title	Blanes, and the Castanyada Festival, Lloret de Mar, Catalunya - 1st November 2024
intro	It's the last few days of our Lloret de Mar holiday and we decide to head in the other direction from our previous outing of Tossa de Mar, in this case down to Blanes. It's not quite in the same league as Tossa, as it doesn't have the whole mediaeval castle thing, but it's still worth the visit with its food markets, wide promenade and fancy marina. There's also a bonus of a Catalan band roaming around the Paseo de Dintre as it plays traditional music on instruments including the Catalan bagpipes, or Sac de Gemecs - the "bag of moans". Later on, we leave the boys in the apartment and wander down to Plaça de l'Esgélsia to see the Castanyada, or Chestnut Festival, that's going on at the church of Sant Román. It's a bit mad as it involves a couple of large barrel fires with chestnuts cooking on them, lots of thrashing of what looks like branches of rosemary, and sometimes all-enveloping smoke. Then on the next day, it's the trip back.
imgp7647	Fishing boats on the seafront at Blanes
imgp7650	A lampost on a hill with a lot of stickers
imgp7651	Fred and Harry look at the sea
imgp7653	Isobel does a selfie with the boys
imgp7662	We head down from the big rock
imgp7664	Another view of the boats at Blanes
imgp7666	A boat in front of the rock we'd just climbed
imgp7667	Some ashtray holder has turned into a can holder
imgp7670	We pass a food stall with giant churros
imgp7671	Isobel and Fred roam around the food stalls
imgp7672	Bread dough is cut up and shaped
imgp7676	Baked loaves are tipped off a wooden peel
imgp7678	The PdePá café has a very fancy entrance
imgp7679	There's a traditional Catalan music group
imgp7681	A Catalan music group with bagpipes and recorders
imgp7684	A small girl watches the music
imgp7686	The band on the Paseo de Dintre
imgp7687	A dude cycles up to an old church
imgp7689	Boats in the marina
imgp7690	The seagulls have taken a dislike to this boat
imgp7692	A long car park under the promenade
imgp7693	The boys hide under a tree in the hotel car park
imgp7695	Fred and Harry mill around near the hotel
imgp7698	The boys are playing air hockey in the games room
imgp7702	Colourful boats on Platja Sa Caleta
imgp7705	A cliché view of the Castell Lloret
imgp7707	Isobel was distubed about the extreme cliff garden
imgp7710	We play an endless game of Uno on the balcony
imgp7718	Traditional wine bottles are laid out
imgp7719	Paper cones are ready for chestnuts
imgp7720	There's a large stash of branches to thrash with
imgp7724	People hang around by the bonfires
imgp7728	Crowds by the church
imgp7733	Sparks fly
imgp7745	The barrel fires are wildly burning
imgp7754	There are more activites outside in the square
imgp7759	We get some nice tapas at Café Maxim
imgp7766	The service counter at Maxim
imgp7768	Berndt das Brot is on TV again in the apartment
imgp7775	The hotel canteen has a good Halloween thing on
imgp7776	It's deserted on Calle de Venecia
imgp7777	Fred buys some Oreos in a Supermercat
imgp7778	More deserted alleys
imgp7781	Harry walks along the low sea wall
imgp7787	We're back in the hotel car park
imgp7788	We've made it back to Terminal 2 at El Prat
imgp7789	Bright lights in El Prat
imgp7796	We watch planes land for a bit
imgp7800	An Emirates 777 touches down
imgp7802	An Air Baltic Airbus A319 taxis by
imgp7808	Isobel and the boys come back from a food mission
imgp7810	We set off for the gate
imgp7811	More sitting around near the departure gate
imgp7813	Isobel does some crochet on the plane
imgp7815	We taxi past an Emirates A380 super-heavy
imgp7822	Fred watches the sunset out of the window
imgp7823	The whole of Europe is covered by flat clouds
imgp7830	Oxygen cycliners and the galley at the rear
imgp7831	We're back at a cold and damp Stansted