Terrific Tarragona, El Masroig, Valderrobres and Morella

View from our Van

So Mama said she wanted to see the sea.  So daddy drove us to Tarragona.  We found a car park near the beach and parked up for the night.  We thought it was beautiful.  We walked into town and found the most wonderful Modern Art Museum.  They had a a great children's section and I really liked this one which was made from all different types of bottle tops.  Mama said we could make the same but I don't think it would look as good with all red Estrella caps.

Modern Art

We really liked this one.  A black Madonna.  I thought Daddy might break into song.

Daddy's black Madonna

I chose this as my favourite.

My favourite

And Mama chose this other one.  She said that she surprised herself.

Mama's favourite.

There was a Miro in there and Mama said she really liked Miro.  I liked him too when I found out his daughter was hit by train.  Mama said that as I was so interested, I could write a thesis on artists and their familial disasters with transportation.

Big fancy cathedral

We got to see a wonderful sunset on the way back to van

View of the town

and a great view of the port and the cranes and the tankers.  Daddy said he thought it was special because you couldn't get to the beach and that kept it a proper working town.  Mama said how ridiculous and why didn't they put a foot bridge over the railway line and some lovely fish restaurants on the beach.

A bridge

Then we drove to El Masroig where we bought some wine and spent the night and then onto Valderrobres which we all thought was very special.  High in the middle of nowhere with a river and a castle and winding hilltop town.

Valderrobres

It was like a film set which no one had noticed.

The placa

A bike

Some of the town had been done up but some of it hadn't been touched for years.

The castillo

Old bits like my parents

And there were cats.  Loads of them.  They liked me.  I tried to smuggle one back.

Cats cats big as bleeding rats

Then onto Morella which was very spectacular with aqueducts and castles.  

Aqueduct

Sheep

Castle gates

Another castle

Look behind you

Someone to wrestle

King of the

Not another view

An arrow hole

View from our van

And now we are back at the sea.  Peniscola.  Why's it called that?

The playa

And I am back to doing the laundry in my hat.

Madre Mia

Best Bits of Barcelona

Sant Joan de les Abadesses

We left Esponella and drove up to Olot.  Mama had promised me volcanoes and I expected to climb inside one and see molten rock.  But no.  Mama hadn't done enough research and couldn't find the volcano museum so we drove on to an amazing town called Sant Joan de les Abadesses where we stayed the night in an aire.

Lovely Old town

It was very misty and steamy and full of volcanoes and my parents the No Funs made me walk all the way to the top of one saying well you wanted to see one.  I did. But I wanted to see the molten rock.  There was no molten rock.  But there was a big storm with hail stones and everything.  We got all cosy in Nona and lit a candle and daddy had done a good job of fixing the leak because no matter how many times Mama checked it, it still didn't leak.

Climbing Volcanoes

Then we drove onto Barcelona and followed this twisty road past Sitges to our campsite at Villanova i la Geltru.  And the sun came out.  It was amazing.  Almost like we were on holiday.
We went from this........

To this in the space of an hour.

The no funs took me to Barcelona yesterday because Mama goes on and on about Gaudi.  She says it's one of her favourite cities.  I loved the bus journey there and got all excited about being in a city but soon got bored of Gaudi.  The best bit was finding out that he got hit by a tram.  

Another pose

 Apart from that my favourite part of the day was catching pigeons in Placa de Catalunya.  I spent a good half an hour chasing them and then I got one by it's tail.  I was so happy but it flew off and left me with a feather.  I kept at it and caught two others.  I had them dangling by the wings and Mama had to finally come over and show me how to hold them properly.  By then I had gathered quite a fan club.  Mama said good job we weren't in England or we would have been thrown into jail.

Catching Pigeons

Then we took the bus back.  I liked that.  And we went swimming today in a glorious pool full of spouts and squirts and Jacuzzis and it was really warm and empty. 

Jacuzzi Joe

I like it here but Mama says she feels like she is in a big secure car park with a good restaurant and rubbish WIFI and can't wait to leave.

Ciao

So we're off again tomorrow.

Especial Esponella

Diving

We have spent a sunny week at Camping Esponella and we love it here.  They have a heated pool and every day I have been to practise my diving.  It was really busy at the weekend but we had the pool all to ourselves the rest of the week.

Here I am

I also got dragged on a walk every day as there were lots of tracks to follow through the woods and along the banks of the River Fluvia.

River Fluvia

I am sure that Mama's main reason for coming back here was the restaurant in the village.  We had a fabulous dish of pork ribs with chestnuts.  It is called Can Roca and it has female chefs and has passed from Grandmother to daughter for generations.

