Bonjour

It's great to be back in a country where I can understand the language. I didn't realize how good my French is until I tried to speak Catalan - so many x's that I didn't know how to pronounce. When we were in Spain Mr. Nag tried to communicate in a language I call Catalian - a bastard child of Catalan and Italian that only he can understand. I used the wee bit of Spanish I've picked up from old American westerns. It's amazing that we managed to get ourselves lodged and fed.
We arrived at Banyuls along the coastal road, many kilometers of hairpin turns up and down the mountains with no shoulder and no rails to keep the car from hurtling over the cliffs into the Mediterranean. It reminded me of our drive through Sicily last year. Once again I could feel the perspiration shooting out of the palms of my hands like some sort of superhero's acidic superweapon. I could aim my palms at a villain and threaten, "Back off Skeletor or I'll blind you with my stress sweat!". The idea of the Pyrenees coming right down to the sea appealed to me once. Now, not so much.
It was 29 and sunny when we drove up from Spain yesterday. Today it is 11 with intense wind and rain. Nonetheless hearty Catalans were seated at outdoor tables drinking cool, refreshing glasses of white wine and beer. I got chills just watching them from my cozy interior table. I took a couple of pictures that make it look like the weather is pleasant - it is not.
Wifi seems to be iffy here so if you don't hear from me for awhile don't feel you have to call the cops.
The view (below) from our terrace is super despite the foul weather: