Month: February 2023

So the return ferry was actually booked for Thursday 16th due to set sail at 8:15pm and dock at 7:15am Friday 17th UK time BUT – as there are currently strikes – we received a message from Brittany Ferries on Wednesday afternoon advising that the ferry had been pushed back to 9:30am today (Friday 17th) – docking at 5:20pm – which makes it a really late finish to the day – as we have to drive from Portsmouth to Southampton to catch the ferry as Dave booked the wrong one 😐.  So we’ve decided to sleep in The Van for another night – in the car park adjacent to Pink Beach when we finally get back – gone 9pm tonight…

Summary – well I actually REALLY didn’t want to even come away on this trip – for all kinds of reasons – BUT I have been pleasantly surprised (and at times delighted) and have ended up having had a really good time.  We were talking about it last night in the bar – and we both have…

It may not be a dead-cert annual event – but it will definitely be repeated in the not-too-distant future…

So now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and prepare for the 2023 season – 5 weeks and counting…

So Adios 🇪🇸 y 🇫🇷 Au Revoir Mes Amis for now 👋😘❤️ xxx

We have a group of bikers who book all of Pink Beach for a weekend every September and their leader had just put a message out to them about this year’s trip so I took a dozen or so calls & texts whilst wandering around St Malo on the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday (for me) (as it was cloudy & dull) ended up being an admin 💻 day popping their bookings into the system, contacting them re ferries, taking payments, booking ferries ⛴️, etc.  Dave cycled 🚲 into town to get some supplies & said there was a little bar…

So later I showered & got ready and we took a little walk into the village centre – the bar was cool – it was multi-purpose and also sold magazines & tobacco.  We were there for a couple of hours and it was the meeting point for all the locals.  They all seemed to know each other and were really friendly…

I had some (not very tasty) leftover liver pate from a couple of days ago so I Googled what I could do with it then made some pasta !!!  Onion, garlic, pate, celery, mustard, pasta and sherry !!!  And served it with the fresh bread 🥖 that Dave had been out to buy earlier in the day – and (although it may sound weird) – it was scrummy !!! (if a little rich…)

We knew we had an early start so I set the alarm ⏰ for 6:50am (which is actually 5:50am UK-time and WHAT kind of a time is THAT ???), Dave went to sleep and I watched Wednesday’s Coro (well most of it… I also fell asleep… 😴)

Twinkly lights & candles adorned the place, it was all very up-market, our waitress had excellent English, was very attentive and took our order.  She then delivered a bottle of Muscadet along with some complimentary little biscuit things (which looked like mini Yorkshire puddings) with tuna pate accompaniment (which we had in St Malo in 2017 because I just looked it up on The Blog !!!)

Dave had entrecôte 🥩 with a sauce, salad & fries but I wanted my poached egg on top of a chicken salad – which I got – & it was PHENOMENAL !!!  THE best (warm !!!) chicken salad 🍳🍗🥗 I have EVER had – with the runny egg and warm potatoes & tomatoes, lovely lettuce leaves, etc. served with gorgeous fresh bread & their speciality butter.  YUM 😋 !!!

We then strolled the 5 minutes back to the bus stop (a little the worse for wear) and caught the bus 🚌 back where I then whooped Dave at two games of Rummikub 1️⃣ (just before he fell asleep 😴)

There were lots of families, children & well just loads of people in general – and I commented to Dave that it seemed strange to me – for a (albeit sunny) Wednesday afternoon in February – that it was SO busy…

We found our answer a little later on entering a bar on side street, when I made a new French (Ukraine mum & French dad) bessie and discovered that it was a French Bank Holiday !!!

The bar was fab – dollies of all kinds covered every wall & crevice and there were four REAL swings (balançoire – I like to learn a new word !!!) hanging from the ceiling as seats at the bar – so we sat on two of them (see photie below !!!).  

It wasn’t cheap – €10 for a large beer and €5 for a medium-sized vin blanc… but when this lady (Catty) sitting close by said “Sante” to me, we struck up a conversation.  She had no English so I practiced my (very rusty) A’Level French on her and Jerome (the barman) interjected now & again to clarify things…

Two drinks later plus the swapping of mobile numbers with Catty promising to come & visit us at Pink Beach (!!!) we had another little wander around the shops then decided to have dinner in the main square at Le Lion D’Or (The Golden Lion) and O M G it was amazing…

The final leg to St Malo was only an hour and a half (with no tolls !!!) and we had identified a lovely little aire “Les Ilots” which was right by the beach, a 5 minute walk to the village centre & with a bus into St Malo right outside.

