece of
canvas. The art museum was Helen's choice. The afternoon was taken
up with a stroll - more like a hike, through a huge flea market which stretched for miles.
Full of junk, jeans and T-shirts. The flea market was my choice. Mon. Jun 15th. After I collected my Spanish Visado we packed up Vanessa
and hit the road. Our final destination was going to be a town outside of Dinan in
Brittany. Our first stop was a huge medieval cathedral in Chartre a couple of hours S.W of
Paris. We couldn't do a tour so had to be content with buying a booklet and doing some
wandering. From there we continued in our original direction. By about 6:30pm my bum was
getting sore and since we didn't really know the location of the camp ground we were
heading to, I jumped at the opportunity to leave the main road when I saw a big 'Camping'
sign. We followed directions for miles and miles before arriving at a dinky little
campground on the front of somebody's house. The owners spoke no English but with Helen's
few words of French we were able to get by. I was relieved to be stopped. Tues. Jun 16th. We drove to Dinan in the morning. Dinan is a pretty, very
well maintained medieval village. We found a bank, post office and grocery store. Then as
it had been mentioned in Let's Go, we ate at a little crepery which was delicious. I had
Ouef (which I tried pronouncing as whiff??) (egg), jambon (ham) and fromage (cheese) crepe
and Helen had ham and cheese. All washed down with half a litre of cider. Once on the road again we drove to Mont St. Michel, a
monastery and village out on a little island which is pretty spectacular. When the tide is
low it is connected to the mainland but at high tide it becomes an island. Very unusual.
There were heaps of tourists there. We did a tour with this weird girl whose French jokes
didn't translate very well into English. We tossed a coin from there and headed SE to the Loire
Valley. We are now in a campground somewhere near Tours. Another clean but urban looking
place. At least the manager can speak English - uncommon in these parts! Wed. Jun. 17th From our campground in 'something sur something else',
after a delicious fried egg breakfast we continued on to Tours from where we headed to a
couple of the biggest chateau's. The first, 'Villany', has huge gardens. Can't tell you
what it's like inside as we got a bit screwed up with the tickets and couldn't get inside
without paying again. The second disappointment…um chateau we visited was 'Azey Le
Rideau'. No tours given in English - and not a very exciting place inside anyway. Our campground for the night is just near the chateau. Thur. June 18th I told Helen I would write this in my journal so here it is
- "My big accomplishment today was taking a piss in the
grounds of 2 chateau's - once at Usse and once at Cheverny". Usse is the chateau - so
the story goes, which inspired Sleeping Beauty. (The castle?) Up close it doesn't look
quite so magical. Cheverny is fairly plain to look at from the outside but pretty good
inside. The highlight of the day was seeing the hounds fed. Camping tonight near Cheverny. Fri. Jun. 19th. Our final chateau visit for now was at Chambord, supposedly
bigger than Versailles which is difficult to agree or disagree with as both are huge. The
coolest bit of Chambord was a dual stone staircase where two people can climb the
staircase simultaneously without ever meeting. The design for the staircase was done by
Leonardo Di Vinci. From there we took the long way to Dijon, the town famous
for it's mustard these days. Used to be the cultural capital of Europe - hard to believe
now. Satisfied my craving with a Royal Cheese Burger from Inn Burger. Camping tonight outside Dijon. Sat. Jun. 20th We did a self guided walking tour around Dijon to start the
day. Then, for lunch, we had a set menu from a restaurant which Peter Houlihan apparently
had a wonderful experience at when they were here some time ago. They hadn't given us the
name of the restaurant but the description seemed right for the place we went to. Upstairs
on a main square right near a fountain. Will send them a postcard and see if it's the same
place. From there we drove to Beaune, the middle of the Burgundy wine country. Had a disappointing visit at a wine museum but plan to experience more wine tomorrow. Camping tonight in Beaune. Sun. Jun. 21st. Today was declared a rest day but we didn't actually rest
much. Being in the Burgundy area we were determined to suck back
