BILBAO/PORTSMOUTH/COLWYN BAY

Mon/Thurs.9th/19th July.
We dropped down to Bilbao on Sunday afternoon ,which is a long and fast Autovia
through the pine forest and into Bilbao then following the signs to the ferry port 10kms to the south where we parked overnight on the quay to wait for the boat on
Monday morning".The Pride of Bibao"is the P/ O ferry that was built in Bilbao to
go back and forth to Portsmouth.We had a super cabin on the 8th deck with free
soft drinks.fresh fruit and a glass of champagne on arrival!The crossing takes 30/36
hours depending on the wind,so we had a snack lunch and booked a table in Langans Brassiere for dinner.The ship has live entertainment and a casino as well as the shopping mall,so we stocked up the wine and champagne as well as some
essentials,Dinner was very good,Brenda had Calves Liver and I had the Rib-Eye steak with Bearnaise Sauce.The trip was not rough and we arrived in Portsmouth
at 6-30pm on Tuesday evening.We then shot up the A34 to Oxford and parked in
a layby overnight.On Wednesday morning we checked into Dudleys of Witney to
leave the Winnebago for its service,MOT and repairs.As we arrived another couple
who were upgrading their Winnebago,Barrie and Sandra from Lincoln had their Smart car and trailer unhooked,and after a short chat we made them an offer and are now the proud owners of a Top of the range,left hand drive,silver Smart car and
trailer. Brenda's first comment was that it would not even be able to fit in her hairdryer! so we have named it "The Hairdryer"!! We also met another couple,
Stuart and Christine Reed from Coventry who were picking up their new 3-slide out
top of the range Winnebago Itasca so we had a couple of bottles of champagne to
christen the Smart car and the Winnebago! On Thursday we booked into the local
hotel and sorted our selves out and went for a swim on Friday morning ,then the full
English breakfast before we set off to North Wales in The "Hairdryer" which was fully
loaded but still made over 70mph on the motorways! Over the weekend we settled
into our best friends house,Tim and Thea are going on holiday to Greece on Friday
so we are here for over two weeks.On Sunday we went out to a country pub for a traditional roast lunch .and have caught up with all our friends Brenda has also been
shopping at the summer sales in between the showers.!Watch out for the pictures of
the "Hairdryer" and North Wales.