Day 9 - Saturday 2nd August

The day had finally come where the first leg of our holiday had ended It was a shame to leave France as we had all really enjoyed our time there. Friday had been a little bit of a low day due to having to pack up and get things ready to leave but today there was a renewed spirit. It was really exciting knowing we were going to be driving through the mountains to Andorra and then onto Alicante in Spain.

We all set out together from Carcasson (France) but after a few miles I soon realised that my TomTom was trying to take me to Andorra situated in Morocco instead of Andorra. I alerted the rest of the convoy via walkie talkie but due to the fact they got stuck in traffic they were unable to see where I had turned off... Infact just as they came off the slip road I went down the other side and re-joined the same road heading the way we just came to go South rather than North. With Jimmy now leading the other group he took a right turn onto a Toll Road and I got seperated from the group. I had already explained that I didn't want to go down the Toll Roads and main N roads but I wanted to go the D roads and go right over the Pyranees rather then cut through them with tunnels and have an extended journey around the mountains instead.

For the next 300 miles from Carcasson (South of France) through to Andorra (It's a country inbetween France and Spain spanning 20 miles by 15 miles if people didn't know where it was) During this leg of the journey you will see my experience of the journey and hopefully the photos will give you a real sense of what it was like.













I took this photo expecially for you Micky throughout this trip I constantly thought... If Micky was here now he would be loving these roads.



Unfortunatley whilst going around the mountains one of my center caps fell off but luckily it rolled down the up side of the mountain so after stopping 100yrds further up the road me and Bex walked down and found it.

Just after Andorra border control there was a layby to the side of the road which offered amazing views... The roads were amazing.





I was the first to reach Andorra and waited for the others. I was lucky enough to get some photos of them arriving.





Once everyone had picked up alcohol and ciggies and had a nice healthy MacDonalds we headed off for the last 400 mile stretch to Alicante at 6pm!!! The sat navs told us we wouldn’t be there until 1:30am… that’s without any stops for fuel, toilet breaks or stretches.

This leg of the trip was the end for Jimmy and he headed off back home as he was heading to Switzerland for the next week.

We set off from Andorra and headed for Barcelona as the coastal roads offered amazing views but not only that it had bout 12-14 tunnels that stretched for 3km in length in places and were just breathtaking, after coming out of a tunnel you were greated by sheer drops and viaducts that took you to the next tunnel... I didn't managed to get much photos of this but when the movie is complete you'll be able to get a much better feel for it.





Entering Spain







Later on I decided to take all the caps off the wheels to try and save as many bits of my car as possible as this trip was obviously a hard slog for the cars.

We stopped a few times at the service stations and were shocked that everyone was asleep on the floor next to their cars, it was like going through a zombie land.









We arrived in El Cappello at 2:30am after a 15 ½ hour long drive from Carcasson in France. After driving around trying to find it I landed myself facing a deralict house which I chuckled at and said to the others that this was probably our Villa



Soon after we did actually find our Villa and finally we had arrived!!!

I promised Sarah I’d give her a ring when I arrived here as she has text and asked me to phone when I arrived. I had the biggest surprise ever when she said that she had arrived in Alicante Airport at just after 1am and was waiting for me to come and pick her up… I didn’t even get chance to offload the bags and luggage before having to leave the Villa.

After my sat nav routing me across a train track that I could not possibly get over I managed to get out of the town and reach the main road to the airport which passes Alicante. Due to it being night time I didn’t get chance to see anything of Alicante which was disappointing but it was amazing to see Sarah after all that driving and give her a huge hug and kiss.

When we got back to the Villa, I was trying to get some cases out the boot and Sarah decided to try and pull her stupidly heavy girlie case out of the back of my car and dropped it on the side of my drivers seat and managed to rip all the casing off the side of the seat… I love her so I’ll let her off!!! You'll notice all the center caps I took off earlier due to the mountain roads.