some wine. Accordingly, we visited a place called the 'Marche of Vins' where we paid a
cover charge & got to drink as much as we liked of whatever we wanted. 37 wine choices
in all - ranging from $10 - $70 a bottle. We bought a couple of cheapies for future use. In the evening we trotted off to see some bands playing in
the town center but eventually got bored and went home. Mon. Jun. 22nd A couple of disappointing visits today. First stop on the
way to Lyon was at a photography museum in Chalon where the inventor of the first camera
lived. They had a bunch of old cameras and some of the very first photos ever taken. Would
have been interesting if anything was in English. 2nd stop was at Cluny where one of the largest
abbeys ever built used to be. No English tours and quite an unexciting collection of
ruins. Camping tonight at Lyon - very ugly campground. Tues. 23rd June The only way I know the date these days is by looking at
the date in my journal yesterday. I must be on holiday or something. Today we did all that Lyon has to offer with the exception
of a nice restaurant as we were too late for lunch and Helen said she would be embarrassed
saying she ate McDonalds in Lyon. The old city and churches were dull but we did score
some nice expensive chocolate recommended in Lets Go as the best - 8 bits for 30 Francs
(about $6). From there we hit the road again and guess what. We are now
in Switzerland. No trouble at the border - didn't even look at our passports. Camping in a funny little 'back to basics' campground in
Geneva. Wed. June 24th. Today we spent a full day in Geneva sightseeing. It took us a while to find a parking spot. We have a bit of
a problem driving into large cities in that most paid parking garages have height
restrictions. Usually about 2 meters. Vanessa is about 6ft 9" or about 2 meters 5 cm
- bummer. Anyway - we found a park miles out of the center and
walked. First stop - a clock museum - one of those things that the Swiss are known for.
All in French but quite interesting just the same. After wandering through the old town
for a while we found a restaurant serving fondue - a traditional meal - just bread dipped
in a combination of cheeses. After lunch it was time for a walk - more like a hike as it
became, to the Red Cross museum. State of the art for museums. Lots of audio/visual and
very few static displays. Thurs. June 25th My birthday. Unbelievable - no birthday present from Hels!
After she expected a birthday present to magically appear on our honeymoon! I'll remember
this come Sept. 27th! We decided to leave Geneva after getting pissed off with
the stupid lunch hours. Most places close from 12 - 2.00pm or 12- 2:30pm for lunch.
Incredible as it may seem. We wanted to see the United Nations but decided to skip it and
began for Lausanne - not Lucerne as I keep saying. Visited a cool art museum full of stuff
from people in mental hospitals and other assorted eccentrics. (Muse de Brut.) Very
interesting and not too different from stuff you see in modern art museums. Next was another cathedral and another old town. Highlight
of that part of the day was buying 5 pairs of jocks for 10 Swiss francs ($8). They have
the words 'Rock is fun' on them. Headed out again towards Bern and stopped at a fairly
little town somewhere along the way and guess what we're now in the German speaking part
of Switzerland. Guten nacht! Fri. June 26th The prettiest part of our trip so far. Left our campsite
& headed to Bern which is a fairly well preserved old town full of new shops of little
interest. Checked out some bears which are Bern's symbol and also visited the house where
Albert Einstein developed his special theory of relativity. Hurriedly left Bern in the
middle of lunch as our parking ticket had expired and a parking officer was on his way
over. Arrived in Interlaken at the foot of some of Switzerland's
most scenic mountains. Camping tonight beside a lovely green river on the outskirts of
Interlaken. Sat. jun 27th. Today was perhaps the highlight of our trip so far. At the
suggestion (insistence) of Cathy Houlihan, who said we must, must, must visit Jung Frau
Joch despite it's cost, we did and it was terrific. A series of trains take you on an
incredible trip up - not around but up, and inside a mountain to the most spectacular peak
I've ever seen. We certainly would not have done it if Cathy had not raved about it as it
