Camping in the Costa Brava!

We're all alone this weekend, as our son went to Valladolid for a rugby tournament and my mother-in-law left for Argentina on Friday evening. We really didn't know what to do with ourselves with all that free time and freedom!
So, on Saturday's noon we decided on a whim to go driving up to the Costa Brava (the bit of coastline between the border with France and the city of Barcelona). What a luxury is to be able to do things just when you wanted and without the hassle of having to convince everybody that going out is fun! Being just the 2 of us it took us around 10 minutes to gather our things and being out of the flat. It's more or less 2 hours drive and we decided to avoid the motorway and enjoy the countryside instead.
We had lunch in a lovely restaurant by the sea and then we thought that it was a good idea to go and check the camping sites around the area as it could be a good idea for the summer.
So, we took our guide and went driving down the coast checking the campsites. There's loads to choose from and they do look very nice indeed.
The first one we visited was closed and there was only a few people working there, getting ti ready for opening next weekend. It looked really nice and a stone trow away from a lovely long and wide sandy beach.
The second one was already opened for the season and it has some caravans and tents and people coming and going. We asked for a brochure and price list and walked inside to get a feeling of it. It looked nice but the tents were far too close to each others, there was no pool, every sign was in German and every planed activity teacher has a German-sounding name. After walking a bit more we realised that everybody were actually from Germany. And, of course, this being a camping favoured by Germans, it was fully booked from July to September.
I've nothing against German people, in fact at least 2 of my readers (and dear friends) are Germans. But I'm sure I'll feel a culture clash if I were to spend my holidays in a German campsite. To start with, everything will be fully booked in advance and I'm not going to be able to do anything!! They're far too organised for me. Plus, we'd be isolated from everybody else by the language. Not fun for P. either.
The third camp was alright. But we just felt in love with the 4d and last one we visited.
Walk with me and imagine this. Gated fence that opens into lovely and manicured gardens, a big office with smiling staff speaking Spanish. A huge bar already open, with tables and chairs in the shadow overlooking not one but 3 swimming pools (one with slides, one for kids, and another one just in case the other are too full). All surrounded by tall trees and the spaces for camping were separated by fully grown hedges offering both shade and privacy. All just in front of a gorgeous long and wide sandy beach (I took this picture form their brochure).
There were already some tourists there, mostly retired-looking people withouth kids, altough they were some around, in tents, caravans and the cabins on the site, but we couldn't figure out where were they from, so we asked the lady in the front desk. She told us that they have visitors mostly from France and the Neetherlands, then some Scandinavians , the UK and some Germans. Not many from Spain or Catalunya. That sounded good, a mix of Western European citizens sound good as most young Europeans do speak English and P.'d be able to talk and find other guys to play with.
This campsite's called L'Amfora and the prices were more than reasonable. Sadly they didn't have any bungalow or mobile home for August, all booked up, but they did have some space for tents, so we booked ours from the first to the 10th of August. We also booked a bungalow for a weekend in June so we can test the place with my dad (who's arriving in 3 days).
The idea is to spend sometime there and to book a bungalow like the one in the picture for next year if we like it. We believe that this is the affordable option in one of the most beautiful places in the Med.

They still do have some bungalows, mobiles homes and flats for rent this year but not for August. So, if you can take holidays before that, well... check it out.

We haven't yet told P. or my dad about this plans for our holidays. I think P.'s going to love, as he adores to swim in the sea and my dad loves to fish, so maybe we could be able to find a spot for him to do so. Let's hope he doesn't fish anything so we can go out to eat tapas!!