Testimonial Portugal & Spain 2019 - BN European Tours Ltd

Testimonial Portugal & Spain Tour 9 – 18 September 2019

The group alongside the Douro River in Portugal. Our inaugural tour provided brilliant roads, lovely scenery, top hotels and great weather – said to be our new “best” tour!!
We start with a briefing on the ferry	Lots of posh cars on board – Maseratis
We offload our bike & all luggage goes in the van
“Hi John & Jen, we decided the Portugal & Spain Tour would be the perfect way to spend our honeymoon as we wanted to go somewhere on our bikes but we didn’t want the hassle and stress of organising everything. The quality of the roads were unbelievable, from tight twisties to the fastest of open roads. Superb hotels in fantastic locations and we had a fabulous time with some lovely like minded people.”
[since booked 2nd tour to Black Forest in 2020]
Wendy Wakenshaw (now Tyzack) 1st tour, CBR600F & Phil Tyzack, 1st tour, Triumph Sprint, Somerset
Lambourghinis & ferraris	Andy B goes “back-marker” for motorway
“Hi John & Jen, we both thoroughly enjoyed the inaugural (that’s for you John!) Portugal & Spain Tour with a great bunch of like minded people. Thank you all for your company. The roads and scenery were stunning with a good mix of twisty and long sweeping roads, traffic free in places making for enjoyable riding. The hotels we stayed in were excellent, no changes required and we sampled some lovely local tapas and regional food along the way. We do appreciate how much effort you both put into researching all the roads, hotels, petrol & coffee stops and sorting out any problems along the way. It takes all the stress and worry away from us so that we can just enjoy riding our bike. The luggage van is an added bonus, taking a load of weight off the bikes. Some nice planned surprises along the way too. All in all a great tour, a great addition to your portfolio. Thanks for another memorable holiday. Best regards”
Alan & Julie Grieves, 7th tour, Ducati Multistrada, Leicestershire
We have to ride some motorway	New van – new graphics
Drinks in the hotel bar	Jackie, Rod, Phil & Wendy
“Hi John & Jen, I have to say that the Portugal and Spain tour was the best tour I have been on with you. The hotels were wonderfully varied, all of an exceptional standard and in a variety of very different locations. My personal favourite was the Quinta. The roads were some of the best I have ridden on with very grippy surfaces – the only limitation being my ability as a rider. I could honestly not find anything that I could fault, it was fantastic trip with great bunch of people. Now looking forward to planning next year.”
Iain House, 3rd tour, Triumph Street Triple R, Hampshire
Andy W, Gary & Roger	Roy, Andy B, Ian H, Alan & Julie
Eliza, Heather, Jan & Ian	Saddos !
“Hi John & Jen, many thanks to both of you for a fantastic tour to see some amazing scenery and roads in Spain and Portugal, and stay in a great selection of lovely hotels combined with a great bunch of people. Perhaps not obvious to everyone is the amount of research you did before this tour to make it what it was. A first class tour and at a great price as well, I personally hope to return and hope to do this tour again in the future. Keep up the good work, it was a pleasure to meet you both. Fantastic. Kind regards” [since booked to do the same tour again in 2020!]
Gary Moult, 1st tour, Suzuki GSXS1000F, Cornwall
Dinner is included in a local restaurant
Loads of Tapas…	with Sangria…
“Hi Jen & John, Ian and I just wanted to say thank you so much for another enjoyable tour, it was great & we had a brilliant time. All the hotels were lovely, so difficult to choose a favourite! The roads / fab scenary were amazing. Roll on the next trip…”
Ian & Heather Phillips, 5th tour, Kawasaki ZZR1400, Devon
And cider poured in the traditional way	.
John starts the joke telling	Breakfast area
“Hi John & Jen, thanks for a great holiday, I absolutely loved it!” [since booked to do the same tour again in 2020!]
Roger Gale, 1st tour, Suzuki V-Strom 650, Bedfordshire

Secure garage parking	Roy struggles with waterproofs!
Horses on the Camino de Santiago	UNESCO town walls
Lunch is tapas	.
By afternoon coffee stop the sun is shining
Their Harley had a puncture so Malcolm & Kari arrive by car	Our next 4* hotel at the end of the Camino de Santiago
A fabulous swimming pool	A free night in Santiago de Compostella
The stunning Cathedral	Lit up by night
Our hotel by night	We need a volunteer back-marker
Morning coffee stop	.
David rides as “back-marker” (thanks Heather)	but has to have a new sticker first!
Picturesque lunch stop	.
Newlyweds Wendy & Phil	Just what is Phil doing?

