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

Revisiting old haunts

We all decided to head for L'Escala today, have lunch there and then return to the villa in the late afternoon to sit by the pool and relax.

After showering and getting ready, we left at about 11am and almost immediately became stuck in a traffic jam because of roadworks. It wasn't long, though, before we were off again and heading for the coastal resort. 

We drove into L'Escala as we used to last year, and managed to get onto the road that runs along the beach, before turning inland and parking in the centre. It was warm and sunny and we walked through the quiet streets to one of the bays where we discovered it was a lot busier than last year! The beach was full of people sunbathing, and on the further side of the bay, men were erecting white tents. Something was going on!

We chose a bar to have a drink at that was closed last year, and it was the perfect spot to sit and peoplewatch. It was absolute heaven!

We had a couple of beers and chatted, watching the comings and goings of people strolling by and relaxing. What a lovely way to spend an hour!

I paid the bill (we were very honest as she'd only charged us for one round of drinks and Sophie told her we'd had two!) and wandered over to the shops. Keith went to see if one of the restaurants we'd had dinner in last year was open, while Sophie and I popped into one of our favourite little shops and I bought a bottle of Rosé to have at the villa.

The cheek of it! 

Amazingly, Cal Galan was open! We'd eaten here last year and loved the dark and atmospheric restaurant with the huge pictures on the walls of the fishermen. And we loved the little steins of Limoncello we were offered at the end of the meal!

There was one other couple seated but as we perused the menu, more people came in and there were also tables outside. Sophie chose the pig's cheek on the menu, and on a moment of impulse, I decided to have it too! Keith chose lamb and all the dishes were accompanied by French fries and tomatoes. I didn't really know what to expect but the meaty cheek was beautifully cooked and fell off the large bone. It was served with a mushroom sauce and it was delicious. A new one for me!

Sophie enjoyed two Aperol spritzes with her meal and Keith stuck to beer, so no wine for us this lunchtime, which was sensible with me having to drive back. We enjoyed Creme Catalan desserts served with cream and the meal was perfect. By now, the other tables had been taken and a group of women were seated next to us, working their way through an assortment of desserts followed by main courses. I wondered what the connection between them was and was fascinated!

A lovely photo! I love the expression of sheer happiness on this man's face!

The reason for the tents being erected by the bay became clear - this weekend there will be a Salt Festival taking place in L'Escala to mark the town's history of anchovy fishing. It may be best to avoid the place then!

Reluctantly, we paid the bill (74 euros) and wandered back up to the car. By now it was hot! Before heading back to Pals, we called in at the Mercadona supermarket and bought salad, more beer, a bottle of Aperol Spritz for the evening and fruit.

The journey back to the villa was simple and quick, and we were all soon in the pool cooling off! Perfect!

Villas further up the hill

A quiet evening

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool and having a swim. Sophie and I had decided to play Scrabble and she made us both Aperol Spritzes. Keith sat with us drinking a new beer he'd found in the supermarket which was 7%! He must have a nose for it!

The sensible... and the sublime!

Sophie thrashed me at Scrabble this evening, but I had beaten her a couple of times before! After we'd played, we prepared a light supper of pizza, Spanish omelette and salad. It was lovely to sit outside and enjoy the meal.

Stormy skies in the distance

After the meal, I said I'd love to watch a film and amazingly, Sophie was able to marry up her Disney+ subscription on her phone to the television! We picked The Menu starring Ralph Fiennes to watch, a film I'd wanted to see when it first came out. It was almost two hours of my life I'll never get back... enough said!