Barcelona to L'Escala and Beyond

My apologies for no news in the last week but life's been very hectic for this little blogger and I have had little internet access.   I'll start where I left off, last Wednesday, 16th November and finish on Sunday night.  It is now 9.30pm on Tuesday and this little bunny is ready for bed.  We arrived in Valencia late yesterday afternoon and are heading off for Toledo first thing in the morning.  More updates in a day or two.   

Wednesday afternoon we walked down to Gracia tp print and frame a photo of Albert, Diana, Peter and I as a gift for Albert and Diana.  

Wednesday night Peter and I took Simon and Adella for dinner as a thank you for their generosity in having us stay at their beach house. A bottle of French champagne was thrown in and they agreed they would share it with Xavier, who had been kind enough to allow Peter to use his internet connection at Llavaneres. We met at 9.30 pm and had a wonderful evening – they are both such good company, even though Adella speaks very limited English (we speak even less Spanish!)  They have invited us to their beach house during summer when they believe Lavanerres is at its best. Maybe one day. After dinner (around midnight) the four of us strolled through Gracia back to our respective apartments (they live on the other side of Gracia).

Thursday, 17^th Nov

We had a big sleep in (these late Spanish dinners are catching up with us), had lunch at Café Don Teo, we then walked through the streets and lanes of Gracia (just can’t get enough of this place).    These are a few photos which I hope give some idea of how lovely it is. 

Street in Gracia with Catalan flag hanging from a balcony

Peter on a Parc Guell bench. Isn't it fabulous?

Typical square in Gracia. There's probably 20 of these scattered throughout  Gracia.

Cafe in same square as above where we'd have a caffe con leche  around 5-6pm  when people relax and socialise (that is, those not working in the shops when generally open from 5pm to 8.30 pm)  

Typical Gracia street. 

First stop was the post office to send off a package of excess clothes to Mayfield Avenue.  That took about an hour. We then decided to visit the Sagrada Familia but rather than catching the closest metro, we walked along Gran Gracia, a main shopping street which leads into Passeig de Gracia. 

We walked around the outside only as we agreed we would go inside next visit (in two years time?). It would then be four years since we had seen inside and hopefully see quite an difference. It is currently expected to be completed by 2025 but that date keeps changing.

We made our way back to Gracia – Peter to the apartment to meet Scott, who was cooking dinner for us, and me to have a caffe con leche at a local bakery before a final look at Parc Guell. As it was dark by this time, I decided against my original plan to visit Gaudi’s home, which is within the parc grounds.

Back to the apartment Scott cooked a Thai meal – a spicy pork dish and a particularly tasty salad of baby spinch leaves, tomato, chilli, and almonds.  Scott lived for three years in Thailand and it is his favourite couisine.  He brought a 2.2 litre coke bottle filled with red wine which he had purchasd from a bar for about 2 euro. You might think it would taste like rocket fuel but it was actually quite light and very easy to drink.  BTW, we didn’t get through the 2.2 litres, in case you were wondering (no – only 2 litres…Peter).

Friday, 18^th Nov

Friday morning, with heavy hearts, we had a final caffe con leche and pastry at Don Teos and  took some farewell photos: 

Farewell Cafe Don Teo

We decided to catch a taxi to the train station to save time. Unfortunately the taxi thought we meant Passeig de Gracia (or at least pretended this) until I figured out what he was up to and corrected him. On the bright side, we were looking forward to meeting up with Helen and Iain and commencing our Spanish road trip.  First we were heading north to L’Escala, then south to Toscala, onto Valencia, west to Toledo and finally north to Madrid, from where we would fly to Hong Kong for two nights before flying to Sydney on Saturday. 

After hugs and kisses, we headed off with Helen at the wheel, Iain in the co-pilot’s seat, and Peter and I in the back seat – in other words, one driver and three co-drivers!  What fun!  I had Nancy the Navigator with me and she soon took over from the Hertz navigator, which didn’t want to play ball.

Our first destination was Girona, about one hour north of Barcelona. Peter and I had stayed in Girona two years ago and I think we both had forgotten what a beautiful city it is. We remembered, as we tend to do, where we had enjoyed lunch on the river. We decided to try it again, being conscious that it isn’t always wise to try to revisit past experiences.  Again we were seated at a table with a view of the river and the old town. The ‘menu of the day’ was 9.50 euro, which included three courses, bread, water (or a glass of wine). What fantastic value!  Peter and I started with creamy carrot soup and Helen and Iain chose a healthy tuna salad. Helen and I then had a white fish dish, while Peter and Iain chose thinly sliced pork with potato.  Dessert – three of us had the Catalan specialty, crèma catalon (similar to a creamy baked custard). Peter – panacotta with red fruit – unbelievably good. 

