Its been a long time

We've been back for over a month now and have been busier than ever with the pub, the recession has really bitten so we've been working harder than ever to keep things on an even keel.

Spain & Portugal were absolutely fab, so fab that we plan to return next month to view a property that ticks all the right boxes for us!

Met and stayed with Pat & Rik for a few days, fantastic people and if all works out we'll almost be neighbours! Can really recommend their place if you're looking for peace and tranquillity.

The roads were good as long as we stayed on the main routes, the drivers were not as bad as we expected in fact riding in Portugal & Spain was a very positive experience for us. We stayed well away from the tourist areas and found the locals to be warm and welcoming where ever we went.

Right, back to work, customers want food.

Here's a couple of photos, hope to post more soon.

Ready, Set.........

Thought we would post one more entry before we head off on our motorbike odyssey around Portugal.

We have everything we need and we're set to leave on Sunday, can not wait!!

Just the annual birthday torment to go through now, both our girls and me celebrate our birthdays within 5 days of each other, well it seemed a good idea 20 odd years ago lol.

Well be stopping by to visit Pat & Rik of Living The Dream Portugal, we're looking forward to meeting the people behind the blog.

We'll post updates if and when we get to an internet cafe but that's all for now....

TTFN

It's been a while

I've been busy over the past few weeks and not had time to update our Blog, so here goes:

Jacqui's new Passport has arrived, mine is still being processed or its lost in the system? Have faith Jay!

We are now the proud owners of a Coleman Coastline Tent and have all the necessaries required for camping (I hope!).

We have started to firm-up our itinerary, our 1st stop will be around Leon in Spain then down to Bragancia in the North of Portugal for a few nights, from here on in it's a bit vague but that's all part of the adventure.

I've booked the VN900 in for a service in two weeks, NHS medical cards have arrived, I'm insured for Europe but still need to sort European Breakdown cover with the AA and travel insurance - more costs, bah!

Swine flu and Passports permitting, next week I'll be booking our tickets, we hope to be on the ferry that leaves Plymouth at 4pm June 7th, one more choice to make, £250 one way with a cabin or £160 in a reclining seat Mmmmmm.

June is getting closer

Our planned trip is getting closer and we're getting more excited!

Ordered these Iron Horse Touring Panniers today and the Map of Spain and Portugal I order last week has arrived. Spent an hour or so browsing around ABC Camping in Swansea, looks like the inflatable mattress Jacqui wanted may have to be left out, feels far too heavy for the bike.

Our Passport application will finally get sent off next week, fortunately we have no absolute start date for our trip so we'll not be stressing waiting for them to arrive, as long as they arrive before mid June.

Attempting to spend at least 2 hours a day in the saddle at the moment, mainly to get Jacqui used to time in the saddle, I intend to get a Gel Pad to help her with numb bum syndrome on the longer journeys.

Pain Free and planning

It's been a while but I'm now virtually pain free, hard to believe I cracked a rib coughing!

Anyways, Portugal. We've spent most of the past few weeks sourcing the kit we need for the Bike trip in June, tent, luggage, rear rack etc.

We now searching for small rural camp sites that are not too touristy and welcome bikers, any suggestions welcomed!

Jacqui is as excited as me about a camping holiday, which is a surprise as I expected her to have reservations regarding her home comforts, and boy, does she like her comforts! This is a major plus.

We've chosen the only real fixed part of the trip, Ferry Plymouth - Santander {Holiday} Ferry Santander - Plymouth. We plan to upload as many camp sites as we can find on to our Sat Nav and just go where the road leads us, this vary un-me but what the heck.

Pain

I'm in pain, coughed yesterday and something went pop! Now every sneeze and cough is agony, I think I've ripped a muscle somewhere. Must make another effort to quit smoking.

Jacqui has been back to the house tidying up the garden, there's more work to be done than I first thought, the downstairs bathroom needs re-tiling, the lounge and exterior walls need a coat of paint.

The weather here has turned chilly and the pub has been quiet for the past couple of weeks.....its one of those times when there seems nothing positive to write about.

Ho Hum

Rise of the Euro

After reading this article I worry that our dream is getting further away. Back at the beginning of November 2008 a Portuguese property valued at €100000 would have cost us around £81000, that has now risen to £94000.


The fall in UK property values has made things even more worrying, we've seen a 15% drop in property prices in the area of Wales we live.

However we are not despondent, we are tightening our belts and trying to cut our budgets, we're looking at properties that need modernising and re-looking at our bottom line in the Pub. We will buy a home in Portugal!

We also get a little comfort from the old City adage of " What goes up can go down".

Well the sun is out again so if I want to spend the afternoon watching the 6 Nations Rugby Union, now is the time to fire-up the VN900 and take to the road.

Come on Wales and Tally Ho!