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