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Friday, June 27
View Article  Biarritz Visitors
by George and Anne on Fri 27 Jun 2008 12:19 BST

 

Days 141-149       Thu 19–Fri 27 June 08

 

A few days before Cathy and John arrive – have spent the time in the sun round the pool, catching up on a bit of reading and doing some shopping ready for our guests. Also had a lovely meal in the local square here one evening and enjoyed some live music which was part of a Village Music Festival.  We meant to go into Biarritz itself to do a bit of research before they arrived but the weather has been too nice !

 

As before, we are making our guests sing for their supper so here is what they had to say -

 

Guest Addendum by Cathy and John Alexander, Biarritz Camping.

  

 

  

This is your ace reporter John Alexander giving you the full and truthful account of life in Dartmoor Prison-sorry- in the fabulous warm rain-free awning that the Horsfields have (un)kindly set up for us here in la belle France. We are made to get up at 5.30 in the morning to sweep out the caravan and prepare breakfast for our oppressors-sorry-good friends before we are allowed to scrape up their leftovers as our main source of sustenance. It’s a bargain really as they are only charging us £150 a day each for their company. Words cannot express how grateful we are for their unstinting generosity!

 

I must warn you that this part of my account has been heavily censored by our warm and loving hosts. Every day has been fun packed. George is an excellent cook on the BBQ. The weather has been variable but warm and we have ventured on to the beach-very nice sand and the waves are quite big-a lot of surfing going on. We have decided to pass the chance of surfing to Lester.

 

Went on the little choo-choo up to La Rhune. It’s a great big mountain. The carriages had completely open windows We left in clear weather but by the time we had climbed the 905metres to the top it was shrouded in mist. George made the other passengers laugh by taking a photo of a large poster showing the view from the mountain on a clear day. What a cheat.

 

We have developed a taste for Boules- boys v girls. I have to report that the girls stuffed us at first but the boys have come back big time and the championship all hangs on the final game which we are confident of winning.

Stop-press - we didn’t beat them, jammy women. We were winning but my partner- correction- ex partner played, how shall I put it delicately - CRAP. The result was a bit easier to bear when I remember the beating George and I gave the girls at cards last night.

 

If I can be serious for a few milliseconds we have had a brilliant time. George and Anne have been brilliant hosts. Our only regret is that we can’t stay any longer. If we get invited again we are coming for a month. Sorry, got to go now- George has just fainted. Can’t think why.

 

Lots of love, Cathy & John

 

Brilliant – thanks for that John (ably vetted by Cathy)!

 

We had a great time too and really enjoyed your company and the time went all too quickly. One highlight for us was going to an International-Standard game of Pelote one evening – a very athletic and spectacular game played, essentially by throwing a ball against a wall with a curved basket-like stick sometimes from 80metres away, by two teams of three players. The fitness and skill involved had to be seen to be believed. 

 

We had some lovely news this week – our previous guest bloggers Pam and Lester Biffin became Grandparents for the first time on 23rd June. Many congratulations to Claire and Alex who are now the proud parents of Tyler George Biffin.

 

We really like Biarritz – huge sweeping sandy beaches with very big waves ideal for surfers. Apparently one of the biggest beaches here – Plage de la Cote des Basques was the place where surfing first appeared in Europe. It is an exceptional beach surrounded by cliffs overlooking the Spanish coast.

 

Dominating the Grand Plage (adjacent to the town centre) is the Hotel du Palais which previously was the Imperial Residence of Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenia, and the Casino Municipal which is a superb building of Art Deco style. Behind are lovely leafy squares with lots of restaurants and pavement cafes.

 

Further on is the landmark lighthouse – Le Phare – built in 1834 and 73meters above sea level. There are 248 steps to the top which Cathy and George climbed to see the amazing views from the top. Anne and John decided to keep their feet firmly on the ground and managed to sneak in an extra coffee in the Lighthouse Café while the others were gone.

 

It is not surprising that over the years this has been a popular up-market seaside resort for the French. From 1825 the beaches were prepared to receive visitors and famous French and foreign families stayed in Biarritz , including Queen Victoria, Kings Edward VII and Edward VIII. Many castles and magnificent mansions still remain from these prestigious times.

 

We are here for another week, until July 5th, and are looking forward to exploring more.

 

See lots of new photographs – CLICK HERE

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Thursday, June 19
View Article  Back to The UK For Anne's Mum's 90th Birthday
by George and Anne on Thu 19 Jun 2008 18:19 BST

Days 131-141       Mon 9 - Thu 19 June 08

 

Taxi to the airport, no problems with the Ryanair flight to Stansted and arrived to stay with Anne’s Mum. Had a great time – visiting one of my brothers in Galleywood and meeting their new puppy – visiting Nina and James at their flat in Pimlico - food shopping for Mum - shopping trips to Lakeside Shopping Centre – lunch and Rossi’s ice-cream in the sun at Westcliffe-on-Sea –visiting neighbours etc………

 

………and of course the 90th birthday celebrations. It was a lovely sunny day and lots of family and friends came to see Mum – people made a real effort to be there which was lovely for her. Caterers came and organised a buffet meal in the afternoon and we all really enjoyed ourselves.  Nina, James and Jonathan were staying the night so we played silly games to finish off a lovely day. See photos for a few of the guests.

 

Next day was Sunday so eight of us went off  to Mum’s church in the morning where she had a great deal of fuss made of her all over again – then straight out for a Father’s Day lunch.

 

Stayed at Jonathan’s flat in Clapham on our last night as we had to deliver Anne’s car back to him (!) – then on to Stansted by train the next morning.