Day 10 - Sunday 3rd August

This morning the owners popped over to check that we were all doing fine and asked if there was any problems. We did have a few problems such as the light in the bathroom wasn't working and a toilet door downstairs wouldn't close but all was good apart from that. The Villa was amazing... better than i'd ever expected.





This is the view from the kitchen window.





Me, Bex, Chris, Sarah and Jack went to visit a family friend which was in Sella just outside Alicante. When we got there the town consisted of many levels and it proved to be very difficult to locate number 33 as on every level there was a number 33. After asking a few Spanish locals which level and house it was we got there only to find they weren’t in… oh well. We then proceeded to drive to Alicante Beach and took a few pictures along route.



We got to Alicante and found that No where, I mean, absolutely no where was open. Restaurants, Shops, Markets and even Superstores such as Aldi, Carrefour and Lidl were shut up… there was no small food shops either… I realised after driving around for a few hours and not being able to get a restaurant or shop to eat food that what would British do without Tesco Express??? We’d be royally stuffed!!!



After the landlord and lady visiting earlier in the day we decided to take their advice and visit the local tapas bar 500yrds from the villa. Our meal was gorgeous, the food was fantastic!!! The price was pretty reasonable too!!!

We got back and decided to chill out around the pool area. Bex asked if I could take some video of her in the pool. I went upstairs and fetched the Video Camera down and took some video. Then later in the night I was going to bed so was taking the video camera back upstairs to the table where all the electronic equipment was located. On the way in the stairs I slipped and managed to drop the video camera. This bounced through the gap on the stairs and then 15ft down and off the tiles that surrounded the pool and then a huge PLOP as it sank into the swimming pool… I looked down and all I could think to say was “oops”… I mean, I’d just dropped my Moms £500 DV camcorder 15ft into the swimming pool Chris jumped into the pool to save the camera but it was already located at the bottom of the pool. I immediately got the screw drivers out and stripped it down and put it outside to dry to see if it would come back to life in the morning. I wasn’t hopeful that the camera would work again but I hoped the tape would be ok and the camera would turn on as much to release the tape.



Day 11 - Monday 3rd August

After waking up at 9am I got dressed and sorted out ready for the beach day that we were all heading to. Before heading out to the beach I went downstairs to check out if the camcorder had dried out.





It was fully dry by this time as it had been out in the middle of the patio all night and morning. I fixed it all back together and said a little prayer before fixing the battery back onto it and switching it on. I switched it on expecting to hear a pretty mechanical whine and then a big spark followed by a poof of smoke, what in fact happened was a big fat nothing. I was pretty disappointed at this so proceeded to mess with it a little more to see if I could at least get the camera to release the tape from it. If anyone else has a DV Camcorder they will know the tape system requires the camera to go “zzzzzz, zzzzz, zzzZZzzzzz ping!!!” before it allows you to change the tape and it is completely inaccessible behind the wall of metal and electronics with no leaver or method of getting the tape out. I messed for about 30 minutes and then pressed on again and one of the red led lights started flashing and some bllleeeeeeerrrrrrrr,,zzzz,, mmmmmmm noises were coming from it, followed by a big shhhhhhhhhh plonk… I thought, hmmm, that must be the end of it for sure… but noooOOOOoooo it wasn’t… I pressed the tape realise button and it went zzzzzz, zzzzzz, zz and half realised the tape system from the camcorder but still not opened it to allow the tape to be accessed. Damn… half way there!!! After a little more messing…. It finally did a bit more whining and then pinged the tape system out so I could get the tape out. The magnetic strip was all hanging out the bottom of the tape and some of it had white and black dots on it from the chemicals in the pool but the tape is in one piece. I have no idea if it works or not but I’m sure I’ll find out when I get home, possibly before my mom kills me for breaking her camera… but, maybe not.



When I got outside I found that my number plate had 'Yet Again' fell off my car... I have always used heavy duty number plate sticky pads to secure the plate on and it was becoming a pain in the back side anyway really so I was intending to get it screwed on when I got back. I was running out of sticky pads to use every time it fell off... Lucky I bought a few extra packs along.