We were there by midday, popped the kettle on, had a late brekky then caught the 1:15pm bus into St Malo old town.  We bought a little card with 2 adult returns – for the bargain price of 6 euros !!!  So €1.5 for a 37 minute journey – bargain !!!  It was gorgeously sunny and warm and we spent the afternoon strolling around the city walls then around the familiar streets popping into the odd tat-shop…

We went into Saint Vincent Cathedral and it’s the first time (this entire 6 weeks I think) where there were REAL candles to light (as opposed to “put in your euros and we will set going a cheap, nasty, orange flickering electric light in a candle holder”…)

There was also a full-on fun fair just in front of the harbour and (as we are now a couple of oldies) we both agreed that we felt ill just looking at some of the rides (Dave watched one particular ride intently convinced somebody would “up-chuck” at the end and was most disappointed when nobody did !!!)

So after all the kerfuffle with the Péages on Monday (and taking the much longer no-tolls route) Dave decided we’d suck it up and do the next leg via the quickest, most direct route – which we’d earmarked as an aire du camping car in Nozay – just north of Nantes (see map)…

So we came across the Péage, took a ticket & when we got off (many miles later) – the dirty, thieving French b@st@rds charged us €39 !!!

Anyway – new me – adopt a “Let It Go” attitude…

So the aire was next to a lake and there was only one other Motorhome in the whole place… Nothing of any consequence to report other than dinner, alcohol, music & a Rummikub marathon !!!

So – as ever – Dave was itching to get on the road – so we bid a fond farewell to Donostia-San Sebastian before 10am and initially popped Bordeaux into the SavNav.

We were only 25km from the border and crossed into France at 10:10am. We hadn’t been travelling for very long when we came to a Péage (toll booth) requesting €2.90, so I bibbed the contactless point with the credit card, the barrier went up and we continued on our way…

Not very long after this, we came to another Péage – I didn’t notice how much for – I just grabbed the credit card, bibbed the contactless point again, the barrier went up and off we went…

Seemingly in no time at all, we came to ANOTHER Péage this time requesting €6.90, so (chuntering a bit about the theiving, dirty French… 🤬) I bibbed the contactless point with the credit card AGAIN & the barrier went up, etc.

I kid you not – within a few kilometres we then came to a FOURTH damn Péage this time requesting €3.90, so (not having a lot of choice) I HAD to bib the contactless point with the credit card ONCE MORE & the barrier went up, etc.

And by this time we were only just past the little sign below on the first piccie of the map – where it says “3 hr, 18 min Tolls” so THAT WAS IT !!! 😡

I asked Google Maps how many more Péages were coming up before Bordeaux and there was another one imminently and another in about 40km (ish)… So Dave pulled off just before the next Péage as he said there had been a road running alongside the motorway the whole time we’d been travelling and we’d go on that instead…

It was slower (obviously) as the parallel road went through all these pretty little towns & villages and there were roundabouts, etc. but Dave said it was more interesting than the motorways…

Once in France, we noticed that the fuel seemed quite a lot more expensive (anything up to €2.18 a litre) so when we came upon a Super U fuel station at €1.70, we filled up and nipped into the hypermarket…

€250 later – between the fuel & the hypermarket… 😐 (where Dave bought ANOTHER 15 metre “Magic Hose” for €20 – like the €12 one from Benidorm market but he says this one actually IS 15 metres… blue job… whatever 😐)

Anyway – the point is – see how much we SAVED 💰 by NOT going on the Péage roads 😂😂😂

As we’re pretty much on the home stretch now – and past sightseeing – so we decided to press on a little further north of Bordeaux to a place called Mirambeau. When we were almost at our destination, Google Maps took us down this single track set of roads with ditches at the sides and blind bends and this bleedin’ juggernaut 🚛 came out of nowhere – legging it down the hill towards us and (very kindly) went onto the grass at the side in case we collided. I was already a nervous wreck telling Dave to “slow down” and “bend coming up” but the lorry incident just finished me off 😳

Anyway we arrived at an “aire” which used to be a campsite so it was really lovely – with grass & hedges & individual pitches – and water & electric included – for the bargain price of €8 for 24 hours – result !