Afterwards we walked through the old town up to the cathedral. The four of us agreed that we would love to return to spend a few days to give sufficient time to really explore.  Highly recommend a visit. Lots of fabulous little windy and steep streets that lead to fantastic little bars or shops. Very similar to Florence but with it’s own Spanish charm.


Here are some shots of Girona's old town area. Iain took some brilliant shots but unfortunately I'm having trouble getting the blog to acknowledge them. My photos will have to do for now:

Houses on the river in Girona

Helen, Iain & Peter walking to Girona Cathedral

Girona's old town - fantastico!

We drove onto L’Escala where we were meeting up with friends of Iain's and Helen's, Jordi and Xon, who Peter and I visited in 2009. Jordi is a Professor at the Universitat Autonoma (30 mins out of Barca) and Xon is a research scientist at an institute similar to CSIRO in Barcelona.  Iain has known Jordi since the 70's. 

We had booked apartments at The L’Escala Resort which was located on the outskirts of town and not well signed posted!  We had difficulty finding the reception and things didn’t really improve when my credit card didn’t work, we found the unit had no toiletries, washing up detergent, or dishwasher or hair dryer. However, the apartments were very modern and spacious at an extremely reasonable price.

We met up with Jordi and Xon in their studio (two 18^th century fishing houses converted into one and still very tiny) and after a pleasant walk along the water, we had dinner at a restaurant which served both traditional Catalan and some interesting pasta dishes. 

Saturday, 19^th

Before heading off with Jordi and Xon our guides, we went for a walk along the L'Escala esplanade.  The forecast was for rain but as you can see from the following photos, we were very lucky indeed. 

View from L'Escala Espanade

Peter is going to tell you about this very special day:  


Hello, this is your guest blogger Pedro. OK. Our first destination was St Pere de 
Rodes, a monastery. The drive to the monastery was v v nice and involved a steep climb through some rugged and beautiful hill/mountain country. Arriving at the monastery we spent about 2 hours exploring this stunning site and the profoundly moving setting, history, and restored structures. There is also a modern restaurant that must compete with Domme in the French Dordogne for “most spectacular view ever”. We did not eat. The monastery originated in 11^th century and some of the remains are so beautiful. A truly amazing and spiritual place.

View from St Pere 

Mary on top of the world!

St Pere  Monastery

 OK. From the monastery we wound our way down to the sea and then to a lighthouse at the Cap de Creus. Xon’s aunty was the last light house keeper here and this location kills Byron Bay we have to say. Rugged and stunning and views for miles up and down the sea. Plus. It has a restaurant.

Cap de Creus

Fish of the day was caught that morning and was similar to red emperor or ocean trout and was quite frankly the best fish I can remember eating. Views to die for (see below), good wine and fantastic Catalan company.

Not to bask in their glory, Jordi and Xon then took us down to a beautiful sea side village (Cadaques) that has some similarities to places such as Rapallo in Italy but maybe even more exciting and stunning. Tight little harbours and steep sides down to water and amazing bars and homes right on the ocean, literally. There is a little museum where Picasso lived (for a year) but we did not linger. It was a beautiful place for coffee and to finish off a spectacular day of discovering reasons why Spain has so much to offer if you look hard enough. Brilliant day.

Beautif Cadaques street

A Cadaques street with incoming tide

Helen, Iain, Peter & Jordi

Sunday, 20^th

After meeting Jordi and Xon for a coffee, Helen and I walked around the esplanade to the Sunday markets while Peter and Iain explored a shop with models and other paraphernalia which seem to interest men. The market was very disappointing as it was primarily clothing rather than the food, arts and crafts which we had anticipated. 


We hit the road late morning. Our first stop was a village called Falset, where we found a lovely restaurant, Hostal Sport (www.hotel-hostalsport.com). For starters, we shared grilled asparagus with Romano sauce, similar to what Peter and I had eaten in Gracia. Yummo!  It was quite cool and I had my heart set on a veggie and bean dish.  Not only did I get my beans and veggie but three large slices of blood sausage! I managed half a slice and decided it wasn’t really my thing.  Helen and Iain had the same dish as me while Peter had the Spanish version of coq-au-vin. 

