My trip is over. I got home last night after an uneventful flight. I am glad to be home – especially to be with my Angel (doggie). She was seemed happy to see me and greeted me with lots of licks and wags but I think she was perfectly happy with everyone who took care of her – Bill, Kay & Tony, Lisa & Jeff, and Greg & Wendy. I missed her a lot and am seriously considering taking her with me to France next summer.
I don’t seem to have jetlag but do feel a little let down being home. Traveling is so stimulating, it does get addictive. I will also miss doing the blog. I’ve enjoyed sharing my experiences and thoughts – daily – in this medium. Don’t worry I’m not going to continue doing the blog now that I am at home. I must say though, coming home I watched Julie and Julia for the second time. This time I identified a lot more with Julie.
Some last thoughts….
Season of the Year – Autumn
I got to experience Autumn which was beautiful. When I got to Barcelona originally the weather had just turned cold. Everything was still very green at that point. Then it rained and a real cold front followed. By the time I got to Madrid the next week the leaves were beginning to turn. As we continued through Spain and Portugal the colors continued to change and the weather went from cold to moderate to frigid the last day in Spain.
When I got to Paris it was definitely Fall. You could feel the crispness in the air and the leaves were going gold and orange. It was mighty cold there.
Then the South of France. Along the Mediterranean we had rain and then it warmed up. It was too cold to swim but very pleasant. We got to see some big waves when the storms were storming and that was fun to see. In the summer the water is very calm and glassy. It was also great because the places we went are mobbed in the summer and we got to see them without the crowds. When we got to the Languedoc region the vineyards were intense reds and golds. Ah but Provence was unbelievable in the Autumn. By the time I got there Autumn was peaking. The golden tones of the foliage was spectacular for the landscape and the beautiful villages. Over the week we were there almost all the leaves fell and winter was about to set in.
The colors for this trip were yellow, gold, orange, and red and bright blue for the water and sky. This summer will be very different with, I expect, a prominence of greens, and wildflowers. It will also be warm and/or hot.
The People
Everyone hears that the French aren’t very friendly and recently I heard that the Spanish weren’t either from friends who visited there. What we experienced was absolutely the opposite. In each country and town we had the most wonderful encounters. People went out of their way repeatedly, patiently and enthusiastically communicated with me even though I was very poor in my language skills. Some examples:
• My sister and I got hopelessly lost in Coimbra Portugal trying to get to our hotel while an ominous rainstorm rapidly approached. We asked an elderly man if he could tell us where the pedestrian bridge that went across the river. Not only did he give us directions he guided us to it, talking the entire time about his children that lived in South America, etc.
• In Lisbon, we wanted to hear Fado in a part of town known to be dangerous for tourists especially at night. Our taxi driver couldn’t drive on the narrow curved streets there so we were left to walk several blocks not knowing exactly where we were going. An old woman wearing an apron came out of a house and we asked her directions. Not only did she give us directions, she took Judy’s arm and escorted us there telling us to “Watch your paper.”
• Tom and I were having trouble operating the train ticket kiosk at the Paris Airport. A man, not particularly well dressed, came up to us and worked the machine for us. We felt badly when he left because both of us suspected that he was going to be a pickpocket.
• Several times when I had to go down stairs at train stations with my huge suitcase, young people came to my aid and carried it down for me.
• My last night in Barcelona I returned to the square where I had listened to opera singers when I was there earlier. They were there again and singing beautifully especially the middle-aged soprano who sang arias from Madame Butterfly and something else familiar that is very, very beautiful. A woman sitting on the steps next to me obviously was very touched by the music as was I. We communicated how it made us feel – she by gesturing tears from her eyes, me gesturing a fluttering heart.
A few other observations
• Health – Smoking is very prevalent – young and old smoke cigarettes (and cigars) like chimneys. They drink – wine, wine, wine but usually with food and you don’t see public intoxication (at least I didn’t). Obesity isn’t common. I think I may have seen one overweight child on the entire trip – very different than here. There were lights of posters about prevention for flu (e.g., handwashing, sneezing etiquette, and I even saw hand sanitizer in quite a few hotels, etc.). They walk a lot including hills – don’t seem to drive everywhere like we do. There are not many gyms.
• Christmas is a big deal but it doesn’t seem quite as commercial. In Barcelona, in the square outside my hotel, there was a big Christmas Fair going on. Lots of booths selling handmade, and some manufactured, ornaments, and other Christmassy stuff. Also selling real and artificial Christmas trees. There were a lot of local folks shopping at the fair with their children in tow. I heard Christmas music everywhere this last 2 weeks.
• People in Spain and France seem pretty affluent. They shop a lot – big bags of purchases from the upscale stores. They hang out in outdoor cafes a lot. They dress really well with a lot of style.
• They enjoy their cities and towns. Day and night they are out and about. I don’t get the sense that they sit home and watch TV a lot. If they are watching TV its probably soccer.
• They are very romantic/sexy. You see a lot of public displays of affection e.g., young couples in the park doing serious, and I do mean serious, necking. They show physical affection, non-sexual, to friends/acquaintances/same sex as well e.g., the three cheek kiss hello, arms round each other, holding hands.
• The food is great but everybody know that right? What can I say – best bread in the world, freshest fish/seafood, lots of fresh vegetables, garlic, and olive oil. And then there is the wine. It took us awhile but we discovered that the inexpensive local wine is usually excellent and there is no need to order anything but the house wine.

