| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| geoffval |
Posted - 20/05/2008 : 09:09:45
Our use of the English language is in no way in the same class as Sarah but our blog follows:-
FRIDAY 9th MAY
Having left Warwickshire early yesterday morning at the start of the heatwave (having loaded the shed et al the night before) we had a great run to the Chunnel and through France , via Paris West, and an overnight stop at Salbris.
French roads empty of lorries as it was a French Bank Holiday.
Lovely weather this morning with glorious views over Milau bridge and clear driving weather until we hit the Spanish border and then the heavens open, with torrential rain all the way to Tossa with a subsequently late arrival at the apartment,via Dia supermarket to collect bread ,milk and butter, at 6.30pm.
Apartment as we left it last October so we switched on electricity and gas,unloaded luggage from car(not the shed yet) and , after a quick swill and touch up - down to town.
Tossa drenched and empty , river flowing and the last thing we wanted to do was walk far so parked in car park at Claudi's and wandered passed a row of empty restaurants and sat inside Minerva and watched the waves crashing on the beach whilst enjoying a decent dinner (review to follow).
Watched El Temps on TV3 which featured a horrendous weather forecast (rain,tempest,floods) for the next few days and film of Tankers of water arriving at El Prat docks. Hosepipe,car wash and refilling of pools are banned.
Heatwave in UK!!
TBC |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| geoffval |
Posted - 22/05/2008 : 10:26:02
TUESDAY 13th MAY
SUN IS OUT
Val decides the clothes horse (which keeps collapsing on the balcony) needs replacing so down to town to buy a new one.
Back to flat , test it and bin old one and then we loaded sun chairs etc. in the now empty car and off down to the beach.
Usual place by the flag pole.
No boats out but I put on bright red shorts (as you do) and stand by a distinctive wind break near Junio Uno's spot and wave at camera - the occupants think I am nuts!
Beach is a totally different shape since the storms.
Three levels-top one flat and with fine sand,then slope to a stony area then another long slope to the sea.
Val has Cava at the now reopened Banys Claudi and we have a lovely day in the sun with quite a few happy holidaymakers on the beach - some who have never seen the sun before at Tossa.
Wandered to the water , freezing but a few hardy souls were diving in and out of the waves.
For the first time ever we saw the regular Lloret boats having to into Mar Menuda because of the surf on the main beach - bit of a hike to town!
Lunch with Claudi , quite busy but got a decent table and had our usual bocadillo atun con pan tomata,tortilla espanol for Val plus vino tinto.
Relaxed on our loungers till well after 4.30 (late for us) then back to flat via garage to fill up for the run home.
Diesel in Spain is €1.29l, in France €1.48l and in the UK -an arm and a leg!
Dry night so went to Sa Murella.(review to follow)
The owners have moved it well up market compared to their other offshoots (Ram Vell etc.) and whilst it is now 20%+ than 2007 the menu,style and presentation makes it worth while. Maybe visit it once each trip otherwise your plastic will take a pounding.
Cleared up apartment for home run tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY 14th through SATURDAY 17th MAY
Bit of a late start - 09.30 - and tried the back road.It is still being constructed with a 60k limit and we would avoid it at busy times but it will be a quicker way to Tossa when it is finished.
We have three hotel stops on our way back -Condrieu,Montrachet and Reims but during the trip manage to visit vineyards at Tain-Hermitage, Moulin-au Vent, Buxy, Julianas, Irancy and Chablis and end up with 22 cases wine and a car with a ground clearance of only a few inches!! Never mind the car - will our livers survive!
Weather still mixed through France -bright sun and then torrential storms - makes driving interesting.
As soon as we get through the Chunnel in Kent the heavens opened and we had rain all the way home - just like being in Tossa.
Serious gardening work needed at home - not just the lawns and beds but all the veg has to be planted -sprouts,runner beans etc before I start on the tubs for the family.Big bonus though - the asparagus is delicious and it is a three times a week treat. (no rude comments please!!)
Presuming all this is finished we are back to Tossa ,this time by RA, on the evening of Tuesday 10th June for 8 days and hope to see the usual suspects for a glass of rosado (or two) - no more blogging planned,just food reviews.
FINI |
| claredenandrose |
Posted - 21/05/2008 : 21:24:40
Many thanks Geoff and Val, love the reports....now waiting for the restaurant reviews!!! |
| geoffval |
Posted - 21/05/2008 : 17:42:27
MONDAY 12th MAY
Barcelona Fiesta-Bank Holiday
Awoke to another rainy day!
Felted roof of shed-very professional job , there could be a career in this as a jubilado looking to earn a few € in Tossa.
Better than going on old toots outings on the local charabang.
Decided to go shopping , real exciting stuff.
Battery drill from new Tort near Grand Bahia.A pair of beach shoes for Val on special offer at Dia.
A pair of trecking shoes for Geoff for our Autumn hols (60€ more than Val's)
and then to lunch.
Vera Mar , next to Rom Vell , has closed and a new very smart sarnie/snack shop has opened up - an offshoot of Sa Barca.
We thought to try it but weather miserable and it was empty , Claudi was closed up and we have gone off Rom Vell so we wandered off to Sa Barca for sardines,tortilla espanol and a pitcher of vino rosado. Disappointed.
Shops, especially the Chinese "sell it all shop" ,still doing roaring business selling cheap brolly's and pacamacs.
Quite a few day trippers around , some on coaches from Lloret and others on their day off in Barcelona.