Lunch of beans, tomato (yummo) and blood sausage (?)

Iain patiently waiting for his lunch which the waiter failed  to include in our order

We all agreed that it was a very nice lunch indeed.

Back on the road we headed for Tortosa where Helen had booked a parador, which google describes as a high class Spanish hotel in castles, palaces etc.  It was quite spectacular. 

As we had a substantial lunch and none of us was overly hungry, we had a ‘left-over’ snack of cheese, tomato, olives, nuts, wine and sherry. Very simple and very pleasant. Iain and Peter had bought a little chopping board and knife in L’Escala for such occasions. The knife was the kind that had a hard plastic cover for the blade and Peter, Helen and Iain almost had heart attacks each time I removed the knife from it’s cover as they were sure I was going to cut myself.

The castle overlooked the city and the views were wonderful in day light but even more spectacular at night. A huge storm was building and the black and grey clouds seemed to scud past at balcony height at times, completely hiding the mountain tops. 

Monday, 14th November 


Helen and Iain are due to fly into Barcelona today. Can't wait to see them.


We wake to cloudy skies but venture out anyway.  Due to weather, Peter and Scott have agreed to postpone their walk until Tuesday to see if the weather improves (it doesn't). 


After our coffee at Don Teo we strolled down to Gracia central (if that's what one calls it) and reacquainted ourselves with some of the lovely shops we remember.  The rain started getting heaver so we (me actually) decided to take Peter on a majical mystery tour. We caught a bus to Espanya (a 20 min bus ride - cheap way to see bits of the city as well) and then walked to 'El Poble, a 'fake Spanish village' built in 1929. It is full of small shops and restaurant/cafes representing all the different regions of Spain. There are artists, potters, glassblowers' studios where you can watch the artisans at work and, of course, buy their works.  We had lunch at an Italian style cafe which served a mixture of Italian/Catalan food.  Not bad, not fantastic.  


When we came out the rain was really coming down so we grabbed the first bus that came along. We sort of knew the general direction we wanted to go in and at least we kept dry.  Each stop we'd say, 'should probably get off here' and then, 'Nah, just one more stop'.  We finally got off, caught the Metro home for a little rest before heading out for dinner. 


Dinner? Well, I happened to remember a little tavern called El Disbarat Taverna-Braseria (Montseny 14 ph 932371113)on a little street we went to in the first week we were here in '09. Naturally, as it was only 8.30 pm, we were the only people in the restaurant but that doesn't worry us.  Food was as good as I'd remembered it -  the chef cooks food on char grill over hot coals in view of customers.  We both had lamb & the flavour - lovely smokey flavour!

Chef walking away from char-grill bbq at El Bisbarat Taverna

Tuesday, 15th November


Girls day for Mary, boys day for Peter.  
We met Helen at the train station (so good to see her) and after introducing her to Don Teo's coffee (obligatory to any of our visitors) we caught the Metro into town. Peter to meet up with Scott and Helen and I off to spend some money (unfortunately we weren't terribly successful).  Got Helen and Iain lined up with a Spanish sim card (definitely most economical way to go) & then browsed shops. When it started to rain heavily I decided to take Helen to The Palou for lunch (not for the food but for the ambience).  We we had the ambience alright but the foot was 'rippoffsville'.  Salad for 12 euro bought us a small plate of mixed lettuce, chopped pale (& cold) tomato, & chopped mozarella. It had a little bit of dressing but no sign of the pesto on the menu.  Compare this to Don Teo's - this morning Peter and I had two coffees, a small toasted roast veggie & goats cheese roll, and a tortilla with tomato toast - all for under 11 euro!  Unbelievable!


Peter, on the other hand, was under the guidance of Scott. They ate at a Syrian cafe and had a kebab similar to a donar kebab but better by a mile (Peter's words), with mint tea.  Then played backgammon with owner (after shop closed). Fantastic.  


I met up with the boys in town and we checked out the food market thinking we might cook something for dinner (decided to eat out instead). 

Scott checking out the chillis

With Bao and Scott

at a Palestinian restaurant, Aska Dinya restaurante bar (c/- verdi 28, ph 933685077) I remembered (funny how my memory is exceptional when it comes to food!).  We decided to share & it was sooo yummy.  Scott has been to Palestine and was able to advise us on what to order.  Particularly good was shish tauk - chicken on skewer, with three dips, smashed potato, and salad. 

