Sojourn to Seté

#TossadeMar#Sete#lepetitbistro#Risotto

Tuesday morning we said "Adios " to Tossa de Mar starting our travels north out of Spain into the south of France.

A window to the Mediterranean ...

A last view of the old castle ...

We had pre planned our stays for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday ...(more about that in the following posts) but only decided the previous evening to have a one night stop in Seté.

And it was Tuesday after all ... Monsieur Honey's line ... "It is laundry day!"

Checked in to our Hotel for the night and enjoyed a cool beverage on the terrace... Then wandered done by the water, discovered the laundromat and decided to do the wash before heading out of Seté in the morning.

We asked the barman for a restaurant recommendation and we were told to go to " Le Petit Bistro"... Ah yes we walked by it's closed doors. 

After some inquiring we learnt that it opened at 7PM, and we were advised to make a reservation by the hotel receptionist.

"Really, do we need one?" We both asked in disbelief.

"Oh, mais oui, Monsieur!" ... a table for two for 7:30PM was reserved.

At the appointed time, dressed for dinner we sauntered down the street ... Only to find an empty restaurant with the owner/ chef and waitress eating their meals. 

We were told to take a table and soon they would be with us.

Patiently we sat and wondered if we were the only ones for the night ... by eight thirty every table in the house was occupied.

As it was so busy ... we only took one photo so as not to disturb the other clientele.

The food was delicious and beautifully presented...

Here is Monsieur Honey's choosen dish ...

A creamy risotto with mushrooms, shrimp, green asparagus tips ... the shrimp were more the size of baby lobsters.

When it was served we both looked into each other's eyes and Monsieur became Grandpa for moment saying ... I know what our Mason would say ........."It's Bug Night, Grandma!"

The boys like to give their evening meals a themed name ... i.e. If we are having ham, it's "Ham Night".

Next morning after our petit déjeuner, we were off to the laundromat only to find the machines out of order ...

Welcome to France!

The Roman Villa

Sunday morning we toured a classic example of a Roman Mediterranean farming establishment ... Els Ametllers dating from the Ist Century BC to the 6th Century AD was discovered in 1914.

The sea-facing villa was located on the eastern slopes of Can Magi hill overlooking the bay and was built on two levels.

The dwelling was on the upper level and the lower level housed the the functional buildings ... Grain houses, other rooms used to produce the agricultural products.

You can see evidence of the overall magnificence of the villa in the thermal baths, the mosaics and stuccos, the fountain and the pool with it's Carrara marble sculptures*.

* the marble sculptures are now kept in the Museum

It is one of the most important villas from the ancient Roman province of Tarraco.

The swimming pool in the garden ....

Tic Tac Toe or Checkers anyone? 

Ancient Tiles ... 

A view from the top of the Villa location ...

Whenever I wander through ruins like this it makes me imagine / think about what it is was like to live in years gone by.

Pandora's Influence

#AvaGardner#JamesMason#TossadeMar

In the Spring of 1950 Ava Gardner and James Mason arrived in Tossa de Mar to film ... The British drama "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman".

                     

                         Photo credit ... Kino International

A film about a woman unable to love and a man unable to die ... based on the legend of the Flying Dutchman.

In 1998 a bronze statue of Ava Gardner was erected on the hill (Vila Vella) overlooking the town's main beach.

Here is Señor Honey (my own old blue eyes) as close as he ever would get to the beautiful Ava.

   

           

   

                      There is also a scupture in the Museum.

                  

Research suggests that Ava Gardner stayed at the Hotel Diana with her then husband, Frank Sinatra during the filming of the movie.

At lunch the other day, chatting with the older waiter and then Señor Honey showing him some of his old black and white photographs of Tossa some 50 years ago ... the conversation evolved to Ms.Gardner and how Tossa went from a sleepy village to a tourist destination ... that it was her presence that put Tossa de Mar on the map.

He told us about Chagall's visit in the summer of 1934 and calling Tossa "paradis bleu"... "blue paradise" but it did not have same impact as the arrival of the beautiful starlet Ava Gardener.

There is evidence of Ms. Gardner's character "Pandora" throughout the town and I believe she was a true friend to the locals that lived here at the time.