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Trip Report: Barcelona, Costa Brava, & Northern Catalonia

Trip Report: Barcelona, Costa Brava, & Northern Catalonia

Old Oct 19th, 2010, 04:43 PM
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Trip Report: Barcelona, Costa Brava, & Northern Catalonia

Trip Report: Barcelona, Costa Brava, & Northern Catalonia (OR Tapas, Sangria, Gelato & Spanish Olives)

We just returned from a fabulous trip to Barcelona, Costa Brava, Girona & northern Catalonia. We left for Spain on October 8 & returned on October 18. I received a lot of great advice from Fodorites, so I hope that my trip report will help other travelers. First, a little background about us. My youngest daughter, Ashley, is doing graduate study work in Barcelona for the fall semester, so we wanted to visit her & see some of Spain. Our oldest daughter, Courtney, also joined us on this trip, & a friend of hers also joined us in Barcelona for 4 days. This is my first trip to Spain, my husband has been to Madrid, & Courtney was in Barcelona 10 years ago.

Overall, we LOVE Barcelona. It is a beautiful city with palm trees, beautiful and unique architecture, and with its location on the Mediterranean Sea, the mixture of city & sea is breathtaking. We drank a lot of Sangria (the best I’ve ever had, of course), & ate a lot of tapas, gelato and Spanish Olives. I’ve never been a big fan of olives, but I love the Spanish Olives. If they didn’t come with our meal, we would order a plate.

DAY ONE & TWO: Depart Boston & Arrive in Barcelona

My husband & I flew from Boston to Montreal, then to Barcelona. We arrived at the airport at 7:30AM, & took a cab to our hotel & arrived there at 8:45am & Ashley met us shortly after we arrived. We didn´t want to see any major sights without Courtney & Richard, so we had breakfast at a sidewalk cafe, then walked through many of the neighborhoods, such as Eixample, Born, the Gothic Quarter, La Rambla & down to the port. We had lunch in the Boqueria at a fish counter. We picked the fish/seafood we wanted, & they prepared it right there for us. We had sangria sitting outside on the beach overlooking the Mediterranean!!! It was heaven!!!! It was about 80 degrees today.

Courtney & Richard arrived at 4pm. We had a late dinner down by the sea again, at an outdoor restaurant. I didn’t write down the name of the restaurant but it faces the sea. Ashley had paella there when she first arrived & liked it, so she wanted to go back there. The location is great. it was dark but we could hear the pounding waves. The food was mediocre, though. She thought it was better the first time but maybe that´s because she was newly arrived & the location is great so maybe her memory aboutt the food wasn´t so great. Or perhaps there was a different chef but that´s ok. We all had fun together & that´s the most important.

HOTEL IN BARCELONA:
Hotel Granvia
Gran Via Corts Catalanes 642

The hotel is located in Eixample & the location was very convenient. The lobby is beautiful with a grand staircase, & our room was very spacious with a 2-room bathroom: the sink in one room & toilet & tub in another room, which I like. However, we had an issue with this hotel, which is too bad. Because we arrived at 9AM, our room wasn’t ready, so the desk clerk let us store our luggage right next to the desk so we could go out for the day. When we returned around 4PM, our room was ready & they had brought our luggage to our room. We soon realized that my husband’s black backpack was missing so we called the desk clerk. It was nowhere to be found. I really thought a guest took it by mistake because it looks like everyone else’s backpack. Well, it never materialized. We had medication in it so I had to call our clinic in the States to get the correct dosage & we were able to get the same medication at a nearby pharmacy. The hotel reimbursed us for the cost. But we also had a laptop, GPS, battery charger & prescription sunglasses in the backpack. We asked the manager if there was anything else they could do for us & we would accept whatever they thought was fair. At first the manager told us she had no proof we even had a black backpack; then we found out from an employee they have a security camera so we told her to go check the security camera. I don’t know if she did, but in the end, they did reimburse us for 5 out of our 6 night stay. Unfortunately, because of this incident, I wouldn’t stay there again. Just want to let other Fodorites know about our experience. Perhaps if you arrive later in the day when you know rooms will be ready, this won’t happen, but I would be leery about staying here. I can only assume an employee took our backpack because I assume if a guest mistakenly took it, he/she would return it. Unless the guest deliberately stole it.

DAY THREE: Casa Battlo, Citadel Park & Gothic Cathedrals

Sunday morning it was raining when we woke up. We took a cab to Ashley´s apartment & had breakfast in her neighborhood. Then we went to Sagrada Familia, but the line was all the way around the church!!! It was 10:30AM so the lesson is to be there by 9AM when it opens. So we decided to go to CASA BATLLO instead & return early the next morning to Sagrada Familia. Casa Batllo is FASCINATING!!! Gaudi was such a genius!!! What an inventive, creative & whacky mind!!! Everything is curvy & represents the sea! When you look through the glass into the blue light well, it’s as if you are looking at objects underwater. The attic reminded me of a whale’s backbone. And I love the outside façade. The balconies are odd-shaped & give the exterior of the house a spooky look especially at night. The cost is 15 – 17 euros & includes audioguides.

