After a good night rest and a long morning walks, we left Seville and headed for Huelva, where we would board the ferry to Tenerife.
On the road to the harbor, we discovered a nice little town next to Huelva – Palos de la Frontera, with lovely architecture and scenic views.
The port has no pin on Waze and the carrier’s website is less then intuitive, so it was good we took a good time reserve, arriving more than 3 hours before departure.
Our cabin is small and cozy, and Schatzy pretty much assumed it was yet another hotel. There is a dedicated deck for pets, where you can walk your dog.
Admittedly, most dogs take time to realize that the deck is their only allowed venue and most of them laid depressed… but not Schatzy.
The ocean seemed to energize him, and he jumped around and made new friends.
The ocean is indeed a breath-taking view, with colors changing nearly every hour.
We feel privileged we got to see the sunset above the Atlantic and hope to wake up early enough in the morning to enjoy the sunrise.
With nearly 24hours of travel ahead of us, I hope more beautiful views will come.
P.S. Funny enough, no one checked our tests today either… I am really annoyed with this.
We started the day again with a COVID PCR test at a private clinic in Valencia – I checked with the transport company and this one we will actually use.
The one peculiar thing about Spain is that surprisingly few people speak English. This can be quite tricky if you have important things to sort out and it did cause some trouble at the clinic, where no one understood us. However, with Google Translate and goodwill from both parts all ended well and we are now waiting for the results.
Because of the test we started late our trip to Seville, and we drove under a hot sun, enjoying colorful Spain.
I guess I will always associate this with the red earth and olive orchard and endless vineyards. Except for a rather short flat portion, the road had spectacular views, guarded by flowering oleanders.
We sadly passed near Cordoba, and couldn’t stop this time, but we certainly need to return do Spain and we won’t miss it then.
When you drive nearly 700 km, you need to make stops every 100-150 km for your dog to stretch and have water.
It will also benefit the driver, who also needs a break, as highways can be tiresome.
After a week on the road, Schatzy is used to the car, although yesterday he got bored and chewed off his safety belt.
We got to Seville around 7.30 pm, checked in, and immediately went off to see the city.
I was initially upset we arrived so late. But with 37oC, it turns out that the evening is the best time for sightseeing.
So, we were charmed by Plaza de Espana in the sunset, then walked around a bit admiring the Lope Vega Theatre, the University and Alfonso XIII Hotel.
You would think that after Barcelona and Valencia, you couldn’t find something that would surprise you – but guess again. Seville has magnificent architecture, luxurious gardens and wide sunny streets.
And certainly, charming restaurants, food and wine and we felt great over dinner at Mirador San Fernardo to close our last night on land for this trip.
We experienced some heavy rain between Barcelona and Valencia, but still arrived at our destination by noon.
One of the lessons learned from this trip is certainly to check parking conditions. Hotel NH Las Artes does have indoor parking, but the height is limited to 2m, so the Nissan Juke with an external carrier does not fit. So, we head to park some 500m away and carry the luggage to the hotel, and then we were off to tour the city.
Valencia is a breathtaking combination of old and new and you can’t but fall in love with it. We started with the Ciudad de les Artes i les Ciencies, with its immaculate profile against the flawless sky. The sun is really burning in Spain, so sunscreen and hats are mandatory, and I would now choose to go to places with little shade in the evening, so we can really savor sightseeing.
The city parks are spectacular, starting with the Jardi de Turia, which continue the Ciutat. People here enjoy the outdoors, there were a lot of joggers and picnics along the alleys, and we even spotted a birthday party with balloons and everything.
After the marvels of Calatrava, the old city offered a charming sightseeing.
Altogether, we walked over 17km yesterday, got lost when Google Maps failed us and I feel that we had a lot more things to see and do in Valencia, including the infamous Pinedo beach, which is open for dogs in the summer.
Valencia is dog friendly too, surprisingly even more so than Barcelona, with people walking even 2-3 dogs at once, of all shapes and sizes.
Passers will pet your dog, and this is nearly unavoidable in crowded places, so if your pet is a bit anxious you will need to have a muzzle to avoid incidents. This is certainly not the case with Schatzy, who is very sociable and really enjoyed the experience.
Your dog is welcomed on terraces and waiters are welcoming and will spontaneously bring water for the pet as you arrive. The food is wonderful and we like going in small local restaurants, in less touristic areas, to enjoy the atmosphere. This can be a bit challenging though, as not everyone speaks English – but people are friendly, and you will manage for sure.
We loved Valencia, but today we have a lot of things to cover, starting with the tests for boarding the ferry and a long drive to Sevilla.
There is not much to say about our sprint to Barcelona, except we saw a few beautiful medieval sites on the way but resisted the temptation to stop.
We passed again the border without anyone asking anything about COVID tests or vaccination certificates.
I know I seem to stress over nothing, and both Eugen and my mother were really amused with my efforts to get the test results just in time, but rules are rules. In any case, my certificate arrived only half an hour before we crossed to Spain and courtesy to a nice call center assistant from the clinic dealing with Nice Airport testing, so that’s that.
