What's new? (Spoiler alert!) and a Funny First Month

A film location!

Dave gave us the rundown during the drive up from the airport, and it was pretty comprehensive in the coverage. It seems we had missed "fun and games" as the new bit of road was opened in full and the national park beaches had been accessible only from one end. We had also missed the lengthy period of filming near there for "Wonderwoman". What a shame! Anyway the new road is a great improvement, and we have been  - in the first month back here - discovering other developments - if not universally accepted as improvements!  Unfortunately one of our first discoveries was that we had missed this year's Blues Festival by a matter of days! Our re-acquaintance with the town has been slower than usual owing to our succumbing sequentially to a foul cough which has been doing the rounds, to a snowballing of health appointments, and to a run of very wet days! Nonetheless here are some of the more significant changes - passing over the now-traditional recycling of Italian coffee bars!

It had been on the cards when we left in the Spring! On the triangle of land outside Pescaditos (where there was once a set of play apparatus) is now a huge restaurant with an upstairs terrace and masses of outdoor tables. Its view is - of course - magnificent, but the scale is too big, and reports of the food and service are - as yet- not good! It has finally put Pescaditos out of its recent misery, and left Dave and Pete and their regular audience at a bit of a loss! Tu Casa III has lost its harbour view as well, but has exploited its street side and expanded.

This development suddenly seemed minor two weeks ago, when - overnight - they started to pull down the unremarkable Garden Grill, which spread along in front of the Hoplaco Apartments (where Greyrocks had stayed during the property purchase). A few days later three enormous palms were excavated and removed, and demolition is ongoing! Meanwhile the line of three catering establishments that line the path from street to beach are thriving. There have been changes of ownership and even name, but not at Greyrocks' favourite: the Dutch owned Anno 2011! We wait to see what will be built on the street. As Grumpy Old Folk we glumly predict fashion, shoes, jewellery and perfume shops! Just what we need! (And maybe an estate agent and an Italian coffee shop)

Near us there has been one of the restaurant closures:- next to the German bakers a total failure of a place called Miro has unsurprisingly gone, and in its place a spanking and brightly decorated eatery has been emerging all month. No prizes for guessing its genre:- pizza! It does look promising, though!

Also nearing completion (perhaps) is the upper part of the Marquesina building. For two seasons it has been swathed in netting with some occasional work, whilst the much-beautified restaurant (a Greyrocks favourite) has continued to to operate below.  Now two sides look finished and there is a trendy external lift.  We are thinking "boutique hotel"!

Not that it is looking (or smelling) too great this week!


Right outside it, and complicating access to the Town Beach is a vast abyss! (We looked into it as we pondered Brexit) All over town there are unspecified "obras" (works) involving trenches. It is making the parking situation even more desperate for those that must - or those many tourists who hire cars for no obvious reason. It seems all to be about drainage and maybe follows on from the two last very wet spells (one just before and one since our arrival). Sitting at La Lonja by the marina a few days ago we watched (and smelt) an hour or so of activity centred on a manhole 50 metres away. What came out was not a pretty sight! Which leads to news that the main town eyesore - the abandoned huge hotel construction at the entry to town - may have had a little cosmetic work!

It's good to be home. In the first week we visited Puerto de Rosario for a knee inspection (full marks!) and saw their pedestrianisation enjoying tapas by the "new" beach, we used up another session at the spa - although Ruth had to adopt a strange one-armed stroke in the pool following the finger injury - and we went on a day trip with Pete and Sandy next door, as they had a (well-justified) hire car! Unfortunately this was during the dodgy weather, but we went to Lidl and found our Xmas fare, then to Gran Tarajal where we had a stroll round and some tapas. Soon after the lurgy struck Bob!

(The post concerning two significant birthdays toward the end of the month is going to miss the November date stamp!)

Time to head South!

The last post hinted that the weather for our last few days on Mainland Europe was "disappointing". There were spots of good luck, but expectations about what can happen at this time of year were met! Our last full day was just solid rain. We had jobs to do, and were warm enough inside, but kept looking out from the terrace and retreating. At one point we made it out to the street and just came straight back in to create a lunch from leftovers. There was no scope for "last looks round" or special last suppers. We took a disintegrating umbrella to one of the nearest places that evening and then came "home"!
A bit of good fortune in that next morning it wasn't actually raining as we performed the check-out rituals and loaded the bikes on the rack! Then we had an easy drive out of the city to pick up the A9 and head south. It was dry, but just as we passed Perpignan airport (where Greyrocks traditionally looks to see if late Gaddafi's plane is still there!) the rain started and followed us for three days! It is not the first time we have crossed the Pyrenees in heavy rain, and this was not the worst; and at least we knew the route to Roses!

