Europe trip part 36

Thursday 18 October

 Today we said goodbye to Erin, Declan and Heather as they were going home to Edinburgh. We were heading back north to France and had a long drive ahead of us to the city of Toulouse, which was 4 hours away.

Toulouse is famous for a good rugby team and is the home to the company that makes the Airbus aircraft. We had a few problems getting into our apartment as the owner had a flat tyre but eventually it worked out and we got settled in for the night.

Our GPS took us to a village about 14km away from where we should have been which was also a bit of a drama! Friday 19 October We left Toulouse this morning for another long day in car.

This time we are headed northwest to the coastal area of La Rochelle, which is about 4.5 hours away. By now we have driven over 8,000 km in our trusty Peugeot 5008. We actually stayed in a little village called Saint-Soulle which is 8km away from La Rochelle.

 It wasn’t the best of weather but we headed into the town anyway, parked the car and went for a walk around the port. There were plenty of castles and churches and the footpaths around the shops were covered with porticos (like some of the places in Italy).

 We stopped at a restaurant and I had a delicious chocolate crepe which I ate in very small mouthfuls. This was my first real solid food for days so my mouth was slowly getting better.

We then walked some more and Dad and I got a haircut. After that it was dark and late so we picked up some food at the supermarket and headed home for the night.

Europe trip part 35

Saturday 13 October

 I am still sick but thought I could manage to cope so we headed to Portaventura in Salou for the first of our two days at the theme parks. BIG MISTAKE!! The crowds were bonkers with waits of up to 2 hours. Turns out is was a “fiesta” day in that part of Spain to celebrate the start of Halloween (they love Halloween!).

We first went to Ferrari Land but with the exception of one scary roller coaster called Red Force (the 5th highest in the world apparently), most of the rides were for little kiddies. So, we then went across to Portaventura and it was also teeming with people. We waited one hour for a ride on a river rapids boat which was pretty tame.

 I wasn’t feeling great so we headed home about 4pm but hopefully we will come back and get some express passes so we don’t have to queue so long (we are coming back on Monday). We got home and my mouth ulcers flared up again so I am not doing much eating and feel quite tired.

 Sunday 14 October
 We were thinking of going to Barcelona today but I woke up with a really sore mouth and now a badly blistered tongue. Mum did a google search and thinks it is thrush, so we went to the pharmacy in Calafell and got some medicine as the lady in the pharmacy thought it was too. Not sure when this spell of bad health is going to end! This afternoon we went to the beach at Calafell which was really nice and very quiet.

 Declan and I played football on the beach and then played in the waves for 2 hours. Salty water is supposed to be good for ulcers!! We went home tired but happy although I still couldn’t eat! Mum is getting quite worried about me. Monday 15 October I felt a little better today so we went to Portaventura again and it was so much less crowded. We went straightto the main attractions and did a rollercoaster called Shambhala twice.

 Mum and I were a bit scared the first time as it climbed up almost vertically 70 meters, then went basically vertically down as high speed. I thought I was going to fly out my seat! It was just a bit scary! Then mum, dad and I went on a roller coaster called Dragon Khan and it was so much fun. It did 2 loopty loops and 3 barrel rolls and it was my favourite.

 We got Declan to do it on the last one before the rain came and we headed home. He loved it so we did it twice! Then we did a water ride and got absolutely soaked, so we decided to do the log flume 3 times and the rapids again as we were wet anyway. After lunch dad, mum and I went on Furius Baco which went 135 kilometres an hour in 3.5 seconds.
It did a barrel roll and you were upside down for 1 second! We then went home because it started to hose down with rain. You can search Shambala, Dragan Khan, Red Force and Furius Baco on youtube – I recommend you do as they are cool to watch. I was tired by the time we got home and still couldn’t eat properly……not much fun.

Europe trip part 34

Wednesday 10 October

 Today we are doing a massive drive from Biarritz to El Vendrell. It took us about 5 hours driving through the northern part of Spain down to El Vendrell on the coast, quite close to Barcelona. Mum hated the first 300 kms as there was nothing really to see. It was like driving through a desert with mountains. There was no colour and hardly any houses or anything apart from hundreds of windmills and a very dry landscape.

 We passed Pamplona which looked like quite a large city and also passed Zaragoza where we had originally intended to stay – luckily we changed our minds as it looked horrible. We had to pay quite a few road tolls on the way but most of the roads were in good condition so mum didn’t mind! When we got to the house, we went shopping for dinner then just relaxed! I coughed all the way in the car, driving mam quietly mad, so she decided I needed the antibiotics I got from the doctor in France.

