Jane & Rog Plod to Portugal
- Thread starter Jane And Rog
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Mousy
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Check out the site known as the baby Taj Mahal. It’s beautiful, not busy and you can spend ages exploring the wonderful workmanship.
I’d 100% recommend a visit.
Baby Taj Mahal: Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah in Agra, India - Through My Lens
Located in the same city as the Taj Mahal itself, the Baby Taj is a beautiful example of both the history and the architecture of the country. It is an amazing place to visit in Agra.
www.throughmylens.com
cliffanger
LIFE MEMBER
We were in Las Vegas years ago. We went to the Nevada Museum of Prehistoric history (purely because we had a book of coupons, one of which was free entry to the museum).Healing crystals
We’ve mentally turned towards home. Of course we physically turned towards home in Portugal but last night (actually day before last as I had trouble posting this) we calculated the mileage to Calais and days to our Shuttle booking. We never really planned to be on the current 5th November crossing but by now it would have been far from a leisurely trip back. Who knew Spain and France were so big? We pushed back to the 16th after which we have to be back in Blighty anyway. It does make the trip back somewhat leisurely but even this means we need to move a little more quickly.
So today was a driving day. We also did some touristing: the world’s second biggest geode - or biggest if you, like the BBC, split hairs about geodes vs mere “caves filled with crystals”.
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Jane near a mine
We arrived at about 10am and rushed to beat a coach load of brits to the ticket office. Sadly we were informed the whole day’s tours were booked. It’s the Alhambra all over again. Thinking I’d grab a similar screen shot of the booking form I loaded the page and strangely it showed availability. In just an hour. I ran back to the ticket office where they explained they’d had two cancellations which, if we were ok with a Spanish tour, we could have them. Of course we would. Especially as they had talkie machine tours available.
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And splendid hats
The Pulpí geode was discovered in 1999 and only opened to the public twenty years later after the cave was made safe. The tour of the mine itself was interesting enough - originally a hand dug iron mine which switched to lead and silver when they discovered that. It was closed when all the gypsum started to be too bothersome. It’s not clear when it was closed but I’m guessing during the civil war.
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The gypsum inspector
In my limited experience, there are only a few things that genuinely exceed the hype they’re given and make you say “wow!”. One other is here in Spain: Gaudi’s Sagrada Família. The Great Pyramids and James Cameron’s 1986 film Aliens also spring to mind. To enter the geode, we descended a long spiral staircase, then another straight flight before climbing a tiny set of steps, leaning forward “like Superman” then craning our necks to the left - unlike superman who could just X-Ray vision through the rock.
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We’d later be smug about being able to climb these without needing a rest halfway up.
Sadly, we couldn’t take photos of the inside of the geode but the BBC link above has one. The best we could manage was this photo taken by the guide at the whatever-the-hole-in-a-geode is called.
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Lois and Clark
After spending a couple of hours in the mine we wanted to get some kilometres under Denby’s wheels. We set the GPS for Banyeres de Marolia; a smallish town off the tourist trail with an impressive castle. As we approached town, signs started appearing directing us to a different aire. We dutifully followed - it was slightly further outside town but right next to a large park with a river, ruined paper mill and lots of sticks.
View attachment 970375
would camp here again.
When Flynn and I got back to the van, Jane had been in investigating our new home:
“P4N people say only day parking…”
“… yeah, there is nobody else here, I’ll check.”
Sure enough for some unknown reason the whole park is closed from November to Easter. No reason given and not much obvious signage. As Spain seems hot on enforcing camping laws at the moment, we packed up and drove 200m closer to town to our original destination. It’s nice but not quite as good as the first one.
For dinner we walked 25 minutes up the steep streets of Banyeres to L’Almàciga a little bar promising to be open before 8pm.
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Dos vermout por favorAlthough the bar was open, the kitchen wasn’t so we had to have a few drinks before they would feed us. they were really friendly and the food was very good.
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“Russian” salad
The Russian salad was just to keep us going. We pleaded with them for something whilst we waited for the kitchen:
“We’re English, it’s a long time since our lunch.”
“Yes, you should be in bed by now”
Veal tonnato, korean crocettas, squid soup and tuna tataki.
On the way back down the hill it started raining again.
View attachment 970379
Meh
Flynn got a quick walk around a haunted factory just below the aire. He suspects rather strongly that this was also a paper mill and there’s a mill pond to be found.
View attachment 970380
It was a distinctly underwhelming experience, with nothing original and everything made of plaster of Paris.
It was however, our first ever experience of customer feedback, as we were proudly handed a pre printed sheet of ‘Questions often asked’
The first question?
‘Is this all there is?
Some 40 odd years later we still find it incredible that they would have printed that - only in America!
It has become the byword for underwhelming visitor experiences though ….. ‘Questions Often Asked’
I’ve had to snatch the pen from his hand more than once Keep up the brilliant thread - absolutely loving it.
Zoobec
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Not been for years and not been in the van yet but we love Callella de palfrugell. What was the name of the campsite you stayed at please?
