Spain via Portugal

Day 1 Thursday 10th April

The boys (Our 2 Pomeranian dogs called Milo & Romeo) and I set off early at 6.30am to head south to pick Elaine up from her daughter’s home in Bishop’s Stortford, where she had been baby sitting. The car (as usual on these trips to Spain) was packed to the hilt with stuff for the house in Andalusia.

Straight forward drive down the A1, spent a couple of hours with my stepdaughter and grandsons and then we headed off for the ferry to Spain from Portsmouth.

The M25 was its usual state of being a ‘stationary car park’ but we arrived at the Brittany Ferries terminal at 5.30pm. Just enough time for the 7pm sailing.

We always get a Pet Friendly cabin for the boys to stay with us on the 2-x night crossing. Once settled in, we went for dinner then bed!

Day 2 Friday 11th April

Day at sea and my head firmly buried in my latest novel on my kindle! Lots of walks on deck with the boys and a great rest day. Romeo is a bit of a ‘funny onion’ on the ferry, as he won’t pee or pooh either!

Day 3 Saturday 12th April

The ferry arrives at 8am local time into Bilbao. Queue for customs and then hit the road by 9.30am to head to Leon in Spain, for our first nights stay. Not before stopping to allow Romeo to relieve himself!

370km behind us, we arrived in Leon for 1pm after a stop for coffee along the way.

The weather is cool and raining but that didn’t deter us from walking around this Romanesque city and exploring the old town where our hotel is.

Amongst the many fabulous architectural gems is the Basilica de San Isidore. Built in the tenth century, it is known for its frescoes and royal tombs.

As Spain enters Semana Santa, much religious activity centres around the Gothic thirteenth century Cathedral de Leon. It truly is a magnificent structure with the crowds encompassing the whole area on this, the holiest of Christian weeks. The atmosphere was electric and humbling at the same time.

Although, Spain is incredibly dog friendly, even allowing them in restaurants, we restrained from taking them into Gaudi’s museum, for fear of them peeing on a masterpiece!

Casa Botines is now a museum, however was built by Gaudi in 1892. Part home and part warehouse, this magnificent building houses a significant portion of the FUNDOS collection, spanning over 500 years. Works from Dali, Goya and Chillida adorn the building and is visited by people from all over the world.

The museum was established in 2017 after the previous owners, a bank, merged with another after the crash in 2009.

Leon, without question, is well worth a visit of more time than we allowed. 

Day 4 Sunday 13 April

The rain continues as we leave Leon, heading to Portugal and Porto. The 400km journey was uneventful, apart for misreading the sat nav and us heading 40 minutes out of our way, as I merrily talked to my son and grandson in Australia on the car phone!

We arrived in Porto at around 2pm and after parking the car (in a €40 per day car park!) and dumping our luggage in the hotel, we had a leisurely stroll down to Ribera.

Ribeira, in the historic zone of Porto, has the original medieval harbour and waterfront on the Douro river. It is full of colourful buildings and narrow alleyways and not to mention many delightful restaurants, bars and cafes. Just a word of caution here, the closer you get to the waterfront, the quality of the food declines but the prices increase! That aside, we found a delightful bar and sat outside with a well-deserved drink and some tapas. That was until the heavens opened!

A quick look around the waterfront, which to be honest, for me, was a tad too touristy but nevertheless as great vantage point to view the old monetary and some of the six bridges which span the Douro.

We slowly headed back to the hotel, via several bars!

Day 4 Monday 14 April

This morning we headed back into town to see whether we could take the tram to the beach. We had to keep stopping in-between showers. The tram lines in Porto use three of the original thirty heritage routes and also uses vintage carriages. Built in 1873, the vintage trams used mules to pull them until they developed a little later, using the electric tram carriages we still see today.

Well worth a look and even better to ride them. Unfortunately, Portugal isn’t very pet friendly (unlike Spain), so a tram ride was out for us.

Next, we headed back to pick up the car. The heavens had opened again so we decided to have a ride out along the coast to Esposende via the coastal route. The heavens were lashing and the Atlantic Ocean was furious. Its white foamed waves were like it was frothing at the mouth! Despite this, we managed a quick brisk walk to relive the boy’s bladders then found a nice restaurant for an early dinner.

It was then back to the hotel for an evening with our heads buried in books out of the foul weather.

Day 5 Tuesday 15 April

After a bite to eat for breakfast, we loaded the car and bade farewell to Porto and headed south to our next destination of Lisbon at just over 300km away.

I had booked an Ibis hotel because of the cost of hotels in Lisbon. They even charged €80 for the two dogs! So, at just under €400 for two nights, we unpacked and headed into town via the Metro system. Alfama is where we headed.

