h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My family has taken a range of holidays - in Britain, Europe and elsewhere. One of those which stand out is the camping trip in Spain in April 1993, when our son was seven. We drove across northern Spain and back.
We started out by taking the ferry from Plymouth to Santander, then headed east. On the way to Burgos, we saw eroded sandstone pillars, like something in the Wild West. We tried to see the cathedral, but it was closing. We passed through Zaragoza and reached the east coast near Salou. We didn't much like this town, which we saw as one strip of bars, hotels and shops along the coast. One camp site we looked at had a security guard, which put us off. However, we found a nicer one in Cambrils. We liked Tortosa, which has a splendid fortress on a hill and a cathedral built in several different styles. Taragona was interesting, with a Roman forum and an Aqueduct over a wooded gorge.
We drove north past Barcelona to Calella, where we found beaches and scenic drives. From here we went East to Graus, where we camped in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Although it was warm during the day, it was freezing at night and our son managed to build a snowman in the mountains. We drove through spectacular scenery on our way towards Logrono, then returned to Santander.
We've never done such an ambitious camping trip again. With limited Spanish, it was difficult to find campsites and shops, and to know the best places to visit.

I got really frustrated trying to post this! I'd carefully written an account of our holiday in Spain, but when I tried to save it, it just vanished!
This is the disadvantage of using a conversation rather than an A page, which you can edit to your heart's content.

Yeah - I've lost track of the times I forgot to 'copy' before I hit 'send', just in case.

Driving around Spain sounds like fun. We never had a car in Europe - always took the train. And I've never been to Spain.

Have you read the entry in PR about the bombing of Guernica?

A87891231 The bombing of Guernica

(It's not holiday material, but it is relevant to that part of the world.)

Spain has so much of interest to offer. I lived there whilst Franco was still alive and am still amazed at the changes you see in comparison these days. The best part about the deaths of Franco and Tito is that the regions they had tyranically ruled over were able to salvage their languages and patois before all speakers died and the languages became extinct. Those dictators had tried to make everyone the same, and even banned the use of the individual languages.

I like hearing about your holidays - I'm sure you can find some more letters which fit other family outings.

Thanks TC.

Sounds like quite an adventure! Love Spain, love camping, I've never built a snowman on a Spanish trip though! Must try harder. Just planning our next road trip will be H for Hungary, poor motor sickles are going to be loaded to the hilt again!

Wheels across the Puszta!

I believe Hungarian is a difficult language.

I believe it is, too. Back in 1980, I happened to be travelling from Köln to the city of Cluj-Napoca, in Romania. I checked out the Orient Express. Then I found out I would have to change, not only trains, but also train *stations* in Budapest!

I took a different train, so that I could change in Vienna. There was no way I was getting lost between Buda and Pest...I don't speak Hungarian. This way, I only had to deal with people I could talk to.

Tomorrow's 'poem' will be rather apt!