Week 13

21 November 2016
We were up with the alarm to attend our first Spanish lesson. We went through the alphabet learning how to pronounce the twenty seven letters. The extra letter is ñ, so they have n and a rolling ñ. We didn't get very far in an hour but it felt like a good start.

After a good chat with our Brummie neighbours we mounted the bikes and once again headed to Castellòn looking for the Monday market. Once we reached the city we took a different route and ended too far south. We headed into the centre and came across an art exhibition in a lovely park and then fortuitously we happened on the tourist information who provided us with a map and some directions to the market. We got there as some stalls had started to pack away but we got the veg we wanted.

Next stop Lidi for more provisions and a couple of bottles of vino. We were loaded to the hilt so decided to cycle to Grao so that we could get onto the promenade and take the flattest route home for another extremely late lunch. We managed two games of Pétanque with Val on scintillating form giving me a severe spanking 13-7 and 13-6, in the words of the Greatest, whupped. By the time we has finished it was almost time for Pointless.

A quiet night in was enjoyed by all and the evening involved two episodes of Suits. We are nothing if not predictable. Then it was time to practice some Spanish before saying buenos notches. Campistas felices.

22 November 2016

The rain in Spain falls mainly on Benicasim or at least it did today. We didn't even have a shower till almost lunch time as it was too wet to leave the van. 

The afternoon didn't improve much so we tried to spend the day doing administration or at least that's what we called it. 

It's nice to have the odd day doing very little but it doesn't give me much to write about. More rain is forecast for tomorrow and if it's the same as today I'll just have to make something up. Night night happy campers. 

23 November 2016

Rainy days and Wednesday's always let me down. Another day with time on our hands. We spent the morning watching the lead up to the Autumn Statement and then most of the afternoon watching the analysis. 

The rain stopped late in the day so we quickly got on the bikes and had a ride into town to Mercadona. We stocked up with a few supplies and by the time we got back it was dark but we has three minutes to spare before Pointless. 

We settled in for what we thought was a quiet night but then we heard what I thought was Ding Dong. It wasn't her but a ding dong going on between a new couple who arrived yesterday. It interrupted our viewing pleasure and Suits had to be paused, how dare they. Things quietened down after a few expressions of what my grandma used to call the Manchester language and we pressed play to resume our previous entertainment. Happy days. 

The forecast for tomorrow is thankfully better and it's market day in town. Thursday is also the day we usually book for the paella lunch although Val wasn't that enamoured with last week's serving so we might go somewhere else for some nosebag. Night night happy campers. 

24 November 2016

We were on the bikes at about 10:30 but didn't get off the site without a chit chat with our Brummie neighbours. We cycled in the sunshine back along the via verde into Oropesa. We parked the bikes up and walked up to the Tower which wasn't much to look at. We walked on to the lighthouse and beyond. There were waves crashing against the rocks throwing spray high up into the air. 

After we had done the tourist bit we got back on the bikes and after a bit of searching found the market. We spent the grand total of €1 on a kilo of tomatoes after cycling about 16km with another 16km to go back. Still it was a lovely ride along the old railway track looking out to sea. 

We had a change from our usual paella and opted to eat in town. We ended up stuffed after a lunch of salad, croquettes, bread, goulash, chicken, crepes, coffee and a few cans of Bulgarian beer. How we managed to cycle back to the van whilst bursting at the seems is beyond comprehension.

We have eight more nights left in Benicasim. By the time we leave here on the 2 December we will have averaged 23 miles a day, spent £4.75 a day on fuel and £5.56 a day on camping since we moved out of Wyre Close on the 1 September. That doesn't include the £0.13 a day we have averaged on toll roads, giving a grand total of £10.45 per day average. Not too bad for a couple of old codgers. 

