Costa Brava Bound!

#Tossa de Mar#Costa Brava#Hotel Diana#Memory lane#Collioure

This year's adventure is going to include a trip down "memory lane" for Monsieur Honey.

In the early 1960s as a young man, Monsieur Honey living in his homeland of England embarked upon his first trip abroad.

He travelled by train from the north of England across the English Channel through France into southern Spain.

We have planned a week-long stay at the Hotel Diana on the Mediterranean Coast in the ancient fisherman's village come holiday resort of Tossa de Mar.

Tossa de Mar is almost equidistant between the French border and the city of Barcelona, situated in the municipality of Catalonia, Spain on the Costa Brava.

Being only approximately 100 kilometres north of Barcelona, we also plan on including some day trips to see and visit some of the famous sights.

While Monsieur Honey was on his trip abroad 50 plus years ago, he captured these amazing black and white photos of Tossa de Mar ... he hopes to be able to stand in the same view points and compare the scenes. 

(Does my Msr. have too much time on his hands?)

I hope to find a special spot on one of the beaches to soak up the ambiance of the Mediterranean, I have a feeling the village will have a similar vibe to one of our favorite French places ...

Collioure which is also an ancient Catalan fishing village on the Med.

     Where do you think this young lady is today?

    Blue waters of the Mediterranean in Collioure, France. 

I am looking forward to the fresh seafood and Catalan specialities, discovering a new country, and enjoying the golden sunlight.

Stayed tuned for future "Postcards" ... postmarked from Costa Brava!

Where is Spring?

#5rueMarsis#Gourdon#Beaucaillou#Dégagnac#Dordogne#Lotvalley

#oùestleprintemps?

Never before has our adventure felt so far away!

Maybe the length, harshness and bitter cold of our "Southern Ontario" winter has played a factor in these feelings.

The past two days we have felt milder temperatures with the birds singing and sunbathing on the roof of the neighbour's garden shed.

There has been more hours of sunlight each day with promises of "Spring" like weather!

And then ... Tonight I checked the forecast ... predictions of plummeting, icy cold temperatures and again more snow! Will it ever end?

This year's adventure has been delayed due to a prior commitment.

Fot the past two years we have extended our trips to France to three month long stays.

Our rendezvous in 2012 began on March 1st and found us settling in at our rented cottage at "5 rue Marsis" Gourdon .

Gourdon is a medieval town in the Lot Valley and not far from the Dordogne region of France.

                          

In 2013 our adventure began a month later with our arrival in Toulouse on April 4th. 

We travelled for two hours in our rented vehicle and finally found this year's cottage in Dégagnac ... "Beaucaillou".

 It seems Spring has arrived in this area of France, my friend Madame M has posted some beautiful photos of daffodils in bloom in her garden.

Monsieur Honey jokingly said that our daffodils are six feet tall underneath their blanket of snow!

  

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The Languages of Travel!

"Learn a new language and get a new soul!" ... Czech Proverb

Parlez-vous français?

Habla usted español?

Spreek je Vlaams?  Spreek je Nederlands?

Do you speak English?

So as we plan our next adventure I am already trying to think in the other languages that I may need to use ... even if you are not fluent in a language it is always polite when you are in a foreign country to make an effort to speak a few words and it makes the interaction with the locals more friendly and interesting.

On our first long stay in 2012, while living in a small rented cottage in Gourdon for three months I went to a local language school to refresh my knowledge of the "French" language.

I highly recommend taking these language courses if you are on a long stay in another country.

 

Most important for me, sometimes surprises are nice but when it comes to cuisine and food I usually like to know what I am eating. 

I still remember on one of our very first trips to France, reading the menu in a cafe in Agde and thinking mmm...

"Petite poisson frites" ... sounds absolutely delicious and a smaller portion.

I had literally translated it to be a "small serving of fried fish", perfect!

Surprise ... It was a platter of small fried fish (similar in size to smelt or sardines) and they were whole ... Head to tail!

100's OF THEM!

My travel companions and I had never laughed so hard!

We will have our usual rendez-vous with our beloved France via Holland (just a quick stopover at the airport).

Without too much detail at this time, we will spend time in Southwest France in the Lot/Dordogne region, the Pyrennes Orientals, Provence and we have time planned for two opposite sides of Spain ...one on the Mediterranean coast and the other in the Northwest part of Spain.

We will most certainly see some new sights and experience the life and culture in some many new areas of France as well while travelling to Spain.

I also need and want to be able to converse with the acquaintances, friends we have made on our previous travels.

So it is time to start practicing the languages and maybe the purchase of a Spanish phrase book and dictionary will be the required "Survival" tool for this year's adventure!i