cost $80-$90 each for the 2.5 hour trip but it was certainly worth the money. At the peak
were some caves apparently carved out of ice, huskies pulling sleighs, and several spots
to walk out on the snow for breathtaking views and great Kodak moments. Sun Jun 28th. Today we decide to view the nearby lakes by boats. Near our
campground are 2 huge blue lakes - Thunenzee and Brienzee. We got a day pass and rode a
steamer out to some waterfalls. We climbed beside them for a while before hopping back on
the boat to head out to the other lake where we visited some caves which were huge but
being able to walk along carefully constructed paths and stairs took away some of the
excitement. Certainly not as thrilling as exploring by yourself. The tour was a little
cheezy too which didn't' help. On the way back we met a few Americans who were all heading
from different places, to different places. Mon. Jun 29th. Got an early start - early for us anyway, and bade farewell
to Interlaken. We headed in the general direction of Spain. Stopped at the U.N for a dull
tour of some ugly buildings. Had a good bookstore however and I did manage to score some
postcards and flag of Australia (for the van). Kept driving west and are preparing to camp - free camp on
a rest stop somewhere between Lyon and Ferrant something. Will let you know how it goes
tomorrow. Tues. Jun. 30th. Well, the freecamp was fine I guess. Initially, after first
arriving it was exciting. Then, as we were preparing to sleep it was a little scary. A few
trucks came and went but otherwise an uneventful night. We were woken by the cleaners at
about 7:00am who look on curiously as Helen went off to the toilets to rinse off and came
back with her towel in a turban on her head. Spent most of the day driving and ran into a couple of
farmer protests. They gave us a leaflet describing what they were protesting but it was
all written in French so we couldn't understand it. Spent an hour or two in total waiting
to get by the blockade. Quite funny actually. Helen hadn't had a shower for a few days so we opted for a
camp near some caves. Camping tonight in Lazee-Zee? Wed. July 1st. Visited some nearby prehistoric caves apparently inhabited
dating back 20,000 years. Rock paintings of bison and horses and mammoths. Prehistoric
man. The paintings seemed a little more realistic than aboriginal drawings. Next was some
more caves at Lascaux. This time a recreation of the actual thing - the real cave closed
in 1963 due to deterioration caused by humans. From there we drove towards Bordeaux and
stopped at St. Emilion to visit a pretty cool monastery carved out of one piece of rock. Camping tonight in a parking area off the road to Arachion
(out of Bordeaux). Thur. July 2nd Finished driving to Arachion and found this huge pile of sand called Dune de Pyle. This huge sand dune is apparently moving threateningly toward the town of Pyle. Despite that it was fun to run up and down. From there it was back in Vanessa and off to Lourdes which
we knew little about other than somebody had once claimed to see the virgin Mary a few
times. Well, we've wondered where all the Italian tourists go as we have seen very few and
we know why now. They go to Lourdes. Millions of pilgrims / tourists. Nuns buying
souvenirs just like everyone else. Incredible. We visited the church and left for the
night. Camping tonight at Lourdes. Frid. July 3rd. Wandered back to Lourdes. Found the grotto where the
visions had occurred and watched a mass going on there. After we had had all we could take
of the Italians we headed down and across the border, stopping long enough to have lunch
and pick up an American backpacker. We were heading to San Sebastian and as it turned out the
backpacker told us the Tour de France was to start there tomorrow. So here we are in San
Sebastian - Spain, camped by the beach watching a hot air balloon take off in front of us.
Cool. Sat July 4th. Woke late after a sleepless night - relatively sleepless.
Wandered around before going to bed. Chatted to a guy called Mark who we've camped beside.
Got to bed about 1:00am but were constantly woken up by cars and people coming and going
from a couple of discos nearby. About 9:am when we woke. Could finally hear the waves
nearby. The time trials for the Tour de France were on today.
Wandered about the course - people watching and enjoying the atmosphere. Saw a disturbing
sight of a dog with a cat in it's mouth but got over it well enough to eat lunch anyway.