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Jane And Rog
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The Moby Dick. Friendly receptionist, tired but good showers, we got a prime spot with Med view. Lots of trees for summer shade. Downside is the most of the site is through a tunnel under a road, so a bit of a trek to walk out & no direct access to trails & woods behind. Not far from town though. Also not cheap - wish we’d not had electricity as we didn’t leave Flynn so didn’t need aircon
Zoobec
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Thanks! I don’t mind tired as long as it’s clean. And for there I think other sites would be out of town.
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
Clean and powerful, though they did have a press button. We chose it for proximity to town too.
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
I love those moments that become a thing. We’re still shouting “Pozor!” at each other on dodgy footpaths.We were in Las Vegas years ago. We went to the Nevada Museum of Prehistoric history (purely because we had a book of coupons, one of which was free entry to the museum).
It was a distinctly underwhelming experience, with nothing original and everything made of plaster of Paris.
It was however, our first ever experience of customer feedback, as we were proudly handed a pre printed sheet of ‘Questions often asked’
The first question?
‘Is this all there is?
Some 40 odd years later we still find it incredible that they would have printed that - only in America!
It has become the byword for underwhelming visitor experiences though ….. ‘Questions Often Asked’
Keep up the brilliant thread - absolutely loving it.
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OP
Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
We love it. I was always against gas BBQs but the ease of use vs size with this thing turned me around. I’m not sure we are yet at the stage where we can assemble it in under a minute but I’m getting there. I would definitely be happy breaking it out for breakfast on a day we’re about to leave. We’ve only used it in France and Spain so far so not tested it with charcoal or as a fire pit but on gas it cooks really well. We bought the lid - which is more difficult to assemble but useful and a couple of other accessories we’ve not tested yet: the Smak smoker (basically a concave burner shield without holes so you can put charcoal or wood chips in it) and the split griddle. We used their steel pan for the spuds above - they work really well and clean easily.
Pros: packs really small. quick to set up, gas readily available (e.g. Decathlon sell it), gets pretty hot, easy to clean (goes in dishwasher at home)
Cons: cooking surface is fairly small - it’s definitely for two at the most. It’s expensive.
If you aren’t bothered about gas, I’d also look at the Fennek 2.0 which is the same tech (stainless sheet) with slightly more cooking surfaces and temperatures.
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Jane And Rog
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The rain in Spain is faster than the Denby. Even though we’ve had three driving days aiming at a week in a rain-free patch of Catalonia, the clouds have overtaken us and the next week’s forecast looks like this.
After a chilly discussion over coffee, we decided it was best to move on again and get well into France, where the forecast looks like this.
But tomorrow, rather than today. Today we needed a break from driving. It was rain time, i.e. time for the Jane & Rog Boozy Lunch
. (Round 2.)
On the way, we stopped for a look round Begur. The Lonely Planet describes the town thus: “With exquisite coast glistening in its surrounds, Begur is one of the most beautiful and sought-after spots along the Costa Brava. This fairy-tale town, has a tempting array of restaurants, beach-chic boutiques, soothing heritage and boutique hotels, and Modernista mansions that add splashes of colour among the stone streets of its medieval centre.”
This is how it looked today. Even Flynn had to shelter from the rain.
On we drove to a free carpark outside the village Peratellada. Park For Night seems fairly sure that the police are happy about people camping here, so fingers crossed.
Our meal was at L’Eixida. We’d booked the latest possible lunch in the hope that it worked as a very early dinner.
Quite appropriately, on the way there, we saw this sign. 100% would not bank with them, condescendingwbankers.
We shared four courses, served sequentially, which was a really nice way to taste a lot but not get too full.
The first course was a steak tartare with Jack Daniels and sea urchin cream.
Next was octopus with green mole and raisin relish.
Then the first main course was lobster with rooster crests and pork jowl.
And the second main was a prawn rice with tripe and Catalan mince.
All delicious.
It had stopped raining when we finished lunner at about 4:30pm, so we explored the village. Very twee indeed and 50% restaurants, 50% holiday homes (probably).
Then, back to Denby to relax before another driving day.
After a chilly discussion over coffee, we decided it was best to move on again and get well into France, where the forecast looks like this.
But tomorrow, rather than today. Today we needed a break from driving. It was rain time, i.e. time for the Jane & Rog Boozy Lunch
. (Round 2.)On the way, we stopped for a look round Begur. The Lonely Planet describes the town thus: “With exquisite coast glistening in its surrounds, Begur is one of the most beautiful and sought-after spots along the Costa Brava. This fairy-tale town, has a tempting array of restaurants, beach-chic boutiques, soothing heritage and boutique hotels, and Modernista mansions that add splashes of colour among the stone streets of its medieval centre.”
This is how it looked today. Even Flynn had to shelter from the rain.
On we drove to a free carpark outside the village Peratellada. Park For Night seems fairly sure that the police are happy about people camping here, so fingers crossed.
Our meal was at L’Eixida. We’d booked the latest possible lunch in the hope that it worked as a very early dinner.
Quite appropriately, on the way there, we saw this sign. 100% would not bank with them, condescending
We shared four courses, served sequentially, which was a really nice way to taste a lot but not get too full.
The first course was a steak tartare with Jack Daniels and sea urchin cream.
