14.5.19:
Flew home from B'ham with
Jill having had lifts from Kim (UK) and Nicole (Fr). Had hoped to sit out on
the terrace of the bar in the sun but sadly had to sit inside as it was roped
off due to the ongoing work. Joined Roger and Don for a glass or wine then had
a short walk before turning in for an early night on British time.
Weather:
24°,
sun and light cloud
15.5.19:
Almost
overslept this morning as I hadn't turned my alarm forward to French time. Jill
and I did, still managed to be on time for the bus to Perpignan.
Spent
a pleasant time wandering around in the sunshine after fortifying ourselves
with a coffee at the Café Catalogne (as usual). Took
in the Quai Vauban, les Halles, Casa Xanxo (built 1508 for a rich cloth
merchant), place de la République et la Loge. We had a salad lunch at the
"Napoli" https://www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review-g187156-d2293399-Reviews-Le_Napoli-Perpignan_Pyrenees_Orientales_Occitanie.html .
Met Jackie, an interesting Canadian woman on
the bus coming back to the village. Bumped
into her again later on and she joined us at Pepe's for a glass of wine. Chris and Jo appeared so we stayed on a bit
longer even though our glasses were empty. Then there was nothing left to do
but drift home for a bite to eat and a bit of tv.
Weather:
19°,
sun and blue sky.
16.5.19:
Coffee chez Pepe with Nicole then home to make a mocha cake for dinner at
Jacques' this evening. Once the cake came out of the oven, we went to the bar to
meet the language exchangers. Only Ann, Terry, James (who explained the life
cycle of butterflies to Jill!), Anne (who welled up with tears twice when more
serious subjects were discussed and Roland. One other client came in; hope for
them that things pick up when the terrace is finished.
Went
for a walk after lunch and were hijacked by Chris who invited us in for a cuppa. Jo introduced us to Alexa and took us
around the garden in a fruitless (!) search for cherries. The birds had been
there before us.
Dinner
at Jacques (for his birthday) was a fun affair with the neighbours and Evelyne.
Leg of lamb and in addition to my offering, there were 2 other desserts.
Strawberry tiramisu from Anna and strawberries and thin slices of chocolate
brownies from Geneviève.
Home
for just after midnight and straight to bed without a guilty thought for the
washing up that's been there all day!
Weather:
18°,
sun, clouding over
17.5.19:
Woke
up to rain and low cloud and didn't immediately jump out of bed to meet the
day. Finally, made it over to the bar to meet Françoise for coffee.
Then
it was lunch at the restaurant with Nicole by way of a thank you for picking us
up. Super meal. (Ceasar salad, fillet pork with Roquefort sauce, dessert).
After
that, it was into the kitchen for me to "prep" (a new Jillism!) for
this evening's apéritif dinatoire with Jean, Françoise and JJ. The weather was
so dull and dismal that I fired up the stove to take the chill off the place;
the conversation was far from it.
Weather:
14°,
rain, heavy cloud
18.5.19:
Jacques chauffeured us to the market where we scooted around meeting lots of people in the process and making it to our rendezvous with Françoise and Jean only 5 minutes late.
Came back with Jacques, too, after having joined him, Jacko and Evelyne for a drink.
This afternoon watched some tv and did some work for the association. Having had quite a long spell indoors we wandered over to the bar only to find no one there; at 7.30pm on a Saturday night?? Continued our stroll and called into the other bar which had about 15 clients. Came home for hot meal and more tv.
Weather:
16°, showers and cloud, feeling chilly
Jacques chauffeured us to the market where we scooted around meeting lots of people in the process and making it to our rendezvous with Françoise and Jean only 5 minutes late.
Came back with Jacques, too, after having joined him, Jacko and Evelyne for a drink.
This afternoon watched some tv and did some work for the association. Having had quite a long spell indoors we wandered over to the bar only to find no one there; at 7.30pm on a Saturday night?? Continued our stroll and called into the other bar which had about 15 clients. Came home for hot meal and more tv.
Weather:
16°, showers and cloud, feeling chilly
19.5.19:
A
sunny day at last and so off we set with Jean and Françoise first to the
shopping mall in La Jonquera to buy a suitcase for me and say goodbye to 100€!
Then
came a coffee stop in Figueres on the Ramblas where there were a couple of
coblas (orchestras) playing for the Sardane dancers.
Next
it was back in the car to go up to the St Pere de Rodes 9th century monastery https://www.empordaturisme.com/en/a/what-to-do/culture-activities/monestir-de-sant-pere-de-rodes/ taking in a dolmen http://www.visitapau.cat/en/2015/04/13/dolmens-de-vinyes-mortes-i/ in use from the 3rd
millennium BC and splendid views on the way.