You'll never guess what Val watched at 6:15 Spanish. After that we has a FaceTime with Lisa Loo and then down to the clubhouse for the Man Utd game. Half time 1-0 up after a great save from Romereo and a good finish from Rooney. Mhykatarian is still trying to make an impact on the game. Rooney played with more intensity, Mhyka needs to do the same and upped his game in the second half. His best performance so far and Rooney's best since Fergie left.  4-0 at the end and well deserved, they broke the Feyenords hearts midway through the second half. Maktum. 

25 November 2016

After a late night watching the football we had a little bit of a lie in. That's the worst of being an hour ahead it means an 8pm kick off is 9pm over here. 

We were off a little late for the ride into Castellòn but got there to pick up some sale offers at Lidl. 5 large cans of beer for €1, we had to have some of that. The plan was to cycle to Grao to go to the market but I wasn't feeling too good so we headed back finding a different way to get to the promenade. I'd put a thick jumper on and gloves but I wished I'd worn a jacket. I don't know if it's because I was off colour but it felt like the coldest day I've experienced since we left the UK although we passed an electronic sign saying it was 17°. 

I felt better after having a sleep in the tent and finally felt like eating and then felt much better so much so that Val made a great curry for dinner which was the highlight of the evening. We watched a couple of episodes of you know what and then I caught up with the blog before heading the hay. The forecast is for light rain tomorrow but that is with the BBC so anything could happen. Night night happy campers. 

26 November 2016

We waved goodbye to our Brummie friend Gerald and Angela who were heading for Santander and the ferry back home. Let's hope the sailing aren't interrupted by the weather. 

The forecast here isn't very good for the next few days but brighter Thursday and Friday when we leave. That should give us chance to get our tent down when it's dry and get the beading washed and dried before we leave. 

The heavens opened mid morning with thunder, lightning and hailstones. It went on for some time and there was a river running down the middle of the site. I was watching the Test Match in India and the some snooker whilst this was going on. It finally cleared whilst I was watching the F1 Qualifying. I went over to some neighbours from the Midlands. They had been struggling to get the TV going and it turns out it had gone kaput overnight and they had thrown it in the skip. There are three of them, a couple and a chap on his own and all haven't got a scooby doo with their laptops and iPads. The chap on his own had bought a new iPad and an Apple Mac and could only use the iPad for photographs. I spent a good hour with them setting up TV on their devices and helping the single chap recover his original iTunes setting and authorising his new iPad. 

We went down town on the bikes to make sure we had bread for tomorrow as the shops where we get our bread don't open on Sundays. We got back just before darkness fell. 

A nice quiet evening is the plan with what's left of the Ruby from last night, a touch of Strictly and maybe an episode of Suits. Happy days. 

27 November 2016

We woke late just in time for Andrew Marr. I squeezed in a quick shower and some Cricket coverage from India before the Andrew Neil show. After that it was get one or two jobs done before the Grand Prix. 

Next came the football. We need to score some goals to turn this season around but it's hard to see where they are going to come from at the moment. Frustrating but hey ho. 

Next came the Strictly results and then we squeezed in an episode of Suits. We have hardly done a thing but it's somehow been a busy day. Another thunderstorm just as we are going to bed. Lots of lightning and big booms of thunder but it feels nice and cozy in the van. Happy campers. 

Week 12

14 November 2016
I woke in the middle of the night not because of noise from Ding Dong and Bang Bang it was because of the strong wind. I looked out of the window on numerous occasions to check that our tent wasn't sailing off in the black yonder. Sleep didn't come easy, I was tossing and turning with my brain thinking about love, life, politics and the strength of the pound against the euro.  I must have dozed off eventually as the next time I woke it was morning. A cold wet morning greeted us for the first time since we left the white cliffs.

Morning TV and admin contacting the bank and holiday insurance kept us well occupied until the sun came out, which was a good job as we were going stir crazy stuck in the van. The admin went on for longer than we thought so we called it a day and went for a stroll down to the prom to stretch our legs.

