Rosas is the Costa Brava setting for a family holiday that the Narrator arranges both as a break and as a way to visit Léa. The place is introduced through the practical compromises of the trip: an unusually cheap hotel, crowded family facilities, difficult days out with Erik, and the freedom the Narrator feels when she finally drives away alone.

Choosing Rosas

During the last days of spring, the Narrator spends the hours Erik is at nursery searching for hotel deals, comparing the expensive Côte d’Azur with the Costa Brava. She finds an unexpectedly affordable hotel in Rosas, despite its location in the third or fourth line back from the beach. The reviews on Tripadvisor warn of old mattresses, nighttime noise, and greasy buffet food, but the half-board price fits the family’s budget, and the hotel advertises itself as family-friendly.

The choice carries a cost beyond money: every extra expense means less time available for writing before the Narrator must return to work. She nevertheless feels that her book demands the journey. When she presents the plan to Niclas, she first emphasizes a week by the Mediterranean and its pleasures for the family, including paella, Empordà wine, and warm water. Only after the reservation is made does she mention that the trip would let her visit Léa, describing the visit as an idea that has just occurred to her. In return for the holiday, she agrees that Niclas can spend a weekend in the mountains in September and stay away for one night.

The Hotel and the Family Holiday

The hotel’s poor reputation proves accurate. It is old and full of children, with many guests coming from large families from Eastern Europe. Parents lounge by the pool with mojitos and all-inclusive wristbands while the hotel’s activities occupy the children: water polo, archery, table tennis, fancy-dress parties, recycled-craft sessions, and a kitsch mini-disco. The Narrator notices couples without children and people travelling alone eating toast in the dining room, and wonders why they have not fled the noise and bustle.

Erik is too young to be left with the two orange-shirted activity leaders, who work from nine in the morning until nine at night. The family therefore leaves in the morning and does not return until dinner. Their original plan of spending the days on the beach quickly proves impractical: Erik dislikes the sand, is frightened of the sea, will not stay beneath the parasol, and keeps taking off his hat. Reaching the quieter coves would also require carrying an unwieldy load of toys, a parasol, a cool box, sun creams, and flasks. The family switches to cultural sightseeing, visiting Cadaquès, Figueres, and Girona over two days while trying to find shade. At night, the room’s air conditioning cools the space but roars loudly enough to keep them awake.

Departure and Narrative Significance

On the fourth day, after feeding Erik thoroughly and giving him a quick cuddle, the Narrator starts the car and leaves alone. She remembers the drive, along the N-II toward Perpignan, Peralada, and La Jonquera, as a moment of exceptional freedom. Rosas is thus more than the family’s holiday base: it is the place from which a brief separation becomes possible, after days organized around Erik’s needs and the crowded rhythms of the hotel.

The journey also brings the Narrator to her meeting with Léa, whose friendship has endured despite their seeing one another only every two or three years. The contrast is sharp: the holiday has been arranged through careful budgeting and a concealed purpose, while the drive away from the hotel gives the Narrator a sudden, bodily sense of release. The place’s narrative importance lies in this combination of family routine, logistical frustration, and the departure that opens a separate space for the Narrator.