Lloret-de-Mar - 50 years on

What a day we have had. And quite a long one travelling, but we are here whoop whoop and we have seen everything that Alan wanted to revisit and a lot of stories have surfaced from Alan’s youth; he celebrated his 21st here in Lloret. Indeed he spent five years living here during his summers with some of his closest friends who are still in our lives now.

The day started with another blue sky and warm sunshine, so we got organised and were on our way quite quickly. We travelled to Sant Feliu and took the scenic coastal route. Now, I need to let you know that this road won the bendiest road competition on this trip. It was AMAZING - beautiful scenery which we think almost matched up to the Amalfi coast! Beautiful blue sea - we stopped off at the top of the mountain and had a picnic in the lay-by; overlooking the stunning villas with their massive infinity pools. I really want to know what kind of people live here - are they movie stars or what?!? Whoever lives in these places must have a strong stomach to take on those roads every time they come and go! It is easier in the van because you can’t go too fast, but in a car - ooooh. Anyway we sat there taking our photos and enjoying our lunch, when we suddenly noticed something like smoke coming off the sea and it snaked it’s way around so quickly, within minutes we couldn’t see the sea. It was so quick. However, as we continued on our journey we seemed to keep ahead of the sea mist and it didn’t, in the end, mar our ongoing journey. I do take my hat off to my lovely man because it is all down to him that we take on these roads. But take them on he did so well done Mr Burn. We had intended to stop at Tossa-de-Mar and we put the co-ordinates into the Garmin to take us there. But the first site, we were not prepared to try and get the van over an enormous pavement to get in. No way - we found another few in the area but they were either not accessible or they were closed. Checking the map, we realised we weren’t too far from Lloret so we continued on our journey and have found the perfect spot within walking distance of the city. We walked into the city finding the bars Alan recalls from his youth - Paddy’s Bar is there but looks like it’s been closed for a very long time. Other places Alan either worked or knew were long gone. But we did find the main Town Hall which is the photo featured here tonight. You can see Alan and the dog if you squint. This is where the town jail was 50 years ago. Alan and his mate Paul were out with other mates and Paul caught the attention of the local gendarmes - when it looked like they had collared Paul, Alan went over to say ”Oh come on mate, just having a laugh” when he was collared as well and they both spent the night in the jail in this building. Apparently there was another guy in the cell with them who was blind drunk and kept shouting and remonstrating with the gendarmes - I think Alan and Paul spent the night trying to shut him up 😂😂😂. They were let out the next morning and all was well. We found an amazing Russian looking church type building which Al didn’t remember being there in his day - photos on social media. We then found the flats that Alan and his mates lived when Alan and Mike worked in the Cerdanya almost opposite the digs. Alan pointed out the front door to the side of the apartment block where the husband (older man) used to sit just inside on his chair to ensure no ‘girls’ were going upstairs of a nighttime. Only trouble was, he used to fall asleep as the evening drew on and the boys used to tiptoe their girlfriends past him. We made our way to the seafront and had a walk on the beach but we had to do that separately as no dogs are allowed. We stopped for a beer and some tapas in a bar near the campsite for old times sake and thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit to Lloret-de-Mar. I’ve been with Alan for nearly 40 years and heard all the tales - so it was great to spend some time with him here today.

We have decided to go back to L’Escala tomorrow before we go back to France. It is such an idyllic spot - we really want to see it again before go cross the Pyrenees towards the end of the week. We certainly do not want to shorten our intended time here but the news regarding the dreaded virus seems to get more serious every day so we feel we need to be able to make for home should the need arise. It’s not just any decisions or restrictions from our own country we need to be aware of, but of France as well. So we live in hope that we can continue this wonderful adventure and I bid you a fond nighty night