Scott checking out the chillis

Out to dinner with Scott & Bao 

Wednesday, 16th November
Rain, rain go away. come back another day!  
Off for my 9.30am appointment for a manicure, pedicure & what I thought would be eye brow waxing. I have been looking for a podiatrist for the last few weeks as my feet are starting to get quite sore and I am hoping I might be able to get some relief.  


Lovely Spanish woman who "speaks a little English" actually could speak quite a lot of English & we spoke non-stop for the 2.5 hrs I was there. No eye brow waxing, just painless plucking (too much info?), then the feet. She was a trained masseur & did a brilliant job on my feet. Nice bright red toenails ready for sandals when I get home.   Peter was happy at apartment having a bit of downtime without Mary who, apparently, he finds exhausting at times.  Price for all three services?  33 Euro! Just a wee bit cheaper than Australia! 


Off to Don Teo for morning tea referred to above.  First, Albert's brother Vincence, presented us with two cups & saucers to remember Don Teo by.  Then Albert takes us to the kitchen where Diana is cooking. They present us with a gift - 'La Comida De La Familia'. A beautiful hardback book full of recipes by El Bulli chef Ferran Adria and his staff.  It is full of the recipes the chefs eat in their day-to-day lives, not what is cooked for the restaurant.  We were very, very touched, especially with the inscription inside, I'm so happy. Now I can say: There are good people in the world. I know two of them. They are from Australia. Thank you Mary and Peter for being like you are. Albert, Michas Gracias.  What can I say?



Helen and Iain will join us tonight when we take Simon & Adella to dinner as a thank you for their hospitality with their beach house.  More on that next post. 

Settling into the Barcelona Way of Life

Thursday, 10th November 


While Peter spent the day at ESADE in Saint Cugat preparing and presenting his three hour class (which went very well, by the way), I caught the train into Barcelona and did a bit of shopping, including finally finding a pair of jeans to replace the old pair I'd brought with me. These I got from the large department store, El Corte Ingles where I had obtained the visitor's card which provides 10% off most things in the store. This discount is also available at Macy's in New York and La Fayette in Paris. In addition to this, one can purchase items, usually must spend over about 90 Euro in the one store, and receive an additional 12-17%. This is for non-European residents only and makes shopping in Europe very affordable indeed.  


I spent the rest of the day happily walking through some of the many, many areas within central Barcelona. To stay safe, I use my common sense when walking in some areas of El Raval and, to some extent, El Born, which some may not find the most pleasant of areas.  If I look down a particular side alley (there are hundreds of them) and there is no one there, I don't go down. If I look and there are only men hanging around, I don't go there. If, on the other hand, there are families or women walking, I'll go there. Also, if there is a woman who is obviously a local, such as one with a shopping trolley (not the Coles kind), I pop behind her & off I go. 


As Peter's class didn't finish until about 6.30 pm and it is about a one hour train trip from Sant Cugat, and my feet were screaming (they're out of 'walking the streets of Barcelona' condition) at 6pm I decided to head to the 9th floor of  El Corte Ingles where there is a glassed in cafe overlooking Placa de Catalunya, which includes a lovely tiled square, two fountains and, at night, is well worth the visit. I waited for a table by the window and had a 3.50 euro glass of red - not bad at all. 


Now, I know most of my experiences have been negative so here's a slightly negative one.  Peter and I agreed to meet at a little bar called 'Tapas 24' on Passeig de Gracia.  We went there a number of times in 2009 and it became a bit of a favourite of ours.  I went earlier because you usually have to queue to get a seat - this time only about 15 mins.  Food was pretty good but the prices were a rip off and we decided it had become 'ripoffsville'. We met a nice woman who worked for the American airline, Delta, so we had a pleasant enough evening but won't be returning.  




Friday, 11th Nov


Friday was 'Mary showing Peter around Barca'.  When we were here in 2009 he spent most of the time at the University, and didn't get to see half of what I did. First I have to explain about the train station at Llavanerese. In addition to selling train tickets, the man 'behind the window' is also a barrista and barman. When catching the train on previously, we had ordered a cafe con leche (coffee with milk). So what happens? We walk in, settle our bags at a table, turn to the counter to order and there are two cafe con leches waiting for us. Not bad!  

Mary waiting patiently for the train & looking just a little relaxed

We got off at Metro stop Arc de Triomf (correct spelling) and walked down past the Bacelona's largest park, Parc de le Ciutadella. 

Barcelona's Arc de Triomph

We then walked down to the Port area and stopped for lunch at a cafe literally on the beach. We had a choice of four different size beers. Guess which one is mine and which is Peter's? 

