Doren, Austria

30th July, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany.

23RD JULY, 2018, DOREN, AUSTRIA

After leaving Arbon on Lake Konstanz in the afternoon we headed to Doren - a small in Austria near Bregenz in the west.  The views were beautiful and we had a delicious meal.

Chur, Switzerland

30th July, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany.

21ST AND 22ND JULY, 2018 CHUR SWITZERLAND

We left Arona and followed the road around Lake Maggiore which was beautiful and then found a scenic route through the Swiss Alps to arrive at Chur which is Switzerland’s original capital city and is located on the right bank of the Rhine, is reputedly the oldest town of Switzerland. The weather was still rainy but we managed to get to dinner and back during the dry spells.

On Sunday we caught the Bergbahnen Gondola up the mountain to Brambruesch, which was very scenic and beautiful.

23RD JULY 2018 From Chur to Arbon, Lake Konstanz, Switzerland.

We left Chur shrouded in clouds and travelled through the Alps and down again to a town called Arbon on Lake Konstanz.

Arona, Italy

23rd July, 2018, Doren, Austria.

20TH JULY 2018, ARONA, ITALY

We left Briancon through the mountains and then crossed the border into Italy.  We stayed at Arona on Lake Maggiore where there was thunderstorm.

Gap and Briancon, France

23rd July, 2018 Doren, Austria

18TH JULY 2018, GAP, FRANCE.

After leaving our b and b we heading to Pont du Gard which is a famous ancient Roman Aqueduct. They were charging 17 euros to see it so we said no as we were only going to be there 5 minutes to take some photos and leave….

In Gap we treated ourselves to a gourmet dinner as we wanted to taste some real french food. First course was avocado and crab cold soup, main course was wild boor which was imported from Australia and I had a beautiful raspberry tart whilst hubby’s cake was drowned in Bundaberg Rum.

19TH JULY 2018 BRIANCON, FRANCE

Gap to Briancon was through the French Alps and we visited some new mountains such as Col de Vars, 2109m elevation and places we went to five years ago, Le Laus and Col D’Isoard, 2360m elevation. Beautiful area with nice windy roads…

Millau, France

23rd July, 2018 Doren, Austria

17TH JULY 2018 MILLAU, FRANCE

Five to six years ago I discovered the Millau Viaduct and would have liked to have traveled over it on our 2013 European Bike Trip but it was not on our route. So I was thrilled yesterday to have seen it close up. Yes, you may have worked out by now that I like viaducts and aqueducts - usually great feats of engineering and this modern day one was too.

That evening we stayed in a bed and breakfast in Vezenobres near Ales and had dinner in Pont de Ners/Bridge of Ners.

Midi-Pyreneese to Carcassonne, France

Thursday 19th July 2018, Briancon, France.

15TH - 16TH JULY 2018 MIDI-PYRENEES TO CARCASSONNE

Leaving Cierp-Gaud in the Midi-Pyreneese we traveled on Tour de France roads to Carcassonne. 

After watching France win the World cup Football we left our hotel to the sounds of horns blaring and cheering for the next couple of hours as we walked to dinner and around the city.

The next day it was not only bucketing down with rain but there was thunder and lightning so we waited an hour or so before we ventured out to the Old City of Carcassonne which is Europe’s largest medieval fortified citadel.

Santiago De Compostela and Northern Spain

Wednesday, 18th July, 2018 Gap, France

10TH - 11TH JULY 2018 SANTIAGO DE COMPESTELA

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain.

The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St. James, a leading Catholic pilgrimage route since the 9th century. In 1985, the city's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (thanks Wiki)

12TH - 14TH JULY 2018 NORTHERN SPAIN

We traveled from Santiago de Compostela to Cudillero, a little harbour town, then the next day to Navarrete, then the following day we crossed the border into France.

Portugal

Tuesday 10th July, 2018 Santiago de Compestela, Spain.

PORTUGAL 6TH - 9TH JULY 2018

After leaving Badajoz in Spain we crossed the border into Portugal and stopped at the Amoreira Aqueduct which is huge and in the middle of town. Construction started in 1529 and finished in 1622. The overall length is 7790 metres/4.8 miles, there are 843 arches and it is 31m/102 feet high.

Then we continued on to Lisbon and caught the metro to the main centre and the tram to Belem to visit the Maritime Museum.

After Lisbon we headed north and stopped at Tomar to climb the steps and stand in the water canal of the Pegoes Aqueduct - which I found out about through Pinterest. This was an awesome aqueduct built to supply water to the Convent of Christ. Construction started in 1593 and completed in 1614. It is about 6kms/3.7miles long and has 58 arches and is 30 metres at maximum height.

