L'Ametlla del Mar on the Costa Darauda in Catalunya

The sudden heatwave that came about the country for the last week or so got me thinking about the 11-day trip I had back in the summer of 2006 to Catalunya in Spain. My sister's family and the Morrel family rented out a villa with attached swimming pool from a French lady who resides in Catalunya. The drive from Dordogne was extremely long and tiresome as it was the peak of summer and the heat was most unbearable, especially when we crossed the border to Spain. Unlike the French auto routes, the Spanish counter parts do not have R&Rs with shades and toilet facilities. We drove past Tarragon and Barcelona, about 120 km south of Barcelona, we finally arrived at Ametlla del Mar, precisely the holiday village of Les Tres Cales. Surprises of surprises, the place seemed disheveled by hap-hazard constructions everywhere and the heat in summer was just unbearable. Another dismay, the villa was actually a mile away from the beaches and worst, the beaches were actually sealed off by cliffs and had to be accessed through some very winding and narrow sandy paths. However, the beaches was not bad and the water azure, befitting its Mediterranean location on the tip of the Catalunya region. One thing was sure...there were no shops nor restaurants open during the siesta hour of 2 - 4 p.m. but the modestly priced and exquisite olives, jambon (ham), canned seafood and sangria was more than worth the effort to visit the place. The beaches are best visited before 9 a.m. as the blindingly hot sun can be searing and unbearable beyond 11 a.m.

The cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean sea at Les Tres Cales.

Old olive trees

Les Tres Cales in the distance...

The Castilla Sant Jordi sits atop the cliffs overlooking the blue yonder...

Precariously built houses at Ametlla del Mar

The port at Ametlla...

The marina

A fishing boat

Traditional horse carriage for the tourist bucks...

The fisherman port of Ametlla del Mar. I saw a squid swimming around the motorboats moored at the port! We visited the port everyday and one of the thing I like about this place is the fishermen selling their catch on the port itself. Remark: lots of octopus and silverfish that are used for frying to make tapas. Octopus pickled in olive oil remain my all time favourite. We tried traditional paella on a cliff bound terrace on our last night and it was fine. I still don't fancy the taste of saffron for some reason I cannot fathom...

The roundabout in Ametlla.

The beach at Ametlla

Desert-like landscape was everywhere. Everything was so dry and bristly...

Opuntias growing wild in the bushes in Les Tres Cales.

The sandy beach at Les Tres Cales on a very hot morning.

Mi Casa aka Chez Moi

After months of waiting and planning and almost two months of labouring, our house is finally at the point of completion. For us, it was years of collecting collectibles (nothing fancy), months of surveying down the aisles of IKEA, furniture shops, kitchenware, haggling with the contractor, the bank, the stone masons, the painter, the plumber, the electrician, the furniture shop, the electrical supplier...heuh! Results, finally. From an almost regret of the year (thought we had the wrong end of the deal after we received the house from the seller) to now...we had come a long way and the house is finally what I wanted it to be...our own little sanctuary from the outside world: sleep, eat and read. More to come when the house will be more 'dressed'...

The dining, separated from the kitchen with retractable sliding glass doors. Stones were used instead of tiles because it would provide better insulation against the tropical heat. Painting on the wall is a piece of my own work done in the 90s. On the dining table is a Bohemian crystal bowl with rose adorned base. The low buffet is restored old Chinese furniture.

The partially completed hall. A restored old Chinese armoire (Gansu wedding cupboard) and a recuperated old earthenware (Southern Thai ceramic, in this case a rice jar with ears) found abandoned at a friend's house in the village thought to be at least 60 years old. Got it for free.

Bedroom painted with my wife's favourite colour: purple. To offset the strong use of colour, the rest of the house was painted in either neutrals or plain white. The photos mounted on the wall were taken in France during my sejour from 2003 - 2008. Bed cover was bought from an artisan at the market in Poitiers, in the 'Versailles' motif found mostly on upholstery and tapestries. The side lamp is a remodeled Chinese porcelain head rest.

Deep fried Cod cantonese style

Deep fried Cod in soya sauce at the Oversea Chinese restaurant

This is not new cuisine but actually Chinese cuisine infused with western ingredients and has been in the market since cod appeared in Chinese restaurant menus way back to the 90s. Originally, the fish would have been a thick chunk of fresh water carp (called wan yu in Chinese), deep fried in peanut oil and dipped in a shallow pool of infused soya sauce on a serving dish. What is good about replacing the carp with cod is the fact that cod is a lot denser and has a decidedly sweeter flesh, especially the fatty parts next to the bones. Nice being it is, I wonder how long the cod will remain on Chinese restaurant menus with the pressure on the cod's population and climate warming...not to mention another 1.3 billion additional mouths seeking these delightful fish. There's already restriction on harvest in the Atlantic but anything that commands a price will definitely ends up on the market...rules of supply and demand. Something for everyone to ponder about...

Abbaye de Sablonceaux

This must surely be one of my earliest cultural visits in France: the Abbey of Sablonceaux. Back in early spring 2004, I was still learning the language and part of the deal was to learn about history and culture too. Located somewhere near where I used to live at the French Atlantic Coast, namely the department of Charente-Maritimes (La Rochelle)...we were driven in a coach across the country (route D117) and ended up in this most gothic and dracula castle-like abbey I've ever seen. The fact that it was pretty isolated, unrealistically calm with ravens flocking around its lichen infested bell-tower sends one directly to a scene from a horror movie. But then again, this was not a horror movie and was neither the Eiffel Tower...the whole place has an ancient aura about it and with the sound of ravens squawking over the rural landscape, it really fired up the imagination. On top of it, being secular and socialist, France's very catholic past seems to surge forward in the most unusual of tourism catch: religious retreats! And so, like many other abbeys and monasteries that dot the French guide routard (this one is of the St. Augustin Order), they live on today, reinvented and reborn from their violent religious struggles in the past to become tourist attractions and retreats, the things that France does best.

(The abbey has retreat and sanctuary facilities for French as well as foreign tourists)

At the entrance...

Surrealistic encounter on a sunny spring afternoon. The skeletal remains of winter (lime trees) have yet to sprout their tender spring buds.

Ravens around the bell tower.

A rustic cross casting a long shadow on the lawn of the abbey...

The wind pipe organ was not mounted on the wall like most churches in France...

Redesigned stained glass...after the many violent chapters in her history...

Speckled lights from the stained glass window on the cold stone wall of the abbey.

Gothic clues...

Classic vaulted ceilings...

The impressive bell tower...

Photo ops are always present...

Sisley and Monet-like landscape: the backyard of the abbey.

Visit the abbey at: http://www.abbaye-sablonceaux.com