In 2013 we took 11 weeks’ leave from our jobs in Australia and went on a trip to Europe. It took us from Amsterdam to Tilburg and Breda in the Netherlands, where we met up with our daughter, Ruby, who was on exchange at the University of Tilburg. We then visited cousins in Belgium in Temse and Ghent, and went on to Paris for 5 days.

We travelled for the next 30 days though Spain on a journey that began in Barcelona and proceeded through Valencia, Cuenca, Madrid, Zaragoza, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Cudillero, and Santiago de Compostela.

This was followed by 14 days in Portugal, starting in Porto, then moving on to Nazaré, Lisbon, and the Algarve region, where Ruby re-joined us.

We completed the journey with an additional 16 days in Spain, travelling from Seville to Córdoba, and back to Madrid.

We stayed with relatives and in hotels and pensións; but most of our accommodation consisted of apartments booked through AirB&B, which was fairly new at the time. We hired a car for two road trips: one across the northern coast of Spain from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela, and the other in the Algarve region of Portugal.

Chris and Susie (AKA Wundercliffe)

3.1.2016