Well I wrote more than I planned to as some closing thoughts.

Last Day in Europe

November 28th

Saturday, November 28th – Time to head home
I spent last night in Montpellier which will be the closest big city to where my exchange house will be next summer. It feels more vibrant than the other cities I’ve visited in Southern France (e.g., Nimes, Arles, Avignon, Nice). It is bigger for one thing but it also feels like there is a lot going on and the people seem more lively. I may have only gotten this impression because I stayed in a small hotel near the “Comedy” plaza which is huge and has many cafes and throngs of people. There was a huge Christmas tree made out of lights and Christmas lights strung across the narrow streets. There was a Languedoc wine festival going on. Many, many booths representing at least 75 (maybe more) wineries. They were offering tastings for a few Euros but it appeared you needed to already have a glass. I couldn’t figure out exactly how that worked – I think maybe you needed to buy a ticket to the event to get one. Anyway I was alone and due to my inability to speak French I wouldn’t have been able to communicate with the winery staff – “Oooh la la this wine is excellent” “I’d prefer to try the red please” etc. So I just wandered around the booths and looked at the names of the various wineries thinking maybe I could remember some of them when I get home – wrong – can’t remember one.
I also went to the Museum of Languedoc. It is close to the plaza in a huge old house that from the front you would have no idea that a mansion was inside. It is probable that there are many mansions hiding inside these modest fronts. Any the museum seemed to be primarily featuring artifacts from the Roman period in this region. I say seemed to be as there was nothing available (in the brochure, in the labels on various exhibits, in the film) in anything but French. However it was a, statuary, jewelry, and a few mosaics.
After the museum I checked out the shopping since this is where I’d likely go next summer if I needed something upscale – not very likely since I plan to mainly hangout in the village or make day trips and its going to be pretty warm.
I went to bed early since my train to Barcelona was scheduled for 7:26 am. I left the hotel at 6:30 am and walked to the train station which was only a few blocks away. Train stations here appear to have more security than airports. There were a number of uniformed military with machine guns walking around as well as a security guard with a very serious looking Rottweiler which he held tightly on a short leash.
I had an espresso at the station while I waited for my train’s gate to be posted. The gates are listed by letters A – G. When my train posted on the board no letter appeared – instead it was a picture of a bus. This was very puzzling. I couldn’t find anyone who both 1) spoke English, and 2) knew what the bus picture meant. I located the information desk which was well hidden and pretty crowded. The man at the desk indicated that he spoke English but wouldn’t talk to me until he finished with several others. I was getting anxious as my train was due to leave in 15 minutes. When it was my turn I told him I needed to know what the bus picture meant. He looked like he didn’t understand me. I hand him my ticket and said “where is my gare.” He checked on his computer and then explained in French which, of course, I didn’t understand. I was able to get – the bus is outside the station and to the left. I walked to the front of the station, still dragging my very heavy suitcase and wearing my almost as heavy backpack. No bus there and no one to ask. So I kept walking, I am a little familiar with this area as I have visited the this train station parking lot quite a few times as this is where I turned in my rental car. I found what looked like a city bus and asked the driver if this was my bus? At this point I expected that for some reason the bus was needed to transport us to the train. The driver said no and using sign language indicated that I should walk under the bridge and turn right.
After I walked under the bridge I saw a group of people standing near several buses from various private bus companies. I found a couple people who spoke English – thank heavens. Yes one of these was my bus going to Espana – all the way. There is some sort of strike going on in France (a fairly common occurrence) and it appears that all the international trains are taking passengers by bus. The trip to Barcelona will take about 5 hours. There are no bathroom facilities and I am definitely wishing I’d eaten something with my espresso. Oh well – at least I am glad that I took the early “train” so I will get to Barcelona in the afternoon.
What have a I learned from this (the train/bus experience and the malfunctioning ticket on the Peage experience)? I will definitely learn at least rudimentary French before I come back for the summer!!
I arrived ok in Barcelona at 2 pm. They put us on a real train in Figueres and then it was a “milk run” type of train with very frequent stops. There was no food/drink on the train so when I got to Barcelona I was pretty hungry and thirsty.
I settled into my room quickly at the same hotel I stayed in when I arrived 6+ weeks ago. It is definitely Christmas season here – in the square by my hotel there are many booths set up selling tree decorartions, Chresh (sp?) scenes, etc. Christmas music everywhere. Pretty nice but I am definitely ready to head home. It will be a quiet night for me and then to the airport mid day.
I plan to write a final post on the plane and then that is it. I have enjoyed doing the blog – even if it is just for me.