It's been the coldest day we've experienced so far. I even had to put my gillet on to keep warm. Thankfully it's sun, sun, sun tomorrow. By the time we got back to the van we had decided to renew our travel insurance. It would be taking a chance to rely solely on our EHIC cards but there are just so many restrictions with insurance cover in the U.K.  Anyway, we searched for a better deal all day and couldn't find one, so we stuck with the old one.
Next year we will plan our time abroad better and maximise the 183 dats we can be out of the country.

The evening followed its normal routine apart from a FaceTime chat with the boys in London and Lisa in Sheffield and then it was two more episodes of Suits. I don't know how many more episodes there are left to watch but we'll have to find another fix when it's over.

It was all quiet on the Russian front tonight and the wind was not blowing a hooley. Let's hope the happy campers get a good nights sleep.

15 November 2016

It was a quiet night apart from the dustbin wagon that usually arrives about 03:00 every morning waking me up. We have to put our rubbish and recycling out on the street. There are two large bins just across the road which are emptied nightly. Can you imagine the bin men in the UK coming nightly, to collect the rubbish. 

The sun was just coming up as we woke from our slumber. The first job of the day as always was to put the kettle on. What creatures of habit. I needed a Simon and Garfunkel fix so their 50 greatest hits seemed to suffice, although I'm sure they played The Boxer at least twice. We were showered and ready to go by 10:00, not quite a world record but maybe an Olympic one. We pedalled away counting the bikes on the New Jersey Benicasim Turnpike. 

We were looking for a caravan shop two roundabouts down and to the right over an hump back bridge. I now think the directions I got from John, one of the other campers where meant to be followed in a car. We could see the shop just across the road but the cycle track we were on was fenced off so that the road was inaccessible. We tried a few different ways but with no success. 

What we did see was a road leading towards Magdalena Castle. I took it as an omen and away we went. We were briefly on one of the trails to Compostela de Santiago, how neat was that. We parked the bikes at the bottom of the climb up to the castle and took to walking. The views from the summit we great and we were at a point we had looked up at on numerous occasions saying we'll have to pay that place a visit. We spent a bit of time chilling and taking photos and it was all downhill on the way back. 

Castellòn was our next stop. We parked the bikes at Lidl and the had a walk towards what we thought might be the centre. It's a big city so we could have been heading anywhere. We passed a roundabout with an electronic sign telling us the time and the switching to the temperature which was 24°C. I went into a barbers to get my haircut but if my interpretation of what the barber said was correct, he had dos customers lined up before he could cut mine. We walked on and about an hour later we did a big shop at Lidl. As big as two rucksacks and a large carrier bag would allow and then cycled the 13km back to the site for a very late lunch and a long siesta. 

Our Dutch friends from further down the site woke us up wanting to play Pétanque so my siesta didn't last as long as I thought it would. Lex who still  doesn't speak a word of the Queens, and I took another beating from the girls and then he invited us back to his van for a beer. We spent a pleasant evening with them before returning for our compulsory two episodes of Suits. Another day on planet earth had gone by in a flash. Sleepy campers. 

16 November 2016

This is our fifteenth day in Benicasim which means we still have another sixteen days to go before we move further South. Up to now we are averaging £12.42 per day on camping fees and fuel combined and that figure will go down the longer we stay here as we have already paid in advance. Once we get on the move it will start rising again more so as we will do less wild camping in Spain. 

Up and out a bit later today as we were off to Grau, about 8km down the coast. We passed an electronic sign saying the temperature was 22°C. Roasting hot in the sun but cooler in the shade, great for the middle of November. All the locals are well wrapped up and the Brits are kitted out with summer wear. 

We had a pleasant walk round the harbour which was overflowing with fish. They must be used to being fed titbits as they follow you along waiting to be thrown a morsel. We had a look round one of the Chinese shops which tend to be like big supermarkets selling everything from Christmas decorations to the kitchen sink. We had a walk round town and bought bread and then into the Mercadona to buy some beer. A staple diet if ever there was one. 

