A quiet Saturday

Work was swiftly dealt with this morning, and it was quieter than I had been expecting, giving me a chance to get a lot of emails sorted in between calls.

Sophie drove me in and went to the gym, and Keith picked me up. At this rate, I will forget how to drive! Sophie was meeting Laura at 2pm for tea and cake at Manvell Farm Tearoom, so I had a quiet afternoon and did very little. The weather has been cloudy and dull and, frankly, quite boring, with no more storms on the horizon. Next week it's due to get warmer and sunnier again! 

Sophie returned home after meeting Laura and we decided to skip Scrabble tonight because of my blasted shoulder. We sat in the living room instead with a bottle of Ventoux red wine and watched another episode of the documentary about Picasso.

Sophie cooked beef stroganoff and did an excellent job with the meal, as she always does. We started watching series two of Only Murders in the Building after dinner, but we lost interest... it was a unanimous decision. There are so many interesting programmes on at the moment so we killed it off! 

Champagne and nibbles!

Keith drove me to work this morning,  and I was on my own until Kathy arrived at 9am. There were lots of emails awaiting my attention, and I was glad I didn't have to answer any phone calls today!

We became stuck in a traffic jam on the A43 on the way home, and Keith was in a foul mood as he wanted to get home to watch The Ryder Cup. He kept shouting at the car in front of us who was letting other drivers into the queue! There had been a minor bump between a couple of cars but the queues it created were horrendous!

Sophie and I had our "Special Wine Night" tonight with a bottle of Aldi's finest Champagne and nibbles. We watched a fascinating documentary about Pablo Picasso, which shocked me in some ways... his early art was quite explicit but beautifully painted, and it was obvious he adored the female figure. He didn't treat his women well, though, and both of us found the programme riveting. We had hoped there would be a mention of Dali, but there was nothing, except for one photograph of the Surrealist artists gathered together.

Although we celebrated Friday evening with Champagne, I'm back at work tomorrow and working with Shirley. I'm just glad it's only for five hours! Once that's out of the way I can relax and try and rest my arm which isn't getting any better!

I call in sick…

I had such a bad night’s sleep last night that I decided to take another day off work and try and rest. I had been awake at 3 am with a pack of peas on my back and shoulder, so I thought it was best not to go to work!

So, all I have done today is watch television and feel guilty about being at home. Sara is off today so I know the emails will be piling up, and there is also so much that needs doing at home. The front garden needs tidying up, the back garden needs a good cut, and then there's the usual housework chores, but Keith has been helping out, and Sophie is doing a lot of cooking. 

She was at Whittlebury Hall today for a work-related event and was exhausted when she arrived home, but she cooked a delicious stir fry for dinner, bless her! She wouldn't even let me wash up!

I am determined to go back tomorrow, though, and will dose myself up with painkillers!

Storm Agnes

Storm Agnes has struck today, the first named storm of the 23/24 season. It hasn't really affected us here in Northamptonshire, but it has been breezy, with the odd shower. The other names this year are:

Babet, Ciaran, Debi, Elin, Fergus, Gerrit, Henk, Isha, Jocelyn, Kathleen, Lilian, Minnie, Nicholas, Olga, Piet, Regina, Stuart, Tamiko, Vincent and Walid.

Keith made an appointment for me this morning at the surgery to see the nurse about my shoulder. I suspect it's the rotator cuff, and maybe all the driving I did has aggravated it. I always have a little pain in my right shoulder, but this is in a different league!

I was supposed to be taking my Mum to Woodlands Hospital this morning for a follow-up appointment, but she had her Covid jab a couple of days ago and she seems to have reacted badly to it again. She called me early to ask me to cancel the appointment, which was handy as I was then able to go to the surgery. Honestly! I should be full of beans and rested after a two-week holiday!

