Last Updated on 27 April 2023 by gerry
After our day in the sun in Sant Pol yesterday, we needed a bit of a recovery day. Plans have been made for a daytrip to Sitges on Wednesday to meetup with the other Pep in my life, who lives in Edinburgh and has helped me so much with my Catalan over the last few years. He is in Catalonia visiting his family this week. So plenty of rest and recharging is the order of today to ensure we are ready for the big day tomorrow.
At close to 2pm I ventured out for the first time to make a small shopping trip to Pineda for a few essentials like teabags and bread and burger material for tonight’s dinner. The weekly market was just packing up (pictured above) – the only picture either of us took today, which tells its own story. I really to like Pineda and it only dawned on me today that we had shopped in a Consum supermarket before…when we were in Igualada.
On my return we talked about where might like to go on 1 May which will be a special day, marking exactly 2 years since we first met. It will be a Monday night, so not every bar and restaurant will be open. We decide to take a little walk to Malgrat to check out a couple of restaurants with promising reputations: Bei Pepe and Casabella. The first one is a dead-end as it is completely closed, in fact I think it has been closed since we got here in Santa Susanna. Then the weather takes a bit of a turn and some light rain turns into a heavy shower just as we reach Malgrat. We take shelter in the nearest place – the Crown and Anchor bar, a “British family pub”.
The couple who run the Crown and Anchor are a mine of information about the area and we learn that during the civil war there was a boat called Ciudad de Barcelona which was sunk by an Italian warship just off the coast and many died including some from the International Brigade. Recently funds were raised to build a monument and each year now, there is a festival held to commemorate those lost and the Crown and Anchor seems to be at the centre of this festival. We also quiz the barkeeper about local restaurants and he recommends El Cortijo, which unfortunately isn’t open on a Monday night, but he confirms that Casabella is a good shout and the owners are friends of his. It is not open on Tuesdays, but we’ll take a look to see what we can see.
As we leave the Crown and Anchor, the rain is still falling so we take shelter again in the nearest tavern, which is La Dida (the wetnurse) Vins i Teca (wines and food). This is a great place to sample local wines. They have at least nine red wines available by the glass, so we have a glass each of a different variety and some pa amb tòmacquet.
At last the rain has stopped and we check out a few restaurants: Herradurra is open but doesn’t look like a good place for an anniversary meal. El Cortijo should be open tonight, but is closed and has no menu information. Casabella is closed as expected but also has no menu information. Our rainy recce has left us not much the wiser but our experiences in the Crown and Anchor and La Dida have been a worthwhile bonus.