Saw many of the competitors in the race including Greg Lemond (American) and the local
favorite Induran. Had a few beers at some pubs with Mark. Still in San Sebastian. Sun. July 5th We left San Sebastian early to avoid the Tour de France
which was threatening to trap us here. Drove to Pamplona and wandered around the old town
& into a parade of giant dolls. Then it was off to the freecamp on the outskirts of
town. We didn't know how to get there so we followed the first VW we saw. Before long we
had found the camp. Could miss it actually. When we counted there were about 110 vehicles
(not including the gypsies), 50 of which were kombi vans (mainly N.Z) just like ours!! It
was amazing to see. The rain was a bummer but at least we were able to sleep peacefully. Mon. July 6th. Drove back into Pamplona and saw the beginning of the party
- thousands of red and white Pamplonans dancing through the streets drinking champagne. So
that's exactly what we did too. Later we saw where all the Assisi and Kiwis had gone - a
square surrounded by bars where all the drunks climbed a fountain and dove into a blanket
of arms. We left the fools to their fun and drrank a bottle of sangria for our own
entertainment. Tues. July 7th We started the day by attempting to see the running of the
bulls. Unfortunately we were late and had difficulty getting even a glimpse of the action.
In the afternoon back at the freecamp we me two couples - Carol and Jason - two Americans
in a kombi which is definitely a first for us. The other couple is Stephanie and Jeremy,
Australians from Adelaide. We went into town in the evening to people watch. Saw a nasty
fight and someone pulled a knife. Wed. July 8th Got a really early start this morning. On the road at
5:30am to get a good spot. Sat on a fence and felt the excitement build as the time grew
near. Watched as a couple of Spanish guys tried to rob a drunk tourist of his wallet and
nearly ended up in the middle of it when I tried to warn the drunk guy. Fortunately, all
ended well as far as I know. Relaxed for the rest of the day & enjoyed the sunshine.
Mark finally showed up at the freecamp. Thurs. July 9th. The 7 of us - Carol, Jeremy, Jason, Stephanie, Mark, Helen
and I all got another early start to see the running of the bulls again from the stadium
but Mark and I decided to run. We waited at the starting line for an hour or so, shitting
ourselves and deciding the best way to tackle the run. We settled on just finding a
doorway on one of the straight sections and when the starting bell rang we hurried off to
a good spot on the course to await the bulls which are released a little way back from
where the people start. The first group of bulls whizzed past without a problem. At
that point Mark sprinted off and I followed constantly looking back for the second group
of bulls which we expected at any second. We both made it into the stadium/bull ring
before the second set of bulls arrived. Hels was pleased to see us make it in. After that excitement we rested for the afternoon before
venturing back in for our first bull fight. A very gruesome event especially as several of
the killings were not done very well and tended to be protracted. Fri. July 10th Packed up for the last time, said farewell to our new
friends and headed south towards Madrid on a very long boring road. Took a detour towards
Segovia and stopped by some tennis courts for the night. Camping tonight outside Segovia. Sat. July 11th. Arrived in Segovia in the heat and explored some of the
city's hills as well as the remains of a Roman aqueduct, a gothic cathedral and Alcazar -
a pretty impressive castle. Made tracks and thanks to an invaluable map from Mark, we
managed to find a campground outside Madrid. Camping tonight in Madrid. Sun. July 12th. Ventured into Madrid which was absolutely scorching hot. Spent several hours wandering around the Prado - one of
Europe's best art museums, with big collections of Goya, Greko and Rubens among others.
Also saw Picasso's controversial painting, Guernica - Picasso's statement against war -
particularly the Spanish Civil War. Since everything else was closed due to either it being
Sunday or because it was siesta time, we headed back to the shade of Vanessa. Mon. July 13th After finding the post office and collecting our first mail
from the American Express office, we scrapped our plans for visiting the palace and headed
instead for the zoo. Zoos are always fun even when the temperature is 100 degrees. We
managed to find an English book shop and picked up a second Spain/Portugal guide before
heading back to the van for a couple of cold beers. Tues. July 14th Today was one of those days you'd like to forget. Drove
from Madrid to El Escorial. The car was making a funny grinding noise in the front but I
had ignored it when we drove into Madrid. Couldn't really ignore it today. The car was
really hot all the way from Madrid and as we reached the town of El Escorial, Vanessa gave
up, stalling at some lights. We pulled over, had lunch and an argument before heading
off again to the Monastery. El Escorial, the monastery, didn't really impress us greatly.