Sophie was working from home today and she was thankful that the conservatory was cooler! Keith drove me to the surgery and I had to wait about forty-five minutes to be seen. The nurse examined me thoroughly and listened to my chest before confirming what I suspected. She said to take painkillers and rest, which is what I intend to do!

I bought some more painkillers and some cold pads in the chemist in Brixworth and we returned home to have sausage baps for breakfast. I sat with Sophie and read the newspapers, which was lovely. I spent the rest of the day pottering about and trying not to use my right hand, which was quite difficult! I discovered I could narrate my blog on my phone which was very handy! The last two entries were therefore not written, but spoken!

Sophie went to see Vikesh in the evening and Keith cooked a delicious cottage pie for us. I volunteered to clear up as Newcastle were playing again and Keith was itching to go and watch the match! 

In pain!

My shoulder and back were even worse this morning when I woke up and answering emails at work was very painful. During my lunch break, I called the doctors to see if I could get in and see one of the GPs but I was given a physio appointment for next Wednesday. If the pain gets worse I’ll have to try and make another appointment.

It was great to get out at 4pm and go home to relax. The only time I didn’t have any pain was when I was sitting on the sofa! Poor Sophie had to make dinner tonight as Keith was out watching Sileby play football. It was an opportunity for us to cook jerk chicken pasta for dinner, but Sophie had to do all the preparation, poor thing. She made a very good job of the meal, though, and it was spicy and hot!

We watched Fake or Fortune this evening and learned a lot about the sculptures of Elizabeth Frink, someone I’d never heard of before. I won't give away the ending, but we both found it riveting!

Keith returned from the football looking a little chilled and ate the overcooked chips we’d prepared for him… I don’t think he was very happy despite Sileby winning this evening! We’re going to have to treat him as I feel we’ve neglected him lately!

Back to reality!

I must have done something to my back or shoulder as it was very painful overnight, causing me problems while I was sleeping. Not really what I needed at the moment!

Getting up at 6 am this morning was not the most pleasant of things to do but I suppose we have to go back to reality at some point! Sophie went off to the gym as usual, and this morning it was properly dark when she left.

At work, I discovered that Jo was on holiday this week and no cover had been arranged. This meant that I had to answer calls with Kathy. To be honest, it was a thoroughly unpleasant day, and I really wished that we were back in Spain or France, and on holiday again!

I didn’t even have time to finish my lunch because the calls were so numerous but Sara did say that I would be able to come off answering the phones later in the week, thank goodness!

Settling back in

It was so lovely to be back in my own bed last night and I slept well, ready to tackle the unpacking and washing!

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been brilliant today, so there was no chance of getting any washing on the line to dry. I worked my way through the piles of laundry and tried to catch up with writing the blog.

It was Keith's birthday today and I felt bad that it was overshadowed by the end of the holiday. The poor man had to go shopping for tonight's dinner and he said that Tesco was manic! Not a great way to spend his birthday!

However, Newcastle were playing in the late afternoon and he was looking forward to sitting down and watching the match. I went to see my parents at 2pm and was home by 3pm. They were fine and very pleased to see us all home safe!

Vikesh came around to see Sophie and brought Basil back. We had bought him one of his own and a little pot for it to go into. Sophie had bought him lots of presents on holiday and he was delighted with them!

We sat and chatted over a glass of wine, served in the new glasses that Sophie had bought in Paretellada. Keith watched the football and was astounded when Newcastle beat Sheffield United 8-0! What a result for his birthday!

Sophie cooked dinner tonight - a delicious homemade chicken casserole with dumplings. We had loads of vegetables to accompany the meal. At last!

Our French and Spanish Adventure - September 9th - 23rd

Paris, here we come!

After a reasonable night's sleep, we were up and out by 8.30am. It was a grey and drizzly morning but as we wore down the miles on the autoroute, the sun came up and the skies cleared. After a bit of debate, I had eventually agreed to drive to Wimereux via Paris. I wasn't totally happy about the decision, but with Trish, Keith, and Sophie helping, I thought it was the best, most direct route to the coast. I was just hoping that the traffic wouldn't be too bad!

