We have left our beautiful beach and wonky chimneys behind, dear reader, and travelled the 1356 miles back to our home here in the United Kingdom. Our journey takes us diagonally across Spain to the north west coast and then up the west coast of France to the amazing tunnel under the sea . We left our bolt hole with mixed emotions – sadness at leaving friends behind but happy to know we will see family and friends both en route and at the journey’s end. It has been a visit tinged with sadness – you may recall I wrote about our friend who died in the Summer : we felt her absence deeply- and also this visit included watching our dear friends having to make decisions and choices they would rather not have to make, on account of health and age. That is life though isn’t it? How easy it is to take our health and our years for granted – but how hard it is when both kick back and make their presence felt! Something none of us want to contemplate- but know at some point , we will all have to do!
Enough gloom I think for the moment – back to the journey! We have travelled this route many times and whilst it is long, the driving is pleasurable. We use the motorways ( and pay for the pleasure , particularly in France!!), but it means that on the whole the traffic is light. Now I don’t know if you have driven on the motorways in England , dear reader, but occasionally they have chevrons painted on the carriageway to remind drivers to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front. help improve road safety. Now in France they have a far more sensible system on all the motorways- there is a broken white line at the edge of each carriageway, and signs advise you to keep two lines distance between you and the vehicle in front. So no sporadic painting of chevrons on chosen stretches of motorway required ( I recall driving on the M62 one year and finding chevrons on the carriageway but pointing the wrong way!………needless to say someone in the Highways Agency realised and had the mistake corrected!)
The other roadworthy tip we find useful in both France and Spain is that all roadworks are marked with yellow road markings – a simple but effective and clear way of alerting road users to drive with caution Sometimes it seems to me we have ignored the sensible ideas from across the Channel, and taken note of the not so sensible ones such as the dimensions of a cucumber and a banana. Whilst I’m on that subject –
tell me dear reader, how can these gnarled and knobbly tomatoes be allowed for sale ( they can’t possibly adhere to EU regulations!) I’ll tell you why – because they taste like a tomato should! Yet would they be for sale or eaten here in the UK – I doubt it, because here we have been brainwashed into believing that the appearance of our fruit and vegetables is more important than the taste!
Now I don’t want you to think I am against all rules and regulations laid down by the EU – I am not, but I do wonder how the said rules can be interpreted so differently by individual member states. I’m beginning to think the UK is the goody goody of the class- I wonder if Brexit ever happens (???), whether we will be able to buy wonky carrots from the supermarket without the need for them to tell us they’re wonky ………
Anyway once again I digress – but then you’re used to that( or should be!) by now!!! So we arrived home a week ago – friends had warned of the need for thermal vests and the like, but I have to say there is no better gradual acclimatisation than driving northward over three days ( we left temperatures of 24 degrees but gradually the temperature reduced to -1 at one point in France , so it was not such a shock on arrival here at 11 degrees)
One of the last shopping trips before we left Spain involved getting this little lady some more food.
I went to our usual pet shop and the owner chatted away – once again the weather was picking up and we were in for a spell of warmth again, how lovely it was, how lucky we’d been with the weather – I explained we were leaving at the end of the week and how close by to our home in England there had been terrible floods. He was immediately concerned and asked me if that was why I was going home? No, I explained, we were fortunate and had not been affected by them and were going home for Christmas with the family – “ah yes, of course – very special” He wished me a Happy Christmas and with a “ Buen viaje” and a “Hasta la proxima” ( Safe journey and see you next time !) we parted !
He is right though – and our friends in Spain know it too. The DB and I are blessed with a wonderful family – we know how lucky we are- and we treasure time spent with them all.
So until next time dear reader, I leave you with this!
“ My family are my greatest treasure – we are not perfect ( thank goodness) – but I love them with all my heart.”
Camino Romero 