It WAS about 4:30pm by then – and Dave was tired but he plugged in the leccy whilst I assembled fresh bread, butter, pate, cheese, crisps & pickles with a cup of tea & coffee.

THEN – as I now addicted & needed a “fix” as we hadn’t played for 2 days (!!!) – we popped on 🎵 da tunes 🎵, poured a couple of glasses of vino and got out the Rummikub !!!

3 games later and I was the winner of the match 🏆 🥳 !!!

Then Dave went to bed and I did the blog – everyone says to be happy you have to find your passion – well I’ve decided that Rummikub 1️⃣ and writing ✍️ are my passions and make me happy 😊

So AFTER Dave & I had attended Mass, we decided to get our steps up and walk up Monte Urgull (where the Jesus Sacred Heart statue looks over the city…). 

When we left the campsite before 11am (in the shade) it was “pretty fresh 🥶” so I put on layers (as I have learned to do this holiday) and I needed them as we cycled into town… But after Mass it was early afternoon – and WARM 🥵 – so quite soon – as we started our venture up the hillside – we were taking off our layers…

See the piccies below taken from viewpoints at various points on the journey – the one where I’m smiling in the red jumper – with the beach in background – I was BOILING 🥵 and wished I was in my bikini…

At the top was Jesus ✝️ (well his statue anyway) so I had a piccie taken with him 😊

AND (also at the top) there was a castle which housed a museum (which was supposedly OPEN) but which wasn’t – but luckily we weren’t that upset 😐.  There were a few original canons and Dave told me to straddle one “QUICK BEFORE SOMEBODY COMES” – which I did – but the photo after is one of the bars they would have put me behind if they had caught me !!! 😂 

Then we made the descent down into the “old town” and we were only going to get a coffee – and a tea for me –  in the sunshine 😎 but  everywhere was really busy so (especially as I needed a wee 🚾) we went inside a bar…  And it had pintxos – as most of the bars in Donostia-San Sebastian do… (and as had the previous few places we had visited – Burgos, Caseres, etc.). 

In my mind, I interchanged the word “Tapas” with “Pintxos” BUT…

Tapas is normally just a smaller sized portion of a main dish, served in a plate, which you eat with cutlery (and see previous piccies of meatballs, Russian salad, pigs’ cheeks, chorizo, etc.) whereas…

Pintxos is normally served on a piece of bread, served usually with a cocktail stick which you can eat in one or two bites.. (see piccies below).

And I ordered Dave a “cafe con leche” but they only had RED or GREEN tea so I ordered a Tinto De Verano (half red wine & half Lemon Fanta in this place) plus we had a few pintxos…

Then (as they had no Jerez) Dave opted for a Martini Rosso – so I had another Tinto De Verano – and we had a few more pintxos…

Then we had ANOTHER Martini Rosso and ANOTHER Tinto De Verano and one last pintxos…

Then we cycled back to The Van, had a little rest, made some dinner & watched a romcom rather than a “TRILLER” (as my Irish 🇮🇪 mother called them & loved watching) – for a change ❤️ (“Your Place Or Mine” – Reese Witherspoon & Ashton Kutcher – a bit lame (as my sister would say) but watchable…)

Accompanied with a cup of tea ☕️ & some Milka 🍫 – perfect end to the day 😊

God and I have had a complicated relationship since we moved to Pink Beach 🏝️ and (after being so devout during lockdown) I can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times I’ve been to Mass ✝️ on a Sunday since moving to the Isle of Wight…

However – on the way out of the Basilica of Santa Maria 💒 on Saturday afternoon, I asked the ticket lady what time Mass was on the Sunday and she said 11:30am. I gave My Dave the option NOT to go (and go & get a coffee etc. which he had done in the past) but WE got up, cycled 🚲 into town, locked up the bikes and WE were sitting inside on the third to front pew at 11:15am…