Don't you love the sunnies? I keep on putting them in the outside pocket of the backpack, hoping that they might  be  a victim of the notorious pick-pockets. No such luck but will keep on trying.

Some people were swimming in the surf but unfortunately I didn't bring my cozzies. 

I was trying to take a photo of the two of us but unsuccessful (too many nostrals!)  A couple offered to take our photo & we chose to believe they wouldn't run off with our camera. They didn't.

Next stop was the Picasso Museum. It was one museum I didn't visit last time and we were both very impressed.  It is so much more than just his later work, which I happen to love. It is in chronological order starting from his works as a 14year old - what a talent. What a genius. 


After quite a bit of strolling through El Born, including checking what performances were on at the Palau (Palau de la Musica Catalana) - a must see  in Barcelona, we came across a small bar called Menage a Trois near Placa Catalunya. What a great little find. All tables outside were full but thought it worth a look inside. We sat at the bar & ordered a few tapas & wines while watching and talking to the barmen. Food was brilliant & cost a fraction of what Tapas 24 cost the previous night. We left with full tummies and smiles on our faces, happy with our new find. 


Saturday, 12th Nov


Today's the day. Back to our old stomping ground in Gracia. We have booked the same apartment as we had in 2009. After checking in, and befoe unpacking, we head off to Don Teo, the cafe I visited daily in 2009, for breakfast.  I loaded a copy of this photo on my desktop in case I needed it to jog their memory of who are.

Left to right, P and M  with Vincence & his brother Albert (pronounced 'Albairt')  

So, picture us. We're very excited about being back in Graciaand we walk in to Don Teo Cafe. Albert, who was so kind & friendly to us in '09 and has a great sense of humour, sees us, clutches his heart and says 'No, it can't be true.. am I dreaming? No, it's Peter and Mary'.  We couldn't believe it! We both were soo close to tears at the warm reception we received from both Albert and his brother (the proprietor). 


I order my favourite, zucchini omellette but receive a 'tasting plate' of mushroom croquette, capsicum omelette, zucchini omelette, & tomato bread (toast bread with 'mooshed' tomato & olive oil. When we have accepted Albert's invitation to go to dinner with him and his fiance, Diana, we ask for the bill. He gets his calculator and presses lots of buttons and then show how much we owe '0'!  Vincence indicates that it is like we have had lunch at his home (unlike Albert, he speaks very little English). We left on cloud nine. 


We have agreed that Albert will collect us at 9pm for our 9.30pm reservation (a little early by Spanish standards). In fact, by the time we reach the restaurant 'away from the tourists' it is closer to 10pm and there is only one other table occupied at this time.  Within half an hour it is full.  


We agree that we are happy for Albert and Diana (pronounced Deeanna to choose the food and wine.  They order a number of tapas which we all share, including artichoke chips, tempura baby vegetables, very rare tuna with soy & puffed rice, foie gras cubes coated in white chocolate (sounds weird but it worked), whole baby calamari, lobster & prawn salad, and, of course, tomato bread.

Tomato bread (back), artichoke chips (left), tuna (right), foie gras  in white chocolate (front)

We had a lovely evening and found both Albert and Diana great company. They are both in their mid 30s and intend to marry in the next couple of years. 

Out to dinner with Diana and Albert

We got home from dinner about 1.30 am. We'd had such a nice night we didn't feel tired but looked forward to a nice sleep in Sunday morning.


Sunday, 13th Nov (over to Peter)...

Yes thank you Miss Barcelona,
Sunday was a sleep in and it has been wet all day. We have been house bound apart from a brief metro ride into town to have a look see. Tourists few and far between and La Rambla looked bleak and boring. Imagine that if you have ever been there!!!!


We Woked to Work for lunch (telephone booth size Asian restaurant) and had enjoyed their food last time and it is still on the money for quickest and tastiest stir fry this side of Mayfield Avenue. Bucket of steaming chicken or beef and veggies and noodles and a cold Estrella - pretty damn good. All cold drinks are 1.50 euro, whether it is water, soft drink or beer. 


Evening here but listening to Adam Spencer interview Stevie Nicks Monday morning Australian time via ABC streaming (God Bless the ABC).