We cycled back to the van for some rest and relaxation in the sunshine and had a very late lunch or early dinner depending on which way you look at it. We retired to the van when it got too cold to sit out and the evenings entertainment was the movie True Grit which was a bit weird without The Duke and later we watched the compulsory episodes of Suits. Val had a look on the net and it seems there are six series with about sixteen episodes per series. We'll be old and grey by the time we get to the end of it. Buenos noches. 

17 November 2016

We were up with the alarm and had our skates on for an early getaway. We set off on the bikes heading for Oropesa del Mar along the Viaverde trail which runs along the wild and natural coast. It probably took us about an hour to get there and then Val suggested we follow a road which took us to the next town along the coast which was Marina Dor.

It was virtually empty and according to what we read most of the massive apartment block have never been lived in and lots of its shops have never opened due to financial crash. We cycled along the beautiful promenade which was probably payed for by EU money. We stopped on a bench to enjoy some crisps and tangerines and was sad to see a chap rooting in a bin and retrieving what was left of a part eaten piazza. You can see the effects that the recession has had on everyday Spaniards just in the clothes they wear. 

We had a cycle round Opopesa and then back along the Viaverde and got back to our site bang on time for the Paella lunch. How lucky was that. We got chatting to a Brummie couple who had also booked the lunch and who like us had retired before pension age and had a little income from a rental property but were mainly living off savings. They were still maintaining a house in the UK but if it had been up to the husband they wouldn't have been. 

Val did some sunbathing whilst I borrowed the site paper which is the Daily Express. The paper is more anti EU than I am and told me how well Britain is doing since the Brexit vote. It also anticipated the there will soon be a Lord Farrage, wouldn't that rock the House of Lords. 

As the sun went down I zipped up the tent for the evening. We must buy a low wattage heater for the next time we come abroad. It would allow us to stay longer in the tent when the temperature drops. Val popped the cork on a bottle of Brut that cost us all of €1.89. Happy tipples. 

The rest of our evening followed the usual pattern. Two episodes of Suits and then catch up with the blog. No alarm clock tonight as we plan to clean the roof of the van. Getting up there should be fun. Happy cleaning campers. 

18 November 2016

We woke with a purpose which was to clean the roof of the van. After borrowing the ladders from the site and saying ten hail Mary's I assented and belly flopped onto the roof as I was afraid of falling and landing on my ass. 

We started cleaning at about 10:00 and stopped for lunch at 3:00. There was a bit off time gassing with a brummie neighbour but only for about an hour. The van at the end looked the cleanest it's ever been since we bought it in 2010, especially the roof. 

We had lunch outside in the sunshine and counted our lucky stars that we weren't in the UK enduring the snow and rain. After all you can't enjoy vino tinto in the rain as it dilutes it. 

We did get out to do a bit of shopping and just got back before it went dark and then we slipped into our evening routine. We are now into series three of Suits and are starting to think it's never going to end. Two more episodes watched and it's time for some zzzz's. Oh no, there activity on the Russian front. It could be a long night. 

19 November 2016

Either Ding Dong left early left early or they both fell asleep because we slept soundly. We both woke with aching muscles after our exertions cleaning the van. 

We spent the morning cleaning the inside of the van and clearing out the under bed area. We are gradually making better use of all the available space. Magazines are getting read and going in the bin. Stuff we don't use or need is following so we are hopefully getting a little bit lighter as time goes by. 

The main entertainment this afternoon was the Man United Versus Arsenal game. United bossed the game, had far more attempts at goal and had a stonewall penalty waved away. Disappointed. 

With the twelve thirty kick off being one thirty over here it was a late lunch to say the least. A bit of a cloudy day, but still warm enough to eat outside which was nice. It might be the last time for a few days as rain is forecast for tomorrow and Tuesday. We'll have to wait and see. If the forecasters are as good as the BBC it might be bright sunshine. 

In the evening our Dutch neighbours came round and spent a couple of hours with us. The paradox was it was both easy and hard, their an easy couple to get on with, Lex is a joker and Shiska is bubbly, but it's hard with the language barrier. The evening which was their last went well but we'll be sad to see then go. 

