Madrid

Sorry about the delay on the blog... I am only about 2 months behind...

One of our earliest set offs since we first left we left Caceres at around 10am and we arrived at the campsite just after half 2 after a long drive east to Aranjuez we arranged to meet up with my Mum and Dad again who arrived about 15 minutes later.  We had been to the campsite before, but last time it was June and the campsite was swarming with flies. It was so bad that we couldn't eat outside and the van was full of the bloody things.  It was horrible. This time it was fine though, although the flies seemed to have been replaced by cats. Dad's favourite.

 We planned to go into Madrid the following day so all got an early night.

Bright and early the next morning we set off for the train station, situated behind the palace, about a 25 minute walk through Aranjuez from the campsite.  The train cost around €6 (not 100% on the actual price) for a return right into the centre.  For the rest of travelling we walked around the city as I feel you miss out on a lot if you get the underground.

Last time we went to Madrid we went on a Wednesday and stumbled upon a place called Cervecería 100 Montaditos, which can only be described as a kind of fast food tapas sandwich bar. 100 Montaditos means 100 sandwiches and on a Wednesday all sandwiches and drinks are 1 euro. This time we went in on a Thursday so knew that we would miss out on "euromania" but decided to go there again anyway.
We were walking round with Mum and Dad when dad spots a window that he wants to go and look in. Lo and behold its only bloody 100 Montaditos! So we went in.  Its not the same one we went to last time, and Vick and I didn't really realise that there would be more than one!  The sandwiches were full price again (They ranged from 1 euro to 2 euros for the premium range, so still very cheap) Turns out on a Thursday all beers are 1 euro, whatever the size so we got lucky with that one (by we I mean Dad and Vick.)  If you ever get the chance I would give it a try... it's a little bit confusing the first time but for a quick snack its well worth it.
We walked round for most of the day, stopping at pretty much every 100 Montaditos we found. 

 Apart from eating in Madrid we just walked around the city.  Just street walking in the city is a great atmosphere as there always seems to be something going on.   We did pop into one shoe shop which featured some of the most varied shoes ever, I will be getting some of these bad boys for the wedding I think.

 On the Thursday (and I think Wednesday) the Palace is free to EU citizens, the house itself wasn't very interesting for me but the armories were definitely worth the visit, unfortunately we couldn't take any photos but the display they have there is great. 

We are still here.

Just thought we should let you know that we are still here... We are now back in the UK and have kind of forgotten about the blog.  I will be back shortly with a full update. :)

A private toilet!

After an extra day in El Rocio we had to press on and head north towards Caceres.  The night before we left we checked the route on the Sat Nav to which is said 3 hours.  Now I no to never trust the Sat nav so we always add an extra hour to the journey.  For some reason we were very slow at packing away so after saying bye to Luke and Karen we eventually left at 12.  We should have left a lot earlier as the journey took us around 5 hours as the Sat Nav forgot to mention the massive dragging hills all the way.  The weather also took a turn for the worse as the heavens opened and rained for the rest of the night. 

One of the only reasons we went to Cacares was to check out the campsite.  After a lot of people telling us about it we decided we should check it out.  It was for no other reason than each pitch had its own toilet and shower, little things ay?  It was a waste of time.  It wasn't the place I thought it was in mum and dads photos and the private toilet and shower was rubbish.  It probably didn't help the fact that it was freezing but getting into the shower in a cold shed isn't very nice.  It was probably very nice in the summer but its definitely not been built for the winter.  Even so it was nice not having to walk across a campsite for a wee in the night.

The next day we decided to pop into Cacares to check out the old town.  Due to not being handed the bus routes we decided to drive in and park in the centre of town.  For once we turned up early so a lot of stuff was still open so we looked around shops for a change instead of looking through shop windows.  We ventured into the old town and had a look around.  We should have spent more time in there but we decided to go back to the campsite and have a drink.

That night Luke and Karen arrived so after their neighbours had bored them with satellite chat (a thing we are safe from) we popped over for some drinks and chats, and arranged a BBQ for around 3ish the next day.

Cut to the next day, 3 o clock rolls round and we head over, pork steaks and beer under arm. We didn't want to eat anything beforehand as it was like a late Lunch (a typical Spanish lunch really) so we sat down for a drink and a chat before the cooking started. Well, a few beers  and swapped stories later and we realise its 7 o clock, its now dark and we haven't even lit the BBQ. Ooops!

Luke and Karen were supposed to be staying the next night at the campsite but after their toilet flooding they decided to leave the same day that we left. For once we got up early and left before 10! A record for us when we are on our own. So we said our goodbyes and headed on our way towards Aranjuez to meet up with Mum and Dad.