A big place, but apart from a pretty good chapel and a neat marble 'corpse' room it wasn't
all that interesting and we learnt very little about the place. Headed off towards Salamanca in completely the wrong
direction. Vanessa overheated and stalled again and we had to find help. Fortunately a VW
place was just up the road - 800 meters. We managed to speak and point enough to make one
of the mechanics know what we wanted but as it was closing time we would have to wait till
tomorrow for a diagnosis. Found a beer garden and had a couple of long cold beers. Camping tonight outside Audi / Volvo dealer in El Escorial. Wed. July 15th. After a sleepless night due to the busy road and 24 hour
gas/service station across the road, we woke up in time to be finishing breakfast as the
mechanics began rolling up for work. Again, with the help of Helen's wonderful few words
of Spanish and a lot of scratching of heads we were able to make the head mechanic
understand the problem. We disappeared for a few hours and re-visited El Escorial
before returning to find our car fixed and waiting for us - boy what a relief - 27900
pesetas was the damage (about $US 280). As I had suspected, it was the bearings in one of
the wheels which was seizing up causing Vanessa to do extra work to get us moving. The
mechanics also replaced some worn break pads and adjusted the handbrake which he said only
works on one wheel as part of it is missing strangely. We were waiting for photos to be collected at 7:pm so to
fill in the day we visited a huge cross set high on a hill out of El Escorial which also
had a very large monastery set into the hill. Then we flaked out for the afternoon.
Finally, we went to collect the photos but found they won't be ready till tomorrow so we
decided to waste a day in Avila. Camping tonight in front of a monastery in Avila. Thurs. July 16th. Trotted off to Avila which has huge walls around the entire
old town. Checked out a cathedral and a church - built where St. Theresa was born. We were
going to scope out a convent where some saint supposedly had her premonitions but because
of siesta time and an unhelpful attendant we scrapped the whole idea. Drove back to
El-Escorial and were very relieved to finally get the photos. We couldn't wait to get out
of the place and stopped just long enough to fill the van with gas/petrol. BIG MISTAKE! What I hope was the lowlight of our trip occurred then. The
gas/petrol station was busy and since the unleaded was way up front and being used, I
decided to put half a tank of leaded in instead so I reached for the black pump which
seemed always to be leaded petrol. (I had remembered that the previous owner had said to
use half leaded and half unleaded for a good combination for the van.) Anyway, I didn't
make sure that what I was filling Vanessa up with was actually leaded and it wasn't! 200
meters down the road, huge plumes of white smoke poured out of the engine. I immediately suspected either bad petrol or a gas rating
too high. I walked back to the pump and checked it out - "Gasolea" - meaning
diesel!!! We sacrificed our water pump and pumped it all out then filled with Sin Plombo -
unleaded and crossed our fingers but no good. We camped this night in front of what we think was a milk
factory but we really weren't sure. Lots of people people wearing white coats and hats
kept peering at us from the factory. We were only 50 meters from the VW mechanics that we
visited before. The worst part was the embarrassment. EEEEK. Frid. July 17th Got up the courage to face the mechanics again who were
very good about it. Were towed to the garage and waited with baited breath for hours to
find out what we had done. They replaced the spark plugs and despite the white smoke which
remained we shuddered away from the place we call EL ES-SCREW-IT-ALL. Camping tonight in a campground in Salamanca. P.S Vanessa was very very hot although the engine stopped
pinging once I added some leaded petrol later that day. Her temperature reach 140 degrees
before we stopped. I hope that is a record. Sat. July 18th Checked out Salamanca but not before a pit stop at the
local VW mechanic where we had the oil changed first. I had checked out the dipstick
before heading off and couldn't quite figure out what I was seeing - oil or something all
the way up the dipstick just about. Not sure what it was. Salamanca supposedly has the best square in Spain but we
weren't impressed. The cathedral was so-so and we ended up skipping the university which
the town is famous for. Left for Portugal and have nearly made it to Aviero. Camping tonight in a parking stop 30km from Averio. Sun. July 19th First, before I forget, I couldn't believe my eyes when we
arrived in Portugal, gum trees everywhere. Very strange. Checked out Averio which has the
reputation of being Portugal's answer to Venice with it's canals. I hope Venice is better!