Next was octopus with green mole and raisin relish.
Then the first main course was lobster with rooster crests and pork jowl.
And the second main was a prawn rice with tripe and Catalan mince.
All delicious.
It had stopped raining when we finished lunner at about 4:30pm, so we explored the village. Very twee indeed and 50% restaurants, 50% holiday homes (probably).
Then, back to Denby to relax before another driving day.
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Lenny HB
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I remember getting dragged out of bed at 5:30 am to see the Taj a sunrise. Flipping thing was covered in mist until 10 am.
I was not impressed, I don't do mornings
" Rooster crests" wattle you eat next ! 
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
" Rooster crests" wattle you eat next !
Just ask us about when we lived in Japan…
Grianan
LIFE MEMBER
Agreed this was one of our favourite places.Check out the site known as the baby Taj Mahal. It’s beautiful, not busy and you can spend ages exploring the wonderful workmanship.
I’d 100% recommend a visit.
Baby Taj Mahal: Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah in Agra, India - Through My Lens
Located in the same city as the Taj Mahal itself, the Baby Taj is a beautiful example of both the history and the architecture of the country. It is an amazing place to visit in Agra.
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What about when you lived in Japan?
I remember being offered size 3 slippers to wear on the train.
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Love the idea of "lunner', it is now part of our vocabulary
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
We ate some very weird things. Raw chicken sashimi, crickets, rotten oysters, but weirdest of all…
Shark’s semen.
Actually delicious.
Mr porky
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We had Whale semen in Jakarta at a Japanese restaurant. Not sure it would sell well in blighty though
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Mikey RV
LIFE MEMBER
Was it from a sperm whale.
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
I’d go further than that, I’d say it wouldn’t. Loads of our British friends won’t even eat fish, let alone shellfish, and as for offal - no way.
I like to pride myself on eating everything but there are two things I really dislike. The first is weirdly a vegetable. Never eat anything called a mountain potato in Japan - at least when it’s served in the white, frothy form. It was like swallowing a great thick lump of someone else’s spit, and makes me quesy just thinking about it now.
The other was when I entered an eating competition in Charlotte Street in London. The final challenge was a bowl of massive (2 inch long) beetles, wing cases and all. I ate them, because I was so close to winning, but it was like eating great lumps of hard plastic.
dryad
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think I’ve just gone off my breakfast..
scousebird
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The Coops
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Sounds like my MIL 's efforts at cooking!
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A work colleague went to China. Said the food was awful and he lived on McDonalds.
One of the local delicasies was deep fried chicken feet..
I bough him a packet in the uk from a shop selling dog food.
One of the local delicasies was deep fried chicken feet..
I bough him a packet in the uk from a shop selling dog food.
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
Chicken feet are fine though. It’s just normal chicken meat, it’s just there’s not very much of it.A work colleague went to China. Said the food was awful and he lived on McDonalds.
One of the local delicasies was deep fried chicken feet..
I bough him a packet in the uk from a shop selling dog food.
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
We also ate scorpions in China. A bit like prawn shells filled with soil.
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
Adiós España, Bonjour La France.
The night in the car park at the mercy of Spain’s quantum wild camping law as went uninterrupted and we woke to slightly better weather with low fog but some sun peeking through. The forecast was still lots of rain all the way up the coast though so we set off North East over the Pyrenees.
[
We’re parked at the Villeneuve-les-Magueluone aire right next to a traditionally salty Carmarge marsh. After lunch we took Flynn out to the etang and watched the flamingos nosh down their shrimps.
We walked right out to the end of the peninsula before returning through town, via a nice little bar and back to the van.
For dinner, Jane cooked pasta a la manzana; more or less because we happened to have all the ingredients in the van. As the sun started to set (17:39 tonight!) we opened a souvenir bottle of Spanish Vermouth and toasted the frogs as they started croaking along the tiny sliver of brackish Rhône running alongside the aire.
We weren’t too hot on the shutter button today so all that we have is this picture of the omnia turning bread into croutons.
The night in the car park at the mercy of Spain’s quantum wild camping law as went uninterrupted and we woke to slightly better weather with low fog but some sun peeking through. The forecast was still lots of rain all the way up the coast though so we set off North East over the Pyrenees.
[
Town last night , buzzin’
We’re parked at the Villeneuve-les-Magueluone aire right next to a traditionally salty Carmarge marsh. After lunch we took Flynn out to the etang and watched the flamingos nosh down their shrimps.
Does this etang make my nose look big?
We walked right out to the end of the peninsula before returning through town, via a nice little bar and back to the van.
France effortlessly moving onto the IPA trendwagon
For dinner, Jane cooked pasta a la manzana; more or less because we happened to have all the ingredients in the van. As the sun started to set (17:39 tonight!) we opened a souvenir bottle of Spanish Vermouth and toasted the frogs as they started croaking along the tiny sliver of brackish Rhône running alongside the aire.
We weren’t too hot on the shutter button today so all that we have is this picture of the omnia turning bread into croutons.
cliffanger
LIFE MEMBER
We ate the bugs that lost their wings every year in Liberia. Roasted in the sun, or deep fried and salted - lovely.
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