Roaming Rocks ~ Page 2 of 29 ~ Sharing Kindness Rocks along our many adventures!

Day 7: Gill Family Spanish Road-trip (Gibraltar)

On June 16, 2023

We woke up and drove to the Spanish/Gibraltar border. There was complete chaos because members of the European Union could just walk thru while everyone else had to get their passports stamped. There wasn’t any signage and people got really confused. Cars were also just waived thru. Electric scooters were also included in this group so you would have cars, buses, motorcycles and electric scooters all trying to cross at the same time with minimal order. And…they crossed over the runway at the airport when planes weren’t taking off! It was entertaining to watch to say the least!
We walked across the border and then caught the city bus to City Center.

We had a lovely breakfast at a great restaurant in the square. The restaurant had a great Tree of Life on its wall. As we were eating, we saw several policemen/women opening every single pothole and looking for bombs. Once cleared they would use security stickers to seal it. There were pot holes every 5 feet so it was quite an undertaking. It was just random and out of the ordinary and gave us something to watch. I wonder what public official was coming to visit.

We walked thru town and felt like we were in England. We even saw a Matalan.

Walking thru town we also came across the Trafalgar Square Cemetary. It had beautiful gardens and tons of butterflies!

We took the cable car to the top of Gibraltar to see the Skywalk and St Michaels Cave. Immediately when we got off, we were met by tons of monkeys. Some were aggressive, some were annoyed, some were performers and most were just hanging out looking for food.

The views from the top were amazing. It looked like one of the ships had sunk and they were trying to save it. We could see Africa in the distance as well! We had hoped to make it over to Morocco during this trip but ran out of time. It was too much to try to plan a last minute trip and see everything we wanted to see. Hopefully we will make it back some day.

We made our way to St Michaels Cave which is a huge cave that was once used for ammunition storage, a hospital and even thought to have connected Gibraltar to Africa at one time but that was never confirmed. Imagine what the first person who found the cave was thinking!

We took the cable car back down the rock, had a great dinner at the port and headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow is a 7 hour drive to València.

(View of the rock from the bus on our way back to the car. )

Day 5/6: Gill Family Spanish Road-trip! (Cádiz)

By admin

On June 16, 2023

In Spain Roadtrip

The next two days of the vacation were just beach/pool days and a walk to Old Town Cadiz. We ate great meals and just enjoyed a much needed rest.

Cadiz Cathedral. They actually had to put up nets because pieces of the roof kept falling.

It was actually really cold and windy in the morning!

Dinner. When I’m Spain, do as the Spaniards! We went to the top ranked restaurant and had their top dish.

Day 4: Gill Family Spanish Road-trip! (Badajoz to Seville to Cádiz)

By admin

On June 15, 2023

In Spain Roadtrip

We got up early and hit the road and made it to Seville in about 90 minutes! After some additional navigational challenges to a parking lot, we got parked and started walking around. What a cute town!

This beautiful tree would have been perfect for climbing!!

We walked to the Plaza de Espana and had a long look around.

There was tiles everywhere! This picture is actually of the ceiling.

We watched some Flamenco dancers perform. I couldn’t help think that after a few drinks, I could also stomp my feet and wave my arms in a similar fashion. It is doubtful I would have the grace or skill that they had but I think it would be fun trying!

After coffee and a snack, we left and headed to Cadiz!

Our Front Desk associate was amazing. We had originally booked a studio but it didn’t have an ocean view. We went back to the desk and asked for something better and we moved to a beautiful suite with a huge balcony and amazing views. We immediately got changed and went down to the pool. She even spoiled us with cake and champagne when she heard that H and I were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary!

We ended the night with an amazing meal and were so excited to decide that we had 2 more full days here!

Day 3: 2023 Gill Family Spanish Road-trip! (Santiago de Compostela thru Portugal to Badajoz)

By admin

On June 15, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023, Spain Roadtrip

We took in the views of the cathedral one last time while we were waiting for our cab. I’m not sure if I will ever be back again so I wanted to take it all in while I was there.