To spare us the stress for the next milestone, I already booked us testing at a private clinic in Valencia on Monday morning. Since tests are required to board the ferry boat, I expect these will be the only certificates actually checked by anyone by the end of this trip.
I always wanted to visit Barcelona, but the city certainly exceeded all my expectations, from the beautiful architecture, the charming harbor and down to its excellent cuisine and lively atmosphere.
Except for people actually wearing masks in all public places, there is little indication of the pandemic, the streets are crowded, and people are warm and friendly.
Our hotel is located in the very heart of the city, right next to Ramblas and across the street from Güell Palace, with a rooftop terrace with a spectacular view. Hotel Gaudi has private parking and accommodates even large dogs like Schatzy with a small extra charge. The staff is kind and detail-oriented, they even scheduled breakfast in such a way as to avoid crowding in the morning.
We found Barcelona to be the perfect place for dogs: they are everywhere, locals love them and literally pamper them.
Schatzy is very friendly, and people played with him all throughout our 10km walk and didn’t even mind if he occasionally got over-excited and jumped on them… although we certainly don’t encourage him to do so.
I expect we will be returning here with the children and with our own dog, the cute beagle Zuza.
So, in the end, this was indeed a wonderful day, and we are all exhausted, but happy. We’ll see you tomorrow in Valencia.
Saint Tropez in the morning
Our day started early, despite the breakfast being served by our hosts at 9.30, as we decided to take a walk from Gassin to Saint Tropez and explore the center.
The town is lively and exceedingly chic, and we even discovered the famous Musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinema… for those in love with Louis de Funés movies.
Schatzy was curious to study the beautiful Maine Coon cat watching our room before leaving and then we had a lovely French breakfast, which is really the best way to start the day.
Detour to Avignon
Since we had no particular reason to hurry today, we took a detour to Avignon, the city of popes, which is loaded with history and spectacular medieval architecture.
It was a bit challenging to park the car because of height limits of parking near the old city. Finally, we found a free suitable parking on the other side of the river Rhone, and we took a stroll and even had lunch in the Papal Square.
Avignon is a jewel, and we want to return and take our time in exploring it, maybe in a quiet tour of the south of France.
Shipwreck
Beziers is said to be France’s oldest city and we were keen on seeing it too… But tough luck. When we finally got to our destination, which was a guesthouse located near the old city on the board of the river Orb, came an avalanche of warnings from our host: ‘Don’t press that button of the light switch, or the lights will go out everywhere, ‘Be careful when you take a shower, if you push that button it will spray all over and you will have to clean, ‘Be mindful when you carry your luggage, if you damage the stairs you will need to pay the repairs’, ‘Don’t leave anything in your car, it’s not safe, and anyway, you can’t park here, ‘Don’t talk to the neighbors, they are crazy.’
Although the place was very nice, we decided this was too much, so we decided to move… To an Ibis Budget Hotel along the highway, which did offer a decent quiet room with a shower and no complications.
We got there late, and we were all really tired, so we just ate two sandwiches, and Eugen and Schatzy went straight to sleep.
I have trouble sleeping as I have two more things to worry about:
My PCR test result from Nice hasn’t arrived yet, despite the fact that Eugen received his early in the morning. On Day 6 we cross the border to Barcelona, so I hope we will have no complications.
The IBIS is the first place we stay with a decent WI-FI, so I just got a message from my service provider that I hit the limit of Internet roaming. This means that at least until Sunday, when my new invoicing period starts, I need to cut down on using the internet…
We woke up early as we had more than 700 km to go today from Lido di Jesolo to Saint Tropez.
Since we could not leave before 8 am, when breakfast was served, we walked Schatzy through an empty beach to stay true to the motto “A new experience every day“.
I am happy to report he enjoyed it, although playful waves intrigued him.
We like driving even on long distances, although today was quite heavy and we even went through the rush hour on Italian highways.
It was a bit boring for poor Schatzy, who seemed to beg for roads to clear ahead while watching sadly over my shoulder.
The road through Italy was quite tedious until we got to the coastline after Genova – on “Autostrada dei Fiore” to Ventimiglia. Here things turned spectacular, speeding between mountain and sea, with picturesque towns hanging on the cliffs.
We were really sorry we had to rush through and promised ourselves we will return and take the time to enjoy the experience.
Today, however, we had to test again for coronavirus in order to pass the border to Spain the day after tomorrow. We managed to get to Nice Airport just in time to get a PCR test at the walk-in testing center in Terminal 2. Testing is free in France, you just need to fill in a form, they collect the sample and the results are sent by mail within 24 hours.
No one checked our tests or declarations upon arrival in France either, as we expected, but we must all be responsible at this time, so we tested again in preparation for our next border crossing. The next experience is due in Valencia, where we need to test in order to board the ferry.
We finally reached our destination in Gassin, near Saint Tropez, at a very nice and pet-friendly guesthouse – Villa Casabianca.
It was already around 8 and France still has a curfew as of 9 pm so it was just sandwiches and a glass of wine for dinner this time.