We stopped for coffee and pastries at an aire and watched a policeman lovingly polish his high-performance car with meticulous care! We hadn't seen many police cars on the autoroute, thank goodness, but I dreaded being caught by one!

We arrived on the outskirts of Paris mid-morning, and my hopes of a quiet journey were dashed as the roads were very busy. I concentrated on Trish's instructions, and with Sophie looking out for cars zipping in and out, and Keith making sure I was in the right lane, we did well. 

However, at one point, Trish took me off the main périphérique route through the city and onto the N104. We encountered some dodgy people standing at traffic lights, trying to coerce motorists into letting them wash the windscreens of their cars, so we hung back until the lights turned green. The road from then on was a little rough and we were all highly aware of who was around all the time. It was a huge relief to find the A16 and get onto this autoroute that would take us all the way to the coast. The great thing was that we had seen the Eiffel Tower in the distance, which Sophie was very pleased about!

Lunch in Wimereux

The A16 was lovely and quiet and we saw several buzzards on the fences lining the road, much to Keith's delight. The weather was so clear as we approached the coast that we could see the white cliffs of Dover across the channel.

We managed to park easily on the street in Wimereux and walked down to the front to see if we could get a table at Les Oyats for lunch. Sophie was looking forward to having a Welsh in one of her favourite restaurants, but they were full. The weather was beautiful and had probably lured people out to the town, and eating with a sea view had proved to be very popular!

We decided to go back to Au Comptoir where we'd eaten in May. I chose the chicken Normandie, Sophie managed to get her Welsh Complet and Keith chose fish and chips, something he'd been yearning for! With Affligem beers, we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and we all managed a dessert - I had an ice-cream sundae, Sophie had profiteroles and Keith an Irish coffee.

The restaurant had emptied out and we were among the last diners to leave. We popped into the Carrefour opposite the Airbnb we stayed in a few years ago and bought chocolates to take home.

It was with genuine sadness that we bid farewell to Wimereux and France and arrived at the Shuttle terminal. We were offered an earlier train and I bought a couple of bottles of Duty-Free whisky. Our train left at 6pm, so we arrived back in Folkestone at about 5.30pm UK time. 

Our journey home was fine, but with an hour to go, I started to feel tired... it had been a long day! We parked the car on the drive and removed all the luggage but unpacking would have to wait until tomorrow!

Our French and Spanish Adventure - September 9th - 23rd

A spot of wine-buying

The main reason we booked a hotel in Carpentras was its proximity to the Cotes du Rhone wine region. Nearby are the famous villages of Beaumes de Venise, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, as well as the majestic Mont Ventoux. To try and salvage something on this leg of our journey, we decided to visit Vacqueyras this morning, maybe have a coffee and see if we could take home some of its beautiful red wines.

Sophie and I had a good night and slept well, thank goodness. We had breakfast in the dining room and enjoyed croissants and bread served with jam and coffee. Sophie couldn't believe this was all there was for breakfast, never having stayed in a conventional French hotel before! Le Troubadour was unusual in that it offered a buffet breakfast! I said the French are fanatical about bread and the baguettes and croissants were incredibly fresh and delicious.

We were all done and ready to go at 9am and took a delightful route to Vacqueyras through beautiful countryside and small villages. We could see the imposing mountain range, the Dentelles de Montmirail, in the distance and I really wished we had longer to linger in this gorgeous area.

Once in Vacqueyras we parked the car and had a wander through lovely narrow streets lined with rustic houses. We were delighted to stumble upon a café shaded by huge plane trees and ordered a coffee for me and a hot chocolate for Sophie.

The people in the café were very friendly and I spent a pleasant few minutes fantasising about what it must be like to live in a village like this and call in for a coffee every morning. Sheer bliss, I should think!

