May 2016

The Pentecoste Fete arrived in Chalabre this week with thrills and excitement for families and friends alike, along with the music entertainment which continues into the small hours for four nights.  After the second night of revelry, we headed down to Spain for some sun and chill time.

 

This is the view en route to the Mediterrean. The French are always keen to make the most of their holiday weekends.  As the Fete days normally  fall on a Thursday, the French will take the Friday as “Le Pont” (the bridge) and make a long weekend of it.  The journey from Chalabre to the coast is under two hours and less than an hour to Narbonne.

 

We arrived around 3pm to the villa we always stay at in Empuriabrava. The resort has dozens of canals with houses and boats either side.  From our balcony we can see the boats glide past on their way to the Mediterranean.  The weather is glorious and we decide to walk down to the center to have a drink and something to eat.

Tony’s  bar has a great selection of tapas, from huge sweet olives to a platter of cured ham and slices of manchego – a sweet strong hard cheese. We ordered one of our favorites – tortilla (a dish of sliced potatoes cooked in an omelette and served in cake-like slices). Anchovy toasts, prawns wrapped in crispy strings of potatoe and baby squid in tomato sauce. All washed down with rosé and San Miguel.

We walked down to the beach afterwards and sat looking out to sea with the town of Rosas in the distance.

We have visited the French and Spanish coast every year since living in France.  It is easy to get to, lovely weather and excellent food, particularly fish, fresh from the local suppliers.

We have always adored seafood and for Ed’s birthday in 2006, we had the biggest paella we have ever seen, cooked by Didier at Hotel du France in Chalabre (www.hotel-de-france-chalabre.com)

We had about thirty people coming to the party and discussed with Marielle and Didier  what dishes they could provide for us.  We decided on a dish of Paella and some seafood platters.  On the Saturday afternoon, Ed and two of his pals, went over to the hotel to collect the food.  They came back almost immediately and we thought that maybe the hotel was closed.

“No, it’s not closed” Said Ed.  “We just need the car!”

They took the car and came back in five minutes.  Out of our large estate car came the biggest paella dish we have ever seen.  About three foot in diameter!  It covered the entire old hob in our yet-to-be converted kitchen.  Following that dish, came four huge oval platters of seafood.  Crab, langoustine, shrimp, crevettes, moules and smoked salmon.  They covered one entire table.

All we needed to add was fresh, crusty, Ancienne loaves we had bought from the local bakery, salad, and of course, wine!

It was night we will never forget – Vive La Vie