Paintings and ports

Magali’s vernissage (French for the opening night of an art exhibition) was in the ancient Roman village of Port Vendre, although village is maybe a misnomer for a port that can hold shopping mall-sized ships. Fishermen bring in their catches and there are a few pleasure boats dwarfed by the working boats.

Magali is a painter, one of those women who came into her own in her 40s. Her paintings have an oriental feel and there was one of a seated Indian woman that belongs over my computer and between my two windows. I bought it, but will leave it there for the rest of the exhibition.

Afterwards we stopped at one of the little restaurants overlooking the port. I had the esclavide, the local grilled vegetable dish of courgettes, eggplant, tomatoes and onions with a glass of sangria. Barbara opted for calamar, and Elaine, who had eaten, had chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The bill came. Barbara looked at it to find an extra coffee and my sangria was billed as something else. The waiter corrected the bill, but we all decided that they took us as tourists not locals. Annoying but not enough to diminish the pleasure of the setting sun over the water.