We watched another episode of Suits and were starting to doze so we set the bed up and climbed in. By the time we had done that we had both come round a bit so I got stuck into the blog whilst Val checked her email. Another day gone by in a flash. 

20 November 2016

We woke and showered early so the we could say farewell to Lex and Shiska. They drove their car and caravan over to reception but after the handshakes and the kisses were completed the car wouldn't start. Gerard from the Brummie couple who were also saying goodbye had a starting device with leads attached so they were soon on their way. 

I spent the rest of the morning watching my usual Sunday morning TV programmes whilst Val spent some time on the net. About 1:30 we jumped on the bikes and rode into town for lunch in a restaurant. It was ok but not great. The previous dish of Patatas Bravas we had was far superior to what were served today. It was a Romanian restaurant with some nice Romanian beer and the food portions were enormous. I think we just picked the wrong dishes. It was an enjoyable lunch but it could have been better. The only people out and about on Sunday are the ones going out to eat. The place is deserted apart from them. It's like going back to a time in the UK when the pups closed at 2:00 and the sabbath was considered a day of rest. 

By the time we got back to the van the sun was shining brightly so we had a couple of hours enjoying the warmest part of the day before it clouded over again and the temperature dropped. We retired to the van and darkness was on us in no time. The evenings entertainment was Strictly and another episode of our current Netflix favourite series. Happy campers. 

Week 11

7 November 2016
We were up with the alarm at eight bells and off on the bikes by 9:00 heading to Grao just over 8km down the coast road. We had been told about a BP petrol station where you could get a Spanish gas bottle and only pay for the gas it contained whereas all the local dealers were charging €20 for the bottle alone and then the gas on top. We set off in jumpers and fleece as the temperature dropped to about 13°C this morning even though the sun was shining brightly.

After stopping a couple of times for photographs we found the garage as directed and had a word with the chap inside who spoke good English. We copied the coordinates from our iPhone so that we can input them into the sat nav next time we're out in the van. We just need and adapter and some hose to connect the bottle up once we have it. Better than paying £1000 plus to have a Gaslow system fitted to the van.

After that we cycled into the centre of Castellòn in search of the market. We wandered around for a while and had decided to head back when we came across it by chance. We had a good look round and bought some produce and we spotted a Lidi not too far away. We went in and bought one or two more things including a couple of pies for lunch as it was well into the afternoon. When we came out of the supermarket and got back on the bikes Val realised immediately that she had a puncture and we were about 12km from home. Oh, oh. I got online to look for a cycle shop but the ones I found were due to close in 3 minutes for that Spanish institution, siesta.

We started walking back rather than wait till 5:00 pm for the shops to reopen. We got about halfway back on foot when a Yorkshire couple who were cycling back to Benicasim stopped to see if they could help. The guy who was called Andrew pumped up Val's tyre and off she went like billio along the prom with the Yorkshire couple and me in hot pursuit. When her tyre went down Andrew pumped it back up and this went on till we got back to the site. What a lovely gesture and a great help to get us home.

After dinner it was a quiet evening in the van with a bit of TV and a bit of Netflix followed by some light reading. Has another day gone by so quickly. Tired happy campers.

8 November 2016

What a great morning. We went with the owners of the site Paco and James to their fields of mandarins which have been in the family for generations. They gave us lots of information about eating them when the skins are thin and still green and how to tell the best fruit to pick. They gave us a bag each which we filled, we'll be eating them for a good week. 

When we got back I got on with putting a new inner tube in Val's front tyre. She still has a slow puncture in the rear one but it goes down that slowly we will be able to ride downtown to the bike shop. Ideally she will have new tyres front and back, new brake cables and blocks and a new seat. It was to late to go today as it would have been siesta by the time we got there so we will combine it with lunch out tomorrow. 

After Val had done the second lot of washing and emptied the machine we headed into town to seek out the bike shops and found three. We did a bit of shopping in Marcadona, everywhere else being closed and the headed back for the Pétanque grudge match which was won 2-0 by yours truly. I got to do the washing up to celebrate my victory. 

