Costa Brava

Week 20 — December 22nd - January 4th (Tony)

Happy New Year everyone, and may 2008 be a wonderful and blessed year for you all. 2007 was a great year for us, one of the best ever. Mind you, years of planning went into making it happen, but now we are looking forward to the realisation of our goals for 2008, and receiving many visits from friends and family. Our diary is nearly full!

Our week in Barcelona was fabulous. What an exciting city! Our very comfortable 10th floor apartment in the once-Olympic village afforded superb views of the beaches and city and was conveniently located with an easy walk to the Métro which we used constantly as the bus drivers were on strike for the first four days of our sojourn. There are too many highlights in Barcelona to be able to mention them all. Gaudi's architecture ranks supreme above all else. His Sagrada Familia temple is quite breathtaking and exquisite. His style and attention to detail is so unique and innovative, what an impressive structure! But I found all his works truly inspiring, especially la Pedrera — to the point I have a yearn to produce more building designs of my own... back to the drawing board! Sally and I thoroughly enjoyed a conducted 'Catalunya gourmet discovery' walk through the old city where we were introduced to many traditional foods and customs and shown specialty shops and markets that in some cases have existed for more than 150 years.

The arrival of Miles, Nicole and Louis was eagerly awaited and having them here to share Christmas with us was very special. A visit to the 'have to be seen to be believed' markets on Christmas eve with everyone assigned a task to purchase something special for Christmas dinner ensured that we ended up with more food than any family of five could eat at one sitting. So Xmas lunch consisted of Miles' seafood (mussels and vinaigrette salsa, prawns, crab etc) followed by Nicole's cherries and grapes and Louis' strawberries and lychees followed by a walk to the beach, a game of boules and a nap. In the evening Sally served roast turkey with a banquet of vegetables, and for dessert I produced a traditional yuletide chocolate log that was irresistible. We lived on left-overs for the next four days!

Our days in Barcelona were filled with activities including a wander around the 1992 Olympic park and a trek to Gaudi's Parc Guell, not to mention numerous meanders through the delighful lanes in the old part of the city. Sunday, we ventured back to Montserrat, a monastery perched precariously on a granite outcrop halfway up a mountain topped with an amazing ridge-line projection of huge organ pipe pillars. A modern centrally heated cog-wheel train transports you to the monastery site and a fernicular cable car then lifts you almost to the summit. The views were stunning. We now appreciate the value of scarves and gloves.

Another return trip to Barcelona to capture more of its charms and to attend, live, a football match in FC Barcelona's (100,000 seats) home stadium invoked memories that all of us, but Louis especially, will hold forever. Tick...

We have moved back north to a unit in Empuriabrava from where we have made daily excursions to various attractions of the Costa Brava region. We all tramped through a large bird sanctuary where storks and other water birds abound. Cadaques, an old fishing port was interesting as was a trek to Cap Creus lighthouse (the most easterly point in Spain). The rock formations and rugged landscape were fascinating. Miles and the kids leave in the weekend for Roanne and, hopefully, a few days skiing in the Alps before they head to USA and then home. We have an apartment booked south of Valencia, close to the beach. We will spend a week there and then continue further south to Granada, Malaga and Gibraltar.

We have been pleasantly surprised by Spain — not that we held any preconceived expectations. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect but Spain seems to have a strong economy and the people appear to enjoy a higher standard of living than those in France. Obviously there was a massive upsurge in the economy soon after Franco's reign with a building boom along the Costa Brava coast in the 70's and 80's which produced a plethora of Gold Coast-style development. A lot of unit blocks are now looking rather tired and from all accounts real estate prices have taken a dive in the past six months. There is plenty of renovation work going on but very little new construction. Practically all development is devoid of landscaping, a feature that Australia has to concede gratitude for, thanks to our town planners. Nevertheless, there are many unspoiled coves and beaches along the coast which are a delight to discover.

Most surprising is the quality of Spain's wine. Their Cava (Champagne) is delicious and cheap. And their red wines have really impressed us — smooth, delectable and inexpensive.

Our internet access is now limited to infrequent visits to internet cafes so you may not hear much from us for a while.