Then we headed to Castello Branco for lunch and to look for the White Castle but couldn't find it and on to Figueira da Foz where we stayed at this great bed and breakfast. The next day we headed to Porto and planned to stay the night there but could not find any parking places in the narrow one way streets at all so we continued north to Braga. And now we are in Spain, I miss the Portuguese Custard Tarts already and hope to find some in Spain...

Merida and Badajoz, Spain

Friday 6th July, 2018, Lisbon Portugal

MERIDA, 4TH JULY 2018

On Wednesday morning we left Cordoba, Spain and headed to Zafra and stopped for lunch and a quick look around.

Then we headed to Merida to see the aqueduct and the Roman Bridge.

Afterwards we went to Badajoz, pronounced Bad-a-hoze.

BADAJOZ, 4TH - 5TH JULY 2018

Badajoz is a town that dates back to the Bronze age, 4000BC and there are relics in the Museum of Archaeology in the Alcazaba, both of which are free to enter and very informative and very interesting.  The Alcazaba is an ancient Moorish citadel and was part of the Peninsular War (1805-1813).

The Puente de Palmas, also known as Puente Bobo, is the oldest bridge in Badajoz; the masonry was first laid in 1460. It has since been rebuilt a few times after flooding.

Cordoba, Spain

Tuesday, 3rd July 2018, Cordoba Spain.

CORDOBA, SPAIN - 2ND AND 3RD JULY 2018.

On Monday morning we left Granada and headed to Cordoba. Monday afternoon we toured around the Mezquita-Catedral, the Roman Bridge and the tourist part of town,

On Tuesday morning we arrived at the Mezquita-Catedral at 8:30am when entry is free for 50mins.  The Mosque-Cathedral was built as a mosque and the structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.  In 784 Abd al-Rahman I ordered construction of the Great Mosque, which was considerably expanded by later Muslim rulers. Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 during the Reconquista, and the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church, culminating in the insertion of a Renaissance cathedral nave in the 16th century. (Thanks to Wiki)

In the afternoon I went to the Castle of the Christian Monarchs or The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (Spanish for "Castle of the Christian Monarchs"), also known as the Alcázar of Córdoba, is a medieval Alcázar located in the historic centre of Córdoba. (Wiki) The gardens were beautiful.

Sierra Nevada and Granada, Spain

Tuesday, 3rd July, 2018, Cordoba, Spain.

SIERRA NEVADA - 30TH JUNE 2018

On Saturday morning we left Aguilas and headed to the Sierra Nevada mountains. The roads were windy, we climbed to 1500m and the views were spectacular.

We stopped in a small town at a hairpin bend called Trevelez for lunch, where they make a special ham or jamon.

Then we continued to Granada.

GRANADA, SPAIN - 1ST JULY, 2018

We walked up to the Alhambra which is situated at the top of the hill. The Alhambra is is a palace and fortress complex originally built by the Moors and It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications, and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquistain 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella, and the palaces were partially altered in the Renaissance style. In 1526 Charles I & V commissioned a new Renaissance palace better befitting the Holy Roman Emperor. (Thanks to Wiki for the info.)

Then we walked down the hill, crossed the river and back up the hill on the other side to the lookout.

Aguilas, Spain

Sunday, 1st July, 2018, Granada, Spain.

AGUILAS, SPAIN - 29th June, 2018

Aguilas is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Province of Almería.

We stayed there for one night and had a nice meal, the town was a little disappointing though....

Albarracin, Spain

Sunday July 1st, Granada, Spain 5pm

ALBARRACIN, SPAIN - 28TH JUNE, 2018

We picked up our long term lease hire car, a Peugeot 208, from near the airport in Barcelona where it was was warm and sunny. By the time we reached Teruel it was raining and there was thunder and lightning but I did manage to get a photograph of the viaduct from the car.

Albarracin is 35km from Teruel and it was raining there too but it cleared an hour later. Albarracín was named in the 11 century is surrounded by stony hills and the town was declared a Monumento Nacional in 1961. The cathedral was built from 1572 to 1600, when the bell-tower was complete.  The church has a single nave and the ceiling has Gothictracery. The nave interior and the Chapel of the Virgen del Pilar was redecorated in stucco and gilding in Baroque style.

That evening we strolled up towards the cathedral to have dinner at La Taba, we ordered too much food but it was all very yummy.

The morning light provided another photo opportunity of this amazing town and we crossed the river and climbed the hill to get some more pics of the cathedral and fortress wall.

We loved Albarracin with it's old buildings and ramparts and were reluctant to leave.