Europe part 6 May 3, 2015 - May 12, 2015

May 3, 2015 - Left Bayeux, France and headed south to Tours, France.  Expected to see a lot of rolling hills and nice scenery, but was disappointed.  The hills were very small and the scenery not so great.  The city of Tours is bigger than expected and not very unique.  The exception is that our hotel is next to the train and bus station and you cannot go up to the hotel in a car.  You need to park in the underground parking for the train station and then go across to the hotel.  The room is quite big and it is a nice place and looks like it has been recently remodeled.  Our view is of a wall about 8 feet away.

May 4, 2015 - Stayed in today as it is drizzling again.  Ventured out for meals when the sun came out.  Worked on booking our next 2 weeks into Spain and Portugal.

May 5, 2015 - Traveled from Tours to Montignac, France.  Scenery is rolling hills and countryside.  Nothing unusual.

May 6, 2015 - Montignac, France.  Stayed at a small hotel in the town that is very small, quaint and old.  Very nice to walk around and enjoy the scenery.  Had to walk up to the second floor on curvy wood stairs to room number 4.  A very nice place.  The view was of the neighbor's yard.  Very friendly owners of the hotel that also served excellent meals.

May 7, 2015 - Went to visit a castle at Rocamadour.  What a castle!  On the side of a hill with a great view over the valley.  Certainly a place that was chosen for its ability to fortify itself from invasions.  The town within the castle was charming.

 

 

 

 

 

May 8, 2015 - Drove over 500 km today to get to Bermeo, Spain.  We are staying in a great small hotel on top of a hill that is in a UNESCO biosphere.  It has gorgeous views wherever you look, but it is in the middle of nowhere.  Fortunately, the hotel has great food.

 

 

That is the Atlantic ocean in the distance.



May 9, 2015 - Woke up to a dense fog.  No view.  Then it started to rain.  Hoping for sunshine to go out and explore this area.  That is the ocean out in the distance.

 

Fog view from our balcony.

 

May 10, 2015 - Drove on to our next place, A Coruna, Spain.  Long drive, but absolutely gorgeous scenery.  Rolling green hills, mountains and views of the ocean along the northern coast of Spain. 

 

May 11, 2015 - Went out exploring and really enjoyed the waterfront that is almost next to the hotel.  Also went to a lighthouse that is supposedly the oldest lighthouse in the world.  It is called the tower of Hercules.  Its core is over 2,000 years old.  It has been built around to protect and preserve it, but still impressive.  There is what appears to be a version of Stonehenge along the waterfront and some of the Easter Island idols.  Interesting.  It is quite challenging to eat in these towns that are off the beaten path as they do not speak English and we do not speak Spanish.  But the prices here are very low.

 

 

 

Views from the top of the lighthouse.

 

Resting after walking up and down the stairs of the lighthouse.

 

May 12, 2015 - Drove on to our next destination, Povoa de Varzim, Portugal.  Another beautiful drive along the coast, but this time heading south along the western border of Spain and Portugal.  Beautiful day.  Sunny for most of the day and around 80 degrees.  Had a hard time finding our apartment here as the addresses are in random order.  We had directions from our navigation system to get us here, but it stopped us out in front of an address that was not where we needed to go.  Had to park and walk up and down a 3 block area to find the place, but we did.  This is an older building and we are on the second floor (really the 3rd floor) in a 3 bedroom apartment that is really cheap.  Went out grocery shopping so that we could eat food that was not a surprise.  We are 2 blocks from the ocean.  Will go out tomorrow to explore.