Why I dont use sites when on the road. (1 Viewer)

[Snowbird]

I admit this is not wild camping, but we are on route to Santander for the ferry on Sunday night. I pulled off the road and down a single track road to one of the best restaurants I have ever had the privilege of eating in. 2 bottles of vino blanco on the terrace overlooking the valley, with only the bird songs for background music. Followed by dinner at 9 pm with 3 starters, grilled vegetables, scrambled eggs with sausage, and clam chowder. Then Cod bisque. Followed by an assortment of deserts. One bottle of red plus one bottle of white with the meal and one bottle of water (untouched). A coffee and brandy back on the terrace. Free parking and free wifi. Total bill for 5 hours eating and drinking for two 58 Euros.
Not much chance of being gassed as no one knows where it is. I may stay here a couple of days. Here is the food.

 

[Snowbird]

Here is the place.

 

[irnbru]

All looks great:thumb:

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[Ali n Tim]

Looks wonderful :thumb:

 

[jhorsf]

Have a safe trip Snowbird:thumb:

 

[Snowbird]

Cook and I have an agreement. When on long term quarters, she cooks, sometimes. When on the road we eat out. In these matters she always trusts my judgement .

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[Kool Kroozer]

good god i feel hungry now Have a safe trip

 

[Snowbird]

I dont know how the hell they got planning permission to build that restaurant there, right slap bang in the middle of the national park, but am happy they did.

 

[Wildbill]

that's brill that watt we do would not call that being a free loading tosser the one that slag off watt we do are missing out big time brill:thumb:

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[peterc10]

But WHERE exactly is the place so we can all enjoy it.

 

[Snowbird]

But WHERE exactly is the place so we can all enjoy it.

Ah yes...Am sure it would stay just as lovely with the carpark full of motorhomes. I did use to post my finds but had to stop as every time I turned up there was a height barrier there or a no camping sign. I post now just to prove that sometimes being a freeloader can be an enjoyable experience.

 

[peterc10]

In that case lets keep everything a secret and we won't need this forum. oh:

What are the chances of lots of us turning up at the same time. None.

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[Taran_Las]

Wot! No chipsoh:


Looks very good Dave:thumb:

 

[Chris]

I admit this is not wild camping, but we are on route to Santander for the ferry on Sunday night. I pulled off the road and down a single track road to one of the best restaurants I have ever had the privilege of eating in. 2 bottles of vino blanco on the terrace overlooking the valley, with only the bird songs for background music. Followed by dinner at 9 pm with 3 starters, grilled vegetables, scrambled eggs with sausage, and clam chowder. Then Cod bisque. Followed by an assortment of deserts. One bottle of red plus one bottle of white with the meal and one bottle of water (untouched). A coffee and brandy back on the terrace. Free parking and free wifi. Total bill for 5 hours eating and drinking for two 58 Euros.
Not much chance of being gassed as no one knows where it is. I may stay here a couple of days. Here is the food.

Looks and sounds great.

I love the journey from the Med to Northern Spain.

Some of the rock formations are stunning, almost pyramid like.

I think next year I might tour the Rioja region.

If you get a chance stop somewhere near Navarette and sample the local rioja Crianza. I think its called Navarras or something like that.

 

[Kool Kroozer]

That looks my kinda place:Cool: ya lucky gits

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[Portland]

Who do you think your kidding Dave ! That's Cloudend behind you :thumb:

 

[Snowbird]

Who do you think your kidding Dave ! That's Cloudend behind you :thumb:

You know Derek, I thought just the same when I first saw it. Maybe thats why I feel so at home here :thumb:.

 

[vwalan]

In that case lets keep everything a secret and we won't need this forum. oh:

What are the chances of lots of us turning up at the same time. None.

i came up the sierra nevada national park and several others on the way from southern med to santander . you just follow the smallest roads on the map and find lovely places .
dave gave enough info for you to go and have your own adventure .
dont use a sat nav . get a good map. i like cepsa mapamax . of spain and portugal . follow white roads or ones with the green scenic markings . go on have an adventure .expore it all.

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[Snowbird]

i came up the sierra nevada national park and several others on the way from southern med to santander . you just follow the smallest roads on the map and find lovely places .
dave gave enough info for you to go and have your own adventure .
dont use a sat nav . get a good map. i like cepsa mapamax . of spain and portugal . follow white roads or ones with the green scenic markings . go on have an adventure .expore it all.

Spoken like a true traveller :thumb:. By the way Al, not many mohomes up here :thumb:.

 

[vwalan]

we tried to visit as many as we could ending with dropping down the peco,s de europa . came up the right side of madrid then across to the peco,s . followed the route of don quixote for awhile . was brilliant. the rivers, lakes ,mountains . make it special .and it was turning green as well. visited as many villages as we could .had a great trip . shame its so cold in winter ,we could spend months exploring .

