We discovered Los Amigos bar during a previous visit to Empuria, a tiny little place tucked away near the canal. Jose and his wife run it and it is delightful. We stopped by one evening and were served with a drink and a plate of tapas. We spoke to Jose and discovered that he had come from the Ukraine to set up his little bar. Life in Spain he said, was a completely different story to living in Ukraine, especially at the moment.

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On the second visit, Jose greeted us as if we were family. That evening, we met up with a french couple who had made a permanent move to Spain and spent a pleasant evening with them. I asked them why they had left France and they said it was because of the charges. France is highly taxed and they said that in Spain, everything was less expensive. They rent an apartment overlooking the marina with incredible views to the sea. Life they said, was good here and if they were missing France, they only had a 30 minute drive back to their home country.

The following day we visited Mercadona supermarket and as we parked, a guy was standing at his car with the boot open and a most adorable dog was in the back. I went to talk to the owner and made a fuss of his dog, Amy. Gerry introduced himself and said he was from Holland.

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Two days later, we were in Cheesemi’s restaurant in the Marina when we bumped into Gerry again, we had a chat and discussed our dogs and various other topics. Then a day after, we saw him again at the supermarket. This was now more than a coincidence so we swapped emails and are now in touch, discussing our life, food, dogs and this year’s trips. Gerry and his wife Janny come to Spain every year in the autumn and spring. They bring a motor home and park it right next to the sea. Amy can run along the beach and enjoy a splash in the sea – a dog’s life can be wonderful.

It seems every time we visit Europe we make new friends. It is the most amazing place and we love the different customs, food, wine and people we meet on our journey. On Valentine’s night we met some more new people in Los Amigos Bar but that tale remains to be told – maybe!

A l’amitié