Helen Arthurson and Iain Davidson arrive this week and we are planning a dinner with Simon Dolan and his partner Adela on Wednseday with Helen and Iain if possible. December is coming fast. Faster actually. The rest of this trip is still a bit fuzzy as we had so many goals and dreams for the adventure so far. And they have all met or exceeded expectations. Last night's dinner was such a surprise and an emotional time with people we have only met on very few occasions yet who we feel close to. If they get married (as we are urging) it would be no small thing to say we would move mountains to be present. Some people just have a "presence" of goodness and fit and Diana and Albert are that.


OK. Supposed to be walking in the hills overlooking Barcelona with Scott Moodie (Minnesota) and Juan Ji Bao (China) tomorrow and hope rain holds off. Peter.

Back to Barca and Gracia

Hola from Gracia.

Here are some photos to match . my last blog - you'll remember that I forgot to to copy them onto my usb so there's are up to Thursday.   More news tomorrow - it is now 1.00 am and we have just got home from dinner (table reservation was for 9.30 pm and we were about the first there) - that's the Spanish way.

One of the 2 pools in the grounds of the beach house at Llavaneres

View from terrace - first afternoon at Llavaneres

Fishing (not us) on Llavaneres beach

View of the 'W' Hotel from bridge where Peter and Scott walked  on  Tuesday afternoon.

Peter dropped his glasses case onto rocks while he & Scott werf out walking  - here he is retrieving them.  Luckily the glasses survived - his case didn't.

'Beach House' at Llavaneres

Back to Barcelona!!

No photos as I forgot to copy them onto the usb as I´m using an internet cafe to post this.  Next time! 

Tuesday, 8^th November

I’m writing this on the terrace of Simon Dolan’s ‘beach house’. OMG! Picture if you will, it is about 20C,not a cloud in the sky and I can see both the ocean and the mountains. St Andreu de Llavaneres is a beachside village about half an hour north of Barcelona. Simon, the Professor Peter visited on study leave in ’09 offered us his house (he and his wife Adella’s main home is in Gracia, Barcelona). The ‘beach house’ is part of a complex which has two swimming pools, manicured lawns and reminds us a little of a resort at Mooloolaba. The house (what we would call an apartment) is a four-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, three level apartment, two dining areas, two living rooms, three terrace/balconies. Very impressive indeed. AND Messi, Barcelona’s top soccer player, and Barca’s coach both live here. OK, I’ll stop now.

Simon collected us from the airport, which is on the other side of Barcelona, and drove us to Llavaneres, providing a quick tour of the apartment before taking us to lunch at a little nearby restaurant. He invited his neighbor, Xavier, to join us so we could meet him and contact him if we had any difficulties during our stay (Simon left for Portugal on Tuesday). The restaurant, not at all easy to find (you would never guess there’s a restaurant up this little dirt lane) is so obscure not many people know about it. It is run by a Ukrainian Family who make everything from scratch and grow all ingredients used in the cooking (obviously not the meat though). If it’s not in season, it’s not on the menu. Three courses, including wine, cost 8.50 euro and they only open for lunch. I had a lovely bean soup and a platter of mixed small whole shellfish and fish. Peter had cannelloni (made with finely diced beef, not mince) followed by pork with green? Sauce and potatoes. Unbelievable value!

To think that just that morning we were up at 5.30 am for 6.30 am departure. Our hosts, Leann and Guy were up to say goodbye which we thought was very nice. Set Nancy the Navigator to Toulouse airport (a little over a two hr drive) and headed off. After ignoring Nancy’s directions to turn left a few times, we finally relinquished. Big mistake. She was taking us on possibly the shortest route but definitely not the fastest. Memories of us driving in Italy to catch a plane in Milan came rushing back. No doubt Joe & Pam will remember very well. We finally got on the motorway and found we’d only lost about 15 mins in the end.

Peter drove splendidly in Toulouse. It was just on peak hour and the traffic was crazy but he kept his cool. Their toll system is unbelievably slow, as you enter the motorway, we take a ticket and then as you exit the motorway, we put the ticket in the machine & it advised you how much to pay. It took us literally 20-30 minutes to pay, then there was congestion on the other side where about eight lanes merge into two! Another 20 minutes to get past that point and then normal peak hour speed of about 20km/hr. The motorway speed limit was 130km/hr so we seemed to be crawling!! Luckily Mr Organised, Oh yes, when it comes to catching trains and planes, it is Mr Organised, had allowed over an hour extra time than I thought we needed. He was right and I was wrong. There, it’s on record. 

 

Wednesday morning we caught the train into Barcelona. The train follows the coastline nearly all the way so very pleasant trip indeed and took us right into Placa de Catalunya. First thing on the agenda? A coffee. I remembered a little café not far and in a matter of minutes we were in a side alley off the busy Placa de Calalunya and having a lovely coffee. 

