First we had to go to early Lleida Capital, the City of Lleida, to deliver some tax data to the tax office. It has been dull, grey, dark and rainy for days. We cannot complain, because we have needed an end to the drought.
So K parked outside the municipal library, which doesn’t open until 10. So I could paint the people waiting around for the doors to open, while I waited for him. I am easily amused. There was a lull in the rain (so the umbrellas aren’t up).
Unfortunately, the library did open at 10 o’clock. People were no longer standing, unconsciously posing for me. Ah hah! I thought: I can take photos of them and paint them from the screen on the camera.
People walk faster than you think, in the rain.
It makes interesting photos, but not necessarily photos easy to paint from onto post-card sized bits of paper while looking at the screen of the camera.
I needn’t have worried. Like last time, K was back well within the 40 minutes of parking 50 €urocents bought us. So we were able to follow our preferred itinerary for mornings we have to go to Lleida for the Spanish paper-chase, and drive to the beach via Flix (pronounced Fleesh). There is fabulous ham in the Bar Continental. We have a weakness for ham sandwiches for breakfast on those rare occasions we are out together in Spain at breakfasttime. And having stopped once in Flix, we are hooked.
The ham:
is Marcial Guijuelo and comes from Salamanca.
The proprietor kindly gave us the scraps to take home to our poor, starving, unloved dogs, who languish on the roof terrace when we abandon them for the beach. They deserve some compensation. Or we need to take them guilt presents.
The beach was deserted, but the sun came out just for us. Those are K’s footprints. He’s in there. Just over the swell.
Swell swell.
Thalassotherapy.
I won’t show you my scraped elbow, where the huge surf tossed me onto the pebbles.
While K gathered fallen pinecones for the hearth, some kyakers appeared in the swell swell….
It was too cold and windy for lunch at our favourite sidewalk café, so we took the indoor option, at La Olla. I love the founder’s portrait behind the bar, the very good wine and the fish (lluç this time) in orange sauce.
And then back into the fog.
Home to get warm again.
A Friday Out
Ante-Bath Notes 
love the one photo with the guy and the pole, very difficult to take if one want to get this result 🙂
Yes, Ben. Thank-you. I’d just see someone approaching and click – but the delay “feature” in digital cameras means you just never know. I sort of like it, too. I was certainly surprised! But it would be an insane thing to paint. I think. I’ve no idea precisely how the camera manages to blur some and freeze- frame others, either. Les mystres du monde numrique. :)
LOVE the blurry umbrella pic and yr watercolors!
very brave to do that.
Food reminds me of olive oil comp trip to Espana…
Merci, Carol…but I’m not sure what’s “brave”? posting my beginner’s watercolours? They looked rainy enough – and typical enough of the people I saw. I was surprised, really, how such very rudimentary strokes did managed to suggest the guy on the ‘phone, &c.
We say it in calligraphy, too: “the eye corrects” – it interprets, when it can, and our shared human experiences are common enough…or maybe only my eyes are correcting, beause I was there?