Lisbon Praia do Comercio is a magnificent piazza demonstrating the prowess of historical Portuguese economic power. Built after the great earthquake and tsunami that hit Lisbon in the eighteenth century, it really is a magnificent piazza.

It is surrounded by restaurants and leads to the banks of the Tagus River.

From the banks of the Tagus you can get a pleasure cruise or just admire the panoramic view of the river, 25th April bridge and the sanctuary of Christ the King.

We spent the whole afternoon dodging rain, in-between bars and restaurants.

Day 6 Wednesday 16 April

Back into town on the Metro, weaving through the narrow alleyways to scout out the famous  Manteigaria cafe to try their world famous (and arguably the best!) Pastel de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts). The filling is divine and the pastry super crispy. The queue here weaves out of the door, up the street to the next block. Meanwhile inside the cafe, chefs are constantly replenishing the pastel de nata on the racks for sale.

They did not disappoint! The shop is also by the Tram stop on the Praca de Luis de Camoes. Here you can see or ride the vintage streetcars from 1873. Again, not dog friendly, we had to admire, rather than ride.

The weather today was perhaps the worst we have seen on this trip so far with heavy and persistent down pours. Undeterred, we caught a cab to LX Factory.

LX Factory is an old factory which has been converted into a creative island with over 50 shops, bars and restaurants which sit alongside a diverse range of creative industries. We dashed through the rain to have a long leisurely lunch.

The rain persisted throughout the afternoon so the LX Factory was a great place to browse.

We couldn’t flag a taxi which would take us with the dogs so we hopped on one of the multi car trams, expecting to be thrown off because of the dogs! It never happened, so we exited by the river and walked back to Praia do Comercio.

After a leisurely walk around the commercial centre, we headed back to the hotel

Day 7 Thursday 17 April

Today, we left Lisbon and headed to the Algarve. I had booked an apartment in Albufeira, believing it was a good spot to spend the next 5 days touring the whole of the Algarve. The only thing that I hadn’t planned on, was that the apartment was smack bang on the street where all the bars are. Bars that cater for British Stag and Hen parties!

We headed out after arriving, to the Old Town of Albufeira and strolled around in between rain showers before heading down to Albufeira Marina for a spot of lunch. The marina here is mediocre at best with, all the restaurants catering for British families with burgers, chips and egg! We managed to sit out doors under a canopy which was just as well because, just for a change, it teemed down!

Late afternoon we headed back to the apartment before people watching all the drunken stag and hen parties along nightclub strip! To be fair, it was quite funny watching ‘macho blokes’ trying to impress the ‘hens’ on the ‘bucking bronco’ machine! Not one lasted the ride.

After our first taste in Portugal of peri peri chicken for dinner, we headed back to listen to the multitude of songs being played at huge decibels throughout the evening.

I managed to finally fall asleep around 3.45am to Neil Diamond and Sweet Caroline for the umpteenth time.

Day 8 Friday the 18th April (Good Friday)

Today we rose relatively early after our ‘late night’ and headed down the coast to Lagos and spent the whole day driving back along the coast to Albufeira.

Highlights of the day in between yet more rain showers, were Portimao, Carvoeiro and Armacao de Pera where we had supper. 

It is such a shame the weather has been so very foul on this trip but I must say it is highly unusual for it to be cold and wet so frequently and over so many days.

We finally arrived back just after dusk to be greeted again with Neil Diamond echoing around the street. 

Again, it was close to 4am when we got to sleep and although the first night was novel, it was now wearing thin!

Day  9 Saturday the 19th of April

The weather forecast today was supposed to be fine with a slight chance of rain. As in the UK the forecasters never quite get it right and just as we arrived in Villamora, the heavens opened with heavy rain.

Undeterred, we set about exploring the marina, which, is absolutely beautiful and caters for wealthier clientele. Again, after a couple of hours we found a lovely restaurant on the marina and undercover, ordered lunch to the back drop of thunder and lightening!

As if reading my mind, Elaine suggested we cut short this part of the journey and head to our home in Andalusia. At least we have all our home comforts there even though the weather in Spain has been as dire as here in Portugal. She didn’t need to ask me twice as I was now even humming ‘Sweet Caroline’ in between conversations!

We enjoyed our lunch then headed back to pack the car ready for the 420km drive with a pit stop at the supermarket for supplies for when we arrived.

We left the apartment at 4pm and arrived at the house for 9pm with almost constant rain all along the route.

At least tonight I could enjoy a good night’s sleep

Days 10 & 11 Easter Sunday & Easter Monday 20th & 21st April

After a stunning night sleep, we spent the next 2 x days opening up the house, walking the dogs on the beach in between showers and having a couple of meals at our favourite restaurants.

