I woke up at 6.30am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and decided it would be nice to see the sunrise. However, when I checked it wasn't until about 7.40am! I wandered around the house, looking out at the darkness and the shuttered villas nearby before settling down with the laptop and a cup of coffee.
We booked today to go to the Dali Museum in Figueres on Thursday, about half an hour away. The weather forecast for Thursday isn't looking good, so it'll be the perfect thing to do if it rains.
Keith looked a little bored today, so I suggested a walk later in the morning and a beer. There is a long promenade in L'Escala and we thought we would explore further along the seafront. Sophie had already researched restaurants and some of them were further up the coast.
We set off at about 11.30am and turned left at the seafront, walking past where we'd had a drink last night. Some places were closed but there were still lots of people about, and several sunbathers and swimmers on the beach. This part of the promenade reminded me strongly of Ca'n Pastilla in Palma where we'd stayed in December.
In the distance, we saw a little tourist train running along the front, which might come in useful as the promenade is very long! We carried on and the path wound very slightly upward past hotels and apartments. There weren't any restaurants here, but we could see another area ahead that looked busy.
There was lovely shade from the trees planted along the walk and gorgeous views over the sea. We saw two cormorants perched on the rocks, no doubt waiting for fish, and drying out their wings.
We walked as far as the next bay and found some lovely restaurants, and a particularly beautiful shop selling clothes, jewellery and homeware items. This would be too far for us to walk at night for dinner, but I was quite happy to drive here and just have one glass of wine.
We turned back and Sophie went into the lovely shop to buy some earrings and a tile for the kitchen. She had her eye on some beautiful dresses as well!
We were going to see if we could use the little train for the return journey, but we realised it was going the opposite way to where we wanted to go, so we abandoned that idea and took a slow walk back, stopping at a friendly bar on the way for a couple of beers and some tapas. It was heaven sitting in the sunshine, listening to all the different accents around us and smelling the different smells of garlic and tobacco wafting about.
Sophie and I enjoyed patatas bravas, and Padron peppers, while Keith had tomatoey bread with ham. The potatoes were served with spicy mayonnaise and were delicious!
We sat for a while enjoying our impromptu lunch, then wandered slowly back to the villa. It was warm and sunny, and it was great to get back and collapse on the sunbeds and doze by the pool.
In the evening, after showering and dressing, Sophie and I played cards at the outside table and sipped glasses of local white wine. We'd popped to the Spar on the way home and I'd bought Keith some different beers that he was enjoying. They were darker beers at about 7% so similar to his beloved McEwans Champion!
Marion, the owner, popped around and apologised for the continuing fridge noise. She turned the big fridge freezer off and turned on a smaller one for us to use in the utility room. The silence was bliss!
This evening we walked to the marina and had dinner at Navili. The views on the way were stunning:
Restaurant Navili was very quiet, and the head waiter met us with a look like we'd dropped out of a dog's bottom. He directed us to a table outside and handed us the menus. Sophie had already had a look at what was on offer, and she chose the prawn croquettes to start followed by cod. I went for the oxtail croquettes and the beef tenderloin while Keith chose little porky parcels followed by duck.
Sophie spoke Spanish to the waiter but there was a little confusion over what beer was called, and she felt like he'd made her look a fool, so she was not happy. However, as the meal went on, he became much more affable, and when the music was turned on, he started singing and dancing, grinning at Sophie and getting her to join in!
The food was very good indeed but again, I would have loved some vegetables to go with my beef and four chips! As Sophie and I were having different dishes we didn't share a bottle of wine but had a couple of glasses each, a fruity red for me, and a white for Sophie that we suspected was a Sauvignon Blanc.
The desserts were equally good - a "Dali" egg for Sophie, cheesecake for Keith, and a chocolate fondant for me which definitely passed the Masterchef test. It was gorgeous!
Our waiter was in even higher spirits and kept repeating "cheesecake" over and over again... he offered us a liqueur of Limoncello which was lovely and when we left, he hugged and kissed Sophie!
We'd had a fantastic night, and although the restaurant was quiet at first, it certainly livened up!
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