Last day in Provence

Thursday - the real Thanksgiving was our last day in Provence. Sarah and Trish left by train for Paris. Pete and Casey decided to have a day on their own. The rest of us drove to "the heart of Provence". Yes I know I had already been there this trip but it is my favorite area and it was fun to share it with the "newbies". Above left is Rousillon (the light was a lot better than last Sunday).

Above right is our "group photo". Not pictured is Matt Wagner who took the picture because we couldn't figure out how to set my camera's timer. Front row is Sarah Wernert, her friend Trish, Ellie Muscat, Maureen Muscat, her boyfriend Ken, Matthew Muscat. Back row is Kim (Grethen’s friend), Gretchen Wernert, her husband Derek, me, Beth Wagner, Casey Wernert, Pete Wernert, Kay & Tony Wernert.

On right is the view from Rousillon.

Above left are some houses in Rousillon - I love the various colors. Notice the tiny Santa hanging from the yellow house. Christmas is big here.

One of the houses in Gordes has tiny birdhouses built by the man who lives there. The "Cercle Republican" in Gordes is not named for our Republican party. It is about French patriots I think.

I loved this Rousillon cat which seemed to be a chameleon taking on the orange tones of the town.

We visited a archeological site just below Gordes where the indigenous people once lived. The buildings are made entirely of stones piled on each other. Nothing else holds them together. There are some of these buildings within Gordes proper. Interesting that very similar structures are found elsewhere in the world e.g., Ireland, Italy.

Here is pretty produce at a Gordes market and two very French big dogs waiting for their mistress who was shopping.

We had a very pleasant day. The weather was clear and crisp - making for good photos. In my car was Gretchen, Derek, Matt, and Beth. We had something very funny happen at our final Peage (toll road) ticket booth. I put in the ticket and the machine rejected it. I put it in again - again rejected. I put it in backwards, upside down and still no luck. At this point cars were beginning to get backed up behind me. I pushed the button for "help". A man's voice was heard politely saying something in French that was probably "Do you need help?" I answered "I don't speak French. My ticket doesn't work." The next communication from the invisible voice was louder by many decibles and higher in pitch. He was probably saying something in French like “Put your ticket in the machine with the arrow pointing in.” I tried to explain, “I don’t speak French. I put the ticket in properly. There is something wrong with the machine.” The voice now was screaming at me probably saying “You stupid person. What is wrong with you. Just put the ticket in the machine.” At this point Gretchen got out of the car and walked over to the office where several people were obviously working. There was another speaker box there. She told another unseen person that we needed help. She was able to communicate that we needed someone to talk to us in English. That worked – the voice out of the speaker box next to me said in English “Where did you come from?” My answer, “America”. Of course after I said it I realized that he meant where did you enter the Peage? At this the entire group in the car, including me, broke into hysterics and we weren’t able to answer his question as 1) we couldn’t remember, and 2) we were laughing too hard to talk. Somehow eventually we pulled it together enough to say “Cavallan” and he told us to pay 1.9 Euros. We pulled away and had to pull over to the side of the road to regain our composure. As we left we looked back to see that all the cars where now backed up at the ticket booth. The machine was obviously broken.