Tomorrow, however, our schedule is much lighter so fingers crossed for what’s next…
We took our time in the morning before hitting the road, as we had less than 400 km to our next destination, Lido di Jesolo, Italy. A good day starts with a delicious breakfast and this is exactly what we got from our hosts in Maribor.
We take turns eating, as Schatzy is not allowed in most restaurants. So while one human companion is having breakfast, the happy Viszla runs and exercises to kickstart a happy day.
The road to Slovenia was calm and intriguing for Schatzy, who watched the highway over my shoulder for a large part.
If you are driving in Slovenia, they have a very nice radio station for tourists, Radio SI, which is mostly in English and plays good music and useful news.
The road was generally ok, but we experienced some stress due to COVID travel rules. When you enter Italy you need to fill in a statement that needs to mention your point of entry (where you cross the frontier), your departure, and arrival time.
The website and explanations are far from intuitive, and to top it all – the border line cannot be identified between Slovenia and Italy (because of Schengen), so we only realized we were in Italy when signage turned to Italian.
At that point we also had to deal simultaneously with filling in the statement and with a complicated transition between 3 motorways, so we sort of panicked. When driving in Italy you need to be careful, drivers are fast and not keeping the distance between cars.
We arrived at Lido di Jesolo di Jesolo early so we took a look around. The place was packed because it was a national holiday.
While a lot of hotels were pet-friendly, dogs are not allowed on the beach and this was a bitter disappointment for Schatzy, who was sniffing his way to the sea.
We took a walk in the sand (taking turns to watch the sad Viszla) and then return to the hotel for a pampering Italian dinner.
We started our day early with a mandatory administrative task – COVID testing so we can cross the border in Italy and France. So we took a quick detour in Timisoara in the morning.
Travelling is thought to be tricky these days with each EU country imposing its own set of rules (pending arrival of the green certificate). If you need help in planning your trip, there is a cool app we just discovered from the European Commission – It is not fully updated at times, but you find info on local restrictions and entry conditions.
Reality check though – we found that we crossed borders with Hungary with only our passports checked (no need for tests or vaccination certificate) and Slovenia with no stop at all. But you still need to prepare by the book, so plan before you leave.
Also word of the wise – watch out when you set your Waze destination. In Hungary and Slovenia, you need a vignette. If you fail to check that you already have it, the app will avoid all highways. We figure it out halfway to Maribor.
It is not a big loss though. Hungary has beautiful sights and we all enjoyed the scenery. But if you are in a hurry, it is nearly 200 km longer.
Also, in Hungary don’t search gas stations on Waze, you will get zero results. Instead, look for the specific brand of gas station you prefer. Our car eats a lot of gas, so we were slightly stressed until we figured it out.
We really enjoyed the highway to Maribor, especially the segment alongside Balaton. It is really green and it has nice overdressing for wildlife, which we really appreciate. The weather was sunny and we had nice little stops and Schatzy even managed to challenge his fear of stairs, which is why we are proud to say this morning he went down and up the stairs at our motel with no hesitation. While Hungary is flat, Slovenia is more spectacular, with ups and downs and the motorway crossing hills.
We arrived in Maribor around 8 and we were tired and hungry.
Luckily our host suggested a very nice and well-hidden Italian place – Taverna Sicilia, where we had a great dinner.
Schatzy was also welcome and the waiter was kind enough to bring him a bowl of water as we entered.
We really enjoyed our stay at Pri Lesniku Motel, it has big luxurious rooms and the staff is kind. The Motel also offers minigolf, a spa and a farm, so I guess if we ever return with the kids, they would love it too.
ETA + 5 stops = 12 hours
A good trip starts with good coffee, even when nearly 600 km lie ahead to our first destination – Arad. Schatzy, our cool canine traveller, has no clue that he will cross Europe and (part of) the Atlantic to reach my mother in Puerto de la Cruz.
We were lucky enough to find clear roads ahead – June 1st is a holiday in Romania, and I haven’t seen such a clear path to Sibiu in years. So we enjoyed the mountains.
We decided to make a longer stop for lunch at Astra Museum of Popular Technique near Sibiu – Schatzy needed to move and finally we weren’t sure we would get to Arad in time for dinner.
A roadtrip is still an endurance test in Romania. Waze had us cruising between two complete sections of motorway A1, but surprise… The connecting segment of national road DN68a is a work-in-progress. Basically a forest-road really, which tested our nerves as we hadn’t found a gas station for nearly 100km and we had only 60 km autonomy. All is well in the end.
On the first day we crossed Romania from Bucharest to Arad, through rain and bad roads, but fortunately arriving just in time for a good rest. Schatzy, the curious Vyszla, was intrigued by the changing scenery, but remained finally calm to our destination. Maxim Hotel in Arad welcomes pets, but beware: they have no elevator, so our staircase scared hero had to be dragged up to the second floor. Which is basically why we had to give up dinner for today (and I personally dread breakfast).
This would be us at the end of the day – I am still checking entry conditions for Hungary and Slovenia, our targets for tomorrow. We will be testing for COVID-19 in Timisoara and then heading for our next target – Maribor.
