Day 91, 92,93 Home

Well, after an email from Expedia to call them ASAP about our flight from Bordeaux to Paris we figured things were not good - even though we had downloaded our boarding passes with Air France and BA. A Skype call and it was confirmed...our flight to Paris was cancelled. Decided to get to airport ASAP and see what we could do. Bad news, all flights to Paris and Heathrow were cancelled until further notice. Luckily we had given ourselves a 24 hour window for possible disasters. Air France were able to put us on a flight for the next day but no guarentees the airport would open in Paris. Decided to dash to the BA desk (which was empty???). Felt like I was living my dream to be on the Amazing Race...trying to get ahead of other passengers. I was in the zone. Irina the lovely lady from BA confirmed the cancellation of our Paris to Heathrow flight. When we mentioned we needed to get make our flight to Australia she was great. Got us on a flight straight from Bordeaux to Gatwick (which amazingly was still open "for now")for no extra charge. (They were selling for E800 each). went back and gave up the Air France flight. After a nervous 6 hour delay we left Bordeaux very relieved. Arriving at Gatwick at 1.00am was an introduction to cold. Man it was freezing. Minus 10. Found the bus terminal and fortunately we decided to prepurchase our ticket to Heathrow from a machine for the 2.00am shuttle (about an hour ride). Sat inside with a hot coffee and waited. THANK GOD we prepurchased our ticket as everyone wanted that shuttle and he only took the prepurchased people first. Got to Heathrow...still minus 10. Waited for another shuttle to our hotel. Fell into bed exhausted and frozen at 4.00am. BUT WE WERE AT HEATHROW. Had to give up our sightseeing day back in London and spent the day trying to get info on our flight. Arrived at airport before 6.00pm hopeful as our flight had not yet been cancelled. Fortunately we were coached out to BA as the Qantas flights were cancelled. After being told there was no plane, they finally found one and we left at 1.00am (4 hours later). We were one of the last ones before the airport was closed again due to bad weather. Busing out to the plane you could see how deep the ice was on all the wings of the grounded planes. Very pleased to see that ours had been completely de-iced...which they said had taken a few hours to do. Finally left a very iced up airport...looked crazy taxiing down the runway and everything was white and icy. Arrived in Sydney at 10.00am...missed our connection to Melbourne...had to wait to 8.00pm to fly out. At least BA had been great...Qantas...well we were back in Oz and they could not have cared less...quote "it's not our fault you missed the flight" (even though we were on a Qantas ticket). Customer service ...could learn alot from OS.

However, worth everthing to see my big babies again...and my dog. So farewell to the blog and I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Day 88, 89 France, Bordeaux

I had read a lot about Bordeaux and for some reason had pictured it as a small village that was famous for its wine and vineyards. MMM...how wrong was I. It was huge and MAGNIFICENT. Hotel a ten minute walk from the centre of the old section and pedestrian zone...which was good as hotel not as glam as some. Spent the day on the historical walk. It was freezing and I mean freezing...The sites were fantastic. It is a majestic city with statues, columns, wonderful old buildings, bridges, the river. Walked along Victor Hugo (The hunchback ...fame) Street, photographed the Charles Dickens Pub. Hours later we headed home, unable to take the cold any longer. Stopped off at the movie theatre to enquire about any films in English ...in luck. Got tickets to The Tourist, with Johnny Depp. Time to warm up, eat and back at the theatre for 8pm. Loved this film...perhaps it was because we were seeing it in France, perhaps it was because it is set in Venice and we recognised all the places, perhaps because we were listening to English, or perhaps it was because Johnny Depp and Angie J are gorgeous...maybe all of them. But it was a great experience.
Next day we headed out again...weather changed between sunny and COLD and wet and COLD. When it started to rain we decided to switch our dinner plans to lunch (because we wanted to hear some more English and the new Russell Crowe movie was playing in English at 7pm). As Big Rick was keen to continue his degustation tour of Europe, he wanted to sample snails (escargot). Found a restaurant that offered a 3 course meal, with snails being on the entree. Little posh and indulgent...but what the heck, our trip was almost over. (I have already put Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine and the rest on speed dial). Snails arrived...see photo. Fought hard to kill the image of the common garden snail that happily munched on my plants...whilst I happily killed them when they did. Thought they would be slimy. They came served in a garlic sauce. They were ok. Not a lot of taste to them, not like an oyster...I guess more like a mussel. Plus I had two glasses of red wine by then so probably didn’t appreciate them a much. Second course arrived...what we call a lamb shank...best EVER. Huge and moist. Yum. Dessert was a delicious crème brule. Told you it was self indulgent. By this time the restaurant was full (of French people), it was warm inside and raining outside. It was just like in a movie. A great experience, sipping a Bordeaux red, eating great food and hearing all sorts of French...just needed a beret and would have fitted all clichés in. A bit of shopping and home to thaw out. Movie number 2 was good as well (even though I am not a Rusty Crowe fan). A burger for dinner after the movie completed our last full day in France.

