To London

This was our annual car trip to the UK with a boot full of wine. While we are there, we will be looking after Ernie while Helen returns to work.

This time, we are travelling over 3 days stopping at Issoire just south of Clermont Ferrand and our usual stop at Chartres. This was fortunate as the journey was horrid because of heavy rain as far as Calais.

Issoire is a small town in the Auvergne, just south of Clermont Ferrand. It is just off the A75, the motorway which connects Montpellier and Béziers with Paris, so very convenient for a stop over. We had stopped there on previous journeys, but it is only 3 hours from us and usually, we prefer to drive for longer before stopping for the night.

The symbol for Issoire




The town hall is impressive


It has an imposing church, Saint Austremoine




The Couze river was very full after a period of high rainfall over France.




We wandered around the town and eventually chose a traditional French restaurant were we enjoyed a meal.





This was John's plate with frogs legs






The next day, we drove on through almost continuous rain to our next stop in Chartres where we stayed at our usual hotel right in the centre of the town

The post office







and enjoyed a super meal at Le Tripot, where we had reserved a table.


The rain continued on the following day and only stopped as we approached the Chanel Tunnel.





In the UK we stayed again in a small flat about 20 minutes walk from Helen and Nick for 4 weeks, followed by another week at at Helen's.

This is the view from the window





We were involved in looking after Ernie during the week and soon established a routine: shopping (which Ernie hates so John walks him round the block while Pat rushes around), visits to the park, cups of tea at a local cafe when the weather was particularly bad, visits to our flat by bus, local baby sessions and suchlike. A rest for us while Ernie has his nap,

Tuesday was our day off and we were usually able to have Sunday lunch en famille (including James).

A selection of photos of the little lad: on a swing in Finsbury Park





In the lovely, friendly, children's book shop in Crouch End called Pickled Pepper where you are welcome to sit and read a book.




Ernie loves their cooker; it will so much easier when he can stand up unaided





Swinging. He expected a trip to the park every day for the swings, slides, seesaw, balls etc




Sunday lunch




was usually in a pub




While we were in the UK, we managed to catch up with a few friends in London and managed one meal at our favourite restaurant in Cambridge with our friends Brian and Rachel.

With Nina in Finsbury Park





We went to the new local theatre, The Park, close to Finsbury Park station and also to Shakespere's Globe with old Cambridge friends.



After seeing The Tempest we went on to the brasserie at the Oxo tower. The view across the Thames towards St Pauls is magnificent.





We ate several times at the little jazz club close to our flat.





We also went across to Dalston to eat with James at another favourite restaurant, Mangal.

John's cousin, Sandra, came across from Belfast to see us all and meet Ernie for the first time. Unfortunately, he seems to be suspicious of anyone with dark hair and white skin, so it took a while for him to smile!

We also saw old friends Brian and Penny and Pat met her lifelong friend, Liz who came up from Eastbourne.

John spent some time at our house in Cambridge doing annual maintenance while Pat made trousers for Ernie or otherwise amused herself.

After 5 weeks in the UK, we were sorry to leave the family, but were ready to come home and return to the warmer climate off the south of France.

After so long away, we had forgotten to plan to be away from home when the village fete is on at the end of our small road, so we will be sleep deprived for a couple of nights!


Pat and John on tour

A quick trip to the Costa Brava

Now that John is well on the way to recovery after his op and is no longer being visited daily by the local nurse, there is time to slip away for a couple of days before our trip to the UK to help look after Ernie.

When we came off the motorway, we stopped at the first village we passed through, Verges. There we found a choice of restaurants and chose one with a garden.





The menu was all in Catalan, but we managed to decode it with the help of a very friendly waiter. We didn't make the best choices, but did enjoy our meal. We then wandered around Verges before setting off for our hotel. It was a small village with a stream that powered a water wheel.








We had decided to try a hotel that we had spotted on our January visit to the Costa Brava, the Sant Roc at Calella de Palafruell. The Sant Roc has a wonderful position high on the rocks on the edge of the village and was offering special rates for the over 60s. At the beginning of May, everything is open but while there are tourists around there is space in the hotels and restaurants.



The hotel is very impressive on the outside, looking like a five star establishment, but as with other spanish hotels we have stayed in, the grand edifice does not necessarily reflect the interior. The rooms were very comfortable, but breakfasts were not inspiring and the restaurant did not get good reviews so we ate elsewhere. However, the views for the terrace were stunning.








We spent the first evening wandering along the shore. The village is made up of many small bays each with its own name.










We ate just near the small fishing boats in a well positioned but not very good restaurant.

The next day, we walked through Calella and on to the next big bay, Llfranc. We had visited Llfranc in February and thought that there were some good restaurants to try. The coastal walk there is really scenic and we were taking the same photos as in February.











We found a small family restaurant just off the sea front where we had a very good meal.





In the evening we walked in the opposite direction along the coastal path, the GR92 which is a coastal path from Portbou on the French/Spanish Mediterranean border down past Barcelona and beyond. The path is not hard walking, but there are scary bits and magnificent scenery.














We then went off to eat and found a lovely tapas bar in Calella, called Calau.





As well as the tapas on the counter, staff came round with just-cooked hot tapas to tempt us; they succeeded! We never had time to help ourselves at the counter as we struck up interesting conversations with an Irish couple and a Belgian couple.

The next day, we set off for home, intending to call in at several other bays on the way. Our first stop was Fournells which appeared to be an upmarket village with a hotel and private harbour.







From here, we could join another part of the GR92 along the coast, discovering the rocky coastline and empty beaches.





We stopped at this beach for a cup of tea before turning back to the car. Above the beach was the posh Parador Hotel of Aiguabrava.









Our next stop was Tamariu: a small resort with a beach, three hotels and several restaurants. We walked around the bay and then along another part of the Gr92 before it was time for lunch.











We had a good lunch with a bottle of rosé and decided to stay the night.

The following day, we again set out for home, this time via Begus, a small, busy town with a 'fort'.





When we reached the 'fort', we discovered that it was really a rocky outcrop with some very small walls around it.




From the top, you can see Bégur in the foreground, Lestartit with its rocks and islands and Rosas in the distance. In another direction you could see the sea and high-rise blocks of Palamos and Platja D'Aro.



Bégur nestles between three hills









So then it was time for home and a meal with friends in Maraussan, a village not far from here. Now we are preparing for our next trip to the UK by car to help look after Ernie while Helen returns to work.




Pat and John on tour