We sat in the café and chatted, enjoying the lovely ambience. There was a shop selling wines opposite, but we found another selling bottles from the whole region, so we decided to drive there. Sophie's Google Maps app took us onto a narrow lane, which turned out to be the wrong way, and I had to turn the car around on a very precipitous part of the road!

Rhonéa was like a branch of Majestic on steroids and stocked wine from all over the Cotes du Rhone region, including Gigondas and Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We wandered about looking at the different wines and picking out some bottles to take home. The last time Keith and I had visited the area, we'd taken Hugh Johnson's wine book with us to help with recommendations and had bought a case of Vieux Télégraphe from Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  Back in 1993, it cost us about £8 a bottle so I dread to think how much it is now!

We ended up buying eight bottles of wine and Keith treated us to two bottles of Gigondas in memory of a happy time spent in the village years ago. We just about managed to squeeze them into the car and set off for the autoroute.

The road there was perhaps the prettiest of the whole trip, lined on either side by vineyards stretching into the distance. It was a wine lover's dream!

Auxerre again

We had a great journey from the Cotes du Rhone to Burgundy, passing through Lyon on the way and getting stuck in traffic for about an hour. We must have criss-crossed the Rhone a dozen times and at one point we were underneath it!

Once past the city, we stopped for sandwiches at an aire and carried on until the late afternoon, arriving in Auxerre at about 5pm. Our Airbnb was situated in a quiet residential area and was a flat with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen/diner and a living room.

We had another brief bout of bickering when I initially refused to drive the car into the gravelled parking area, as we were only supposed to leave it there briefly to offload our luggage. We then had to park it on the street, which wasn't a problem.

While Sophie showered, Keith and I researched restaurants nearby. I came up with two that looked promising and were both Italian. I tried to contact one, which opened at 7pm, but we decided to walk there anyway and try our luck. As we crossed the road near the flat, the breeze blew Sophie's dress and I realised she had it on inside out! I started laughing and couldn't stop, unable to breathe at one point as I thought it was so funny! I don't think my daughter was amused!

Walking through the quiet streets was very interesting and I picked out at least five houses that I would love to live in! The restaurants were about a ten-minute walk away, and before we enquired about a table we popped into a chemist to get some cream for Keith's bites, which were still troubling him.

La Tavola had good reviews and we were the first customers to walk through the doors. They were able, after a bit of bickering themselves, to accommodate us, which was brilliant. We were seated in a little conservatory and given menus. Sophie suggested focaccia to share as a starter, and we ordered an Aperol Spritz each (I wasn't driving... hooray!), a beer for Keith and a bottle of Italian red.

I chose ravioli for my main course, while Keith and Sophie opted for lasagne. The restaurant gradually started to fill up and seemed to be very popular with the locals. The focaccia was delicious and was topped with smoky ham and onions. Sophie and Keith loved their lasagne and I enjoyed my ravioli which was creamy and nutty.

We found room for a pudding of Tiramisu and chatted with the table next to us who were from the Netherlands and were very friendly and chatty. It was a lovely evening!

The walk back to the Airbnb was great and the streets were dark and quiet. Some of the large houses were all closed up and I wondered if they were just holiday homes? Back at the flat, we managed to link my Amazon Prime app to the television and we watched a very entertaining Grand Tour with James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond driving through Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The roads looked lovely and the countryside spectacular!

Our French and Spanish Adventure - September 9th - 23rd

Back to France

We were up, packed, showered and dressed by 9.30am. We said goodbye to our home for the last ten days and called at the supermarket before leaving to buy some pains au chocolat for breakfast later in the morning.

We had a very easy and pleasant journey to the motorway, passing through farmland where they had started harvesting the apples. Once in France, we stopped at the Catalan Village aire for coffee and pastries. It was still warm and muggy, and we hoped it would cool down a little the further north we travelled.

A welcome break!

