beach

Two Dream Homes

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

It was such a beautiful day that we went straight to the coast and decided to leave balnearis for another day!  We did stop off in Caldes de Malavella and found out that one of the huge hotel spas didn’t really cater for day trippers while the other – Hotel Vichy Catalan – offers lots of different packages for a reasonable price.
But….leave the dogs in the van while we relaxed in mineral bathes?  Not possible.
So we went to a beach called St Pol near Sant Feliu de Guixols, had a slow walk around the coast path and then a long and even slower lunch in El Racó de St Pol.
There are some lovely seaside houses on this part of the coast – places to dream about and imagine how it would be to go down for early morning swims in the green blue sea.

Blue had been given the homoeopathic remedy Thuja in the morning and was bouncing up and down the steps along the way. I’ve not seen her so happy and lively and pain free for years.

A winter walk on the beach

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

I wanted to drive to the sea.

On a ‘normal’ road. Not something with three lanes and everyone driving at 100 km/h.

If you come out of the house and turn left and drive straight down Joan Prim you will arrive at the sea – at Masnou. Except you can’t drive down Joan Prim as it is one way so you have to do a little dog leg around by C/Girona and then straight down to the coast.
For many people it is better to go on a fast road but for me it was heaven and it took us past familiar landmarks like the church at Palau which Tiffany sees as she takes her early morning walks.
Unfortunately once at Masnou we couldn’t find a way to the sea. All along this coast there is a railway line blocking access from the road and you have to know in advance where you’re going to cross over. So we ended up going to Cabrera de Mar and via an underpass, found the perfect car park for Blue to launch herself straight onto the sand

There were no fights today. We kept either Bonnie or Duna on the lead while the other ran free

The sunset was incredible and we even had tea in the van so could sit and watch the colours change

Blue walked all the way to the other end of the beach and back, stopping for a long time to eat something unidentifiable hidden in the rocks.
Others had been there before us

The drive back was on another ‘normal’ road. This one goes straight from Mataro across the Corridor through the Coll de Parpers. We didn’t meet a soul from one side of the mountain to the other. Bliss.

Back in Granollers I parked the van in her new underground parking space and as we unloaded the dogs I made the mistake of leaving my fingers in the wrong place as the door slammed shut. I never knew I could scream like that – luckily the place is soundproof and there was noone else about. It’s quite a primal experience that sort of pain and thank goodness some superhuman instinctive reflex made me pull my hand free just as the door arrived. Otherwise I think I would be like the woodcutter in the joke someone told me in the street this week.
He went into a bar and held up his hand saying ‘five beers please!’

But let’s not finish with this gruesome image – here’s Bonnie taking a rest from digging and chasing sticks in the waves
These are the best moments with the dogs.

An early swim

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

FRIDAY
We had a lovely day. First we went to meet up with Oreneta who is another blogging friend, i.e. we met first through our blogs and eventually got together face to face too.  These connections are very important to me here and it was great to see where she lives as well as meet the famous Chuck!  As well as being beautiful he was totally charming in spite of having three four legged females arrive in his home

The dogs all had a walk together round the village and then while Blue rested on the patio we went up into the hills which are easily accessible without having to drive or cross a major road. Not surprisingly I had a long fantasy about living there but unfortunately there is not a good connection to Granollers and for the moment at least we need to have access to school.
Afterwards we drove down to the coast to have lunch – early!  It was about 1.30pm

There is a lovely restaurant right beside the sea in between Premia and Vilassar. (If you are wondering how we managed with three dogs – we left Blue and Duna sleeping in the car and took Bonnie inside for a treat. It is a dog friendly place)

Then we all walked down to the sea. It was sunny, the water was aquamarine and unusually calm, I went for a paddle with Bonnie and suddenly realised it wasn’t too cold. Without taking time to think I threw off clothes and dived in. That must be the earliest swim I’ve ever done

Not long after the shadows started to lengthen and we made our way back up the beach

I wonder if you are thinking ‘how idyllic’?  If so then let me add that the less than wonderful part of the day was the fight that Duna and Bonnie had on the beach

Bonnie gets excited playing and that seems to wind Duna up so she pounced and teeth were bared and blood drawn. This time it was someone else’s turn to get his hand bitten as he tried to separate them. It’s a worry – it’s not something I have had to deal with ever before. Or not with dogs anyway

We are now keeping Duna under close supervision and she is always either muzzled or on the lead in the house. There is always something interesting to deal with here! Something new. Something challenging. As a friends aunt once said “You have to laugh!”


Santa Susanna

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

Such a strange place – a lovely long beach and a caravan and camping site right on the edge of the sand

Then a railway track. Then the main road and then a large nothingness and further inland a very new town which seems as if it was plonked here just to serve the coastal tourist part

But if you just stay close to the beach it’s very pleasant and I can imagine coming back again and trying to get a beach side plot so I can put my breakfast table outside the van to sit there watching the sea and the sun rise.
And it’s only 32km from Granollers.
There are hundreds of camper vans – some enormous – some even more basic than mine. Mostly they have come from Germany and Belgium. Because of this it wasn’t too noisy on New Years Eve – about an hour of petardos thrown by local children and then peaceful silence

Petardos are firecrackers and I wasn’t aware of them before coming to Catalunya where they are commonly used by children of all ages to celebrate such things as the feast of St John in midsummer, Barça winning a football match and on New Years Eve. I just discovered that firecrackers were invented in China in the 9th century and were banned in the UK from 1997. They are designed to make noise rather than light and some of them are mini explosions which you just have to get used to if you live in Spain!
Blue is pleased to report one great advantage of being deaf – she is no longer bothered by fireworks!

One of the closed restaurants has a resident colony of cats

Bonnie enjoyed the beach but continues to have battles with Duna who is struggling to accept the changes this last month has brought to her life

Beach Days

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

I may have said this before but one of the wonderful things that I love about Catalunya is that there are dogs on the beaches.

Yes there are signs that say No Dogs!!!
But Duna comes with us and there are always a few other dogs who spend the day with their family, on the beach, happily playing or sleeping under the umbrella or swimming in the sea.
There is NOONE jumping up and down pointing at the signs or stomping over to remind you that it is not allowed.

Just people getting on with each other and their dogs.