InvictaMoto's Family Travels

After the late night we didn't get up too early. We had hardly unpacked and so we ended up back in the restaurant for another breakfast on the same bill as the half we'd had when we arrived. From there the weather had looked up a bit and we headed off with TomTom leading us along the coast through Bournemouth before we were free of the built up area. Along this section it seemed the main income stream would be from the speed cameras dotted all over the place and the intellectually subnormal speed limits to make sure that the income is high. The ride home was far less eventful than the ride down the week before.  The motorways not too busy, no more than a normal working day. We were home in good time and parked up at home in the early afternoon. Once again Döra had been the perfect bike. Comfortable two-up. Powerful enough and economical enough when needed. With the larger Kappa topcase and the OEM panniers there was enough luggage space for this length of tri...

At sea. Before the 3G signal faded last night I checked the booking in Poole. Actually the most expensive hotel of the entire holiday. A Holiday Inn in Poole. More expensive than both the Paradors!! Still, very convenient for the harbour late at night and has breakfast included and free wifi. The day started with Biscay playing to its famed bumpy self. The ship rolling in a decent swell. We got up late and set off for the restaurant for breakfast. Both of us are usually good sailors, but not now. At least Claire made it to breakfast! I returned to the cabin. I was very tom and dick! After a few hours the good weather arrived and stayed with us for ten or eleven hours until we were only a few hours out of Poole. Oh yes. After a whole holiday in the dry, it was drizzling.... Then bad news. An announcement that due to traffic in the harbour, we would be late docking by an hour. Instead it wasn't that bad and we eventually arrived about half an hour later. We had some chat with the oth...

Not a bad night once the screaming brat closed down for the night. After two of the three S's were accomplished we went down to desayuno. It's included in the room rate. As we are both old we qualify for the "golden age" rate at the Parador that gives us a discount on the room rate of about 10%. Breakfast was a buffet. Plenty for everyone.  Views from the terrace. Sorting what goes in what bag not so simple! To save carrying loads what we need for the duration of the boat crossing and the hotel stop in Poole we needed one bag. Once sorted we loaded Döra and then checked out.  The Parador We reported the broken chair and I left a note and took pictures!! The broken chair The first planned stop was Potes on the edge of the Picos.  Today there was only one mountain pass, Puerto de Piedroluengas at 1355m. It is on the border between Palencia and Cantabria.  The descent on the northern...

Only one more night left in Spain but the best part of two days. We didn't get up too early. The alarm was 0800 but as check out was 1200 and no breakfast in the hotel, thought we'd lie in and then pack and go. The first stop was the Bernabeu Stadium. Of course I went into the car park the wrong way, had to "off road" across some pavements to set Döra up for a photo session.  Stadio Santiago Bernebeu Stadio Santiago Bernebeu Stadio Santiago Bernebeu Stadio Santiago Bernebeu - don't ask about the orange character We still hadn't had breakfast, so after a few pix we set off again. TomTom took us around the entire stadium and through the car-park of a shopping complex and we saw a Musee del Jamón. Parked and a ham croissant and coffee later we were off to the second stop at Segovia. The route I planned took us over the Puerto de Navacerrado. It's over 1800 metres and progress was deadly. To cover today's long dis...

Today we had a full day of sightseeing. It is not as hot as Toledo but still in the high 20's. Breakfast. We had a walk up Huertas again to the top and chose a cafe on the square. Croissant for Claire and porros for me. Porros are huge fat churros! I managed two of the four. Our sightseeing included El Corte Ingles, Museo de Jamon, Plaza Mayor, the market then down to the Royal Palace. Somehow we were out for six hours. We adopted the tapa style of eating and in the market, more a food place now than a real market,  we had some small fish tapa at €1 each. They all came on small pieces of toast. The "pulpo" was quite hard to eat, but the cod meat in a sauce was superb. On the way back to the hotel we called in the Carrefour. Fanta is €1 as well. Maybe the San Miguel is better value? After a siesta, we dressed, my chinos got their first outing! We had walked so far in the day we wanted somewhere local. In the end we had a gr...

Time to leave Toledo and head firstly to Aranjuez and then to Madrid. Or rather firstly we would pack the bike and ride out of the old town via the steep streets. The streets are not simply cobbled but the surface is flint stones embedded in concrete. Not that easy on a large bike with luggage and two adults!   We made it and then ignored TomTom telling us to take the main road, instead we headed down the south bank of the Tajo to a couple of viewing spots. Roman Bridge The Alcazar View of the old town Dora and Claire The run to Aranjuez was on another autovia and it was only signposted just before the junction with Ocaña and Cuenca seemingly more important. We topped up with fuel at the first station. At €1.369 per litre the cheapest so far. The onboard temp gauge showed an air temp of 34.5℃. Who knows what it was when stopped. We had lunch at a café right by the old Royal Palace. It was open but simply too hot to go across. ...

Firstly a trip up to the roof terrace to take in the view. Exceptional. Toledo Cathedral and Alcazar Alcazar de Toledo And then out to look for dinner. Ended walking miles, had a beer and tapas then more walking and eventually dinner near St Tomé. Tomorrow we are off to Madrid. So time for some packing and bed.  One last visit to the roof to find none of the buildings lit up. 

If it's day 5 it must be Toledo! And sure enough it is. Opening the shutters reveals another sunny day has begun. Scorchio! Breakfast was soon consigned to the past. We opted for the €5 version. Tomorrow I'll go €3 instead. That should be quite enough. We weren't particularly early but made straight for the Cathedral.  Incredibly only a few minutes to get a ticket, at €8 per person including audio headset. And into the cool quiet interior. The place is massive, begun in the middle of the 13th century it took them 267 years to complete! Better be forewarned if you want a Spanish builder! There is simply too much to tell about here - Link ! Some highlights: As the inner apse has no natural light the solved it with this window and a special "window" in the wall behind. Amongst the decoration you can see it. Here, I did it for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Transparente The main altar is a magnificent piece in g...