The motorway was far busier than I expected today, with the far right lane almost totally given over to huge lorries. As usual, the French cars were zipping in and out of the traffic like mad things, and I found it quite unpleasant to drive today. There were lots of German and Dutch caravans and camper vans travelling north, and when they pulled out to overtake a lorry, everything was pushed into the fast lane. I hadn't had a brilliant night's sleep, so I don't think that helped!

We turned off the autoroute towards Avignon and the weather was cloudy and dull. Avignon was busy and chaotic with numerous bus lanes that I had to be wary of! We followed the road which skirted the old town walls, and I remarked that it would have been great to be able to stay and visit but we wanted to get to the hotel. Keith and I had visited the city back in 1993 and I'm sure it wasn't as busy then!

We followed Trish's instructions and headed for the town of Carpentras where we'd booked a hotel for the night. It was situated on a busy road out of the town and I had to turn around further up the road when we passed it. I pulled onto the hard shoulder of the road, and Sophie walked to where the gates were. We were very early - check-in was 5pm - and I was hesitant about asking if we could get into our rooms early, but Sophie and Keith were insistent. This led to the first bickering of a stressful afternoon...

A little disappointed...

We had booked Mas Solige on Booking.com and it was completely different to what I had visualised. Sophie had her own room, while Keith and I were booked into a suite. I had imagined it would be very smart with a sparkling blue swimming pool, beautiful gardens and quite luxurious...

The reality was somewhat different. The pool was an "above-the-ground" type that looked green and smelled unpleasant on closer inspection. There was no way I'd have swum in it! The main house itself was pretty and our rooms comfortable and clean, but the hotel definitely didn't live up to my expectations! Having said that, the couple who owned it were charming, friendly and hospitable and were fine about us arriving so early.

Our kitchen/diner/living room

The main house

Our suite

We unpacked and decided to head into Carpentras to find somewhere to eat. We'd already talked about having a late lunch, and then staying at the hotel in the evening, having a glass of wine and playing Scrabble or cards. I didn't fancy having to drive out in the evening and find our way back to the hotel in the dark!

We tuned left out of the driveway (hairy!) and headed into the gorgeous countryside of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The first village was came to, Mazan, looked lovely but we thought there would be more choices of somewhere to eat in Carpentras, so we drove there. Carpentras was hectic with lots of narrow streets and no parking to be found anywhere. By now, I was hot and tired and quite frankly, fed up with driving! We were arguing about where to go and what to do and this was definitely the low point of the whole holiday.

We tried to park in the centre by a cluster of bars and shops, but there were no spaces, so we got back onto the road and I inadvertently managed to get into a bus lane... I very nearly burst into tears, I felt so fed up! There was a bus ahead of me so I had to turn around in the road and get back onto the main circuit around the town. We then spotted a large car park so I dived into it and miraculously found a space. 

We crossed the road and walked into the town following signs for the centre. We all wanted a drink and something to eat, and above all, to relax! In the distance, we could see a bar but it was very clear they weren't serving food. Restaurants in France tend to stop serving food at about 1.30pm and it was now well past 3pm. We ordered three beers and attempted to relax for half an hour whilst planning what to do next.

Sitting in the bar with a cold beer, I now understood why most people fly to a hotel and stay there for two weeks. Today had been hard work, and now we were faced with a dilemma about where to eat. The pastries of this morning were a long time ago! Sophie and I Googled restaurants in the area but most were closed and wouldn't re-open until the evening. One place looked promising so we decided to walk there and see if we could get a late lunch.

We did manage to enjoy our drink, and it was lovely to sit underneath the huge Plane trees and relax for half an hour. These trees are a feature of southern French towns and have beautiful trunks which shed their bark. They provide welcome shade in the heat of the day.

After our drinks, we followed instructions to get to the café that was open. We trudged through the streets, looking at restaurant menus that were opening in the evening. I really didn't fancy driving back here tonight and trying to find a space!

We eventually located the only café that seemed to be open, but it didn't look very inviting, prompting more bickering and arguing! It really had been a lovely afternoon!