Took the coast road to Coimbra to see some ruins which were closed and a miniature world
then drove to an extremely popular beach resort called Nazare which was packed with
people. We had dinner just waiting for the traffic to clear. Camping tonight in a parking area by the beach with 2 dozen
other camper vans - big ones. Mon. July 20th Scoped out a pretty cool beach at Nazare but left before
the crowds arrived. Drover to Fatima, the scene like Lourdes, of an apparition of the
Virgin Mary witnessed by some girls. Not as packed as Lourdes. Then we went to Tomar to
see a castle and monastery. Left Tomar and headed to Lisbon in search of a campground but
when no 'Campismos' appeared we took a side road and ended up in a tiny village called
Virtue where a sheep herder appeared and herded his sheep around our van - very cool. We picked a freecamp beside a field and a railway line
which was scenic but spoiled by millions of mozzies and a few loud trains. The sheep
herder came back in the morning. All the sheep had bells around their necks and we could
hear them coming down the road. The herd came all around the van and we could feel it
shake as the sheep pushed past us. Tues. July 22nd Left our funny little freecamp and drove to Lisbon. As soon
as we jumped out of our car people offered to sell us drugs which we declined. Saw St.
George Castle and the Coach Museum which was unusual. Then headed out, deciding that 6
hours was plenty of time for Lisbon. Drove to Sintra to find a campground and ended up in
the ugliest campground yet. Somewhere near the beach and Sintra. Wed. July 23rd. Left Sintra and drove back through Lisbon and inland a bit
to Evora. On the way we stopped to have lunch and couldn't believe what we saw when we
pulled over out in the middle of nowhere. A roadside prostitute doing great business too
by the look of it. Saw a young nerdy guy come and go very quickly! We wondered why all the
truck drivers were flashing their lights at us. Evora is supposed to be the best town in Portugal - the
prettiest that is. Once again, it didn't see that great. It did have a very cool church
with the 'Chapel of Bones' - made with the bones of 5000 nuns and monks. Even had a
rotting body hanging from a wall - gruesome. Camping tonight in a campground in Evora. Thurs. July 24th. Went back into Evora in the morning. Checked out the Temple
of Diana and the local museum. Then back into the van and straight to Lagos except for a
quick lunch break near a beach at Vila Nova de Milfontes. Arrived in Lagos along with
probably a dozen other vans from OZ or N.Z which were also freecamping. Camping tonight on a cliff at Lagos. Fri. July 25th. Spent the day on the beach near Lagos. Was delighted to
discover that going topless was the norm so I had plenty to look at while I read my book.
Today was an official rest day. Camping tonight on a different cliff near Lagos. Sat. July 26th. Drove to Seville, Spain and waved goodbye to Portugal. Found a temporary Campara set up for the Expo 92 with a big swimming pool but lots of flies and mosquitoes. Watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics on a small black and white T.V. Camping tonight in a campground near Seville. Sun. July 27th. Spent the entire day at Expo 92. Had a fun day visiting
pavilions from all over the place including Canada, Morocco, Egypt, China, Japan, Saudi
Arabia, USA and of course Australia. Was very similar in operation to the Brisbane Expo
that I visited some years before. We didn't see half or even a quarter of the stuff there.
