Here's our first post for February. And once again, a big thank you to Mercedes for writing the last post in January.
Over the last couple of days I've been involved in a couple of conversations about food. We've been talking about favourite food and memorable meals. I always have the same problem when someone asks me what my favourite is. It doesn't matter if it's my favourite book, my favourite colour, my favourite film, my favourite song, I can never think of an answer. It's as if the fact of having to choose one out of so many possibilities just makes my mind go blank! So, when one of the kids asked me what my favourite food was I couldn't think of any one kind of food, but I did start to remember so many memorable meals. Memorable often because of where I ate them as much as the food itself.
This is one of the meals I remember. I don't have a photo of the food, but I do have a photo of the place. You'll recognise it no doubt if you're a local. If you're a visitor, please read on to find out more.
We were there last weekend. It was such a beautiful day, and everything looked so green and fresh. In case you don't recognise it, it's Bolonia, and the photo is taken from the car park outside the visitor's centre at the Roman ruins. But the meal I remember eating at Bolonia was much longer ago.
If you look very carefully at the left hand side of the photo, more or less at the same height as the beach, you'll see a collection of low buildings. These are beach restaurants. They were closed when we were there last weekend, but during the summer they're usually full, and they're a great place to sit and watch the sun go down. And that's what we were doing one evening a couple of summers ago. We'd been on the beach most of the afternoon and the sun was going down. We had the choice of driving home or eating at the beach. It was such a beautiful time of day that we decided to stay. Just in front of one of the restaurants there's a little garden, and in front of the garden a green, grassy bank that leads down to the beach. We, the adults, sat at a table in the garden, and the kids played on the grass. It was beautifully quiet and peaceful. We could see the lights coming on in Morocco across the straits. There was a cool breeze blowing (as there always is in Bolonia).
We ordered grilled cuttlefish. Very plain, very simple, served with a bit of salad and bread. I don't know if it was just the magic of the moment, but that cuttlefish tasted like the best thing I'd ever eaten. It was so fresh, done just right and it melted in our mouths. I can taste it now as I type, and feel the warmth of the sun from the day on the beach, and the cool breeze on my skin. What a great place. What a great meal. What a great memory.
So, over to you. Do you have any memorable meals to share with us? I'd love to hear your stories. And if you haven't got time to write a story, no problem, but I'd love it if you could leave a short comment. :-)
Thank you!
Speak soon,
Ceri
