Candlemas Buns and Friday Paella

 We need a term for it.  Glitch? No, because that suggests something is wrong. Easter Egg? Perhaps it has the gift quality but I don’t know if it is been out there on purpose.  Candlemas Buns? Well, they are unexpected treats and illuminate the darkness.  So, we have a Candlemas Bun at the start of today. Hidden among all the views of August 2022 is a vision of June 2008. Stand in the centre of the crossroads and see the before and after of it all.


Canet de Berenguer is one of those villages, set a little away from the sea, which was a walled settlement, housing a company of the knights who guarded the coast from diverse raiders.  By 1797 100 people lived and cultivated silk, olives, carob beans, grapes, wheat and barley.  It got a lighthouse in 1904.  The place grew massively after 1970, as cars and tourists flocked to the place, turning a population of a little over 1000 to almost 8000.





Canet is one of those places which has a gap between the old town, which is a mix of narrow old streets and wide, modern boulevards and the apartments and villas of the coastal happening.  We came here twice, in October, in the days when Streetview was not a thing of which we were aware.  The town tourist website had a webcam and the knowledge that the seaside provider of brochures had closed down on 15th September.  We are British.  The air was warm, the water likewise.  Small fishes pottered about.  We hit the beach, or at least, gently descended.  The Spanish wandered about in furs and heavy mufflers still confused by the Northern European desire for a freezing dip.




We are heading for the Casa Roque.  We went.  We went several times.  They had Menu del Dia.  Went again.  It was what it was.  A restaurant selling Menu del dia. I find it has 3.4 stars. I will pick some of the critiques.  


David complained ‘The wine was in sorbet glasses’.


Y noted ‘We went to pay and €60!!!! At €15 for lunch???’


Vicente, who like David has only one review to their name, said ‘Liars, it says it's open, then you arrive and it's closed, scoundrels’




Now, I am looking back 20 years but it was honest stuff.  They didn’t do Menu del Dia on Friday. They did Paella. Never mind, we’ll work round that and give you paella and charge menu prices.  Can’t eat sugary puddings? Have some gages. Fresh from the tree. Not the greatest of fruits but to be eaten when the juices are still warmed from the midday sun - you have a mouthful of memory.


We picked up a friend from the airport. We took him for lunch.  He slept on the beach. Fairly perfect.













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