 

We then met up with our friend Scott, a PhD student and teacher at ESADE. He’s the big guy from Montana who you might remember from photos of our previous visit to Barca. He took us to a fabulous Turkish restaurant where I had a delicious meal of chargrilled chicken on skewer, savoury rice, salad & chargrilled veggies. Peter had the same only with lamb kofta. 

 

We then started on one of Scott’s walks (he’s a huge walker), but as my boots were starting to hurt, I decided to let the boys go off on their 1.5hr walk to “a bridge by the …, which has amazing views”. Go boys!  Meanwhile I meandered around some old haunts. How I love this city. As soon as we walking around Llavaneres, although I wasn’t familiar with it, listening to the locals speaking, I felt so comfortable. Can’t really explain it but I love Spain.

Wednesday, 9^th Nov

We’ve decided to stay in Llavaneres today and chill out. It is a stunning day and it’s so nice to enjoy this beautiful home by the sea. I strolled up to the shops this morning while Peter put the final touches on his lecture for tomorrow. He is giving a three hr lecture to International Masters students at ESADE. I bought some lovely fresh produce at the shops and we had lunch on the terrace, with ham and mortadella, gouda, fresh bread and salad and a wee glass of red. Not bad I must say. I had an excellent coffee at a café/restaurant so when we were looking for somewhere for dinner, after a 1.5 hr walk along the beach, I suggested we try it. Well it was just so much fun! The waitress spoke a little English (from school she said) and after asking us if we could understand the menu in Catalan (we actually could understand quite a bit) she explained the more unusual dishes. She was simply lovely and actually referred to our Spanish phrase book a number of times to check what something was in English. Food? The most tender calamares, plus fish which tasted like it had just caught. We had a bottle of chilled rose which our waitress chose. She did very well.

Thursday, 10 Nov

Well I’m off to catch the train into Barca and hopefully call into an internet café to post this blog! Adeu.

In Iain's tracks exploring the Dordogne

Wondering about the title of my post? Iain is our good friend, Iain Davidson, an archaeologist who is an expert in rock art. He knows the Dordogne region very well and recommended a number of 'must sees' for us.  However, I do have to confess that we didn't consult him when we booked our apartment at Eymet. While our apartment is perfect, Peter and I both agree that while everything in the village is within a five minute walk, we probably would stay a little closer to the 'the action'. Maybe Sarlat or, even Domme.

Thursday - Market Day in Eymet
Now, what have we been up to?  Thursday is market day in the main square of Eymet and, while a tiny village, its market is very impressive.  There were stalls of clothes, jewellery, cheeses, honey, deli (foie gras [spelt it right this time!], terrines, olives, dolmades) fresh fish, vegetables & fruit, butchers, pastries, you name it.

Market Day in Eymet

Lunch & dinner all purchased at market - the sweetest strawberries I've tasted, raspberries (nearly as sweet as Versailles), canard terrine, goats cheese, salmon & legume quiche, lamb, vegie & herb pastry, dolmades, chilli olives. 

Friday 3 November
Got away later than we hoped (we seem to have a problem waking up of a morning!)  Our plan for the day is to drive to Montignac (nearly 2 hrs away) to visit the Grotte de Lascaux (more later), Cadouin (Abbey) and St Cyprien.  We've (me actually)  got into the habit of getting in the car and with 30 mins stopped somewhere for coffee.  Cadouin was our first destination (recommended by our friend in the restaurant in Bergerac) and our first coffee.  We walked into a little bar just outside the Abbey. I commented to Peter that it looked a little dodgy but it turned out the coffee was excellent.  Pity I can't say the same about the toilet. I walked in, did a swift turn about because I thought it was a men's only until Peter checked it out & told me it was a squat toilet. I didn't realise they had them in France but in case you don't believe me:

Refer to above!

Cadouin bar (fantastic coffee, AWFUL toilet)

The Abbey's church and cloisters was more impressive. The cloister is being renovated and I can see will be lovely in six - 12 months.

Cadouin Cloister (sans lawn)

Cadouin Church's ceiling above altar - beautiful, isn't it?

We drove onto St Cyprien where we had lunch at an Italian restaurant. We chose it as it seemed to be full of workers. Another lovely village.