Interesting mix of people around Tossa - many French as it is a Bank Holiday long weekend plus the usual sprinkling of mature Dutch ,German, Brits and many Spanish.
A few wrongly dressed Brits from Tossa hotels and a gaggle of English Girls (quite respectable and decently dressed) on a girls away trip! Probably bussed in from Lloret.
Back to flat and the SUN CAME OUT so a couple of hours on back balcony , watching the birds - Geoff giving shelves another coat of varnish whilst Val gives instructions and demands more Cava.
Shoes fit and drill works!
Dry evening although a little cooler so park (foc) in car park opposite Police Station and wander down to La Grotta for my Pizza treat.
The news from the owners is that their daughter had fully recovered from the pneumonia and the whole family had enjoyed a week in London (RA cheapo flight to Stanstead) and had a wonderful time.
Enjoyed our meal(review to follow )and retired early to the apartment in time to catch the TV3 El Temps which promises SUN tomorrow , our last day.
TBC
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| June |
Posted - 21/05/2008 : 10:32:01
Gosh Geoff and there is still more to come You are certainly giving the more verbose of us something to think about 
I noticed that the weather was bad in Tossa whilst you were there, but as you know, there is always something to keep you amused, especially after a glass (or bottle) of wine and a few tapas
Look forward to the next installment 
Junio Uno |
| Sandra Mollat |
Posted - 20/05/2008 : 19:53:41
Just back from Russia where the food was just about ok so really looking forward to some delicious Spanish cuisine when I arrive in June. Perhaps we'll bump into each other then. |
| anne |
Posted - 20/05/2008 : 19:35:28
Really enjoying reading about your exploits in Tossa - can't wait for the next bit. |
| geoffval |
Posted - 20/05/2008 : 18:05:40
SUNDAY 11th MAY
A bright start so varnished the new pine rack for the cupboard then a storm blew up and lasted till 11am.This weather is becoming a bind!
Still overcast at lunch time so drove down to seafront carpark and lunched , under the vellum , at Cellar de Mar. Bocadillo Atun con pan tomata and three tapas plus jug of Vino Rosado-could get used to this!
Then back to flat as shops closed at 2 and then we could not believe our eyes the SUN CAME OUT
Sat on back balcony in really hot sun and viewed the vista.
The Town Hall have cleared all the undergrowth in the woods behind the apartments over the winter months and cleared many of the pines but retained the cork and olive trees. This is supposed to happen every 20 years around buildings in Tossa- fire precautions.
This opening up of the woods means we see more of the bird life.
Those non twitchers amongst you may wish to now change channel.
We saw 3 pairs of spotted flycatchers,numerous swallows and swifts (nesting in our roof),2 pairs tree creepers,pair of doves and jays,blackbirds,thrushes,sparrows and a pair of rare Golden Orioles with their most distinctive exotic call.
To listen to the song use this link:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/goldenoriole/index.asp
Non twitchers may now tune back in.
After a warm relaxing afternoon we returned to town and did our good deed for the week.
We spotted a couple of old toots down towards Claudis , towing luggage and obviously lost.
They had been dropped at the main road by their coach and sent down the wrong road to the Hotel Costa Brava.
We came to their rescue and escorted them to the Hotel.
The chap , well into his 80's was truly knackered but both were grateful to eventually arrive at reception.
They had flown in from Blackpool - had a 2 hour flight ,then a 2 hour coach trip via Calella!! and then
half hour dragging their luggage around Tossa.
[We bumped into them the next day-fully recovered and in love with Tossa and the Hotel and determined to buy us a drink].
We then watch the locals doing their traditional parade along the front , in their Sunday best and ate at Zarzuala (review to follow) with great views of the surf pounding the beach and sunset over the Castle.
TBC |
| geoffval |
Posted - 20/05/2008 : 14:07:40
SATURDAY 10th MAY
Hardly slept last night , with rain lashing on the railings but by 9am it had eased a touch - enough for me to take 7 trips up/down 34 steps carrying shed parts !Had some help from our upstairs neighbour for the last two , very welcome.
Gonzalo is the Town Hall Architect -nice guy but with a difficult and stressful job - always looks worried.
Managed to screw it all together on the front terrace before the rain started again.
[For those of you who have shown an interest in the "shed" , it is 4ft x 2'6 and has a height at the back of 4'6 and slopes to 3'6 at the front and has two opening doors.It is for storing beach loungers,brolly's,mats etc. End of anorak speak]
As soon as I got the roof on the sky blackened from the South ,an unusual direction for Tossa.We then had the most torrential storm we had experienced in Spain-slashing rain and wind with our view of the town and the sea totally obliterated.No thunder but quite frightening.
Rain eased at noon so we splahed our way to the car and did some shopping at Dia -60 bars of 72% dark choc at 68cents and some great Berberana Tinto on a 3for2 offer.
A few people around - the Spanish correctly dressed for the weather and the odd sad Brit in vest/shorts/trainers.
Obviously not Forum readers as they would have packed for the weather.
Shops doing roaring trade in brolly's and pacamacs!!
Had lunch at Don Juan - Iberico ham plus vino then back to flat for more work.
As still raining in the evening (river is rising and access road through the ford is closed)so we parked by the Roman Villa and wandered down to Adrians El Suizo Bistro for some comfort food in the warm.(review to follow)
Forecast looks a smite better tomorrow-some breaks in the cloud in between rain fronts and although it is a Barcelona holiday weekend ,very few have arrived having been put off by the weather
TBC
(If any body is bored out of their head by now - only 3 more days to go) |
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