London, Cambridge and home

We left Béziers the following morning (February 16) at 11.30 on our way to London. We set out on a local train (TER) which runs from Perpignan to Avignon via Béziers and Montpellier. The train stops at several small stations after Béziers: Agde, an old fishing port; Sete, France's largest fishing port; Frontignan a wine village near Sete. Our TER train was a modern train very, practical, quiet and comfortable and with loos that can accommodate a wheelchair, unlike the minuscule loos on the TGV. At Montpellier we changed onto a TGV, the high speed train to Paris, Gare du Lyon.
We took the RER through Paris to the Gare du Nord (2 stops) and then on to London St Pancras at 7pm where Helen picked us up. Nick had some homemade soup waiting for us then we wandered down to their local pub, The Shaftsbury for a welcome English beer.
The following day, we amused ourselves, shopping in Crouch End, cooking etc.




This is Helen's studio from the flat




and visiting wildlife, a jay




and the foxes are back we saw two together making funny noises!?




James joined us on Saturday evening for a meal at a vegetarian restaurant in Primrose Hill and on Sunday, we met Jill and Terry, neighbours in France, at Coventry Garden.








Although the sun was shining, there was a cold wind and so we moved from coffee to lunch to tea rather quickly, not the weather for a stroll along the South Bank. This is the cafe in the crypt of St Martins in the Fields in Trafalgar Square where we warmed up over cups of tea before going our separate ways home. We will see Jill and Terry again in France shortly.




On Tuesday we left Helen and took a train to Cambridge. John spotted this ancient railway shed as we waited at Finsbury Park station.




We called into the Cambridge University Computing Service (where Pat worked for many years) at tea time and caught up with a number of friends and colleagues.
In the evening we ate with Brian and Rachel at a Japanese restaurant in Cambridge which has opened since we left.




The following day, Rachel took us to Anglesey Abbey to see the snowdrops. We were surprised by the number of people there on a Wednesday morning; there were two coaches and the car parks were more than half full.




As always the gardens were lovely with some very interesting planting obviously designed for winter viewing.
















The water mill was in action grinding flour, lovingly nurtured into working order by local enthusiasts. Rachel discussed the finer points of bread making with the millers having been a bit disappointed with her initial results with their flour.

When it started to rain, we retreated to a nearby pub and had lunch in front of an open fire. Rachel then very kindly drove us to Luton airport for our flight to Nîmes.
We took the airport bus from Nîmes airport to the railway station and just caught our train. We arrived back at Béziers station where our friends Marian and Tony had left our car. Immediately opposite the station is a rather good restaurant, L'Ambassade. It was 9.30 and the restaurant had just one table left, so we enjoyed a very good meal.
So now we are back at home and the weather is wonderful with temperatures reaching 20 degrees during the day. We have eaten breakfast and lunch on the terrace since we got back.



Sunset from the terrace.




Our next trip away begins on March 15 when we take the train from Béziers to Malaga.
Pat and John on tour

L'Escala and back home

This morning, breakfast was in the sun room at the front of the hotel. Again the sea was calm, but would become more lively as the day went on. The temperature was about 12 degrees and we watched a few people taking a stroll as we ate breakfast. A few hopeful sparrows sat outside the large windows hoping for crumbs (the windows are open in summer), but they were out of luck. The terrace outside the hotel is a great place for coffee and free wifi.



After breakfast, we packed our bags and drove a short distance to the town and then walked along the deserted promenade towards the port. The hotels and cafes along the promenade are all closed and there are few cars around.



This boy looks towards the marina



The beaches have nets to stop the sand drifting too far and creating the "dunes" we saw yesterday.



By now it was close to noon and so time to shop before everything closed down until 5pm. We returned to the main part of the town, passing the orchestra on the way.




We were looking for a few bottles of local wine and some anchovies to bring back. Eventually we found our usual shop, but it was closed for its annual holidays so we made do with a supermarket.

Our last stop was our tapas bar for lunch where the view of the mountains was better than ever. The tower is the museum in the Empuries Roman/Greek ruins.




On Sunday, it will be the annual carnival (Mardi Gras but Sunday) and I expect that the town will be buzzing.

Now we are on our way home. The temperature is 11 degrees and there is a strong wind on the French side of the Pyrenees.

Tonight, we will eat in our local restaurant and prepare to go to London by train to see James and Helen tomorrow.

Pat and John on tour

L'Escala

Last night we ate in the restaurant of the hotel. It was very quiet with just two other couples dining.

The hotel grows its own vegetables and the menu is always imaginative. We had the menu of the day, leek soup with bacon,St Peter's fish with artichokes and then a chocolate mousse for Pat and salt cod salad, hare risotto and a sort of thick french toast for John, delicious!