When Sarah arrived on Saturday she couldn't get her case out as mentioned earlier in this write up so here's a picture of the damage.



We headed out later in the day and went to the beach in Alicante. The sea was sooooooooooooo nice and warm, was gorgeous… big difference from Newquay… that was always soooooooooooo cold!!!







We got on the beach and the sand was far too hot to walk on. I had to pick Jack up and carry him even though he was wearing flip flops as the sand was burning his feet. We went in the sea and swam out to one of the white floating decks and dived off the spring diving board into the warm sea surrounding.





Through the entire time of being away none of us had seen any Fiesta 's or Focus 's but...






Loooooooooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk what I found!!!




The ONLY Focus in the whole of Spain i'm sure of it!!!






After spending the day at the beach we got back to the villa and the girls cooked some really nice dinner that we ate on the balcony of the upstairs apartment before hitting the pool and enjoying a volley ball game boys vs girls… obviously the boys won as girls are rubbish





Day 12 - Tuesday 5th August

The temperature was constantly betwen 32 and 36 during the day and 28 to 32 during the night and was really hot. During the 2 weeks away Pat and MandyJayne had stopped outside a couple of times viewing the stars to try and get a better nights sleep in the open air as it was too hot and stuffy.



When waiting for everyone to get ready to go to the water park, ChrisC decided it was a great idea to test the integrity of the glass table…

Results:



Conclusion:

Leaning on glass table = bad idea + expensive bill to replace item

I decided to move the glass and managed to slice my thumb in two which wasn’t really the best of ideas considering I’m going to a water park with salt water pools… ouch!!!

Half of the group consisting of Me, Bex, Sarah J, Jack, Chris, Mandy and Lisa went to the water park first whilst the others got ready and we managed to get quite a few goes on the water slides before the park got really busy.









Water Park – Jack loved it… I went on green slide once and never again. Chris, Pat, Kev, Mandy and Lisa went down the big yellow slide… fair play to them but when they got off their hands and legs were shaking like they had Parkinson’s disease. On the videos it really doesn’t show how high and fast it was and for me, it was a better option not to put myself through 5 seconds of hell and just watch everyone else do it instead.

After the water park we got back and decided to have a nice meal on the balcony of the upstairs apartment whist the other half of the group, Kev, Julie, Sarah, Patrick and Chris went out to the Spanish tapas bar just down the road.

Day 13 - Wednesday 6th August

During the day the group once again decided to do some different things. Kev, Julie, Sarah, Pat and Chris all went to Benidorm to try and find some watersports that they would do on the sea and the rest of us stayed in and relaxed in and around the pool. I taught Jack how to dive to the bottom of the pool and retrieve toys. The pool was pretty deep so he did a brilliant job of being able to do that considering he’s never had swimming lessons before, only copied that me and Bex have done.

Jack went to bed for a few hours because we knew we would be going out to Benidorm later in the day to the night markets and to get some nice food so whilst everyone was in the pool on lilos, I decided to jump in with the big pink ring and make as much waves as possible. I managed to get ChrisC clean off his lilo with Lisa just about staying on hers due to holding onto the edge of the pool tightly lol.

We decided to get some nice clothes on to go out in and then headed off to Benidorm, well, not before getting some nice photos of us at the villa.





As we were heading down the road out of the Villa complex we passed Kevin, Julie, Sarah and then a bit further down we passed Pat and Chris. They commented they hasn’t managed to do any water sports but had been to tourist information and got some details on where to go tomorrow.

We got to Benidorm and pulled into a multistory carpark right in the centre. We pressed the button on the barrier machine to get a ticket and the ticket printed out my car registration number on it… it printed 520 TTV, although it was slightly wrong it was pretty clever. I’ve never seen that done before but what a great idea!!!