I’d like to say it was a wonderful, life changing experience 💥 but it wasn’t 😐 

There was nice music (from a speaker system) playing as we walked in (as there had been the day before) but the (pretty massive) church was empty bar one of two very old ladies…  About 11:25am, an old man in a jumper came out from the back to light the candles on the altar.  Just after then a nice looking lady (a bit older than me) came out to place the bible – at the right page – on the lectern.  At 11:30am, the bell 🔔 ding’d (???), we all stood up and the old man in the jumper who had lit the candles came out from the side of the altar dressed as a priest with the nice lady (& I think her hubby) – just in their ordinary anoraks – and they bowed in front of the altar and then took a seat at the side.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Back “at home” (in Yate) – as far as I am aware – Father Jim still has altar servers who dress in white robes (Holly used to be an altar server ❤️) and they ALL bother to WALK UP THE AISLE (i.e between the pews – the whole length of the church) whilst the congregation (no matter how few turn up) 🎵 sing 🎵 a hymn – without music…

Even though – as we walked in –  I looked for hymn books / any form of documentation (as previously abroad – we’ve had English translation sheets of the readings and also once in France there were hymn books with the full Mass at the back so I could join in) but there was nothing.  I thought it may be due to COVID – as you STILL see (particularly old) peeps wearing masks OUTSIDE when they don’t even need to… but no.

NOBODY in the congregation was invited to sing a hymn – even though it was Sunday (and only the Catholics reading this will understand).  On any other day than Sunday, you can get away with a 25 minute Mass with no offertory (i.e. you don’t need to give any 💰, no homily (sermon 🗣️) and it’s all very speedy but SUNDAY is different – you are supposed to CELEBRATE Mass 😐 

And for me – that means 🎵 SINGING 🎵 !!! 

The (only) highlight was – at the beginning – the nice lady & the priest did sing a short tune and they did a harmony & it was lovely 🥰 and I hoped that there’d be more but sadly not…

I was brought up to believe that it was deemed irreverent to turn around in Mass so I asked Dave to (as he’s a heathen & it won’t matter for him 😂) and asked how many peeps were “in” & there was probably only 30 or 40 tops – and it was SO sad that such a beautiful place of worship – on a Sunday – wasn’t bursting at the seams – just for an hour (when they have 167 left in the week to do whatever else they need to…)

And it was ALL OVER by 12:15pm – 45 minutes – call that a celebration ?

Rant over 🙏 if you got to the end !!!

ANYWAY on Saturday – AFTER we had gone along “The Prom” in San Sebastián and then “done” the Basilica of Santa Maria – we then did the “Hop On / Hop Off” City Sightseeing Open-Top Bus Tour.  This is now our third one – as we have done Sevilla, Cordoba & now San Sebastián…

BUT (never start a sentence with “but” 😂) we both agreed – even though it was the same company and even the same lady speaking on the audio guide – that it was (sadly) the worst of the three.  That said – here are some of the titbits that we gleaned…

A massive part of the city was destroyed in 1813 during the Peninsula War so pretty much everything has been re-built since then… (even the “old town”…)

The audio guide stated that all the new buildings were built at the same height and that there had to be no “sharp” corners on them – all corners (or quoins as Mr Google tells me they are called – which is French for “corner”)  had to be all curved or “cut off” so they were aesthetically pleasing to the eye… (but once Dave & I started looking, we found LOADS of buildings with normal “sharp” corners… !!!)

And it is a fairly pretty city and with most buildings on the main streets having little juliet balconies but there are also – what I thought as we went past – some modern (pretty horrendous) efforts too (e.g. The Kursall Congress Centre where is basically their main concert hall.  In the daytime yesterday when we went past on the the bus, these “Two Cubes” (as the building is apparently referred to) looked horrific to me but I have just googled photos and most of them are at night when – lit up – it actually looks cool – see piccie of it looking like a Rubik’s cube below…

Also – just off the front – built between 1882 & 1887 is – what was originally – The Casino but sadly the prohibition of gambling in 1925 put a stop to all that and the beautiful twin-towered building is now the City Hall.

Another interesting fact is that a lot of San Sebastián has been “reclaimed” from the sea !!! We were WELL inland on the bus tour when the audio guide lady announced that where we were used to be the water’s edge !!!

And finally (with the triv…) San Sebastián is named after the Monastery of Saint Sebastian on the Bay of Biscay; the history of which started in 1181. The Basque name for San Sebastián is Donostia; that is why it’s official name is Donostia-San Sebastián and the residents are called Donostiarras, 35% of whom speak the Basque language…

We then noticed as were going around the old town that it’s a bit like Wales – where they have a sign in Welsh & in English – here they have a sign e.g. for a bar / restaurant and it is in two languages too – e.g. “Taberna” / “Jatetxea” and here is the Basque flag (Ikurriña)…