Out and about in Spain - Feb - May 2017

Altea Old Town

Costa Blanca was a lovely place to spend a few months.  There is a lot to see and do.  Although the weather was sunny and warm, it wasn't quite warm enough for a splash in the Mediterranean.  The up-side of this, was that it was a bit early for holiday makers so we weren't confronted with masses of tourists each time we ventured out.

The pool got a bit of a workover as the temperature improved ....

..... especially after a spot of gardening in the sun!

We enjoyed a trip to Embalse de Guadalest, a man made lake and dam.  The satnav did us over (not for the first time and shouldn't think it'll be the last!) on the way there by pointing us down a track that you would be lucky to get a donkey down.  However, the extra miles were worth the effort.  What a lovely spot for a meander around the lake.  Especially love the reflections.

Peter and Christine joined us on some of our ventures.  Galivanting around town and beach and frequenting the heladeria and cafes.  Lifes tough ;-)

Altea Old Town is certainly worth a visit.  The views are amazing and the architecture and cobbled streets make the journey worthwhile.

We also enjoyed a few romps around "our" mountain.  Just stepping out the door we were able to wander around a myriad of trails.  We traipsed up to the peak of Olsa and enjoyed the company of a herd of goats.

That's our house sit in the circle

One of our neighbours!

When it came time to leave Calpe, we set out across the center of Spain toward Santander where we were to take the ferry back to the UK.  The coffee was cheap, the landscape changed markedly from hour to hour and we started to see less people as the miles glided by.

We were quite take with the many castles on the approach to most of the villages.  It is amazing to contemplate the history behind the battlements.

Iconic symbol of the bull (torro)

Fields and fields of poppys

Storks nest in all the bell towers ... of which there are many

First stop ... Toledo.  Pretty and very touristy.  Once again we were pleased to be here in the off season.

 We then had a few days to find some great fishing spots.  We ventured into real rural Spain for a few days sitting on the river banks and listening to the cuckoos, chatting with the odd local that passed by, watching the pollen fly about in the wind and pitching the tent at night.  But success was certainly within our grasp!

Footnote: same tshirt, different fish

Someone's happy place :-)

Storm clouds looming

When the rain came tumbling down we upped sticks and headed for Santander.  We hadn't seen rain in a while so even that was quite exciting.  The ferry trip was an overnighter - 30 odd hours - complete with cabin.  And very nice it was too.

 

UK summer .... here we come.

Mountain Retreat - Calpe, Costa Blanca Feb-May 2017

We drove down from our housesit in France to our next adventure in Spain over two days and nights.  It was only 1,100 kms, which in the scheme of our global lifestyle, is not that far really.  Again we drove all the non-toll roads which really is more interesting as we drove through some really beautiful villages.  

The thing we noticed immediately was that we saw more people in our first day in Spain than our entire time in France.  This was due partly to the season but also the fact that we were very rural in France.  As we approached Calpe we set the Satnav to our housesit.  We knew it was on top of a mountain but the Satnav fails to recognise the (main) road up and brought us the back way.  Hmmmmm, where exactly have we agreed to be for two months!?!?!  Paradise, that's where.  When we arrived at the house it was immediately apparent to us why anyone would love to be here.  Both roads up the mountain have a portion of gravel road and outstanding views of the coast and surrounding countryside.

The house stands alone on the top of a mountain yet only 5 or so kms from the nearest town of Calpe and the coast.  By necessity it is completely off-grid as the services do not extend this far up the mountain.  The English owners restored the house to it's current glory, diligently reclaiming all the wonderful old tiles and stone work.  They have also done an amazing job of setting the house up with solar panels, generator backup and generator boilers with as-need hot water.  A lot of thought and common sense has gone into making the house functional and easy to live in.