Cana Roca

I had asparagus and mountain jamon.  Both of which I like because I don't get nagged to use a knife and fork.

Pyrenees

Behind the village you get a great view of the pair of knees.  And there are lots of woods

Can't see the wood

And then back to the pool.

Belly diving

There is also a lovely bakery in the village that does rubbish bread but great coffee.

Forn da Pa

Anyway when we walking back yesterday we saw a snake.

Snakey

Mama said it wasn't poisonous but I noticed her taking the photos from a good distance a way.

Wriggly

It soon wiggled off.

Esponella

Oh. Did I mention that the campsite also has a crazy golf with a big plastic rabbit in the middle of it.

Mama thinks she is very funny

Year three. Every cloud..........

Silver lining

Mama and Daddy had great plans for our final year of travelling. Poland they said. Hungary they said. Italy they said. Truffles Mama said. Bad driving Daddy said. Uncle Giorgio I said. Mama and Daddy made plans and plans and more plans. Mama rushed though July. She rented flats and accountants and Daddy had Nona serviced and I made important telephone calls on Mama's old mobile phone whilst marching round the field. And after a month in old blighty we were ready to leave. We said all of our goodbyes.  And then it started to go wrong.
First of all I got a hernia. It didn't hurt and I wanted them to leave it alone but Mama took me to see a man who looked like Blippi who said we needed to sort it out. So we did that and it nearly killed my parents but I was fine and so we said goodbye again.  Then Nona broke and no one could fix her.  It took weeks to find the right garage who said they didn't know what was so difficult about fixing her.  So we said goodbye again and drove to Dover.  On the way we stopped in a service area for lunch and when we got back to the van someone had driven into the side of her and broken off her wing mirror and cracked her windscreen.  Naughty, naughty, naughty.  Daddy mended the wing mirror and Mama rang the insurance to find out about mending the windscreen and they said 21 days.  So Mama said buzz off or something similar and we left.  So here we are, complete with cracked windscreen. 

At last French Soil or Sand

 We had a lovely trip through France.  And the weather just got better and better.        

First signs of soleil

 We stopped in some fabulous aires at Nonancourt and La Ferte St. Auban.

Me in a wood

But our favourite was at Lac St Pardoux where there was mist and heather and big crayfish in the lake.

Lac St Pardoux

We met a group of teenage girls there who kept screaming everytime they saw me and calling me mon chou chou.  Mama thought it was very funny but I thought it was a bit odd.  Especially after the sixth time.

The view

 Mama said that they would take me to an insect museum because I like them.  We drove for ages up windy roads with no one else on and turned up at someone's house in a place called Nedde.  It was strange but great.

Insects

My photograph of Fungus

 The museum was in the most beautiful countryside.

Oh the light.  The light.

Cite de Insects

Mama asked if we could sleep outside the museum and they said sure.  Pas de probleme.

The road

Then we headed for a campsite because we were a little bit smelly.   So we stopped at Camping Ventoux which was a fabulous campsite with swimming pool and walnut trees.

Oops the scrumped walnuts.

Mama got well into scrumping and then got shouted out by the campsite owners. We had a lovely walk.  Well it set out to be lovely but 4 hours later it wasnt so lovely.

10km walk

We visited the caves at Padirac and went on a boat underground.

Nick nac Padirac

 Then we drove to Cordes sur Ciel which was very beautiful but it didn't half rain.  It rained so hard it rained in.

Cordes Sur Ciel

 And then onto Mama's old home in Capestang where we had a lovely time with my Tatie Laurence and Uncle Peter and I put some money on a horse.  Number 4 and it won! We slept right by the canal.

Another Silver Lining

And we had a splendid  time with my Tatie Suzy and Tonton David and my Tatie Judy.  But not as splendid a time as Mummy and Daddy judging my their heads the next morning.  So I thought I would drag them round the Dinosaur Park at Meze.

Another old dinosaur

 And we had a great evening in the sun by the sea at the Aire in Marseillan.   And you know, because of all our problems in leaving England, we got to spend more time with my lovely Aunties and Uncles.  I had a brilliant time with my Aunty Jayne and Aunty Liping who looked after me after my operation.  I got to go back and see my darling Nana and Granddad Flipflip several times.  I got to finally meet my Aunty Nicole and I spent a wonderful few days with my Uncle Marcus who taught me how to say all kinds of naughty things.

Marseillan Plage

And now we are in Spain and everyone is pleased to see me.  So you see.  Every cloud.............