We do it ourselves!

By now, we were all thoroughly fed up and it was obvious that nothing was open so we decided to buy some food in a small Carrefour Express we'd seen and eat at the hotel. Our room had a kitchen and a dining table and chairs, and there really was no other option.

We bought salad, cold meats, bread, beer and wine and returned to the car. As meals go, it was one of the cheapest at about 38 euros! By now, the schools were emptying out and the car park was a mass of people trying to find a space. We gingerly backed out and managed to find our way back to Mas Solige without any further mishap, thank goodness!

Our room had its own outdoor table and chairs so we sat on these and chatted for a while. Keith had a beer and we nibbled on some snacks we'd bought in Spain. It was too early to tuck into our bottle of red wine so Sophie and I sipped some water. The road nearby was very noisy, but it didn't spoil our enjoyment of finally being able to relax!

Keith and his last bottle of McEwans Champion

At around 6pm, I opened the bottle of a local red we'd bought, and we sat and enjoyed a couple of glasses before eating. 

 

The wine was a whopping 15% and was very drinkable! It went very well with the cold meats and salad we'd bought and our evening meal was delicious! We were just very glad we'd booked a room with such a well-equipped kitchen!

The plan was to play Scrabble or cards after our meal but we were too tired. I was shattered, to be honest, and it was decided that Sophie would sleep with me and Keith have her room as it was on the other side of the house. She was reading a book about the Manson murders and was feeling a little nervous!

We were in bed by 9pm. It had been a long, tiring and somewhat stressful day!

Our French and Spanish Adventure - September 9th - 23rd

The rain in Spain...

We awoke to a steady drizzle and it remained the same for most of the day. It didn't matter this morning as we were busy packing and getting ready for the first leg of our journey home tomorrow, but it would have been lovely to have had one last afternoon relaxing by the pool, swimming and sunbathing.

I busied myself with catching up with the blog, reading and packing, Keith watched The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime and Sophie did all her own little chores. We had lunch of pizza, omelette and bread sitting on the terrace, gazing out at the leaden sky.

Back to La Gruta

By the late afternoon, the rain had stopped and the skies had cleared a little. We drove to L'Escala and parked easily in the usual car park before walking into the town. We wanted to have a drink at Ultramar and this time we managed to get served as soon as we sat down. I chose a non-alcoholic beer, Sophie had an Aperol Spritz and Keith had his usual beverage!

As we sat admiring the sea view and some towering clouds in the distance, we felt a few drops of rain. We moved tables and managed to grab one under an umbrella! It was very relaxing sitting and watching people walk by and the changing colours of the sky. It was a cloud spotter's dream!

We had a table booked at La Gruta for 8pm so we walked up to the restaurant and we were seated at the same table as last year! We decided to choose dishes from the 39-euro set menu, as we did last year. I chose the gazpacho served with a soft-boiled egg and goat's cheese croquettes to start, while Keith and Sophie opted for the tuna cannelloni. Sophie and I both chose the pork fillet for our main courses while Keith was delighted to see lamb on the menu. We ordered a bottle of Cap de Creus white to go with the meal, a wine we haven't been able to find anywhere.

Our starters were delicious and mine was a work of art!

The main course of pork fillet that Sophie and I chose was the most tender pork I'd ever eaten and was ever so slightly pink. It was served with a delicious red berry sauce and silky mashed potato... scrumptious!

Sadly, Keith's lamb was chewy and he was disappointed. To me, it looked pale and gristly and we'd noticed signs of disharmony in the kitchen this evening. Last year, the chef was smiley and happy and kept winking at Sophie, but not tonight. We think he was either training a new chef or was working with someone from an agency but there was a fair amount of shouting going on... oh dear!

For dessert, Sophie and I raved over the chocolate brick (chocolate on chocolate, on chocolate!) and Keith sampled the cheese board. No bread, just a sweet chutney to accompany about six cheeses ranging from mild to strong, but he was even disappointed with this.  

