Washing and blog day under the gum trees at Camping Madalena, near Porto, Portugal.
It’s been fantastic with fiestas, religious celebrations & of course the Spanish king’s coronation ….. all quite by accident too!!
All posts by markbartlett_741k1tjl
We Leggat to Lisboa
Our last week has been action-packed. Having extended our stay south on the Algarve meant we could meet up with “Aussie”” friends Will, Sandy and Sarah Leggat! 
They were staying in the world heritage town of Sintra, ½ hour west of Lisboa (Lisbon – capital of Portugal). Continue reading We Leggat to Lisboa
Spooky Evora
It was time to drag ourselves away from our “little heaven”___ onward and upward!! Farewell Amacao de Pera until we meet again!! Our favourite café barista, Leno, excitingly accepted our miniature koala & flag & said he has a collection of “items” from lots of countries and was happy to display one from Australia. He is a wonderful 20 year old Portuguese who would like to run his own café in the future. He seemed to have the passion, skill & friendly, outgoing personality that would be necessary too! As well as being our Portuguese “language tutor” he was a font of knowledge about the region.
Paradise in Portugal
Now how does the old saying go….? When you’re on a good thing… stick to it!…. or in our case… “When you’ve found the perfect place, stay there!!”
Leaving Spain and crossing west into Portugal we really had no preconceived expectations or ideas what to expect.
The landscape appears arid and scattered with bushes, cacti & few trees, many small towns appear “rough & ready’ & in need of TLC. The effect of the economic state of the country is reflected here. Buildings that were being built at the time of the GFC lie incomplete and a reminder of the dire situation faced by many. This was also evident in Spain – in Portugal it appears worse.
Fantastic Flamenco
Fantastic Flamenco “wows” us in Seville!! After having not been impressed with the flamenco dancing exhibition in the town square at Mijas …. OK ….. it was free – what do you expect, we were gobsmacked by the Flamenco Show at Los Gallos, Seville. We had heard that Seville was the reported “centre” of Flamenco in Spain. We now know why!! We enjoyed the purest, traditional dance, song and guitar flamenco in the oldest Tabloa in Seville with the best artists! These guys and gals could really dance! It was a remarkable experience we shared with Anneke and Warren! A “must see” if you are ever in Seville. Unfortunately, no photos allowed during the performance but took one of the artistic stage backdrop & we managed to hijack the “star” of the show as he was leaving!!
Torre del Mar camping
Soaking up the sun and sangrias at Torre del Mar, near Malaga on the Costa del Sol in Spain. Discovered a wonderful Camping park with beach opposite & beautiful wide paved/tiled promenade that goes for 3.4km. We dust the bikes off and cycle along the coast, along the promenade then keep going. It seems there is no end to the beach-front in Costa del Sol. Intricate sand sculptures, Chiringuito (snack bar) or a restaurante are about every 100m – right on the sand. They will have twenty or thirty parasols and sunbeds for you to hire after lunch too. Overnight the calm waters have become large pounding surf.. and this is the Mediterranean??! The water is almost lapping at the sunbeds now!!
Continue reading Torre del Mar camping
What a breathtaking view
What a breathtaking view! Continuing south from Barcelona, heading inland through the mountains we are in awe of what appears ahead of us.
Hola de España
Hola! Blue sunny skies & the Mediterranean welcome us to Spain and Barcelona. Bruce is casting a weather eye over the Mediterranean. Camping Tres Estrellas is in Gava, about 20km south of Barcelona. We have a beach-side view. Less than 3m from the sand and 50m from the water!!. Continue reading Hola de España
Mark, Bev and Bruce – loving the “France Passion”
Au revoir Paris!!! Bruce heads south, excited about visiting and experiencing life in the typical smaller French villages.
We have joined the France Passion, that allows you to stay overnight for free on private properties throughout France.
Continue reading Mark, Bev and Bruce – loving the “France Passion”
Bonjour, bonsoir, G’day, Howdy folks!!!
The first Sunday in April sees Paris come alive with activities. It is the awakening from the cold winter. All museums, gardens, chateaux, etc are open for free (first Sunday of every month). There was a garden/flower show in our area, horse racing carnival at the Hippodrome “La Dimanche Gallope” and the famous Paris Marathon.