25th September 2007

Spain

I’m writing this entry on a ferry bound for Portsmouth. In a few hours, God willing, we’ll be back where we left off from just over 3 months ago. (Or just under 3 months for insurance purposes.)

The European adventure has come to an end.

Our last country was Spain. It’s impossible to cover such a vast country in the little time we had left. We couldn’t even get as far as the capital. However, what we did see just made us want to come back sometime for more. We began with 2 nights in Barcelona with our friend Mary-Clare. What an incredible city (and what great company). The undoubted highlight had to be the as yet unfinished basilica of Sagrada Familia with its fantastic facades and otherworldly spires. Almost as impressive was the entrance to the Guell Park, also designed by Gaudi.

Although we made much use of the Tourist Bus, Barcelona is definitely best explored on foot, especially in the Gothic Quarter and the obligatory stroll down Las Ramblas. An unforgettable place.

After dropping Mary Clare off at the airport we checked into a nearby campsite. It was friendly, well appointed and right by the beach. It was also right under the approach path for the airport and any hope of an idyllic few days at the beach were drowned out by constant engine roar. So we set off across Spain, stopping for a couple of nights near Pamplona where we managed to get caught up in a festival parade without even knowing what it was in aid of. Our final campsite may have lacked the airport noise but made up for it with general chaos. It was run with an iron fist by a sun dried Spanish dragon, who was part Vera Duckworth, part Sybil Fawlty. The result was a great bar but a comedy of misunderstandings, maintenance issues and very frightened staff members.

Our last night in Spain was in a luxurious but reasonably priced hotel in Bilbao. We would have loved to visit the Guggenheim but being Monday, it was closed. We should be used to this phenomenon by now. In Europe, you can’t buy anything on a Sunday or go anywhere on a Monday. So we settled for exploring what turned out to be a lovely, beautifully set out city. The following day we boarded a ferry. But that’s another story.