Coast to Coast

Well yesterday it was goodbye Torremolinos and hello Bilbao.  I surprised myself by reaching the other end of Spain.

Another breathtaking drive up past the Sierra Nevada just to the side of Granada took me to the central plains of Spain. It seemed the bodegas I passed were never ending.  There are certainly a lot of wine producers in Spain and it is a shame I didnt take the opportunity to taste them all but doesnt really go down to well with the Police when driving.

After about 4-5 hours I arrived in Toledo for a pit stop and a bit of an explore.  What a beautiful city.  So old but in such good condition.  I have to apologise but I did have a not so traditional McDonalds and I made a prat of myself in the process.  Feeling all confident about ordering in Spainish I went up to the counter and ordered a 'hambegeusa con leche'.  Yes thats right everyone a 'hamburger with milk'.  I have been ordering a 'cafe con leche' so often I forgot to change the all important milk to cheese!  Just got a funny look and had to just say 'cheeseburger please'. I did take some photos of Toledo and I will try to add them in the next few days.

After my superb linguistic performance I was off again through Madrid and carrying on further North.  I could see the start of the mountains (is this the start of the Pyrenees?)  As I reached the summit I was engulfed in thick fog and the temperature dropped 10 degs!  It has been a high of 32c as I had traveled through Spain and now the temperature was at about 11c.  As soon as I started coming down the other side the scenery dramatically changed.   Gone was the rocky and desert looking lands to be replaced by intense greenery.  The is basque country and it really is very different.  Even the language on the roadsigns is completely different.

I got into Bilbao about 10ish and thanks to Amanda had the address for the local Ibis at the ready and managed to find it first time!

A good nights sleep and it is now onwards towards the Pyrenees and France.