 Thursday 11 October
 Today is our first full day here. Since we had time, I had to catch up on my blog. We went to the supermarket and did a big shop – groceries in Spain are very cheap. I’m excited as our friends from Scotland arrive today for a week. Heather (mum’s best friend), Declan and Erin arrived at about 6.30pm, just in time for a roast chicken dinner, so I was very happy! But not because I still can't eat!

 Declan is 13 years old and Erin is 15 – they come to visit us at grannies every time we go to Scotland. I’m still coughing but hopefully it will stop soon.

 Friday 12 October
 Oh no!! I woke up with swollen eyes and lips and another fever. I think I had an allergic reaction to some melon that I ate last night. Mum gave me some antihistamine and paracetamol to see if that helps. We had a chill morning as it was a bit grey.

 In the afternoon I thought I felt a little better so we went to Tarragona, not far away and walked around the old town. Tarragona was a Roman town so had lots of ruins similar to those that we saw in Italy. One was shaped like a small Colosseum. Turns out I wasn’t any better – in fact my eyes had gunk in them by late afternoon and I felt terrible so mum and dad took me to the 24 hour surgery.

 I still have a fever and now have mouth ulcers, conjunctivitis, chest infection and blisters on my tongue to my tonsils  so I could not eat or swallow. I was generally miserable and fed up that this happened on what was supposed to be the most fun week of the trip. Hopefully the pile of tablets that mum had to buy from the pharmacy will make me better soon.

Europe trip part 33

Tuesday 9 October

 I’m feeling better but woke up hot again and coughing so mam and dad took me to a doctor to get me checked out. He said I had a fever but no chest infection (although it may develop) so after picking up some medication we went to San Sebastian (also known as Donostia in Basque) for a day trip It was about 45 minutes from Biarritz and across the border in the Basque country in Spain.

 We did a bus tour for an hour and visited an aquarium which had a glass pathway of a 360 degree view of lots of different fish including stingrays and sharks. The tropical fish were cool – lots of bright colours.

 After the bus tour we walked around the old town which was nice, then we walked to the main beach, Playa de la Concha and then around to Playa de Zurriola and watched surfers – the waves were very good. We had “dinner” of Pintxo – the Spanish have “snacks”, either hot or cold around 5pm along with a drink to keep them going before their proper dinner around 8 or 9pm.

 We walked down a well know street “Fermin Cabelton” just to see the huge number of platters that sit on the bar waiting for people to come in and have “pintxo”. We had a lovely day and drove home around 8.30pm

Europe trip part 32

Saturday 6 October

 Today we walked along the coastline into Biarritz – on the way we watched some surfers at the beach nearest our house. The current was so strong that one guy had to give up! The views we got of Biarritz were really nice – lots of beaches and big waves.

 Once we reached the town we were hungry so we had lunch in a nice restaurant and dad and I watched Japan v Samoa. After lunch we went to the main beach called La Grand Plage and sat on the warm sand watching the surfers. After a while I started to feel ill and realised I had a temperature. We had to take a taxi home as I felt really unwell.

 I couldn’t eat dinner – it must be bad!! I was so tired and miserable I went to bed.

 Sunday 7 October
 I am burning up so I must have got a bug yesterday. We had a chill day and watched two movies – Radio and Blindside, so it was a quiet day.

It rained most of the day anyway so it didn’t matter. We did get out of the small apartment for a short walk about 5pm when the rain stopped, but I was cold, due to the fever, so we went home.

 Monday 8 October
 BLEUGH I’m still sick! I’m not happy but felt a little better in the afternoon so we drove up to famous surf spot of Hossegor and had a walk on the beach and watched surfers. It was very quiet at the beach with everything shut down at the end of the tourist season. Later we drove south of Biarritz to a lovely village called Gutheray.

It was quite hilly but it had good views of the beach where again there were many surfers bobbing about on the waves like seals, waiting for a wave. Mam and dad had a cup of tea and then we headed home for dinner. I think I might be getting a little better.

Europe trip 31

Thursday 4 October

 Today I did my blog in morning – we were a little tired from yesterday so had a chill morning. We did a boat trip in the afternoon on the Garonne river which was nice. A man called Bruno dressed up in traditional costume and did a funny commentary, teaching us a little of the history of the city and the river which was interesting, although I had more fun bouncing on a massive cushion!

 After that we went out for dinner to a Thai restaurant with Florence which was very tasty and then she gave us a ride home. We have to pack again!

 Friday 5 October

 Today we drove to Biarritz which was about 2.5 hours from Bordeaux. On the way we stopped at Dune du Pilat, a massive sand dune which is 115m high and 2.7 km wide. It is the largest in Europe. We climbed up the steps and got great views of the Atlantic Ocean and saw Spain in the distance. I ran down the dunes – it was very steep and lots of fun. We got to Biarritz at 3pm and after unpacking, went for a swim in the pool with dad after tea. He thought it was freezing but I was fine!