BAIX EMPORDA…with camera

do you remember a couple of months ago, I mentioned going somewhere spectacular and not being able to use my camara?

well, I went again, and I went 3 weeks ago, with Carme and Alicia, plus our furry companions Wilbur and Nala; but this time I did have my camara, and while the battery died the following day, I had plenty of pictures to give you a taste.

Now these are all towns in proximity to La Bisbal, which is a city known for its many ceramics, and we headed there first, in order to stop at the large supermarket and load up for the weekend. On the way out we noticed one of the ceramic studios was having a demonstration, and had some food and drinks out, so we stopped, mainly for the free food, which turned out to be very nice, but the demo was cool and informative too. I had no idea that they use thick rope to make the larger ceramic pots, and I wondered if Jordi knew, I bet he would have liked to see this.

Twilight by the time we left La Bisbal and headed for Casavells, so we hurried to unload the car, so we could go for a walk before preparing our dinner. Later Francesc, one of Carme’s boyfriends came over with some wine, and helped with the preparation. After dinner we played a game that we call “mentider” which translates to “liar”; played with poker dice.

Corçà

After breakfast the next morning Alicia and I walked over to the next town, Corçà, roaming around a few farms and stables on the way.

Carme, who had stayed behind with Francesc before he had to leave to work, came to pick us up in her car later so we could al go visit a couple more towns.

My favorite spot in this town is this restaurant named Raku, I wanted you all to see the interior, as there’s a few separate spaces that are so warm and relaxing, I just loved it.

Madremanya

Just entering the town a beautiful hotel and restaurant named La Placa, with it’s own vegetable garden. I felt like I was in heaven, wouldn’t it be great to work here. We roamed around a bit, but they were getting ready for a wedding reception and seemed pretty busy.

We went on with our tour of the town, people were pouring out of the church after mass; the rest of the streets were nice and quiet.

I watched Carme open a door, which by the way, I’m planning a “door special”, as I have gathered a nice collection, so that will be coming soon; anyway, I saw Alicia follow her through the same door, I thought perhaps they knew someone here, and I followed, and to my surprise, it wasn’t anyone’s home, but the local cemetery, mostly ninches, which are like condos for the dead, so they keep each other company while they ponder what’s next.

Not a bad place to end up.

Some of these homes are dated in the 1700’s, so it’s not surprizing to find old wells like this one, and some like this one are still functional.

Peratallada

Our next stop is a bit more popular as far as visitors, and you can see why, no less charming than the previous ones, just more to enjoy. One of the local “xarcuteries”, the name for a grocer that specializes in pork and cheese, had a very temting table of samples outside, in my opinion very smart too, because once you test his samples it was simply impossible for me to walk away empty handed. 

We sat down in the main square on the terrace of one of the local bars to have a cold drink. Carme wanted me to see the ceiling of the bar next door before leaving, with all the little birdies.

I hope you all enjoy looking at these pictures as much as I like taking them.