Mrs E managed to grab a cheap apartment on the Costa del Sol a few weeks back. Flight costs were astronomical - bank holidays, half term, etc - so we decided to take the wagon for one last hurrah into the sunshine.
Drove each way over two days, stopping in Vitoria on the way down and in Bordeaux on the way back. Nice cruise at about 75 in either direction through both countries.
Car was great - fully loaded and still returned mid-40s. 4 hour stretches in the car and could still get out, move around, and be pain-free (can't think of another car I can do that in).
Fantastic weather - not too hot, but good enough for lounging by the pool, etc. Drove up to Ronda one day which was very good and had scrummy tapa in the town.
Only one downside - we stopped off for lunch at a place called La Guadia, south of Madrid. Almost stopped right outside the restaurant, but decided to move it 10 yards further up into the shade in the car park. Went in for lunch - rubbish food, so only stayed for 30 mins. Came out to find that some scumbag had done the rear quarter window on the passenger side. Only thing missing was my prized MB rucksack - souvenir from a track day - which had a few DVDs and CDs, a month's supply of my contact lens, docs for the car, paper part to driving licences, and a couple of spanish guide books. Nothing too bad, except for the rucksack.
Restaurant couldn't care less and were totally uninterested. The alarm had gone off but none of the 50+ people on the terrace by the car saw or heard anything. Police came out and took photos, etc, before leading us back to Ocana in order to make a statement, etc. None of them spoke english, and Master E's spanish was struggling with some of the stuff, so they phoned an off-duty officer who lived locally and he came round to help out. Finally, stopped off at the hardware shop to buy a "For Sale" sign (plenty of those in Spain at the mo...) and some tape. Cut the sign to size, and taped over the window.
UK emergency number for the car was useless - bank holiday weekend - so ended up talking to AA Europe (who only deal with accidents and breakdowns). Lease company has a deal with Autoglass so, via Mobilo, got into Car Glass for them to have a look at. Couldn't get the privacy glass, and liked the job I'd done on the plastic.
Now we're back. Plastic has done >2000 miles on the car and, although a bit noisier, is watertight (thank goodness). AG came out to check it yesterday and, as it was OK, left it as is. The privacy glass is on order from Germany, but no idea how long it will take to get here yet.
All in all, could have been worse. Decided we didn't like the Costa del Sol, so unlikely to go back that far south in Spain for a while. Car performed well, kids were behaved, stocked up on wine and gin, met up with friends with Bordeaux. P&O ferry sucked this time though, and ended up with a scratch down the side where someone hasn't been so careful walking between the car and wall...good job I don't have to pay to tidy it up.
It's a shame that the last trip in the motor has left a bit of a sour taste - but it's been so good in it's other trips south that I hope this will become a faded memory. All in all, I'll be sad to see it go...
Drove each way over two days, stopping in Vitoria on the way down and in Bordeaux on the way back. Nice cruise at about 75 in either direction through both countries.
Car was great - fully loaded and still returned mid-40s. 4 hour stretches in the car and could still get out, move around, and be pain-free (can't think of another car I can do that in).
Fantastic weather - not too hot, but good enough for lounging by the pool, etc. Drove up to Ronda one day which was very good and had scrummy tapa in the town.
Only one downside - we stopped off for lunch at a place called La Guadia, south of Madrid. Almost stopped right outside the restaurant, but decided to move it 10 yards further up into the shade in the car park. Went in for lunch - rubbish food, so only stayed for 30 mins. Came out to find that some scumbag had done the rear quarter window on the passenger side. Only thing missing was my prized MB rucksack - souvenir from a track day - which had a few DVDs and CDs, a month's supply of my contact lens, docs for the car, paper part to driving licences, and a couple of spanish guide books. Nothing too bad, except for the rucksack.
Restaurant couldn't care less and were totally uninterested. The alarm had gone off but none of the 50+ people on the terrace by the car saw or heard anything. Police came out and took photos, etc, before leading us back to Ocana in order to make a statement, etc. None of them spoke english, and Master E's spanish was struggling with some of the stuff, so they phoned an off-duty officer who lived locally and he came round to help out. Finally, stopped off at the hardware shop to buy a "For Sale" sign (plenty of those in Spain at the mo...) and some tape. Cut the sign to size, and taped over the window.
UK emergency number for the car was useless - bank holiday weekend - so ended up talking to AA Europe (who only deal with accidents and breakdowns). Lease company has a deal with Autoglass so, via Mobilo, got into Car Glass for them to have a look at. Couldn't get the privacy glass, and liked the job I'd done on the plastic.
Now we're back. Plastic has done >2000 miles on the car and, although a bit noisier, is watertight (thank goodness). AG came out to check it yesterday and, as it was OK, left it as is. The privacy glass is on order from Germany, but no idea how long it will take to get here yet.
All in all, could have been worse. Decided we didn't like the Costa del Sol, so unlikely to go back that far south in Spain for a while. Car performed well, kids were behaved, stocked up on wine and gin, met up with friends with Bordeaux. P&O ferry sucked this time though, and ended up with a scratch down the side where someone hasn't been so careful walking between the car and wall...good job I don't have to pay to tidy it up.
It's a shame that the last trip in the motor has left a bit of a sour taste - but it's been so good in it's other trips south that I hope this will become a faded memory. All in all, I'll be sad to see it go...
A lesson to be learnt there I think! Was the boot so full of wine and gin that you couldn't get it in there?