Jen’s in the lead today	Iain’s also on a Street Triple R
Roger on his Suzuki V-Strom 650	Phil on his Triumph Sprint 1050
Rod & Jackie on their BMW R1200 GSA	Lovely scenery
Gorgeous views in Portugal
6 nights in Portugal	The huge pool at our next hotel
Jen with Ian & Heather	Malcolm enjoying a beer!
Drinks before dinner	Iain loves this Quinta!
.	We’ve arranged a surprise…
The group in Portugal with a glass of Mateus Rose!
Dinner is included tonight	.
John’s up again…	Rod has something to show us..!
The next morning we stop at a huge dam
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Sea planes arrive collecting water	.
Morning coffee stop	.
Brilliant twisty pass	You will ride this
Just voted one of the top 10 roads in Europe by Ford Motor Co.
Lunch stop	.
Our next hotel for two nights	In the old capital Guimaraes
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The UNESCO old town	Lots of restaurants to choose from
Warm enough to dine outside	.
Next day is a day off…	Many of us take the train to Porto
The “fat controller” collects cash	David catches a few zzz’s (& he wasn’t alone!)
Andy	and Phil (thanks Heather!)
The station at Porto	.
Great architecture	.

Local transport	We didn’t go in here !!
We head down to the River Douro	Such pretty buildings
Lots of tourist boats	So colourful
.	We stop for a drink
Lots of buskars	Extreme sports
Interesting market stalls	Take a cable car up
.	The Cathedral
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View from the top	.
.	Walk across the bridge

For fabulous views of the city
Take the cable car down – Phil & Wendy	Lunch by the river
More market stalls	Super Bock bar
All the Porto Houses	.
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Young lads jumping off the bridge!	.
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.	A selection of Porto!
She was really good	Back in Guimaraes – the birthplace of Portugal
Alan & Julie stay in Guimareas	.
They visit the Palace	Thanks Julie
Live music tonight	Lovely backstreet restaurants

Delicious sardines	After dinner drinks
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Coffee stop next day	View from the cafe
Other bikes there	Julie & Alan
We stop for a photo opportunity overlooking the Douro River
Plenty of space for us to stop
Hundreds of bikes pass by	.
We stop for a surprise lunch…
A tapas lunch…	.
.	With fab views
Then a visit to a Porto producer

We have a guided tour	See the bottling
and labelling	Huge barrels
Roy suggests “It really should be positioned here…”	Storage
Steam train passes by	A lovely setting
Chilled out pooches	Heather has a new friend
We bought some Porto	For all to have a taste
Cheers!	Drinks in the hotel bar
.	Beautiful biker-babes (but where’s Kari?)
David samples the Porto	.
David’s ticket from Guimareas turns up!	Dinner is included again
Our hotel in a remote medieval town	.

Always a morning briefing	John’s in the lead today
Impromptu morning coffee stop
You MUST be happy riding hairpins	There are high concentration twisties
Lunch stop	We stop at a reservoir
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Then we stop at the highest point in Portugal – over there!
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Our next hotel for two nights	.
The next day many go for a ride-out	Fab roads
.	Ian & Heather, then Andy & Gary
Up in the clouds
Great sweepers	.
.	Andy, Gary then Alan & Julie

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.	Alan & Julie on their Ducati Multistrada
Alan & Julie	In a remote mountain village!
.	Gary on his Suzuki GSXS1000F
Great roads	Gary then Jan & Eliza
Villages tucked away	Twisties & hairpins
.	Andy B on his BMW S1000XR
The prettiest village for a stop	.
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Jan & Eliza came from Hong Kong!	.

Fuel stop – cash in the bag!	.
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.	Alan & Julie
Ian & Heather – Kawasaki ZZR 1400	Andy B
Back at the hotel	Andy W & Jen brave the pool
Kari enjoying a G&T	Drinks in the hotel bar
Four BN off-road guys arrive!	John with Eliza
Dinner is included both nights here	.
Another lovely morning
Fuel & coffee stop	.

Lunch stop	.
Ian riding solo without Heather	Phil
Iain	Roger
Afternoon coffee…back in Spain	Wolf country
The setting for our final hotel	It’s frothy man !!!
Characters strike the bell	Andy has chips !!
Dinner is included our last night	More jokes from John
Andy shows Rod…	how to waft a towel for Jackie !!
Rod takes a turn	.
Phil’s up next	.
Then Malcolm	.
Kari’s up next	.

Andy again…	Jan tells a story
Then we’re treated to the Penguin joke	!!!
Andy again…	.
Guess the vegetable…	So Wendy’s played before !!!
Hotel has garage parking	Gary’s stopped by the police
At coffee stop we have a whip-round	to pay Gary’s fine
We head into the Picos Mountains	.
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We stop for a photo opportunity
Wendy on her Honda CBR 600F	Roy on his Kawasaki Z1000SX
David on his Honda Deauville	Andy W on his Piaggio MP3
Fabulous views
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Andy B	.
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Cute locals	Hello !
Pretty lunch stop	The t-shirt shop is open!