The initial trip after the Algarve was to Seville for a couple of days, where we are meeting our friends from the UK then they were coming onto the house for the weekend, so tomorrow, we head back to Seville where we passed through on our way from the Algarve.

Day 12 Tuesday 22 April 

Today we set off early for the two-hour drive to Seville and our hotel. At €49 per day (!!!!) we found a car park in the centre of the old town and close to our hotel.

Our friends Guy and Katie had already arrived, so after quick hellos and dumping our cases in the hotel, we head off for brunch and a tour of the old town. Today was the first day of the whole trip where the weather had turned and it appears we are in for a nice sunny day with no rain in sight.

The old town of Seville has breath-taking architecture and is perhaps the most beautiful city we’ve visited in Spain and perhaps the world! It truly is amazing and such a beautiful city.

We meandered through the ancient streets towards Plaza de Espana via several bars and restaurants.

The architecture here is stunning and seeing this was our first day without rain, it was a welcome relief too.

We stayed just on the edge of the Old Town so the walk took us past the Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede, the Alcazar of Seville and also the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza.

The Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede is one of the largest Cathedrals in the world, just below St. Peters Basilica at the Vatican and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It was built on the site of a Moorish mosque in 1403 and took just over 100 years to complete. The Giralda Tower is still standing from the original  mosque and the Cathedral is the final resting place of Christopher Columbus. 

The Alcazar of Seville is the oldest Royal Palace still in use today, by King Felipe VI when he visits Seville. It is Mudejar in style and is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Palace standing today, began construction in 1364 and sits on the site of the original palace which began construction in 913.

You can visit the Palace for tours which is open each day 

The Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza sits on the River Guadalquivir and is the largest and most important arena for bull fighting in the whole of Spain. The Baroque facade, built between 1762 and 1881 highlights the importance of this 13000-seating arena.

The Plaza de Espana, built between 1914 and 1929, was built for the Iberian-American exposition in 1929. The huge crescent has a canal and a lake in front, with gondola type boats to ferry the many tourists around. It’s had many uses since the Expo of 1929 but today houses government departments, the army and museum. 

After a full day out and about (and after dinner!) we arrived back mid evening to our hotel, exhausted.

Day 13 Wednesday 23 April

After a later start this morning and a leisurely breakfast, we retraced some of our steps from yesterday and headed for the River Guadalquivir for a river cruise of the city. The cruise we chose was ‘pet friendly’ so the boys came too! 

The cruise lasts for about one and a half hours but you see the old as well as the new parts of the city. From the boat you get to see the Torre del Oro, where Gold was stored from the thirteen century; the Maestranza bullring; Calle Betis, which is a beautiful street of the Tirana district; you go under a total of 9 bridges. Two of the bridges were built for Expo 92, which Spain hosted to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus discovering America. You also get a view of the Expo site from the river. 

For some of us, it really was an informative and worthwhile trip. For one of our number who I won’t name (Guy!), the cruise was an opportunity to sleep!

Further bars and restaurants (for the dogs to shade on this glorious day!) heading back towards the Plaza de Espana for dinner and more booze!

Finally, a lovely stroll back to the hotel on this pleasant evening

Day 14 Thursday 24 April

Today we bid farewell to Seville for the 130km drive back to our house in Andalusia. Along the way, we have a few hours in Gibraltar for lunch and some duty-free shopping.

Our favourite Indian restaurant is here. The Little Bay on the Marina in Gibraltar. The cuisine is a mixture of Indian cultural food and really is gastronomic! 

With a good couple of hours consumed over lunch, we headed over to the Main Street for some duty-free booze. A bottle of London Dry Gin is c€7 for a litre.

We also found a few years ago, a brilliant Bureau de change, just on the outside walls of the city which always has a much better exchange rate for the euro than anywhere else. As Gibraltar uses the GBP, there is no extra charges when you use your debit card! Bonus all round!

Day 15, 16, 17 & 18 Friday 25 April Saturday 26 April Sunday 27 April Monday 28 April

Walks on the beach with the dogs; use of our local cafes, bars and restaurants was the order of our chilled-out weekend. The weather was mixed but still warm, which was nice. A notable mixed grill for 4 on the cliff top Bar and Seaside Grill down the road from us, was definitely worth a mention!

Day 19 Monday 29 April

Very early start today heading to Malaga airport. Katie & Guy who joined us in Saville were heading back home to the UK. Elaine was also flying back to Stansted to babysit for our two grandsons until Friday.

The boys and I walked on the beach at Fuengirola on our way back to the house in Manilva.

We are here until the end of May!