Did watch some bungee jumping late in the evening. Had dinner in the van and went back later in the evening
for more entertainment. Helen got her long awaited burrito from a Tex Mex store. We were
going to camp in the parking lot but read some fine print on the ticket at the last minute
and changed our minds. Drove out of Seville and found a quiet residential street
in which we camped the night. Mon. July 28th. Woke as early as we could and went to the Amex office where
Helen finally received the letter she had wanted from her mum. Drove to Algeceras which is
a dump but is where we catch a ferry to Tangiers, Morocco. Camped the night in a
campground there. Tues. July 29th Left Vanessa in a multistory carpark and got a hydrofoil to
Tangiers. Although I was expecting them, we were quite scared as we left the boat, by the
number of 'unofficial guides' or hustlers which approached us with offers to show us
around the city. They directed (attempted to) in all different directions although
fortunately we were able to find the train station by ourselves. Much to our
disappointment the train did not leave till late in the afternoon, forcing us to spend a
day in Tangiers which we definitely did not want to do. Given the problems with the
hustlers, we headed to the taxis and got one to the tourist office. This was our first rip
off. Having agree to 4 dirhams, the driver asked for 40 when we arrived - fortunately 40
dirhams is only $5. We hired an official guide who showed us the sights before
taking us to a rug shop where we got mint tea and a high pressure sales spiel. Much to my
surprise we ended up buying a rug. Our most expensive souvenir yet - $200 for a medium
sized Persian rug. We left the store in shock that we'd actually bought one and continued
around the medina - the main market area of the old town, full of merchants - fruit,
vegetables, meat and spices. Then we experiences a traditional Moroccan meal and were
ripped off a second time (or 3rd if you include the rug purchase). Our guide
ordered for us and we quite enjoyed the meal until the bill came. We paid ten times what
the meal should have cost - our own fault for not being vigilant. Our guide certainly did
well on the commissions. We returned to the train station to wait for our train -
cowering near the other backpackers for comfort to avoid all the other hustlers. While we
waited for the train we met Sam, a French student, originally from Morocco who could speak
Arabic, and Duncan, a young solo traveler from England who had just bought 2 things he
really didn't want. (In the same way that we had bought the rug.) Duncan lost his Eurail
Pass in the made rush to get on the train but got it back thanks to Sam who had a few
words to the train conductor when he came by. We arrived at Meknes long after dark and were pleased to
tag along with some French students who helped us find cheap accommodations - $12 (100
dihram) for a double and a single bed in one room which we shared with Duncan. Wed. July 30th. Despite the horrors of Tangiers, we set out to explore
Meknes which was far more pleasant experience than Tangiers. We stumbled on to most of the
sights we were looking for despite the complete absence of signs - the tomb of Ishamil,
the only mosque open to visitors, the Christian dungeons and fortress, as well as a
pleasant stroll through the medina. We had breakfast - 3 coffees and 6 pastries all for less
than $3 and dinner was a quarter chicken, chips, bread, 2 drinks each, watermelon and
yogurt, all for less than $3.50 each. Another night at our hotel in Meknes. Thurs. 31st July. Caught the 8:00am train to Tangier, changing at Sidi Sliman
and caught the ferry back to Algeceras. Arrived in Algeceras at 8:00pm. As we drove out of
town we picked up Tim and Costa, 2 Canadian guys from Toronto who were hitch hiking. Camping tonight by a beach near the rock of Gibraltar. Fri. Aug. 1st. Drove into Gibraltar and took the cable car to the top for
a cool view of the rock. Checked out some caves and wild monkeys on the way back down. Had
fish and chips in town and bought a cheap paperback in a English bookstore. Gibraltar is
incredible - in that it is just like a little piece of England transplanted to the bottom
of Spain. Drove out to Rhonda for a view of the chasm which was not
quite as good as I expected. Continued on and found a camp near some ruins on the way to
Grenada. Sat. Aug. 2nd. Drove to Grenada and checked out the Alhambra Palace which,
unfortunately, was also less than I expected especially after seeing similar architecture
in Morocco. Drove out on our way to Murcia and found a camp near some
ruins in an almond plantation. Sun. Aug. 3rd. Drove towards Valencia and stopped at a campground next to