Thanksgiving on Wednesday??

It was a beautiful fall day, cold but sunny, about 3/4 of the leaves are fallen from the trees in the patio.

We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday so that we would have a day to eat the leftovers before we all leave on Friday. Besides nobody else is celebrating this holiday so why not. We knew we wouldn’t be having turkey. The woman who I am trading houses with next summer informed me that the “expats” all special order their Thanksgiving turkeys but this must be done weeks before. So we decided to have chicken and duck.
We purchased the chickens from the “Boucharie” in Pelisanne. They were Bresse chickens. Bresse is a place in France that is famous for this particular breed of chicken. They have black feet and are the most delicious chickens you will ever taste. They also come with their feet and heads still on. The feet are easy to understand but their heads I am not sure why they are left on (feathers and all). The duck we purchased at the supermarket. It was huge and I suspect that it was really a goose but the label clearly said “canard”. The rest of the menu included a vast array of hor dourves (my personal favorite was the fois gras), turnips, carrots, green beans, stuffing, pies (apple and pumpkin), and mashed potatoes with noodles and gravy. This last may sound a little strange but it is a specialty in Beth’s family and it was the hit of the evening.
We had a great time, eating, drinking, laughing, talking, and also in a more serious vain each person told the group something they were particularly thankful for. It was a good family time including “honorary family”. After dinner we played games and then sat around the fire outside.

The house’s “caretaker” Gael joined us after dinner. He has become a regular guest almost every evening. He lives in a small house next to the main house. He is from Pellisane and his family has a winery up the road where he works. He is also in professional photography – not sure is he takes the pictures or is more of an assistant. He is very interesting, funny, and very helpful. He tells great stories and whenever he reveals something odd, negative, etc. he always makes the excuse “It is because I am French.” He is a connoisseur of all things French except when someone asked him what he thought of Beaujolis Noveau – he said “It is shit”. I think he’s right.
He is going to be leaving soon for an extended assignment in Kosovo (where he has been before). He has also been to Angor Wat. Strange since when we asked him if he’d been to Nimes (which is only about 40 miles from Pellisane) he said he was there once.
Many evenings Gael brought some wine from his family’s winery which was very good. On Thanksgiving after dinner he brought something else – an illegal and bizarre potion. It is kind of like grappa – distilled from grapes with a very high alcohol content. To this alcohol he has added two unusual additives - lemon verbena and a poisonous snake. According to Gael the snake is a “viper” that is common in vineyards in Southern France and is highly poisonous. He caught the viper “very carefully” then stuck it in the bottle upside down. He says the viper spits its venom into the liquor and once it is dead you can safely drink the concoction. I admit that I was a coward and didn’t try it but several in our group did and they said “It wasn’t bad. Tasted mainly like lemon verbena.

Back to Cassis

On Tuesday we all went to Cassis (yes I went again). It was an absolutely beautiful day and miraculously we got up early and headed down there. We got on the 11 am boat. After the boat ride we had lunch and then went for the cliff drive - same one I went on before but this time it was clearer and warmer and there weren't any Citroens. Above is the view from the cliff.

On right Kay and Tony on the boat.

Here is the view of Cassis as we headed out on the boat.


On right the first Calanque with a port. Below my favorite Calanque view.

This gives you some idea of the color and clarity of the water.

