Deelman.com

Well, actually we were going North on August 6 again, after two very enjoyable weeks. We were explicitly warned for the 400,000 people coming to watch the annual Arriondas-Ribadesella kayak race, as they normally create chaos with tents all over the place, excessive alcohol etc. So we avoided the shortest route and drove further south before entering the highway. If not I was running out of gas and the single nearest gas station was in the centre of Ribadesella! It was tight with the gas left, but we made it and got a preview of the race…not every family member in the car enjoyed the adventure…After visiting Riba, we moved further north for Bilbao. I did not want to miss the opportunity to admire the great architecture of the Guggenhein museum. It’s designed by architect Frank Gehry and entirely made out of titanium. Seeing it in reality is even more impressive than the pictures of course. I took some pictures with my Treo 650 and bought a book about the museum.

The next day after our one-night-stop we went 500 kms. more South, on to Asturias, one of the north-western so-called autonomies of Spain. TomTom was getting us there by car perfectly, if not there were two Miyares villages in the TomTom directory and I picked the wrong one… It caused a delay of about 1.5 hour, but we actually passed a Pico with great view from the top. Asturias is about a quarter in size of the Netherlands and has just 1 million people. And, what a beautiful place it is! Gorgeous beaches in small bays, impressive panorama’s, quality of life as we can’t remember anymore more in northern Europe, no tourists and a cost of living half what we are used to in the Netherlands! We lived for two weeks among the Spanish, with the Spanish actually, enjoying hospitality of my brother in law German Gullon, his wife Heilette and three sons – adjusting to the Spanish rhythm. In-house staff becomes affordable at € 5 per hour and so Begogna each day took care of a typical local meal, thereby providing also our wives a great holiday. We wouldn’t mind coming back!

So here we went end of July, no paper maps, just TomTom on my smartphone, driving 1050 kms. south towards Bordeaux for a one-night-stop with Ronald and Margreet Rens. Since leaving the Netherlands, they now own the beautiful Chateau Coulon Laurensac. Ronald showed us proudly his wine cellar, gardens and Google ranking (…). One of his entrepreneurial activities includes organizing wine tours in the Bordeaux area and most bookings are taking place through the Internet: hence, a Google ranking is important. Our two families enjoyed a dinner (and wine…) in the garden until late. A very enjoyable evening, thanks so much! As a small token of our appreciation, please accept this posting which contributes hopefully a little to an even better ranking.