The evening followed our usual routine with dinner and a drop of vino and a couple of episodes of Suits watched over the wifi. I've got into Val's book called Round Ireland with a Fridge written by a guy called Tony Hawks who is a stand up comedian who hiked round the Emerald Isle with the aforementioned Fridge. We've been here a week and it's flown by. The place is quiet with it being close season but it's just the way we like it. You can go on the beach and feel as if you have it to yourself.  Happy trails. 

9 November 2016

We spent the early part of the morning watching the news from the USA which to my mind was predictable just like the Brexit vote. Time will tell whether it's a good or a bad thing, after all Ronald Reagan became president. 

Next job was to mend the bikes. We both had a slow puncture so I took the inner tubes out and stuck a sticking plaster on both of them. Val had been having trouble with her gears and I was in the middle of trying to fix them when our Dutch neighbours turned up and Lex who didn't speak a word of the Queens waded in and more or less took over. He took links out of the chains, fixed the gears and oiled every component that hadn't seen a drop for years. His wife Siska did the translation. The even helped us with getting the adapter for the Spanish gas bottle. 

We finished about 2:00 in the afternoon and I had lunch in the tent. I stripped one of the outer sides of to let more air flow through which made it a little cooler and more pleasurable. 

Later we rode down to the beach and along the promenade up to Benicasim Tower. We stopped a few times for a stroll along the boardwalks and took a few snaps. We caught the last of the sun and got back to the van just before dusk. 

After dinner we got to wish our grandson Theodore a happy birthday. It's not every day of the week you reach five years old. We also got to have a chat with Louis, it was so great to talk to them. There rest of the evening followed its usual pattern. We are really into the Netflix series Suits even though we can watch TV over the wifi it's thar strong a signal. Happy campers. 

10 November 2016

Market day in Benicasim. We were up reasonably early and out heading into town not so much to the market but in search of a certain bike shop. It was almost time to head back to the site for our paella lunch when our search ended and we found the shop which was closed for vacation. The market stalls were packing up but we just had time to pick up some tomatoes before heading home. 

We were a few minutes late when we pitched up for lunch but as we were the only ones who had booked it didn't matter. The paella was just as good as last week and we enjoyed a couple of beers to wash it down. 

After getting in a couple of games of Pétanque 1-1 We went out again with our Dutch neighbour Lex in search of a brass pigtail hose connection. We finally found one at the caravan shop but at €35 it was a real rip off when I can buy one in the UK for less than £10. Ill wait till we're home for Christmas and bring one back with me. 

We caught the end of Pointless and watched the news whilst having dinner and then settled in for some more Netflix. I could have watched Question Time but it doesn't start until 11:35 in Spain and we had our heads down before then following a late one last night. Sleepyhead campers. 

11 November 2016

When we wake up everybody else on site seems to be already sat out having breakfast, some have even hung their washing out. I was sat out and had just finished breakfast and watching last nights Question Time when Lex came round to take me to Grao to pick up a bottle of Propano. I had been talking to another neighbour John who had told me how to backfill the system so with the Spanish gas and the attachment we use to connect the Cadac to the outside cooking point, it was all systems go. Spanish propano €11.72 - English propane £21, twice the price. 

After lunch we set of on the bikes to Castellòn on the cycle track about 13km away. We took the large ruck sacks so that we could do some shopping and after calling at Aldi and meeting the couple who helped us with the punctures, we came back with full bags. 

Before dinner we had a game of Pétanque with our Dutch neighbours men versus women. We finished in almost total darkness, it's a good job the jack was bright pink. The game finished 1-1 with the decider arranged for tomorrow. 

Val made us a pasta dish whilst at the same time keeping an eye on Pointless. In no time at all it was the England versus Scotland game and good on the FA for giving FIFA the finger and supporting the teams wearing poppies. Another day that seemed to flash by. Happy campers. 