Heart of Provence

On Monday five of us headed for the "heart of Provence". We started out at the "Market" at Isle De L'Sorgue. It was a great market. We bought a lot of stuff including truffles and a squash that probably weighed more than a 3 year old child.

The town is beautiful - a river pours out of the ground straight from the Alpes. The town has canals all through it. Many ducks and water wheels. You could even see fish swimming in the canal.

On the left is a great dog who showed us around Rousillon. He clearly owned the town. It was a cool and cloudy day but with the autumn colors it still looked great.

This is the town of Rousillon - one of the most beautiful. The land there is ochre colored and so everything (cliffs, houses, other buildings) is all orange, pink, or yellow.

We found a wonderful small winery on the way into town. They only had two whites, two reds but they were delicious and the price was right so we brought some back to the house.



And then of course - the best of the best - Gordes. Such a beautiful place - made even more memorable due to Peter Mayle's books - this was the town he lived in - "A Year in Provence". We found a cozy little place for lunch - literally three tables, a kitchen, and a wood stove. Very cozy. Place was "Marianne's". Marianne is the owner, cook, and wait staff. It was wonderful.

Here is the group that made the trip plus me - Sarah Wernert, her friend Trish, Pete Wernert, and his wife Casey.

This was a great and very Provencal day.

Pont Du Gard

On Sunday the entire group drove to Pont Du Garde - the Roman Aquaduct outside of Nimes. It is huge and was beautiful in the late afternoon light. We tried to get there earlier in the day but it is very hard to get a group of 14 out the door quickly in the morning.

On the right is Sarah Wernert with niece Ellie walking near the river below Pont Du Garde.

Above is Ellie's brother Matt, Grandpa Tony, and Mom Maureen. They are standing underneath Pont Du Gard.

On the right and beow is the full Pont Du Garde.

It was a good day but a lot of driving.

Provence - A Year in Provence in a Week

A Year in Provence in a Week
Saturday - November 20 – Farmhouse in Pellisane with the Wernert Clan
We arrived here late yesterday afternoon. Amazingly we all met up in Aix – this took some major coordination. Tony, Kay, Gretchen, Derek, and I drove from Languedoc and managed to pick up Sarah and her friend, Trish, at the Aix TGV station. Peter, Casey, Maureen, Mathew, and Ellie had flown into Marseille, rented a car and were driving north to Aix where we had not arranged a meeting point. It was very challenging as we had one cell phone communication link to Maureen from Kay. That group had arrived Marseille before we did but they didn’t know where they were. After a lot of confusing telephone conversation we decided that, since they didn’t know where they were but it looked like the center of the city, they should just get out of the car, find a place to eat lunch and call us back with the name of the restaurant. A stroke of luck, we pulled up to the main plaza and we were right in front of the right restaurant.
We found the house easily. It is unbelievably beautiful – looks just like it did on the website. It is huge!!! There are so many bedrooms, baths, and other rooms like the “reading room” – it feels a bit like a modern castle. Above are some pictures of it.

Too Busy

Sorry to be late but have been too busy to post. Have lots of really cool pics to post and stories to tell but won't be able to fit this in until late today or tomorrow.

November 18 and 19 - Corbiere Languedoc

November 18 – 19 – Ornasions – Corbiere Region
I’ve had two pretty quiet days. Tom & Toni left yesterday. I dropped them off at the Perpignan Airport at 2 pm. The airport was so small I thought we must be at the commuter terminal and that there must be a second terminal for commercial planes. Wrong…. This was the one and only terminal.
I spent the rest of my day/evening reflecting on stuff – this trip, the past year, the past 6 years (that’s when John was diagnosed and had first surgery), and the future. Everything was actually good. No need to go into detail here.
Today I drove to Montpellier to make arrangements to bring car back there instead of Perpignan (as it is much closer) and checked out the town a bit. It is big (that is very big for Languedoc Region of France). The downtown plaza is definitely a “happening” place. I found a nice hotel within an easy walk from train station (downhill) so it will be easy to go there from hotel with luggage. I will stay there on the 27th and then take train on 28th to Barcelona and then fly home on the 29th.
I actually love driving the rental car. Neither Michael or Tom wanted any help driving (it’s a “guy” thing) so yesterday was my first time driving on this trip. I love the car – it is a stick shift Skoda diesel and has tons of power. I must admit I really enjoyed doing high speeds on the Peage (French for freeway). I drove also on small roads and through several towns with very narrow streets. I did fine – no dents/bumps and never let the motor die. Now I’ll have to adjust back to an automatic when I get home.
Tonight I will be joined by part of the Wernert clan (Kay, Tony, Gretchen, Derek). Kay is John’s cousin and Tony is her husband. Gretchen one of their five grown children and Derek is Gretchen’s husband. Kay & Tony, and their children and grandchildren, are part of my extended family. Kay & Tony live in San Francisco and have been a big part of John’s and my life. The rest of clan (except Jeremy) will be spending the next week here in the South of France. We’ve rented a big house in the country in the village of Pellisane. It’s going to be a great Thanksgiving!!! We converge on the rental property at 4 pm tomorrow.