Day 87 Spain, San Sebastian

Leaving Segovia we headed to the coast and San Sebastian, up near the French border. This really was an overnight stop and a quick peek at the very popular (and according to many, very expensive) resort town. Got in a little late. Big Rick went for a walk to the beach...coming back very impressed. The next day I could see why...even through the rain...it was beautiful. Probably to look at a little like Main Beach on the Gold Coast without the high rise. Beautiful sand and a lot of it. The buildings were quite old and were a beautiful border to the ocean and sand. It started to rain and we were shocked to see some crazy people out swimming...it must have been freezing. It was about 1 degree at best.

Day 86: Spain, Segovia

Departed Madrid, picked up the car and drove an hour to Segovia. We had been going to do this as a day trip from Madrid on the train, but as we had to go near here anyway on the way to San Sebastian w decided to make it an overnight stop. Very glad we did. This has to be on the MUST Do list from Madrid. It is lovely. Excited by the warmth of Toledo we were optimistic and hopeful that the beautiful sunshine held some warmth...even though the car temp indicated that it was around 0 degrees. Well, it was sunny and clear skies...BUT the win d chill factor was a killer. The car did not lie. It was freezing... Anyway...the first thing you notice from afar and then as you drive into the town are the huge Aqueducts. These were built by the Romans to deliver water to the town. They are amazing, as yopu can see by the photos. Our hotel was right out front of these. As you pass through the aqueducts you enter the town. The main street has that quaintness that has been typical of many towns. Lovely shops, cobble stones, narrow etc. Again we explored all the key sites. One of these was the castle. It is rumoured that Walt Disney based the Sleeping Beauty castle on this. You can see why in the photos. The turrets are very similar. (The Fussen Castle was another inspiration for Walk Disney). Note how rugged up we are...it was freezing, we had to stop and buy designer beanies...not really...no such thing and we didn’t care. Big Rick even offered to buy the shop keepers blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders and she just laughed...I actually think Big Rick may have been serious. 4 layers of clothes, beanie, gloves, scarf and only just warm..we continued our walk. The Cathedral of Segovia is amazing. No photo could ever do justice to the sight you see as you emerge from a narrow shopping street into a fairly plain square. Then, as you look over...boy it is the most beautiful and grand sight. Our lovely concierge (and all three we have had in Spain are ranked in our top 3 for all of Europe...interesting. Spanish people are soooo friendly) recommended a few restaurants that featured the local dish of either lamb or “suckling pig”. Decided we would go for suckling pig. Gorgeous restaurant...lucky to get a table...was packed. Ordered our “suckling pig” and some potatoes (you only order meat and get meat...no vege). After a while our slow roasted suckling pig arrived...whole...on a plate. Little gruesome. We shared it with two others...they got shown it as well before the poor pig was literally cut in 4. Big Rick and I were then proudly given our plate of “suckling pig”. It was delicious...melted in the mouth. But I must say...a whole plate of pork was a little overwhelming (even with our home made chips), AND staring at the trotter of the pig still attached to Big Rick’s lump of meat was a little off putting. Full on a plate of pork and $75.00 later, we headed out into the zero degrees for home, satisfied we had sampled the local dish...thank god it wasn’t offle or something as hideous. Found this quaint, roughly made, simple statue of an elephant in a little Jewish shop in the Jewish section of town. Very happy that the shopkeeper sold it to me as it was his last one.

I LOVE SPAIN...More than I think anywhere else. It is nothing like I imagined. I thought it would not be as developed and beautiful as say Italy. I would rate it more cosmopolitan, without being over done, than any other country we went to. Sorry Italy...you just got beaten.

Day 85: Spain, Toledo

Having covered some of the key sites and walked round the streets and shops of Madrid, we decided to head further out on a day trip to Toledo. Caught an Eva train (fast, direct trains). Bit like an airline. You check in, have seat allocation etc. 25 minutes and 80kms later we arrived in Toledo. What a great place. Skipped the tours and caught the local bus to the main plaza. After a caffeine refreshment (ok and a sweet delight) we began walking around. The town is lovely. A few hundred years ago it was the capital of Spain. Toledo is a World Heritage Listed site and still looks quite medieval with the stone walls, bridges, fortress etc, (but the shops are brilliant...yet again very narrow, cobble stoned streets). Shopkeepers take such pride in their shops. They are truly lovely. Good to see they are small, even the chains like Zara do not dominate..like a Myer, Target or DJs would in Australia...we really are quite uncool when it comes to shopping. Walked the maze of tiny streets...at times if you spread your arms out you could touch buildings on both sides of the street. All stone and cobblestones. Found the Cathedral. Magnificent, as you would expect...both inside and out. I think it is one of the major gothic cathedrals in Spain. Took in sites like the Alcázar of Toledo which is a stone fortification, the mosque, bridge, stone walls that encircle the town. It was lovely walking around the town. Sampled the local paella for lunch...quite nice. A short train ride back to Madrid and a day well spent. The great thing was that it hit a warm 18 degrees. Nioce to be in a T shirt for a change.