Umbrellas not parasols this time!

We stayed two nights in our favourite little hotel, and how different it was from just a month previous! We arrived around lunchtime and the parking lot was one big puddle. We shared amazed laughs with the lady of the house and she lent us a big umbrella so we could get across to one of our regular haunts for a late lunch. There we stayed for as long as was reasonable, bought an over-priced bottle of wine from the shop next door and waddled back to stay in all afternoon and evening. Next day was little better - and also cold - so we went to the supermarket and stocked up for a similar catering model! Somewhere along the line we manged a rain-free hour or so to prepare Yvette for the winter, and our baggage for the Canary flight. Good food and wine on both days - as usual - but not according to schedule!

We left Yvette in the usual capable hands and then spent hours in Girona airport during a time when there were literally no flights in or out. The bus was half an hour late, and it was cold at the bus stop. Fingers were crossed that it wouldn't be raining when we got to Barcelona airport and/or that the hotel shuttle wouldn't be too much later. Half right:- long cold wait but no rain, and further good news was that after a stay in April that was disappointing the room and meal were both good this time! In the morning, however, we woke to serious rain, and we got drenched getting to and from the shuttle. Vueling now have very efficient self-check-in machines, so that bit, and security were soon done and we faced another long wait. At the gate they were casting around for volunteers as the flight was over-booked, and that set the tone! There was no jetty at the gate and were driven out to the plane, where a full load of passengers waited on ground or stairs in the heavy rain to board. There was a protracted dispute about some seat that delayed us, and we both had infuriating seating neighbours. In removing a rucksack Ruth wrenched tendons on her little finger (still causing pain four weeks later!) We arrived only a shade late, and were we pleased??

Greyrocks had come through these last few days of cold and rain in the belief that the Canaries were having a better time; but as he drove us home Dave told us of the previous week's remarkable rain storms. That cheered us up a bit!!

.. and the conclusion of the MTP month: mixed bag of weather, but some high spots!

The weather did improve, and one of the first experiences was a session of bowling organised by Neil - the Australian we had met through Inter Nations. Only five of us were there - and his dog! We went by tram and had a bit of a walk through unknown industrial area! Ruth didn't play (nor did the dog) and Bob won both games, making it worth wearing jeans and shoes! We had a long and interesting chart afterwards and got a lift back to the tram, (Which was nice!!)

Delights of eating in France!

And in another event that is hardly French, we went to try for fish and chips at The Beehive, believing it to be open all day, but it wasn't! But we did go back on a later date, and as a result of the disappointment went down to see what had happened to a third English pub we remembered.  The Robin Hood is now a small brasserie - open all hours and serving Thai/Vietnamese dishes. It merited a Trip Advisor entry and a second visit! Other gastronomic delights included Sunday lunch at the Moroccan place in Port Ariane in  Lattes. We had cycled there - a major outing for Ruth - to find it not only open but happy to serve us at a rather late hour, so we spent several hours there in the sun and left our glasses outside as agreed! Ruth went back on the tram! Next day things didn't seem right, and we later discovered this was a week's holiday for all French schools, so places were a bit packed, but not the swimming pool!

On the Wednesday we met in Carnon - the third nearby resort we like. Ruth went by tram and (very crowded) bus, and Bob cycled. It soon became clear that there was a very strong wind, which had made his ride a struggle, and - having met at the marina where there are dozens of restaurants - we did another post-2.30 job and found ourselves with no prospect of the desired moules, nor indeed anything else warming! Tant pis! We relaxed in a bar after a take-away baguette and the headed back. Ruth's bus was packed - of course - having come from Palavas, and there was a long wait for the tram, then suddenly there was a bell, and Bob appeared having decided enough was enough and would take the bike back on the tram!

The wind had dropped by next day, and it was looking as if the good weather would be with us until departure. We even had another joint bike ride, first to look at some potential rentals for April, and then to explore the Marché du Lez. We have been seeing how crowded the car park here is a s it has been developing from old industrial/commercial buildings beside the river. but we had no idea what it was like. Think Camden Lock -French style! Quirky shops, old vehicles, pop-up street food and trendy restaurants. The food looked great and after looking around and some beer we headed for some, but it was nearly 2.30, so "foiled again"! It is definitely on the list for next time!

The deterioration in weather over the next few days will be described in the next post as part of a soggy return, but worthy of particular note was an exhibition we had toured earlier. In the Spring of 2017 a bizarre coincidence was three activities with the theme of Slavery. This month saw two on the theme of Civil Rights. A major exhibition (and free!) of photographs from the south of USA  in the Sixties was utterly engaging. A matter of days later we were at Utopia to see BlackKlansman:- semi-biographical and with so many resonances. add to that the current state of USA and it is another trio!