Corbiere hotel and the beachsouth

There are sandy beaches south of here - also south from my house next summer. Not so pretty as the rocky beaches of Cassis, Colloiure, or Cadaquez but probably a lot more comfortable for swimming. The water looked beautiful.

Here is our hotel. It comes with a great big lovable lab named Jeff.

cadaques pics

Boats in the harbor. Above right - Aaron and Elaine a delightful couple from NYC who are traveling the Costa Brava and painting watercolors. We should all be so happy in old age together!

On right is a view of the town. What a pretty place.

Cap D'Crues the furthest eastern point in Spain.

November 17 - Abeilhan

November 17th – The Abeilhan House
A few months ago I decided to advertize my San Francisco Home on a website for house exchange. I already had this current trip planned. I posted my home on the website pretty hurriedly and didn’t include much info other than it has a great view of the city and a nice garden. One of the early “hits” I got was from a couple who are from San Jose but now live in the South of France full time. The husband works at UCSF a few months of the year and they were interested in my house for 2 months next summer. They came and saw my house in September and decided that they wanted to swap with me. I tentatively agreed and since I was going to be in their “neighborhood” on this trip I went to check their place. Sharon, and her husband Mel, live in Albeilhan, a small village in the middle of the wine country – closest sizable town is Pezenas (spelled wrong probably). Sharon invited us to come for lunch today.
We drove to Abeilhan without much trouble. It is a small village and their home is on the main road and is pretty old and very quaint. We had a lovely lunch, great food, and even better conversation with Sharon, Mel, and their friend Gerard. The house is perfect for me and I am hoping that I will have lots of company there. The beach is 30 minutes away, there are wineries everywhere, and the location is really ideal. The house comes with two dogs and a car. I am hoping to bring Angel with me – pretty sure at this point. Sharon was a wonderful hostess – we had fish soup, a beautiful salad, quiche, and dessert tart – pastis and delicious local wine. We had a great time and lots of laughs. They assured me that there is a lot going on there in the summer and I think it will be great.
After lunch we drove to a winery they recommended and I loaded up on some wine for Thanksgiving week with the Wernert clan.
This evening was the last with Tom & Toni. They head back home tomorrow. We had some serious and very good conversation about the trip overall and reflected on the past year – tomorrow is the first anniversary of John’s death. It has been wonderful to be able to share with them so many places that John and I loved – made it possible for me to return here. Had I tried to do this alone it would have been just too hard. I am so glad that they found the places as beautiful as John & I did. We made some toasts to John, shed a few tears, and there was some good closure in that. I miss John and always will but life does go on and in a way he has come on the trip with me.