We walked around the markets and were just generally having a good look around at anything and everything; the girls were looking for someone to do hair braiding. We finally found a little shop that did it but the lady wanted €50 to do a full head of hair braiding This sounded pretty expensive tbh and it was decided we would try find somewhere else. Just as we were walking away she said she would give discount… why didn’t she just offer a more reasonable price in the first place!? We may be British, but we are not stupid!!! We didn’t manage to find another but there are quite a few on Alicante beach that do it anyway so it can always be done tomorrow (Thursday) and I’m sure it would be cheaper!!!

This is where I purchased my Girlfriend Sarah from



We walked around trying to find a nice place to eat, it was getting late by now and lots of the bars were just serving drinks.





We found KFC specially for Kev (ST_ONE)



We finally found a really nice bar on the sea front that offered amazing food at great prices. We had a something bleeeeuuuu (posh food name).







Whilst walking back we found a pharmacy sign and Mandy commented that it was spelt how she would normally say it



Still 27 degrees at 23:30pm at night!!!



What does this sign mean? Any ideas?





Earlier in the evening me and Jack had ordered some caps to be embroided so we picked them up. I am officially the first person to have a cap to match the colour of the Focus I have ordered… here’s proof people!!!





Got home and sat by pool with all of group again.

Day 15 - Friday 8th

It was finally the last day in Alicante. In the morning everyone got up nice and early (well earlish lol) and the kids went in the pool and us adults got a few things perpared to make the job a little easier on the evening when packing everything back up.

Breakfast that morning was really peaceful and thought provoking. It had been a heck of a trip and ending up looking over such a beautiful view of the sea from the villa was something that i shall never forget and i'm sure everyone who went will feel the same.

Due to the fact it was the last day we all decided that it would be best spent doing what ever we best fancied so Me, Bex, Jack, Sarah and Chris contacted our friends again and organised to meet back up at their bar as it had only just opened the day before.

The town was a typical spanish mountain town with a tight community and the bars being centre of the community (as everyone was old).



We finally arrived and seen Martins selection of food. He is a great chef as he used to cook up dinner parties quite regular when he was in the UK so we all knew the food would be great.



Jack enjoyed playing on the pool table out in the courtyard



We went up to see one of their houses in the town and the views were stunning. Although it's pretty much barran land, it's just so calm and peaceful... It's a little too out the way for me tbh but I can understand why they like it there away from busy UK.



On the way back to the car we found an old man who had somehow parked his car down the ditch lol.



After 5 blokes including myself and Chris lifting it up and putting it back on the road the old man was on his way again lol... there is a video of this that will be edited at a later date.

It was the final night and everyone was feeling really sad to have to leave in the morning. We knew that it would be an early start and we'd have a very long drive before getting to our next stop.

I programmed the sat nav to go from the Villa back to home... this is the result.



During the day the others decided that they wanted to spend the day in Alicante on the beach and enjoying the market stools that were available. It was seriously hot so perfect for doing exactly that... why not, can't really ever do that in the UK.



Day 16 - Saturday 9th

The sun was rising and we were up, showered and getting the cars packed up ready to leave. It was a glorious morning and none of us wanted to leave... there was deffinatley a sense of sadness amongst us all.

On the sat nat this was the journey we had to do... this does not account for toilet, food, toll stops or anything else just literally straight there none stop...



We set off at around 6:30am... Don't look at my Sat Nav for the time as it was an hour fast.





We came to this man on the 1st toll gate... had to get a photo lol.



About an hour into the drive I noticed some smoke coming through my vents on my windscreen... it was thick and looked like something was burning so I pulled over immediately to check it out and have a look.

After lifting the bonnet and expecting to be hit with a cloud of smoke I was plesantly suprised to see everything was in order and there was nothing low and no smoke... seemed pretty weird.

I did a complete check of the car and deemed it safe to carry on again and just see if it happened again. I set off again and managed to get a picture of a bit of it coming through... it was very hard to get a shot and there was only a little bit this time but you can see in in the red oval as white cloud.



