Dove, blankets and sketchbook

A collared dove arrives on our balcony to greet us as we enter our room at the hotel. Last year such a visit was a rarity. Now as subsequent arrivals demonstrate the birds have multiplied. They are almost as common as the sparrows which used to pick crumbs from under restaurant tables, and which they have now to a large extent replaced. As this is the first holiday snap I take just over two weeks ago when we arrive in Sitges for our annual indulgence in luxurious living and what turns out to be a holiday of magnificent  surprises,  it will be the first in the series  of snaps which will follow in the next few days.

Our first evening meal outside Costa Dorada is  at the end of a cold spell  and what proves to be the onset of a heat wave. The proprietors provided us with blanket as the wind rises. What a pleasure to hear the waves breaking just a few feet away and yet to remain snug. Sitting in the open whenever possible is important to us. I recall the presence of blankets outside restaurants in Munich in the Spring. Nowhere else in my experience, but Heidi says that in Bavaria and Austria it is common practice.

Our friend Artur who is an artist holds up his Moleskin sketch book. "This is my camera," he says. We bring  him one as a present every year. He must now have at least 10.