Monday 1st November 2010

Sorry we haven’t updated the blog but we’ve been far too busy having fun! Chris and Carol came out to stay in a chalet on site and then Emma came out to stay with us. It was great to see them all and we enjoyed having friends and family around again. We carried on the sporting challenges between the men and women and I’m happy to say Chris and I remain undefeated!! Sorry Fiona! We ruled supreme at petanque and Chris showed that his natural ability for table tennis is still there! Lynn continually moaned about the spin he could achieve with his balls! The girls came up with a cunning plan, ply the boys with drink and then challenge them at Scrabble! Good idea but we won that too!! It was close and we were a little lucky but we won and that’s what counts!

With Chris having the car we managed to explore the nearby towns and beaches, which were lovely. We had a great stroll (more like a 5 mile route march!) along a beach as Carol spotted a marina she wanted to see. Had a nice lunch by the marina with Spanish “Bravas” and large beers going down well. We then strolled back along the beach (another 5 miles!) to the car, before driving to “Stiges” which Chris wanted to visit, something about “Village People” and parades! The town was lovely, great seafront with lovely beaches etc. After persuading Carol the marina she could see in the distance was actually in Barcelona, we settled for a drink at a café on the end of a jetty, watching the sun go down and the fish in the sea next to us, the water was really clear and still had one or two people swimming in it.

Afterwards we explored the town and found a small Tapas bar in a back street which Chris had found on the internet, (he really knows a lot about this town!). We had a great meal in an authentic Tapas bar, trying lots of different dishes and a bottle of local wine. Sarah is now hooked on their Choritzo sausage and Lynn actually ate some of the calamari and loved it! Sorry boys looks like we may have to share next time we’re in prezzo’s! Chris & Carol thanks for a lovely day and a great meal.

After recuperating at the camp for a day we headed by train to Barcelona, which was really nice. Another lovely sunny day and warm enough for shorts and T shirts! Had a great day exploring the city, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia was interesting but looked more like a building site! We found the park with its woolly mammoth, fountain and amateur high wire artists, if you can call two foot off the ground high wire! Chris found Spain’s version of the “Arc De Triumph”, which as far as we could discover was celebrating the fact it was built? We then headed into the old town with its tiny alley ways full of shops and cafés. By now the sun was low and the wind was getting up so we popped into a café for a warming coffee. Lynn thought she had ordered a large black coffee, so did Chris as he’d said “I’ll have one of those as well please” but when they turned up Lynn had a dble espresso and Chris “I’ve sneezed more than that” a single! They couldn’t wrap two fingers round the tiny cups let alone their hands! I’d gone for a hot chocolate which took ages to arrive, much to everyones amusement. But when it did it was worth it! A large cup of melted chocolate and some hot sugar coated dough fingers to dip into it! Wonderful!

We decided to head home and as we sat on the train we watched the temperature drop, by the time we got off at Vilanova it was freezing cold and windy. Chris decided to show he didn’t feel the cold and walk back to the car with just his T shirt on! Or was it because Carol had his Fleece? We had dinner in WOKS a Chinese buffet where you collect what you want on a plate and then they cook it for you, eat as much as you like, so we did!

Chris and Carol, it was really great seeing you both and we hope you enjoyed your time here as much as we did, looking forward to seeing you on skype. See I didn’t even mention the swimming hats!!!! Oh and Marion says hi or something!