 

[Emmit]

Greetings Snowbird,

Your experience exactly mirrors an incident when we were tugging back to Bilbao several years ago.
We came across a restaurant on the outskirts of Barbastro (Lleida to Huesca road). This was at lunchtime and we couldn't believe the quality of the food and attentiveness of the staff.

Promised ourselves a return visit and so far not managed it but we will now that we are in the 'van.

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[Snowbird]

Have skipped breakfast this morning in anticipation of lunch. One must make the best of these opportunities and the very least I can do is take lunch there in thanks for the hoteliers hospitality. I have a feeling the engine will not be started today .

 

[Linda and Steph]

Is this it?

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@41.8...m4!1e1!3m2!1s0fv6rASkYsp2LT7pFhB-TA!2e0?hl=en

 

[peterc10]

i came up the sierra nevada national park and several others on the way from southern med to santander . you just follow the smallest roads on the map and find lovely places .
dave gave enough info for you to go and have your own adventure .

If you follow that logic then there would be no guide books, or campsite books, or Aires books, or good food guides. Otherwise how will anybody find anything? I suppose the argument is that if people can't find them for themselves they shouldn't be there. And it will keep the good places nice and quiet for us in the know. Trouble is that it is so quiet that the place then goes out of business.

As it just happens it is obvious where it is, but that is the trouble with naming your photos after the place you are photographing (and Google). Nice looking hotel and restaurant, but as they are only charging 65 Euros for a double including breakfast I suspect they are not particularly busy during the week and could do with the publicity, especially this time of the year.

And, by the way, I often follow the small roads to see where they take me. But there are too many of them and too little time for me to follow them all.

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[vwalan]

i dont use campsites ,dont eat out . never have used a sat nav . hardly ever use guide books . but have travelled alot . started as a child with my parents . when we arrive in spain in november we do have a destination . santander end of april.
in between we just explore and have a good time . we arent lost as we were in spain .
might be maroc etc . use a compass and act like a real explorer.
use the coast as the guide . from there its north south ,east or west. usually follow the sea if theres a road between us and the sea we are on the wrong road.

 

[Snowbird]

Just to put the record straight, I did not and do not post, so that places I find can be swamped with motorhomers looking for a freeby. Having spoken at length to the owner last night, he assures me that he is more than happy for me or the odd motorhomer to stay and enjoy his restaurant and his hospitality. But this is not a campsite, so if anyone does decide to enjoy the facilities here then please be aware that you will be expected, and quite rightly so, to use the restaurant as well as the free facilities. I do sometimes despair with some peoples approach to common courtesies. I repeat, this is not a freeby, its an alternative to paying campsite fees for one or two nights camping. But there are charges involved, ie, restaurant bills, and a good tip is always appreciated.

 

[peterc10]

At the 58 Euros you paid I can agree that yours was not a freebie. Far from it! And I did not suggest that if I knew where it was I would be using it as a freebie. I would do exactly as you did and have a good meal, and I am sure that everybody else on this forum would do as well. Just as they do when they park in pub car parks in the UK with the landlord's permission.

Anyway if and when we ever get to that little road we know where we can get a good meal and night's sleep.

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[wivvy's dad]

Did you know it was there Dave, or was it just a chance encounter?

And I'm afraid I'm with you - I tend to keep the good 'uns to myself. I make the effort.........that's all it takes.

 

[Snowbird]

Did you know it was there Dave, or was it just a chance encounter?

And I'm afraid I'm with you - I tend to keep the good 'uns to myself. I make the effort.........that's all it takes.

It was a chance encounter. Me old muckah Smudger has a mechanical problem with his gin palace and is in a truck garage down the road. So me being the good Samaritan thought to myself, OK Smudge, your in the sh*t so I will hold on here for you to be pulled out of the cr*p. But as I am not one for sitting around wilding on industrial estates said I would go on a reci and find somewhere nice to sit and wait for the big boy to be sorted. Am now awaiting a phone call from my adopted son to tell me he is up and running. Am not so sure its a good idea to tell him where I am. No bloody chips, so he wont be to pleased. I wont bore you with the lunch menu, but here is the coffee and Cardinal Mendoza brandy to finish off. the bird song that was so lovely last night was broken by cow bells in the valley today. It was so hot on the sun terrace we had to retire to the shaded terrace for our aperitif and coffee and brandy. We watched storks flying and landing just below us and eagles souring above. Shangrila. Time for some sleep now before dinner at 9.

 

[Puddleduck]

Surely it's not freeloading when you are a genuine customer of the business and are only staying for a night, two at most? Freeloading would be parking on business premises without the courtesy of at least looking to see what is on offer. Personally I would be far too embarrassed to stay on business premises for free without buying from the business - unless I could provide a service or skill in exchange for the parking space. I'm pretty nifty with needle and thread for example!

Sorry if I got the definition of "freeloading" as it applies to business premises wrong!

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