Tonight's meal was Sophie's treat, bless her, and the bill came to 150 euros. She paid and we walked back to the car through silent streets, with cats slinking about in the shadows. I wasn't looking forward to the drive home, but it was quick and straightforward and after a quick chat, it was time for bed!

Our French and Spanish Adventure - September 9th - 23rd

Total blackout!

Unfortunately, I wasn't asleep for long and woke up to total darkness. I checked my phone battery and it was now critical. I tried my best to go back to sleep, but at about 1am I got up and went into the living room. I figured I could steal some power from my laptop for my phone. Sophie heard me wandering about and came out as well. I felt very on edge and hated the darkness.

She was hot, bless her, and said she was finding it difficult to sleep as well. I connected my phone to the laptop and found out, purely by chance (thank goodness for 4G), that the power cut was an "unexpected outage" and was expected to last until about 1.30am. 

Sophie could hear voices outside and we both peered out of the patio doors. At the top of our street, there were men working, which was reassuring, and we could see our neighbour talking to them. We then saw a police car drive slowly past. 

We opened the doors for a little while to get some cool night air and after a while decided to go back to bed. My battery had climbed back up to 20% so I could use the torch if I needed to!

I went back to sleep, and Sophie came in at 4.30am and said the power was back on and to plug my phone in to charge, which I did! Hooray! I'd had visions of the power being off for a long time and wondering what we'd have to do!

A bit of culture

We were all up at 8am and I cooked breakfast of bacon, leftover hot dog sausages and a tin of tomatoes. This was all mopped up with bread and butter and mugs of hot coffee. The day had dawned sunny but noticeably cooler than previous mornings.

Once breakfast was eaten and cleared away, we had showers, dressed, and set out for the Dali-Gala Castle in Pubol. We were very lucky in that we skipped through the green lights of the roadworks but the oncoming traffic had been halted for ages, judging by the length of the queue!

We drove through lovely farmland where tall rows of apple trees were waiting to be harvested. We didn't know what the apples were being grown for? Cider? Apple juice or just to be sold as fruit? I have to admit, I'd never heard of Spanish cider!

We had both Googly and Trish barking directions, but in the end, we turned Googly off as she kept directing us onto non-existent roads and it was all getting a bit chaotic! We saw a sign for the castle and we were soon parking in a large car park next to the museum.

We had an arrival time of 11.30am but there was nowhere to have a coffee so we wandered about admiring the buildings next to the castle. There were ample opportunities for someone to have a café here but nothing was open!

We discovered a shop selling artwork and gifts, and I bought some beautifully scented soap to take home.

At 11.30am, we saw a group of people who had been waiting go through into the castle. We imagined that they had booked for 11.30am as well, so we followed them in. We then became embroiled in a shouting match between the staff who kept talking to us in Spanish (Catalan?) and we didn't understand a word of it! It transpired we'd inadvertently mingled in with an official tour group!

We went back to the ticket booth, where I showed the tickets stored on my phone and we were allowed in. I'm sure we could have entered earlier as ahead of us was a woman buying tickets at the door!

We visited the beautiful gardens first which were shaded and peaceful.

Elephant on stilts

It was lovely to wander about and admire the statues and artwork. There was a lovely pool with a sculpture and lots of big urns and pretty shrubs.

Once we'd visited the gardens, we went inside the castle and down a flight of steps to Gala's tomb. It was lovely and peaceful. Back upstairs, we found we couldn't access the castle as there was a group going around, so we went into the shop, where Sophie bought a tee shirt and a couple of postcards, and I bought two of my own.

We eventually sneaked into the castle by the back route, up a flight of outdoor steps, and came across the kitchen, living rooms and bedrooms.

We loved this lamp!

It was all very ornate and reminiscent of 70s décor!

Gala's bath

Breasts with the head of men!

