Well, the car behaved itself with a lot of TLC from me when driving up hills. It will be reported to the garage very soon!
Going back to the beginning of our adventures in Spain - at the hotel where we stayed in Santander were a group of Russian cyclists. They were professional cyclists who formed a well kitted out team indeed. They had support vehicles with untold tons of equipment to keep the cycles in perfect order. On the Thursday as we left the hotel we had to make a detour round all their equipment which was in the hotel car park. We got to the car and then crossed the street to fill up with fuel. As I dealt with this I noticed someone cleaning an ambulance which was also part of the team's support. Today I looked them up and discovered that they were about to tackle a mountain stage of the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) on the day we saw them.
When we stayed a second time at this hotel the night before sailing home we found there was a huge contingent of football supporters in the hotel bar and a table for two was impossible. We did, however, manage a pizza each through the good offices of the waiter, Manuel (who else!).
We left Finca Manolo at 9.20am on Friday 23rd September, loaded with more than we had taken there. We found room for sets of pottery, a case and a half of wine as well as Spanish spices, salami, beer etc. Our driving experience in Spain was surprising because almost every driver was keeping close to the speed limit. Additionally, I have to say that driving on a Spanish Motorway from north to south and vice versa is much easier than at home. The fact is that there is a huge network of motorways that are mainly two lanes wide. One does not see anything remotely like the number of vehicles using British motorways. Spain is a very large country and therefore its roads are necessary but cheaper to maintain because in comparison they are under-used.
I must confess to being a little nervous about entering the city of Toledo where we were to saty for two days. Foreign cities and satnav are usually a challenge. I needn't have worried becae almost as soon as we turned off the motorway we saw a sign for the hotel. We had booked in at Hotel Martin using the web but found we were to stay next door at the Duque de Lerma. The two hotels were adjoining so there was no problem. We had the most friendly and helpful receptionist I have ever encountered. She helped us enjoy our visit there.
Having showered and changed we took a taxi to Plaza de Zocodover ( a name ensuing from a time when the Spanish were occupied by the Moors and did not understand their language). Sitting there in the early evening we watched the population of residents and visitors passing through the square. The sparrows were very loud as they went through the process of finding roosts for the night. There were many local buses passing through the whole time. Most of them were new and powered by natural gas.
Later that evening we returned to find a restaurant and ended up in the forecourt of an old convent. The young waitress there was brilliant and worked at an amazing speed whilst still able to look as if it was very easy. We over faced ourselves with tapas foods, but they were very tasty.
The next morning we left the hotel by taxi for Plaza de Zocodover. At 11.00am we knew the Zocotren would start, so I queued to buy two tickets. The ride in this road train was 45 minutes long and involved seeing just about every view of Toledo. Sadly, we found it almost impossible to take photos because a young Chinese couple in front kept on blocking our view. But I can say that we now consider Toledo the most beautiful city we have visited. Its cathedral is incredible in size and we were able to see the most beautiful objects as we visited the Chapter House and the Treasury. I have never seen so many paintings by the masters. We saw Goya, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and, of course, the local boy - El Greco. El Greco paintings were everywhere but quite a number were copies as the originals were elsewhere in the city. There was even a wedding being celebrated in a chapel of the cathedral. At one point a soprano was singing Maccabeus by G F Handel. Having said all this, whilst the huge expense created by what you find in great churches was a burden on the poor of the day, the creative prowess of the designers was quite amazing.
Later that night we went back to have dinner at a recommended establishment. It was the first time I had eaten partridge - very nice! Being very tired that night we hit the sack and I did not sleep all that well as I anticipated our final drive back to Santander. I need not have worried as we enjoyed the changes in scenery as we approached the northern coast.
The following day we decided to drive around and visit some beaches. We had already visited the one at Comillas the previous day. We turned down a track where the sign said playa and found an enchanting view of rocks and beach below us at the foot of some cliffs. As we drove away through the small town I pointed out a pinnacle roof to Pauline and made a derisory comment about the boring architecture of the parish church. A few miles later we found another beach and had 20 minutes there. We then started to make our way back to Santander (pronounced Santandairrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) and saw another beach sign. As we drove through the town i said, "Not another boring looking church!" Then I noticed a nearby pinnacle roof. We were back at the beach we first visited that morning! We found it entertaining and finished off with two small beers before heading off for the ferry to Portsmouth.
Our experience on the Britanny Ferries ship, MV Pont Aven, was excellent. On the way out we booked a table in the posh restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed the quality food we had. So we did the same, coming home, and had another wonderful meal. When it came to paying, the waiter noticed me looking puzzled at the bill which was for incorrect food. He had known something was wrong and realised he had presented the couple on the next table with our bill and they had paid it. The meal they should paid for was £4 cheaper than ours! The waiter suggested we should pay the wrong bill and call it a draw! The weather at Portsmouth was lovely as we sailed in and remained so for the whole of our drive back to Anglesey. It was a lovely sunset last night!
Once more we can report on an excellent holiday in Spain and thoroughly recommend Toledo as a city worth visiting. Viva Espana!
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