Ready, Set, Go!

Our countdown of sleeps has come to an end ... with only one more sleep on the plane (we hope to have a restful night during our flight) before our rendezvous with la Belle France,  

All travel arrangements are made, flights and car rental  booked plus we found the perfect accommodation in the quaint, tiny village of Montlaur in the Aude department, Occitane region (formerly Langedouc-Roussillon). 

We will spend a little over a month here this time. 

We are packed and are “Ready & Set to Go” ... 



 À bientôt. 

Time in Tarragona

Sunday, April 28th, 2019 ... I’m writing this post as I’m readying to embark on our next adventure. I still have plenty of photos and stories to share of our 2018 Spanish trip and will have to comeback later to finish them. 

Monday, June 25th, 2018 

After staying put in Torredembarra for the long weekend due to all of the festivities and swarms of visitors (we weren’t certain we’d find a parking space if we took the car out); we ventured out today on a road trip to visit the city of Tarragona. All we wanted to do was wander and discover this city. 

Description

Tarragona is a port city in northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. 

It was founded before the 5th century BC. 

“There are many ancient ruins from its time as the Roman colony of Tarraco. 

The Roman Amphitheater is a 2nd-century arena facing the Mediterranean, the Necropolis contains Roman tombs, and traces of the Forum stand among the alleys of the walled, medieval Old Town. 

There is a walkway along the ramparts with long views of the city” ... info from Wikipedia 

This “Human Tower” is a monument dedicated to the “castellers by the Catalan sculptor Francesc Anglès i Garcia. 

It is located on Rambla Nova de Tarragona.  It was inaugurated on May 29, 1999.



The Mediterranean balcony ...


Two views of the Roman Amphitheater ...


                                        



Mural painted on a building in Placa Sedassos.

Art Deco entrance doors to an antique shop ...


We wandered throughout the city, enjoyed a delicious lunch and wandered some more ...



I’m still trying to catch up on my posts ... G & M are waiting to see and read more about Seville.  

I will be posting for the next while about our current travels in France. 

We arrived early this morning ... April 29th, 2019. 

It’s Party Time in Torredembarra

 The weekend of June 22nd to June 24th, 2018. 

It’s Friday, June 22nd, 2018 the beginning of a long weekend of festivities throughout Spain.  The weather promises to be wonderful for the “Big Party” to celebrate the Feast of Saint John.  

On the eve of  Saint John Day (Saturday, June 23rd, 2018 many celebrations are held throughout Spain). 

In Torredembarra, the feast of Saint John is also known as the festival of Sea Bass. 

During the weekend of Saint John, there are bonfires, dances, festivals, singing and plenty of fun and partying.

Lots of activity happening on the beach, promenade and in the squares in preparation for the festivities. 

On our morning walk we watched as many places were being decked out in colourful flags and ribbons ...

We’re not sure what’s actually happening at each location but I’m sure it will all become clear soon. 

Regatta finals were held on our beach, so we had front row seats from the balcony. There were so many people. 

It’s like Señor always says about watching the Formula 1 whenever I suggest he go to the actual event/ location to watch the race ... “you can see so much more from the comfort of your home on the television rather than sitting in the stands and only seeing what’s flashing by at that specific spot”.

 

From the balcony we could see it all in living colour just like watching it on a wide screen tv. 

After the races were over there was lots of comadarie, food and wine for the participants and guests.

The festivities continued all weekend with dancing in the streets, parades, bon fires and fireworks.

  

     

This structure was built on the beach earlier in the week ... pallets on pallets piled high and then fenced in! 

Here it is lighting up the sky ...and then the firework spectacle also provided light and colour for the sky every night. 

Where did all these people come from? 

This is overlooking “La Sirga” ... we were so happy that we chose to have our dinner date on Thursday night before all the festivities started.

  









The square on Monday morning ... soon it will all be cleaned up.

It was a busy weekend, maybe a little noisy ... the revellers partied until the wee hours of the morning. 

Early Monday morning view of beach groomed and cleaned, ready for everyone’s enjoyment this week.

Today we are heading to Tarragona for a different view. 

Come back soon for some more posts ... 

La Sirga Dinner Date with Señor Honey

21st June 2018 

After a little siesta and getting glammed up a bit we were ready for our night out. We didn’t have far to go. As you can see “La Sirga Restaurant” is located on the ground floor of our apartment building. There is no indoor seating, the dining area is in a framed structure in front of the building. There is a bar area and of course the Gelato Bar. 

The high top bar tables and stools is great place for an apero. A perfect perch for people watching.

     

And just maybe we stopped here a couple of evenings for a little gelato! 

My Señor Honey looked pretty dapper tonight. 

Our server, Carlos was on top of his game tonight. His recommendations were artistically presented and delicious.

Most delicious mussels ...

The freshest salad plate ... served on thin slices of pineapple! 

The recommended “Paella” for two ...


Carlos preparing our plates ...

Paella 

Dessert ...

We had an enjoyable evening with the most scrumptious food & wine, great service.

Just Another Day at the Beach

Thursday, June 21st, 2018 ... today we woke to views of the beautiful, bluer than blue sky.

It didn’t take long for the town workers to be busy. 

There seems to be a beehive of activity with lots of preparation for the “Festa Major de Sant Joan” which is happening on our beach for three days this weekend Friday to Sunday.

I’ll be writing and sharing more about that in another post. 

After a slow start to the day, we headed out for more exploring along the promenade. 
It was all about olives today.  Look at the size of this trunk. This tree is ancient. 

Here’s Señor Honey standing next to the trunk to give it some perspective.

He measures 5ft. 6 inches tall.

As we continued our stroll we discovered this display at a roundabout. 

This olive press was gifted to the village by the Torrens Family. 

It was another hot day, time to find a cool drink ... a table at a café with views of the beach below. 

                                                                

We sauntered back towards our apartment; admiring the gigantic flowers and rich colours of the various tropical blooms. 

  

                             

     

It was time for a light lunch ... some tapas at L’Ham which means hook (one of the many sea side restaurants/cafés on the promenade) while we watched all the activity on the beach. 

A little calamari ...  yummy! 

After chatting with our server, we decided it might be wise to have dinner at La Sirga tonight rather than on the weekend during the “Festa” which translates to “ Big Party”. 

Table for two reserved for 8PM, lots of time for a siesta. 

You’ll have to come back to read about our dinner date.