This final report from our 2013 holiday is written after our arrival home last night. The drive from Toledo to Santander was uneventful and we returned to our favourite hotel to be greeted by Marisa, the receptionist. Having read reviews on Tripadvisor, I knew that Marisa was popular. But was really amused by her antics to try to get past her lack of English. Her body language was suited to the stage! She is a natural comedienne. However, she had bad news for us - the restaurant was closed for two nights. I therefore set up my laptop and searched for a Santander restaurant that was open that night. In Spain a lot of shops, restaurants etc. close on Sunday. Eventually I located Restaurante Chiqui in Santander. I booked the table and later we drove there.
Using Satnav I got onto the correct Avenida but could not find the restaurant. Eventually I spotted the sign and drove towards it. The road continued across a roundabout. I parked the car and we went in. You could tell immediately that quality was the watchword. In a review of the place we read that the service was slow but we like slow service as it tends to be very good in terms of quality. We were given Spanish menus to begin with and then the head waiter located English versions. It turned out we had found a restaurant which specialised in fish and seafood. That pleased us.
We had a special lobster dish for starters. For the main course Pauline chose hake stuffed with seafood and I opted for Sea Bass. Pauline waxed poetic about her hake and I confirmed that my huge piece of bass was cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful. After our meal we declared it excellent and drove back to Hotel Chateau La Roca.
Next day we drove over to Comillas, a small old village we had visited two years before. The scenery in Cantabria is very like the Alpine scenery with houses tending to emulate the Swiss properties. We tried to find the way to the mansion that had a Gaudi exhibition but failed. As time was ebbing away we decided to head back to Santander to join the ferry queues. This was when the Satnav fell off the windscreen! Having set it up and removed a few times the windscreen was dirty and the device would not keep good suction. I decided I would just follow the road signs for Santander and then look out for the Puerto and Ferry signs. It worked!
Once on the ship we found our cabin and I went to book a table in the restaurant. The meal that evening was excellent, as usual. I chose a crab salad starter and Pauline chose ravioli. Pauline chose chicken for a main course and my choice was lamb. I have never known such thick pieces of lamb to be cooked so well. We both decided on soufflé with Grand Marnier to finish and were not disappointed.
Next day we were back in the restaurant for a cooked breakfast. I had only one complaint - I did not care for the mushrooms which I think were cooked in milk. After this we stayed in our cabin and read our Kindles till lunchtime when I went in search of sandwiches. Soon we were gliding into Portsmouth harbour with the strangest looking warships I could imagine around us. How warship design has changed! Once the vehicles started from the ship it took only 8 minutes for us to emerge. There was a few minutes to wait at the Border Control and then we were out on the motorway system and heading home.
The Satnav fell out with us when we made a diversion at junction 18 on the M6. We had already decided to have a break from fast driving and take the route through Sandiway in Cheshire that leads eventually to the A55 (Chester bypass) and home. We arrived at 8.35pm and popped a pizza in the oven before retiring to bed.
Now we begin the long preparation for Christmas. This year I am making my first Christmas cake, following Marry Berry for a recipe. Whilst in Spain I received details of the Circuit Plan by email and discovered I am leading worship at Amlwch on Christmas Day. That is a special treat to anticipate.
So this year's holiday blog is completed and we can both say the break has been important and has relaxed us greatly. 100% success!
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