November 16 - A road well traveled

November 16 th – A Well Traveled Road
We left Spain on the 16th – Monday. Cadaques was hard to leave. I took a few photos before leaving which I will post right after this one. It looks a lot like Collouire - but where Collouire has pastel houses, everything in Cadaques is either bright white or deep blue. It’s a mighty pretty place.
Said goodbye to Aaron and Elaine – an older couple that were staying at our hotel and also went on the same Dali house tour that we did. They make you jealous that you haven’t been able to grow old with the love of your life – still vital and enjoying themselves and each other. They are from Manhattan and both are very talkative and very positive. At this point they both paint (small water colors) and are doing a trip from Barcelona to Collouire and back. They paint what they see (and or feel). Elaine was the first one to paint and has been doing it for 20 years. Aaron used to take photos but now he paints too and Elaine thinks he’s getting better than her. Aaron was a CPA in the rock and roll business back in the 1970s. Elaine went on some “road trips” as his representative. They have known a lot of “stars” and were full of fun stories which I am sure are true.
We left Cadaques around 11 am and drove north to France. At the border we noticed that they were stopping a lot of cars and taking them apart as they searched them full. Of course we were just waved through being old and white.
We got to our hotel in the Corbiere region of Languedoc pretty early (e.g., 2:30 pm). Driving through the acres and acres (here make that hectors and hectors) of beautiful grapes, we were anxious to sample the “vin”. This is such a beautiful time of year here, the grapes are many shades of reds and yellows – in patches as all that were planted at the same, and are of the same variety, are the same color. Makes a beautiful patchwork.
The hotel here is beautiful – looks quite old, “Mas” style, covered in vines and with very nice grounds and pool. We asked our host for advice saying we’d like to go to some wineries and taste the local products. He suggested going to the Abbey Fontfroid – at the end of the tour they provide tastings and you can purchase local wine. I was completely out of $ and needed an ATM. Our host said that I would need to drive to Lezignan which was about 15 miles away – in the opposite direction from the Abbey. We drove there and I got $. We then drove back to the Abbey now about 25 miles from Lezignan. Got there, went in, and learned that the Abbey was open for tours but closed for wine tasting (season over). So being much more interested in wine than the Abbey we asked where we might find a winery open for tasting. We were told that all the wineries are closed for tasting but that the wine center in Lezignan (where we had just been) was open. So we drove back there (25 miles) and, you guessed it…. It was closed too. We had just spent 2 hours driving back and forth, back and forth and no wine tasting. We bought some rather yucky rose at a grocery store and came back to the hotel.
Dinner at the hotel was a pretty formal affair, very good food, nice setting, and expensive. We did enjoy it though – not the best day of our trip.

A day of 5 events - November 15th

November 15th a Day of 5 Events
Event #1 - Port Lligat – Dali’s House
From Barbara:
This morning we headed out for our final Dali experience – his house in Port Lligat (a village just north of Cadaquez). The pictures of his house really tell the story. He lived in Port Lligat most of his life (even before he had the house). The house was created out of several fisherman’s shacks. Dali designed the place and everything in it reflects him and Gala. Dali didn’t marry prior to Gala and he wasn’t young when he did. She was about 10 years older than he. She was married to someone else and had some children. She and her husband visited Dali together (don’t know what the nature of their previous relationship was) but she ended up staying with Dali. They obviously were very much in love for the entire time they were together. He credits her with much of his success and says she was his inspiration for his finest work. Visiting their home is very personal and you get a real feeling for their joy and their quirkiness. When Gala died Dali left the house and never returned so the house is very much just the way it was when they were last there together. One of the best things was viewing a pieced together film of their “home movies”. Dali performs throughout and he is really fun.
From Tom: The house and the art and the décor and Gala and Dali are one. It seemed we were there for 10 minutes, but it was over 1 hour. I would go back in a heartbeat. Dali said: “to be a great artist requires just one thing – to be married to my wife”. That just about sums it up.
Event #2 Cap D’ Crues
From Barbara:
After the visit to Dali’s house we drove to the end of Cap D’ Crues – a rocky point which is the eastern most place in Spain – of course “Cataluyna is no Espana” but at least it is the eastern most part of the Iberian Peninsula.
From Tom:
The Cap is almost an island, connected to the main by a high, narrow causeway. It appears 90% rock, 10% scrubby bushes with one small tree. Beautiful blue-green water with a small island off-shore. Quite unique!
Event #3 – The Ruins
From Barbara:
We had no other plans for the day – and it was too soon to just go back to Cadaques so we drove south to a little town on the map – on the water – Escala. We didn’t know anything about it – it just looked well located. As we pulled into the town we saw a sign for “ruins” so we followed the signs. Amazing…..
The ruins were those of not one, but two, ancient cities. The once closest to the water is Greek and the second one is Roman. They are both HUGE and are not even 50% excavated. I have been to quite a few ruins before but the only one that is larger than this is Ephesis. The excavation at this site began in 1908 and it is not expected to be finished for at least 100 years. We were fascinated and impressed. I can’t believe we’ve never even heard of this place.
From Tom: The Greek ruins date from the 3rd century BC. There is a very large town square/market that was the trading center. Each market house (9 on one side) contained a large cistern, some over 20 feet deep. They contained olive oil and preserved fish – and God knows what else – for trade.
Of extreme interest, in the museum, was a 2 inch diameter lead pipe with a valve in it. Indoor plumbing in 300 BC!
One small portion of the Roman ruin had been completely excavated and rebuilt to it’s prime form. It was incredible!
Event #4 Escala – The Town
From Barbara:
Afterwards we drove into the town proper. It is delightful with wonderful beaches – many with sand. This is place to travel to that appears somewhat undiscovered – at least to us Americans. We had a light lunch overlooking a small beach. Lunch was mostly anchovies – salad with anchovies, bread with anchovies. Very nice. We have become very fond of these tiny fishes.
I hope to take some Cadaques pictures in the morning before we head back to France. This leg of the trip is nearly over. Can’t believe it has gone so fast.
Event #5 - Dinner
From: Barbara
From Tom:

