Right now, we are near Leon, sitting by our campervan, under the shade of sweet smelling pine trees. We are keeping an eye on the boys doing their lengths in a large swimming pool. Life is good in the Spanish summer.

For most people, Madrid is only a three hours flight from Belfast, but for us, courtesy of our star alliance ticket it became a ten hours journey. We left Derry by bus at three am, just in time to catch a flight to London, then to Brussels and finally Madrid. It was like flying on a magic carpet all over Europe, keeping our finger crossed that our luggage were enjoying the same journey. To any of Maxim's class mates wondering, we loved Brussels Airline and its tinsy planes.

Going from Derry to Madrid is a bit like going from a cool pool into a sizzling sauna, brutal but good. I was here 25 years ago but forgot why I liked this city so much. It all came back to me during our five days stay. It is the happy combination of long walks in shady streets, gorgeous architecture and sunny food, all wrapped up in a rhythm based on heat and rest.

Madrid is one of the youngest capital in Europe. It was chosen in the 18th century as the most central point in Spain by a king who wanted to be fair to his people. What a nice start for a city. It explains why all the buildings have the same magnificent style, inspired by french and Italian cities. The avenues are wide and open, the walls covered in lavish paintings. The roofs bear either elaborate sculptures or dreamy gardens. The french windows often frame handsome inhabitants taking in the views. Away from the avenues, a maze of narrow cobbled streets offer cool shade, quirky shops, tiny restaurants and bars.
From breakfast at 10:00 am to lunch at 3:00 pm and dinner at 9:00, it is not hard to find good food and good company. We quickly learned to have hot chocolate and churros (a deep fried pastry) for breakfast, choose yummy tapas (small savoury delicacies) for lunch and venture deeper into town to find the best roast chicken with croquettes, or the tastiest paella. How do the girls and boys manage to look so fit, so slim here with this heat and this food...It is just not fair.

Monday, we jumped into our new ride, a cute campervan with efficient storage, a pop up tent and a stylish curved red kitchenette. We battled with our new GPS and drove high up in the rugged mountains of La Rioja, between fields of blond wheat and squares of giant sunflowers flashing yellow hellos.
Five hours later we arrived in the little hamlet of Berceo. There was a gurgling river behind our shady site and a pool for the boys. It was just right for our first night of camping in Europe. Amazingly, the van swallowed all our possessions neatly and offered a comfy space for the night, once we stopped banging our heads and elbows everywhere. We woke up to the exuberant sound of bells dangling at the neck of hundred of sheeps being herded to greener fields.

We will stay for a night only in Ciudad of Leon (the lion city) before driving north to explore the cool and green coast of Northern Spain. Our next stop will be Luarca, with its campsite on top of a cliff.