After this happening it didn't do it again... i guess it was something to do with the air conditioning and the gasses from that as i'd had it on the entire holiday.

On the journey this very nice orange focus came past us... I noticed it from a distance back (who wouldn't) so was ready with my camera to get some shots





Before we set off on holiday we all said that having someone else on our insurance would be a very good idea incase one of us fell ill or couldn't drive for what ever reason so I put my sister on my insurance.

I thought it was a good time to let her drive as she could have the chance of driving in Spain... although it was the motorway it was still Spain

I look the opportunity to get some rest as i knew it would be a long drive.



Here is back happily in the back as we were heading for his football kits home, Barcelona.





We got stuck in traffic but Chris and Sarah seem pretty happy



We were about an hour ahead of the other two cars which Patrick and Kevin where driving so we detoured off the motorway and found ourselves a Macdonalds to have some nice grub.



We finally got to the hotel as night fell and decided to secure the cars up and all watch a DVD together to see the rest of the night out...

Day 17 - Sunday 10th

Today was the day in which we were heading for Calais and catching the 2am Ferry back to the UK.

Me, Bex, Jack, Sarah and Chris decided we would get up nice and early at 5am in the morning and make our way up to Paris to spend the day there before heading off to catch the ferry which even from Paris is quite a journey so to do anything we had to get off at sunrise.

I programmed the Sat Nav in Spain to show the route and figures so here is this 2nd to last part of the journey.



The sun was still down and the mist had a really romantic feel about it over the gorgeous landscape as we set off.

The morning was still warm but about 10 degrees less than Alicante where we had woken up from the day before.







After a lengthy drive we reached Paris and seen the signs for Disney Land... the place that all kids want to be.





Then... finally... we reached it I've never been to Disney Paris or America so I was really looking forwards to it... what an entrance!!!









We're in YAY







The driving was hungry business so since we just got in we had to have something to eat in the Disney Restaurant in Disney Land... has to be done!!!





Now was the fun part... time to go and check out the Park



The characters don't stay around for long and it's pretty hard to get to them as everyone wants an autograph and picture... but Sarah took on some fighting spirit and literally pushed everyone out the way to get Jack to the front lol.

















Once Jack and us had finished being kids in the park and shops we went to check out Pixar Studios and took a master class in drawing the dragon out of Mulan.



After this we continued around the Walt Disney Studios Park





Sarah and Chris decided to go on this... it's a no no for me lol.





I knew that we had to leave at latest 8pm from the park in order to get to Calais to be ontop for the Ferry and that left a little time just incase we had any problems on the way but not much. This meant that we would be able to see the Disney Parade but unfortuntley miss the fireworks which were being held at 10pm on the evening.





After the Parade it was 8.30pm which was a little behind time so we had to follow it up to the entrance and then run to the cars and get going before everyone got back to their cars and caused traffic jams. We flew out of Disney and back onto the motorways heading north to the port where our Ferry would be waiting for us.

After a tiring journey we reached the port with an hour to spare before boarding which was really good as you've got to be there 30mins before anyway so it was nice to know that we were there safe and sound and home was just a boat away.

About 30mins after our arrival the other 1/2 of the group joined us in the port ready for boarding the boat.

They had been to Jimmy's home down for the day and I know from talking with Kev that they enjoyed the scenery and old town style of where he lives.

We finally boarded the ferry and got on... we shot upstairs and got some chairs to get some sleep on... I tried to sleep but the boat was really loud and there was a strong gale on the sea so the boat was bouncing around quite a lot, like going over a hump back bridge every 10 seconds lol.

We finally got back to the UK early hours in the morning... I believe it was around 2am that we disembarked from the ship.

It was pretty strange to drive back on the left hand side of the road again as the right seemed to be the correct way for some reason.

Finally we reached home at around 5am and I took my very last photo of the trip, which was my dials and how much miles I had covered.



The total milage from setting off from my drive to getting back to my drive was 3414. I don't think this is too bad for where we went and how much we seen...

