Cute

This caught my eye as soon as we drove into the underground car park in Carcassonne, eliciting a "Squeee! So cute!" from me. So I snapped it while S parked the car. See extra for the rear-engined back view. Clearly there's not much room inside, so a luggage rack is included. I'd love to drive around town in this.

We were in Carcassonne for an afternoon showing of Pedro Almodóvar's new film Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers), out this week in France and showing at our favoured cinema, the Colisée. Beforehand, we went for lunch at the Divine Comédie, an Italian place we haven't been to for maybe a decade, though it used to be a regular pre- or post-cinema choice. It's changed a bit, but the food's still very good, notably a shared starter of a copious salad of lettuce, goat's cheese, dried fruit, pine-nuts and warm rapidly sautéed slices of pear, dressed with balsamic vinegar. I will try this at home.

We enjoyed the film, of course -- we've always been fans of Almodóvar even as he's got increasingly sentimental with age. His films are always a visual delight, and, well, there's Penelope Cruz, of course. Plus a cameo for the lovely Rossy de Palma. Milena Smit as the 17-year-old single mother Penelope's character meets in the maternity ward, is very good too. It's all a bit schlocky and melodramatic, but there was one twist I didn't see coming. It was showing in Spanish  with French subtitles ... for the first few minutes I felt rather downcast as I understood almost nothing they were saying, but after reading the subtitles for a little while, my ear attuned itself and I understood quite a lot. Anyway, it was a nice treat to go to the cinema for the first time in months.