It's
good that the Spanish keep later lunch hours as we had time to go down the
steep, windy road to Port de la Selva. Ate at a good, reasonably priced
restaurant overlooking the marina. https://www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review-g1058799-d8007684-Reviews-Restaurante_Cnps-El_Port_de_la_Selva_Costa_Brava_Province_of_Girona_Catalonia.html
Coming
home, we got caught in a 4km queue of traffic coming up to the toll.
In
the evening Jill went to the rerun of the jazz concert that I'd been to last
month with Françoise. I had thought to meet them afterwards for a drink at the
bar on the terrace but best laid plans and all that ..... It had been invaded
by the rugby team and its supporters. They'd won through to the next round in
some cup match. We just beat a retreat home.
Weather:
22°,
sunshine and cloud
20.5.19:
Walked over to Maggie's for lunch and to spend the afternoon just chatting and having a laugh.
Weather:
Sun
but mostly cloudy
21.5.19:
Françoise
came over to meet us at the bar for coffee and just as she was leaving Martine
arrived for a catch up.
Apart from a walk up to the mini market, a visit to the current exhibition all taken at a very slow pace. Jill had space to read and
chill out.
It's great that Jill is not a demanding visitor as the weather and my lack of transport rather curtails things.
Weather:
Cloudy
with sunny spells
22.5.19:
Jean
and Françoise once again came and picked us up for a morning out. This time we
went down to Argelès to see our friend Marie-André's painting exhibition.
Walking through the market, we were amazed how big it was and it would
definitely be worth another visit.
We
abandoned the market in favour of going to the marina to have a coffee
overlooking the boats against a backdrop of mountains.
Then
this evening we joined Beverley and James, Lone and Jesper at Jacques for a
Mexican meal. All I had alcohol wise was a small margarita (surprised looks all
round) and also unusually for me, very little to eat. Jill had her first
experience of inquisitive New Worlders, mole sauce made with chocolate for
savoury food https://casablancamexican.com/mexican-mole-sauce/ and the delights of tequila! No complaints
about the latter. https://www.jamieoliver.com/drinks-tube/recipe/margarita/
Weather:
25°,
sun, blue sky, cloudier later
23.5.19:
Caught
the bus into town and met Michèle and Henri at our usual haunt. Even though it
wasn't market day, we still met quite a few people for a chat.
Visited
the Marc Chagall https://www.marcchagall.net/ exhibition "La
Couleur tombée du ciel", at the museum as well as some of the permanent
exhibition. https://www.tripadvisor.fr/Attraction_Review-g196603-d547020-Reviews-Musee_d_Art_Moderne-Ceret_Pyrenees_Orientales_Occitanie.html#photos;aggregationId=101&albumid=101&filter=7
Called
in at the bar on our return to the village and found only stragglers from the
exchange there. Last week Jill copped for James, this week she had the pleasure
of Anne who recounted her life story, woes and all, illustrated with tears. A
walk before tea and tv afterwards.
Weather:
23°,
sun and blue sky
24.5.19:
Rain
was forecast and rain came overnight. All we had on the agenda was a coffee
with Nicole this morning at the café. Apart from that and a walk in search of
cherries we stayed indoors and pottered. Watched "What we did on our
holidays" starring Billy Conolloy, David Tennant and other well know
faces. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2725962/ Breathtaking Scottish scenery, wicked humour
and lessons on life of benefit to us all; add in a couple of glasses of cava it
made for a pleasant last evening together.
Weather:
20°,
overcast and wet
25.5.19: Q. When are you coming back to visit? A. When do you want it to rain?
Started
the morning by going in search of cherries for Jill to take home, then met up
with Jean, Françoise, JJ and Jacques for a farewell coffee. What a shame that
she missed the cherry festival (that’s on this weekend), with its cherry stone
spitting and stoning contests, lots of bandas (lively brass bands), kilos of
cherries to buy, and every possible
product made from or depicting cherries to spend your money on. Next year,
maybe?
Ann
picked us up for the airport run and to watch Jill’s wee figure disappear
through security on her journey to home, hearth and family; maybe even some
sunshine!
Sod’s
law back home, the weather brightened here so there’s some foundation to her
answer about coming back! But ….. how appropriate, I found this on the internet
I looked around on the internet for goddesses of rain but it seems that they
are few and far between (another male dominated job) so was pleased to find
this. "Af Bri", the name of an angel who makes it rain! It fits!!!
Weather:
22°,
cloudy, feeling humid, brightening later
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