The trip had been a huge adventure and I don't think any of us could have imagined how brilliant it turned out to be. We seen so many sights, had so much fun and also had something that getting on a plane would never give you. Getting back after the holiday was a real buzz but at the same time it was really sad as it had come to an end and it was back to the real world.

When I thought about doing this trip I had comments that I was crazy and people didn't really believe it could happen. I'm really glad that with the help of everyone who came along the trip was made possible and we can all say that we've done that... but not just been there... we drove there and along the way we did all the different things we did.

Looking back on it now during these cold winter months really makes you realise how nice it was. I don't think anything that is put on this write up can truely explain or describe the time that we had there and the memories that we will have forever. I think that the video that I shall do will show things a little bit better.

I really hope that both the people who went on this trip and the people who are reading about what we did for the first time enjoyed the write up and also viewing the stunning pictures that was taken.

I will say a HUGGGEEE THANK YOUUUUU to everyone who took the plungue and made the massive effort to come along and spend their holiday with us. It would not have been the same without everyone there and I really look forwards to seeing both new and old people at future trips.

I have made use of other's photos throughout this post were applicable so I must give credit to the photos in this thread that other's took. Thanks for letting me use them.

Total Breakages whilst stopping at both Villas

France

Cup (Becky)
Glass (Kevin)
Glass (Mandy)
Plate (Scotty)
Towel Rail (Julie) – Bodged
Towel Rail (Chris) - Destroyed
Chair (Patrick)
Chair (Chris)
Table (Jimmy & Patrick)
Fence lock (Scott and Mandy)
Broken light (Scott)
Sun lounger (Chris)
Broken Umbrella (Patrick)
Pool Filter Unit (Patrick)
Pool Underwater Light (Chris) – Stuck back in
Broken Digital Camera (ChrisC)
Broken Digital Camera (Scotty) – Repaired itself
Broke Door Girls Room (Mandy) – Chris Repaired

Spain

Broken picture frame (Mandy)
Broken Seat in Silky – (Sarah)
Drowned Video Camera from 15ft into the swimming pool (Scotty + Wet Floor) – R.I.P
Broken Glass Coffee Table (ChrisC)
Broken Glass (Mandy)

Brilliant write up

Scotty that road does look amazing and after hearing about it i wish i was there.

Kev that pool looks exactly how you described it on the phone (Jammy git )

So gutted that i did't make this one but we will do our best for next years big event.

all looking good

well done on the write up, certainly looks like it was good fun

The Holiday was amazing. I loved hearing and seeing how excited Scott was when he saw me at the airport. Spain was great we got to so much in a short time. The drive back was great even though it was long it was well worth it. I wished I had of been able to go for the drive there instead of the plane as the photo's look amazing.

I've been to the Disney in America and was equally excited going to the one in Paris. I think Scott has a photo to prove it. Jack wanted to see Captain Sparrow and there was a huge crowd of people around and he was going in so I grabbed Jack and pushed through and got him right to the front of the crowd and right in front of the Character. It was funny to see peoples faces as they had qued for ages and he was having a great convo with Jack and then said that he was sorry and that he had to go.

I will definitely be going to the next summer event!

Sounds like you had a great time

Tried to convince my mates to go on a driving holiday last summer but unfortunately they weren't all convinced....never mind always next (well this) year

Should come with us then Adam... we have a blast

The holiday was brilliant and the drive was amazing... the feeling of going in a convoy makes you feel good and as you pass everyone they stop to look.

I loved every second of it.

looks fantastic, I'll certainly be saving the pennie's if there's another to be had!! Great write up.

Can't wait to go to le man again...a tent isn't quite a villa but nevermind

I'll comment on this thread, although I could on either of them. Firstly, both of them are brilliant and a great way to remind us all in the future of an amazing few weeks I'll never forget.