http://www.elbarroco.net
From Toni: Dinner was quite an experience. I have a friend from Catalunyae who lives in San Francisco and I had e-mailed her asking where she had been born. I mentioned that we were in Cataque and she said that her husband had proposed to her in a restaurant called el Barraco in the village of Cataques.
From Tom: When Toni told us this I went to the hotel desk and told the woman there a somewhat embellished story about Natasha. I asked her to call the restaurant. She did – they were closed. I whined a little and she called the restaurant again. She obviously knew the owner and they spoke in Catalunyese. I had no clue. She then told me that the owner would open the restaurant for us and prepare dinner. We arrived at the restaurant to see an empty dining room and were warmly welcomed by a very interesting looking man who was obviously the owner. We went into a second dining room to a table prepared for three. The owner engaged us in a conversation that led us to guess his country of origin. The key word was “cedar” which eventually lead me to guess that he was from Lebanon-bingo! The meal was wonderful. Because we were the only people there it was smoke free (they still smoke in restaurants in Spain – UG!)
From: Barbara
The restaurant, the owner and his family, were delightful. The restaurant was designed by Dali (we didn’t know this until today when we checked out the website.
You can check it out too. http://www.elbarroco.net
Instead of talking about this history of the restaurant etc. the owner talked with us about his love of classical music and good food. The background music was classical. In fact this added to the ambience and it was truly a classy place. We met his wife and two daughters. The food was also wonderful – hummous, baba ganoush, a fish infused dip, a beautiful fish in delicious sauce, and stuffed squid. The décor was very beautiful but not pretentious at all. After dinner, the owner took us into a side room and showed us a variety of antiques/art objects. Toni was tempted by a chandelier but there isn’t any room in her suitcase. We left the restaurant, very happy and well fed and having enjoyed such a personal and warm evening – and very touched that this nice man opened his closed restaurant to us. A very special evening.
After looking at the website today I realize I saw the restaurant when John and I visited years ago. The outside has a Dali-esque painting on it and the patio is white and bright blue.
From Toni: I still want that chandelier it would have matched my bathroom. Maybe it will still be here next summer.

Dali Pics

This is the Dali Museum in Figuredes. How do you like the eggs on top? Here is the in the plaza as you enter.

Best of all though is his house. Here are some stuffed swans. You may recognize the swans from images in some of his most well known paintings


To the right is a room that is designed so sound echoes eveywhere. It must have been a lot of fun when the had company. Below is a little room with a fireplace. See the small chairs? Gala collected them so there are many of them aroung the house. These remind me of Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear,

Here is their bedroom and the swimming pool.

I'll post some more pictures of the house in the next post. Takes so long to upload them. Now I have to go pack so we can go back to France today.