 

We really enjoyed our time in the UK, it went very quickly and we were soon back on the plane to Biarritz. The weather is boiling hot here and forecast to stay that way –but rained last week apparently, so our visit was well timed !

 

Now looking forward to friends Cathy and John visiting us here soon - we have put the awning up and sorted everything out for them (ie stocked up on booze) !

 

Off now to have a swim in the pool here, then a snooze in the sun.

See Photos – CLICK HERE

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Sunday, June 8
View Article  Noja to Biarritz
by George and Anne on Sun 08 Jun 2008 23:17 BST

Day 130          Sun 8 June 08

 

Up bright and early for the journey to Biarritz - not that far, about 160km.

 

No problem getting off the pitch, pushed the caravan into position with the help of people who had dragged themselves out of bed early on a Sunday morning to see us off.  Hitched up easily and said our thankyous and tearful goodbyes.

 

Left about 9.30am, weather quite cloudy. Had torrential rain going round Bilbao and for the first half of the journey, then the clouds slowly cleared and the sun came out for the rest of the way. Easy journey, all motorway With three separate toll charges – 7.33€/1.48€/1.70€. Filled up with diesel before the border at 1.28€ per litre – good job because it’s 1.54€ in France. Also a national tanker driver strike has just started in Spain, hope it doesn’t spread to France.

 

Found the site quite easily, a smaller one than usual, and managed to get one of the few larger sunny pitches. Many of the sites over here have lots of trees on them as in the height of summer everyone wants shade, but not this time of year. Spent the usual long time deciding which way round the caravan should go (Anne) because of the sun, and come on lets get on with it (George).

 

So here we are on the Basque Coast of France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, 2k south of Biarritz, 1k from the beach and a very short walk from the village square in the centre of Bidart. Looking forward to exploring.

 

We are told there is free Wi-Fi in the bar here. If you are reading this it must have worked!

 

On Tuesday we are flying to Essex and staying with Anne’s Mum for eight days for her 90th birthday celebrations. Really looking forward to it. Back here on Wednesday 18th June.

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Saturday, June 7
View Article  Rallying in Green Spain
by George and Anne on Sat 07 Jun 2008 20:13 BST

Days 118-129          Tue 27 May – Sat 7 June 08

 

 CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS

 

Have had a really enjoyable further two weeks here – more of the same activities: quizzes, boules games, coffee mornings, organised walks and group lunches out.  Still meeting new people as some are leaving and others are arriving nearly every day.

 

The weather has been a bit mixed – torrential rain overnight a couple of times and generally cloudy days but it stabilised over the last week and we are now back to hot sun. A couple near us have been here regularly at this time of year and said it’s been the worst weather they’ve had in six years – but we think it’s been the same all over Europe. However we’ve still had days on the beach and barbeques in baking sun.

 

Had a great day out in Bilbao. Headed straight for the Guggenheim Museum. 12.50€ each entry fee which includes a personal audio guide for most of the exhibits. It is worth paying the entrance fee (7.50€ for aged 65+) just to go in the place, in fact we thought the best exhibit was the building itself.  It is generally famous for being a magnificent example of the work of avant-garde architect Frank Gehry. Most of this extraordinary building is covered in titanium and glass – have a look at the photographs and judge for yourself. The various exhibitions were interesting if nothing else, the highlight of which was the Dahli-led Surrealist section - very enjoyable. Our enjoyment of some of the minimalist works was, well, minimal.

We also walked along the Ria de Bilbao to the old town – the usual mixture of  market places, narrow streets, beautiful old buildings and churches. The only downside of the day was having a puncture in a back tyre as we were leaving the car park – sound familiar ?  We are now old hands at changing tyres and had to buy two new ones the next day at a Spanish Kwik Fit. This is the second puncture in two weeks and we feel very unlucky, however we now have four new tyres so should be ok from now on.

 

Spent a full day visiting the Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabarceno which is about forty minutes away just inland from Santander.  It is an animal/safari park similar to Longleat, but it is vast – the biggest in Europe we believe - covering 750 hectares and containing 112 different species of animals and 10 miles of roadways. The scenic setting was amazing, changing from flat open areas to spectacular craggy hillsides creating a brilliant natural home for the animals.  Definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

 

Also visited the town of Santona – 15 minutes away – lovely seafront area and fishing harbour. Walked past a shop front thinking it was a bar, went in and found huge stainless steel vats of wine with people coming in and out with their own containers and having them filled for 1.20€ per litre. Four of us came back to the Bodega a few days later armed with empty containers, tasted two reds, one white and a rose and came back loaded up – complete with a free earthenware jug each for decanting.

 

Boiling hot day today (Saturday 7th). Had a lunchtime Rally Barbeque with tables joined together all down one of the roadways here. Bid a sad farewell to Hillary and Peter (our Bodega buddies) and their enormous vehicle (more like a coach with two slide-out sections – see photographs) on their way home to Hampshire – our turn tomorrow.

 

Thankfully the only disaster over the last fortnight (apart from the punctures) was running out of PG Tipps, but some neighbours came to the rescue - they had bought nearly 2,000 over here with them and gave us a big handful - marvellous !

 

Off in the morning, leaving Spain, destination Biarritz. We’ve had a great time here – thank you Shirley and Tom, our lovely Rally Stewards, for making our first Caravan Rally so memorable and enjoyable. We'll never forget their impersonations - Shirley's Ann Robinson and Tom's Evil Kineval !

We’ll be sorry to leave but are looking forward to our next stop.

 

The plan is for the caravan to be in Biarritz for about a month. On Tuesday we are flying to Essex and staying with Anne’s Mum for eight days for her 90th birthday celebrations. Back home to Biarritz on Wednesday 18th June.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS

 

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