We then drove onto Montignac for a most amazing experience.  The Lascaux cave was discovered by teenagers in 1940. It is a cave full of rock art 17,000 years old. We saw the exact replica as  the original was closed to the public in the 1960's due to damage caused by CO2.  We couldn't have timed it better as five minutes after our arrival a one hour tour, in both French and English, commenced.  We weren't permitted to take photos but I can't tell you how amazed we were. The detail and colour of the drawings of horses, cattle and deer has to be seen to be believed.

Although we are in France, when we got back to Eymet we went to the local Italian. I had the yummiest veal & muchroom risotto - perfect. Peter was adventurous with carpaccio (extremely thin slices of raw beef).He loved it, I wasn't so fussed.

Saturday, 5th Nov
As usual, slow start to the day. On the road by 10am heading for Sarlat, Domme (basically same area as yesterday but one can only fit in so much in one day, can't one? One of the highlights of our travels has been the scenery, both natural (it's autumn and the leaves are at their peak) and man made. A good example is while we were toodling along the French countryside we drove into a little village and looked up and saw this castle perched on top of a cliff:

Beynac Castle in Beynac village

Closer view of Beynac castle 

As it was after 1pm, we decided to stop here for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Dordogne River. We had the set three course menu of goats cheese, apple salad; confit of duck & potatoes (no fat spared), followed by raspberry dessert.  It sounds a lot but it was just right & very tastey.  This photo was taken on the terrace of the restaurant:

Beynac restaurant

Next stop was Sarlat. We had been told by a number of people that you need a day to see Sarlat - we should have listened.  It was market day but by far more interesting were the little alleys and squares all over the place.  We found an art gallery where the artist was shopkeeper.  We couldn't resist her water colours & bought a tiny original and three of her prints. Very happy with ourselves. You would not believe the number of foie gras shops. They were everywhere.  I bought a couple of tins - one for us and one for Sybilla.

Foie Gras shop in Sarlat 

I could see that in summer Sarlat would be absolutely packed with tourists but at this time of year we could stroll around in comfort. Tourists?  I spit on you (French accent!)

Next stop was Domme.  How can I describe it? Not easy.  We saw it perched on top of a cliff and wove our way round the windy road until we came to a village square. And yet, we still had not arrived. We drove through a narrow arch (driving about 10km an hour) until the Dordogne River lay beneath us, about 1km away. What a sight! What a town/village!  We were sorry we didn't get there earlier, but there you are.
Here a a few shots of Domme, a village I would happily visit for a week or so in the future (and I'm not just saying that to please Iain!):

View of Dordogne River from Domme

A Domme Street (not in tourist season but shops still open at 5pm on a Saturday)

A deserted  square in Domme

 Sunday, 6th Nov - Day of rest
Last day in France.  Drove to Issigeac, 15 minutes drive away, for Sunday morning market.  Fantastic market but highlight was a little pottery shop I found a few blocks back from the main square. We bought two small plates from the potter, who couldn't speak English but still gave us a complimentary cheese knife holder to go with the plate. Lovely.  It was so nice to stroll (we've been doing quite a lot of strolling lately - rather than my usual striding).  That could explain why my jeans are quite snug - I kept on thinking they had shrunk in the drier but I suspect not.

Issigeac Market 

Fantastic old buildings in Issigeac

Tomorrow, off at 6.30 am in time to catch our 10.45am flight from Toulouse to Barcelona.  Simon Dolan has kindly offered to meet us before taking us to his beach house 30km north of Barcelona (not sure of internet access there). We will be there until we check into our old apartment in Gracia on Saturday.  Simon, and his wife Adella, will be leaving for Portugal on Tuesday and have generously offered the use of their beach house.  Peter has been asked to give a lecture at the ESADE Business School on Wed/Thurs (can't remember which!)

We both have mixed feelings on leaving France.  The food and wine have been lovely. Not to mention the countryside and the buildings, and the villages.  such history.  We have loved our time in  the Dordogne but are looking forward to catching up with friends in Barcelona. 

Yes well. Have had a lazy day sort of with Child Bride's inherited energy levels!!! She is a very carbon neutral power plant! But Dordogne is a region we both recommend and we both love. Suggest Spring or Autumn. Tourists not exactly welcome we have been told. We spit on them too!!!!

Off for a stroll through Eymet before retiring with a cigar and an Armagnac (local of course).

So if I depart this world from Foie Gras or Cannard overload or poisoning I make no apologies. Please no flowers. Just send a donation to the preservation of duck fat etc in Southern France. It's yummy.
Pierre and Child Bride. (99% Child Bride).