12 November 2016

After a solid nights sleep we woke to a sunny but slightly cooler morning. After breakfast outside it started to get hotter and I retired to the tent to get some shade. We spent a lot of time planning where to spend next summer and checking the CC&C Temporary Holiday Sites and the MCC Special Events. Cornwall looks like a place where there is plenty of options and we could have the grandkids with hopefully plenty for them to do. 

We spent the afternoon shopping and found a Supermarket we hadn't visited before. We bought some San Miguel and a can of another beer we liked the look of which was on offer at €0.38 for a large can. We might have to go back and fill our daisies. 

Round two of the Pétanque took place with the ladies in fine form giving us lads a good hiding two zip. I put our poor form down to too much sun and the lack of a stiff drink before we started. Unlike last night we finished in good light but darkness fell not long after we got in the van. 

We walked round to the restaurant where we ate last week but it felt too cold to sit for a couple of hours even with a body warmer on so we decided we would have something to eat in the van whilst watching strictly. How the hell is Ed Balls still in it? We watched an episode of Suits and started fading. Old bu**ger campers. 

13 November 2016

Remembrance Sunday, lest we forget.

We can't half sleep when we're in the van it's seems more relaxing. It didn't come close to us missing my favourite Sunday morning show but there wasn't enough time for a shower before it started and we're an hour ahead. 

One of the owners of the site Camping Tauro was performing with the Benicàssim Band and kindly invited us to the Municipal Theatre to see the performance. We had a great time especially as I love a bit of Brass. It always makes me nostalgic for a viewing of Brassed Off which I've seen too many times to recall. I even seen the stage show which Lisa took me to on one of our visits to Sheffield. My favourite scene is when about ten marching brass bands stop for a pint in each village and the are judged in each village they pass through. Anyway, I'm rambling... It was a great show that started about 12:30 and by the time it finished we were well Hank Marvin. 

We had lunch at a restaurant in town not far from the theatre called Select. It was a shared menu for €15. We didn't really know what to expect, the baguette arrived cut up in rolls in a basket, all good so far. Next came a gargantuan ovalI tray of tuna salad that hardly fit on the table which took us about half an hour to polish off. Then came the kicker, we had been using the Zendogs wifi to translate what it said on the menu board. We knew our next course was mixed meat, we didn't expect a whole cow, two extremely long sausages that overlapped the plate at both sides and a chicken. We finished eating that course another half an hour later, three quarters of the cow was still on the plate, one sausage and about quarter of the chicken. The waitress walked past about ten times and gave me the "have you finished" look. About ten times I gave her the "can't eat another morsel" look. We had time between this staring at each other episode to look up the translation for delicious which she understood and too much which she didn't. Val managed to convey that we would have a doggie bag, I know what's for dinner tomorrow and probably a few days after that. I breathed a sigh of relief when the expected bucket of ice cream was only a bowlful and Val's tiramisu was a normal sided portion. We had coffee and vino and paid the bill and come managed to get the contents of the doggie bag to fit into a normal sized carrier bag. Phew. 

We staggered back to the bikes and cycled back to the van on tyres that looked flat. We flopped on to the recliners feeling stuffed for a siesta. When in Rome or in our case Spain. We soaked up the sun till it was almost down and the temperature was dropping and then retired to the comfort of the van. 

We have a young Russian neighbour who is disabled. He lives or is staying in a small tent on a pitch to the rear of the van. He has some weight lifting equipment set up outside the tent and a full sized fridge to make the tent his home from home. His girlfriend turns up about four times a week. I call them Ding Dong and Bang Bang because they are either having a right ding dong or they are having a loud bang bang and usually in that order. I suppose the sex is better after a good ole ding dong. Last night followed the usual pattern with about an hours lull before hostilities resumed again for round two. 

They didn't spoil our two episodes of Suits otherwise I would have been over there telling them to keep the noise down. Apart from that we had a quiet evening reflecting on the day. Our Spanish has improved from only knowing the words "dos, cervera, por for vor and grathias". We now know the words bana which means bathroom and haste luego which means see you later. Sleep tight happy campers everywhere.