And then there are these three (four!) cuties

L to R: Alvis, Smudge & Tigger

Never quite enough laps in the house

The cats are all so friendly and love to hang out with us for hours on end in the sun by the pool.  During out first month we have had only two days of no sun.  One was a rain day that filled up all the water tanks nicely and the other was just overcast.  The pool is still a bit cool for swimming but James has braved it a couple of times - straight in and out ... just cos he can.  The furries like to drink from the pool which is kinda strange as they have their very own fresh rain water in their bowl.  Alvis brought us a 'present' of a baby rabbit one day which James managed wrestled off her.  It jumped straight in the pool and started swimming in circles.  Who knew bunnies could swim?!  He managed to scoop it out with the pool scoop and took it for a walk up the road to set it free as it seemed to be okay.  Alvis not so impressed.

Pays to be up early to get a good seat at this house

This face :-)

Sigh ... life's tough ... not

The town of Calpe is really quiet at this time of year but one can imagine how bustling it must get in the height of summer.  We are still surprised at the number of motor-homes parked in the empty lots dotted around town.

The mighty Med with Calpe rock in the distance

Looking back at Calpe

The first thing we noticed about supermarket shopping is how much cheaper Spain is than France!  We are also delighted at the constant supply of fresh seafood available.

Typical BBQ

And how could we not make a seafood and chicken paella which was so huge we had to await the opportunity to share with visitors .....

Eyes bigger than his belly.  Even the cats reap the
benefit of the paella by getting to enjoy the chicken
from the stock making process.  And no, they didn't
get to eat it in one sitting ... just a cute photo op :-)

Watching some locals display their 'catch'

Gonna miss these gorgeous fur balls when it comes time to go ....

France on a plate

Typical lunch

We always say the measure of a country is a visit to the supermarket.  France is no different.  The hypermarkets of  E. leclerc and Intermarche are a force to be reconned with.  The choice of produce is second to none.  France is not cheap though.  Food prices are up there with New Zealand (and that's saying something!) but the choice and quality makes one forgive this quite quickly.

We choose to eat mostly at home (well, someone else's home actually ;-) as we wouldn't be able to afford our lifestyle if we had the habit of eating out.  Eating local and fresh is important to us not only as a low cost option, but also as a way of experiencing the food the locals eat.  In France we only ate out once (per chance on Valentines Day), whilst on a visit to Limoges, where we had the plait du jour (plate of the day) topped off with the most amazing creme brulee EVA!

Happy girl

Every small village has a boulangerie (bakery) where they pride themselves on daily fresh bread and pastries.  In fact, instead of getting milk delivered to the door you can get the bread van to deliver your daily bread.  You hang your bread bag on the front fence and voila!  In fact the bread lady in our area must have wondered where we came from as she was often the only other person we saw on our dog walks, usually miles from where she last saw us.  We became rather partial to the odd croissant and pain au chocolat for breakfast.  Not so good for the waistline but "when in Rome" .....

We learned to eat quail when we were in Italy and these were also available at the supermarket in France for just over a euro a bird.  James has perfected a recipe which has him using a white wine and cream based sauce with bacon, mushrooms and either cranberries or chestnuts.  Superb.

Clare made a couple of great French Onion soups with a splash of Pineau, an aperitif made in the local area of Charente.  Pineau did not impress on its own, but was a great addition to sauces and as a replacement to cognac in the aforementioned soup.

Another local delicacy we enjoyed was the goats cheese.   Soft and creamy and ever so subtle .....  you would be hard pressed to imagine a goat had been anywhere near it.

A vegetable that we became rather fond of here is fennel. We enjoy it equally either shaved raw into a salad or sauted with leaks.  Just depends on the weather and what we plan to have with it.

We also enjoyed a few cassoulet (casseroles) with a base of pork, merguez (spicy) sausages (local sausages are amazing - shame they're so full of fat), haricot beans and whatever vegetables happen to be hanging around in the fridge. Mmwah.

So  we go onto Spain where food will be cheaper and the climate and season will hopefully produce more fresh fruit, fish and salad foods.  Bring it on!