a beach somewhere on the Costa Blanca. Mon. Aug. 4th. Continued towards Valencia, stopping along the way to have
lunch and a swim with an Australian kombi couple who we met in the middle of a traffic jam
- Pete and Melissa. Bought a back of Valencia oranges (when in Valencia, what
else would you buy?!) - good oranges - $4 for a big bag. The only thing we wanted to see
in Valencia was a church which may or may not have the Holy Grail - the cup Christ
supposedly drank out of in the last supper. The nuns at the church deny the cup they have
is the one but it looks old enough to be genuine. Continued towards Barcelona and decided to free camp near a
beach - running into 3 OZ/N.Z vans in the same tin pot little town - quite a surprise. Spent the evening playing beer drinking games and learning
the international laws of drinking games - not allowed to use a person's name or point or
use the 'F' word - all offenses requiring consumption - not allowed to say drink either! The Canadians and members of the other vans were still
being noisy at 5:00am. Tues. Aug 5th. Dragged the Canadians out of bed and on the road to
Barcelona and the Olympic Games. Decided to do a campground rather than chance a freecamp in
the city. Found a very nice but expensive campground near the airport. Were very pleased
when our Canadian companions decided to leave and do a freecamp. After 5 days we were
beginning to hate them. They were not very considerate people to have with us. A couple of
days was good - after 5 days we were ready to kill. Wed. Aug. 6th. Got tickets from a scalper for a the quarter finals of the
men's volleyball - Italy vrs Holland and Cuba vrs Spain. Checked out some houses designed by a famous architect -
Gaudi. Very unusual - also saw a weird church by him. Freecamping near a beach outside Barcelona. Vanessa was
stalling constantly so we decided to take her to a mechanico first thing in the morning. Thurs. Aug. 7th. Spent an extremely frustrating day visiting mechanics at 6
V.W places. Each one said too busy, haven't got the parts or other stuff we couldn't
understand. Spat the dummy and went to the Picasso museum instead. Quite a collection
including lots of stuff from when he was quite young - in school. Decided to stay in the
city and try a mechanic again first thing. Camping tonight in a quiet street near a hospital. Fri. Aug. 8th. Drove Vanessa to car hospital - a VW mechanic who agreed to
take a look for us - when we acted desperate. Wandered off near the stadium and scored cheap tickets for
the athletics - watched some 4 X 100 relay heats and Javlin and the end of the 50km walk. Got back to the mechanic to find Vanessa fixed!!! Yippee.
Just a loose connection in the carburetor. Drove out of Barcelona immediately to avoid a
repeat of El Escorial. Arrived in Andorra - a new country. Camping tonight in a small town in Andorra. Sat. 8th Aug. Today we did what everybody else does in Andorra - we
shopped. Bought a few groceries and cheap beer. Alcohol, petrol and cigarettes seem to be
the best buys. Certainly the cheapest petrol we have come across. Left Andorra and met some wild - or free horses on the way
out and ran into a long wait at customs. Drove out and spent the night near a port in a small town
near Perpingon in the south of France. Sun. 9th. Aug. Headed north and aimed for as many miles as possible.
Stopped at a place called Pont Du Guard to check out the remnants - actually a very well
preserved piece of a Roman aqueduct - like the one in Segovia. Kept driving and found a
freecamp on the banks of the Rhone river just south of Lyon. Mon. 10th Aug. Headed out again, towards Reims where a horrible thing
happened - the oil light came on. I stopped immediately and it was obvious that the oil
leak we had been ignoring for a few days was more serious that I had wanted to believe. We
let her cool down and filled up with oil - returning to a nearby town. Camping tonight in a campground near Chaimont. P.S A great piece of fish and hollandaise sauce for dinner! Tues. 11th Aug. A virtual repeat of Barcelona. Visited 3 mechanics on the
way to Reims - Champagne country. Each mechanic except the last said it was a gasket
except the last who said it was a bad engine and nobody wanted to fix it. Will continue
adding oil and see what happens. Camping tonight in Reims camping ground. Wed. 12th of Aug. Decided to forget the car and concentrate instead on the
local wineries. Did free tours around the Pomery winery in Reims then the Moet &
Chandon winery in Eppernay. Both very interesting tours. We bought a bottle of champagne
to be opened on our first anniversary next month. Camping tonight in a campground in Reims.
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