I think the threads say enough so I'm not going to repeat things, but I'll just add a few points of my own. The event was something that I'd been really excited for and looking forwards to for months beforehand. For me, things started a little earlier as I'd arrived down at Scott's on the Wednesday evening as I was heading off to the London Motorshow the day after. I think it was just being down there that it started to hit me and make me feel that the holiday was starting at that point. The motorshow itself was great, we got to see some amazing cars including of course the Focus RS. It's sometimes the little things about days like that that you remember though. And one of those things for me was how we ended up spending around an hour getting lost on the tube lol. Firstly I think we missed our stop, then I think we tried to take a shortcut on a different line back but got on the train for the wrong direction, and finally got to where we wanted and found we couldn't change to the DLR train to the motorshow as that station was closed. Round and round we went!

Friday of course was the big day. We needed to get my loud exhaust changed for the standard one, so that it wouldn't annoy everyone on the long journey. I hadn't changed it outside my house due to living on a busy street and it being dangerous to do there, so had planned on changing it on Scott's drive. Unfortunately we found that the nuts had seized in place, and no garages would fit us in for a few minutes to put it on a ramp. Not a good start but luckily Jimmy managed to help me out in France. By the time we set off around 11pm we should have all been tired, but I think we were just all so excited about the big adventure in front of us that it helped keep us all awake. I can remember feeling a bit groggy after we landed in France after being half asleep over the journey, but with standing around for a little while working out the lights adapters it soon woke everyone back up again. The journey itself through France was fine, even if the journey through Paris was completly mad, much worse than London! Going over the Millau Bridge was something in itself, and something I won't forget. It was when we were standing on the hill underneath afterwards, you just look up and think wow that we'd just been over it. The week in France was great, with being able to relax in the nice sunshine by and in the pool and everything, even if I did manage to get a little burned, though not as bad as some others. Although I did get a little stressed at times about the amount of things that seemed to be getting broken, we managed to replace them all so it was all good, and is funny in hindsight.

It did feel sad to be moving on at the end of that week. But once we got moving again I started to get excited again, even if a little daunted by the mammoth journey ahead. It was a shame that I didn't get to go on the back roads to Andorra through the Pyrenees, but the journey was still enjoyable. It also meant that we got to visit another country, and broke the trip up well. I think everyone was getting tired by the end of that evening, the main thing I can remember now is just how hot it was even late at night, and it was a relief when we finally arrived at the Villa. It was an amazing sight when we seen it. All of us thought the one in France was good, but when we seen the Spanish one, well just a different class. The pool was still hot, even that late at night, and the view over the coast was brilliant. Again we had a great week there, I think there's already been enough said by Scott about what we got up to for me to need to repeat things again, but suffice to say the time we had with the gorgeous weather we had, was something that none of us wanted to leave behind.

When we came to leave on the Saturday morning it was even sadder than the week before, but all good things have to come to an end sometime. The weather had seemed to turn on the last day, with some showers on the Friday afternoon, and when we set off on Saturday it did actually seem to feel a bit cooler, which seemed to sum things up in an odd way, as if someone was telling us that the holiday was coming to an end. Although we had a long drive again, it seemed to pass pretty quickly. Then on the Sunday we got excited again at going to Disneyland. I'd never been before, and it was an excellent way to end the holiday off. We spent 10 hours there, but could easily have been there twice as long with everything that we didn't get to see. We finally arrived back in the midlands about 5am on the Monday morning, and then just crashed out. Late on the Monday afternoon I then had the final leg of my journey back home to Cumbria.

It was an amazing experience and one I'll never forget. Similar to what Scott said, a lot of people kept telling me I was crazy for doing this, and saying it was a long way for me to go. But you'd never get the same thing by just hopping on a plane and going to these places, you'd miss out on so much. It was well worth it, and hopefully I'll get the chance to do something similar again in the future. 4237 miles I covered in 19 days, and enjoyed every one of them.

Chris

I'll read Chris' comment later
Scott you remind me of Sean Williams Scott aka stiffmeister...

Don't know he just came on the TV and just reminded me of the pics i had just looked at...