Gala's bedroom was all in blue and she had an ornate dressing room and bathroom. She had an interesting life, was born in Russia and was married at first to the Surrealist artist, Paul Eluard. She met Salvador Dali in 1929. They both embarked on an affair and married in 1934. She was Dali's muse until the day she died and was ten years older than him. The 11th-century castle was bought for her as a place of refuge and peace.

It was fascinating to look around and try and imagine them both living there. There was a small exhibition of artwork and a dress that she'd worn. It was definitely worth visiting and one day we'll try and get to his house in Port Lligat, which had been fully booked.

By now, we were thirsty and we hoped that a nearby restaurant would be open for a light lunch and drinks. We walked up to find it firmly closed, both to our astonishment and another British couple who had walked up at the same time. I mean, really? I can understand the restaurant being closed when the museum wasn't open, but today I'm sure lots of people would have sat and enjoyed drinks and something to eat on the sunny terrace. The castle has no café and didn't sell drinks in the shop, so we were all really thirsty after the bacon of this morning!

We walked back to the car in the hope that somewhere nearby was open but everything was closed. Madness! We did see some cats, though, who very graciously posed for these photos taken by Sophie.

Lunch at last!

I suggested going to Peratellada for a drink so we programmed the town into Trish and set off. She took us on some very dodgy, narrow roads (especially on the outskirts of Bisbal d'Emporda), and when we arrived we noticed the lovely bar we'd had a drink in last week was also closed!

It didn't matter as we went to another, beautiful bar in a square by the church and enjoyed beers, sandwiches and tapas. The waiter was friendly and delighted that Sophie spoke Spanish, the place was quiet and peaceful and the food was good. It was heaven to sit and relax and enjoy a long, leisurely lunch.

Beautiful, private house, I think

A lot of the other restaurants were closed and the antique/ceramic shop was also shut up. Maybe it was siesta? One thing we can be sure of... never take it for granted that a favourite restaurant, bar or shop is open!

We took a slow drive back to Els Masos de Pals, stopping at the supermarket to buy wines to take home. I spent 63 euros, while Sophie splashed out 50 euros on drinks. We found Spanish cider, made in the area, and I purchased a bottle of the Ratafia liqueur to take home.

Back at the house, it was time for a dip and the pool company arrived to give the pool a good clean. They were followed by the gardener who spent about half an hour doing some pruning and sweeping. He asked us if we'd been affected by mosquitoes... Goodness, had we! We're still being bitten!

Back to Antic Casino

We'd booked a table for 7.30pm this evening and while we were getting showered and dressed it clouded over again. We have a warning for thunderstorms and a forecast for rain tomorrow, but we face a busy Wednesday, packing and getting ready for the journey home.

We sat outside tonight, in the lovely courtyard at the front of the restaurant and we were glad we'd booked as it was busy. As well as the outside courtyard, there was another outside eating area and of course, the beautiful dining room we'd sat in last week.

We ordered a bottle of Rosé and a hummus dip with bread to start. This came with onion, carrot, celery and cucumber! Vegetables!

Keith and I opted for the same main course, the veal sirloin, while Sophie chose the cod which was served with a pear pureé. I was delighted with the steak and chips and Keith and I also had Padron peppers with our meal.

Again, we had a lovely evening relaxing and listening to all the different accents around us (for the third meal running we had a group of French people next to us) and watching the wait staff expertly serve everyone. We all found room for puds - chocolate fondant (or coulant) for me, which sadly failed the Masterchef test, tarte tatin for Keith and Bailey's mousse for Sophie. Although my fondant didn't ooze, it was still delicious!

We discover the murderer!

The bill came to a reasonable 130 euros which was great value for three courses, wine, water and bread. We paid up, walked the short distance back to the car and headed back to the villa. We were relieved to see the lights shining!

We had two episodes of Only Murders in the Building to watch and we discovered the identity of the murderer who I guessed at the opening of the ninth episode! I won't reveal who in case you watch this excellent series! Roll on the next one!