Timing was perfect and I was able to see Victoria walk in. It was really nice to see her again and say goodbye!
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With that, it is now time to close the Camino de Santiago chapter and open the “2023 Gill Family Spanish Road-trip” chapter! Below is a highlights of what we are thinking but we haven’t booked any reservations yet and are just going to wing it!

We took a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. Lucky for us we got a brand new car!! It only had 4 miles on it! We received great service from Enterprise and feel like we dodged a bullet because several other car hire companies required International Drivers Licenses which we didn’t have.

Typical for Galicia weather, it started pouring rain the second we got on the freeway. It didn’t last very long though and we were on our way!

Cat and I were more focused on our road-trip selfie than H was. Luckily he was focused on the road and keeping us safe!

We drove across a really cool bridge.

We stopped for the obligatory road-trip snacks.

…and made our way into Portugal.

After being sent way off track by Google Maps for lunch to a restaurant that wasn’t even open, we stopped at this roadside restaurant that was actually pretty good! Cat won for the best meal! (Chicken kabob)

Cat thought that navigating was easy and laughed at my misdirections from Google. I had her sit in front and help H navigate and she soon learned how hard it was (while I napped in the back!)

We got passed by a hearse. I wonder what the hurry was….

…and we finally made it to Badajoz after 6.5 hours of driving. It was a cute little town that had tons of character and the nightlife was happening!

Day 2: 2023 Gill Family Spanish Road-trip!! (Santiago de Compostela, Finesterra and Muxia)

By admin

On June 12, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023, Spain Roadtrip

We got up early to catch a tour to Finesterra (End of the Earth) and Muxia. While waiting for the bus, we ran into Savina and Carolina who were both on their way to the bus station to leave Santiago.

Below is miscellaneous pictures from the day. I did have a laugh when we got to Finesterra because it was pouring rain and the fog was so bad at times that you couldn’t see very far. The statue of the boot represents the very end of the Camino although the official end is at the Cathedral. Some people walk there. I personally have done enough walking and thought the bus was sufficient.

We got back to Santiago and walked to the park. Last time we lived here, there was a similar Ferris wheel but the stabilizers didn’t look this orderly or safe!

We ended the night at one of our favorite restaurants, (A Gamela), churros, cocktails and a search for the “Pilgrim Shadow”.

Day 1: 2023 Gill Family Spanish Road-trip!! (Santiago de Compostela)

By admin

On June 12, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023, Spain Roadtrip

We had originally planned to do a week at the beach and a week in Morocco but neither of us ended up booking anything and it was hard to coordinate on such different schedules while I was walking. After trying to make it work for a couple of hours today, we actually decided to rent a car and road-trip thru Spain. We were really frustrated to find that most trains were sold out and airplanes were really expensive and it just made sense to be able to go where we wanted when we wanted to. We have 2 days in Santiago/Finesterra and then will start our Gill Family 2023 Spanish Road-trip! (Itinerary unknown!)

Morning views of the Cathedral.

Our favorite cafe in Santiago! It lived up to the memories!

We stopped for a coffee and orange juice for old times sake.

We saw some nuns after they sang at mass.

We also went to mass and saw the botifumaro swing!

We did the rooftop tour of the cathedral. The views were beautiful. The attention to detail was impressive and the history was very informative. We laughed that there was no way that we would be allowed to do a tour like this in America.

Cat and I toured the inside of the church and the tomb of St James. Lots has changed in the cathedral since we lived here. They did a major renovation that finished in 2021 and decided to close a lot off from the public at that time. There used to be a statue of Saint James that could be hugged, there was a handprint that millions of Pulgrims had placed their hand in that was worn into a pillar that was only allowed to be viewed (not touched) if you purchased a ticket for the tour and the front doors were closed and you had to enter thru the front door.

We went out for dinner and Cat ordered octopus. One of the tentacles suctioned onto her tongue!!

Every night a Galician band played in front of the cathedral. They played upbeat traditional music and the locals all sang along and danced. We went every night! It was always a fun way to end the evening!