We were sitting by the window, looking out over the Rosas bay.



After dinner, we retired to our room and slept to the sound of the waves lapping on the shore.

There were at least 3 other couples at our late and leisurely breakfast. We enjoyed croissants, pan con tomato, fresh orange juice, Spanish hams and cheeses.

The wind had dropped a little and so the sea was calmer. We walked along the beach towards St Marti D'Empuries just along the coast. St Marti is said the be the oldest settlement in Catalonia and has a very interesting wall which we understand was the wall of a roman harbour.




We had a brief wander through St Marti. It is a small village with a large church and lots of restaurants that are open in the season.









After that, we continued down the coast, across the small river




then on to the 10 mile long beach on the other side where we were the only people. We saw a number of holiday villages and could imagine that, in the summer, the beach would be full of people, but just at the moment the beach bears a closer resemblance to the Sahara as the wind had created mini dunes across the beach.




The holiday villages are ghost towns; this one is called the Club Mistral and it does look as though a strong wind has hit it. I expect that it won't be long before the flags are replaced and the village will be ready for visitors.




From this point, all that was in front of us was deserted beach, so we turned back and headed along the footpath back to our hotel. We passed the Greek and Roman ruins of Empuries on the way. We didn't call in this time, having visited before.



At the hotel, we stopped for a cup of tea and a warm up in the lounge and read for a while before setting off in the opposite direction for a late lunch in the tapas bar in L'Escala. The wind had increased by now and the waves had white tips, but the magnificent view of the mountains was hiding behind cloud.

In the evening, we ate another delicious meal in the hotel restaurant: brandade of cod with a fresh pea sauce, pasta with Spanish ham and a strawberry dessert for Pat and a goats cheese salad, cod and artichoke and a delicious lemon yoghurt mousse for John.

After dinner we retired to tea in the lounge and chatted to another guest who is Belgian. She has a villa in Turkey as well as a large isolated Mas in France, near to Fitou, which is currently for sale. Her agent for the sale is Graham Brown, who acted as our agent when we bought our house in France.

Pat and John on tour

Valentine trip

In 2009, James, Helen and Nick took us away for a weekend to a lovely hotel on the Costa Brava as my 60th birthday present. It was an area that we had previously avoided, knowing its reputation in the 60s, but we learnt quickly that away from the big resorts such as Lloret del Mar, it is beautiful and we have returned at least once each year, and for St Valentine's day.

Now, Monday 13th, we are speeding along the motorway, La Languedocienne, towards the Pyrenees and Spain with the Mediterranean Sea to our left and the mountains to our right and vineyards everywhere. The sun is shinning, the wind is blowing and the temperature is 3 deg. The journey takes about 2 hours.

Our route takes us past Narbonne, Fitou and Perpignan then into Spain through the Pyrenees down to Jonquera, then on past Figueres to our destination, L'Escala, a small seaside town on the Bay of Rosas. In summer it is very busy, but in winter, just the locals are around.

As we approached Perpignan, we saw our first view of the snow on the Pyrenees. The biggest mountain at this end, the Canigou is looking absolutely magnificent with its snow cap. On a clear day, we can see it from the fields around our village and from the terrace.




On the way, we passed the high speed rail track that is still under construction. When we first came to France, the train journey from Béziers to Barcelona took 4 hours, now it is down to 3 hours and when the whole route is on the new track, should be about 2 hours. This won't be for some time, however.

The route thought the Pyrenees is magnificent passing abandoned villages on the tops of mountains and rocky, wooded hills with fortresses on top. There is no longer a border post between France and Spain, just signs to say that you are in Spain and cameras. As we headed south, the temperature rose, and had reached 12 degrees when we arrived at the hotel.

Our room overlooks the sea, and this is the view from our window:

This is our hotel. We are in the older part to the right of the photo.




There is a fierce wind, so even through the double glazing, we can hear the waves.

It was lunchtime when we arrived, so we headed into town in search of tapas, walking along the coast, past the rocks




and towards the town




Our usual tapas place was closed, as are so many places in the town on Mondays, but there was one very close, so we went in and ordered Patatas Bravas (potato wedges with spicy sauce), anchovies, which are a speciality of Escala, and Spanish omelette. What a feast! By the time we were finishing, Spanish customers were arriving - lunchtime here is 2pm. The view from the restaurant was superb with the snow capped mountains in the distance.




After a brief walk around the town, we returned to the hotel for a rest where we are now sitting in front of the fire in the lounge over a cup of tea.




Pat and John on tour