I know it sounds premature, but the end of our stay in L'Escala was looming and we wanted to do some shopping for gifts and things to take home, as well as look around the church in the town. We drove to the far side of L'Escala, parked and walked a short distance to the church, which is very similar to the one in Pollensa square.
It was blissfully quiet inside, and we lit a couple of candles, as we always do. After walking around the church we strolled down to the seafront and had a drink in one of the bars overlooking the bay. The weather was gorgeous, with clear blue skies and warm sunshine. We've been so lucky with the weather, and the temperature has been perfect for walking about and exploring.
Keith celebrated the good weather by having a beer, but Sophie and I stuck to coffee and it was so good, I had two! It was bliss to sit and gaze out over the bay and relax. This is what holidays are about!
Leaving Keith with his beer, we walked the short distance to a nearby shop selling local produce and bought our lovely catsitters some gifts of wine. We also treated ourselves to a bottle of local liqueur from the Emporda region, the area we're staying. I have been a bit disappointed with the wine choice in the supermarkets, and they have very few offerings from this region. Whenever I'm on holiday I like to drink local wine and some of it is very good.
Sophie and I wanted to scout out restaurants for this evening, and she'd made a list of possibilities before we came out. One of them, Dell' Arte, was closed so we looked at another, La Gruta, which was offering a set menu for 38 euros. It was only a short walk from the bar we had been sitting in, so we booked a table for 8pm. We were sometimes surprised by the opening times of several restaurants and bars and there seemed to be no logic to it! Also, the opening times were listed in Catalan and all the days of the week sounded the same!
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| We took a photo to show Keith the choices! |
We collected Keith from the bar and drove to Mercadona to buy some supplies. We needed food for lunch, and whilst in there I had another look at the wine section, but they had no bottles from the local area at all! It was great to browse the aisles as I love the smell of foreign supermarkets and looking at all the different foods on offer!
On the way back to the villa we managed to get an English newspaper from a little shop, so we could catch up with the goings-on at home! I think our new Prime Minister is in for a rough ride!
We had lunch and a couple of beers and spent the afternoon sunbathing, overlooked by two men plastering the house opposite. I suppose now the season is over, repairs to houses are being done. One of the houses next to us had already been painted and this one was being prepared. Although this villa is lovely, it is a little noisy for my liking. We have quite a bit of traffic noise, some vocal dogs in the vicinity and now the plasterers were hard at work! However, the proximity to the local bars and restaurants was a bonus and meant we didn't have to drive if we didn't want to.
In the evening we drove into town and walked to the seafront. I wanted to go back to Ultramar as it had been so good to look out over the bay and see the changing colours of the sky. However, they were closed so we went back to the bar we'd visited this morning, Llop de Mar. I had a glass of Sangria with Sophie, while Keith had a beer. The prices are so reasonable here and a delicious glass of Sangria is 4.50 euros, while beer is 2.20!
Although the days are warm, the evenings are now a little chilly, and I think Keith was glad he was wearing a sweater! We enjoyed our drinks and then walked to La Gruta, which was a very pretty restaurant situated on one of the narrow streets of the town.
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| The beautifully lit-up church |
We were seated inside and it was truly beautiful, with honey-coloured stone walls, lots of pale wood and lamps on each table casting a soft glow, as well as lovely napkins and cutlery. We had a look at the menu and made our choices: I started with a fricasseé of vegetables, while Keith and Sophie chose the sautéed smoked mushrooms, with Iberian ham. For our main courses I opted for the pork taco, Keith had the lamb and Sophie the stuffed chicken leg.
The food was exceptional and Sophie and Keith's starters were pure theatre! The food arrived under a dome, and the waiter whisked it off swirling the smoke about! I definitely had food envy!
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| Sophie's main course complete with dried banana! |
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| Our wine choice, the delicious Cap de Creus white |
La Gruta was a lovely restaurant, and although the choices were a bit more expensive, the food and ambience were definitely worth it. We could see two chefs working away in the kitchen and the head chef kept smiling at Sophie. I think he knew she appreciated the food!
We all finished with an apple tatin served with whisky ice cream, which, again, was delicious.
The bill came to 138 euros, but it was worth every cent!
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