The sun came out when we finished the Batllo tour, so Ashley suggested taking the subway to the Arc of Triumph & Citadel Park. After you walk thru the Arc, you walk down this lovely promenade lined with pretty trees and unique & beautiful lampposts, & that brings us to CITADEL PARK, where we saw the most MAGNIFICENT water fountain I have ever seen!!! It is called LA CASCADA & was designed for an 1888 exposition. Gaudi designed the waterfall’s rocks. There are trees & other plantings in & around the waterfall, with statues of men, women, & winged creatures!!! There is a huge wide staircase that wraps around the back of the waterfall, that leads to a huge GOLDEN CHARIOT!!! I´ve never seen anything like it before!!!

TIP: If you have the time, I recommend visiting Citadel Park & La Cascada. Get off the beaten path, if you can. My guidebook didn’t make a big deal about Citadel Park & La Cascada so if it wasn’t for my daughter, we wouldn’t have gone here.

After leaving the park, we walked through the Gothic Quarter again & visited 2 beautiful gothic cathedrals: SANTA MARIA DEL MAR and CATEDRAL DE LA SEU. Catedral de la Seu has a lovely courtyard attached with HUGE GEESE running around. That certainly added a comedic touch.

For lunch, we had delicious tapas & sangria at TALLER DE TAPAS, located near Santa Maria del Mar at Carrer Argenteria 51.

For dinner, we ate at CERVESERIA LA CATALANA at Mallorca 236 in Eixample. We had a feast of unusual tapas with unique ingredients with a variety of seafood, ham, sausages, vegetables, hot peppers, cheese, olives, etc.. They were perfectly prepared & the prices are very reasonable. We also drank a delicious pitcher of Sangria!! It was mobbed so we didn´t get to eat until 11pm. When in Spain, do what the Spanish do!!! We like this restaurant so much that we ate there on our last night in Barcelona.


DAY FOUR: Sagrada Familia, Hospital de Sant Pau, Gracia & Parc Guell

The line was already forming when we arrived at SAGRADA FAMILIA at 8:45AM (it opens at 9AM). We purchased the audio guides which I found to be very helpful and informative. What an amazing place! Gaudi designed it & construction began in the 1880´s & is still ongoing. His work is gaudy, (is this where the term came from?) but it´s still amazing & unusual & unforgettable. We entered through the Passion Façade, which is very dramatic & stark & illustrates the pain of the crucifixion. Inside, you see amazing stained glass windows and huge columns that represent trees. There was an hour long wait at the elevator to the top so luckily we decided not to take this elevator. After going through the museum on the lower level, we walked outside to the opposite side from where we entered & saw the Nativity Façade, which is very different from the Passion Façade. It represents joy & nature & scenes from Jesus youth & is very curvy & cluttered. We then went inside & saw to our surprise another elevator with only a 10-minute wait!!! We took the elevator to the top but had to walk back down through a very narrow spiral staircase. There were balcony-style viewing areas where you can take photos.
TIP: If the line is long at the Passion side elevator, go to the Nativity side elevator.

About a 10-minute walk from Sagrada Familia is HOSPITAL DE SANT PAUL. We just missed a tour & couldn’t wait for the next tour but we did see the inside of the main building, which is gorgeous. The designer/architect is Domenech I Montaner, who designed Palau de la Musica.

Then Ashley took us to the GRACIA neighborhood, which is beautiful with narrow streets, where locals live & eat. It´s exactly what I think of when I think of SPain. And it’s quieter than the other more touristy neighborhoods. We had lunch in a small square, Placa de la Virrenia, next to a cute church, dining outside again. The restaurant is Café Virrenia. We had sandwiches, plate of Spanish olives, potato chips & drinks.

So, after our very tasty lunch, we walked to PARC GUELL, another Gaudi masterpiece. The parc is located up on a hill with gorgeous views of Barcelona, you can see all the way to the Mediterranean!!! It took us about 45 minutes to walk but I think we took the roundabout route because we followed the signs which would be the route for cars. When we left the parc, we realized we could have taken a shorter route down one-way streets. Anyways, we love Parc Guell. There are aqueduct type structures, pillars, & then this amazing area with serpentine benches covered in colorful mosaics!!! We took tons of photos there, & the views were awesome!!!! It was getting late in the day so we took a taxi back to our hotel. We didn’t have the time to see the whole park.

We had dinner tonight at a Thai restaurant because we felt we needed a change for one night. I forgot to write down the name of the restaurant but it is excellent!


DAY FIVE: Palau de Musica & Casa Mila

We had another great day in Barcelona. We had a tour of the Palau de Musica. We were able to buy tickets that morning for an 11AM tour. Palau is the most magnificent theater I have ever seen, even nicer than the theaters in Prague. The architectural style is Moderniste & the palace is considered the flagship of Barcelona’s Moderniste architecture. It is exquisite with chandeliers, stained glass, & mosaics. The theater is painted in different shades of pinks, reds & roses.

We ate lunch in Born again at Sagardi, a pinxtos tapas restaurant, located at Carrer Argenteria 62. These are basque style tapas, different from the other kind of tapas we´ve been eating. They are lined up on platters on the counter, with toothpicks in them. You take a plate & walk around & choose the ones you want. There are dessert ones too. Then we brought our plates outside to eat. The waiter calculates your bill by counting the number of toothpicks on your plates. Both Ashley & I loved them but Courtney, Richard & my husband prefer the other kind.

After lunch, we had to return to our hotel so Richard could get his luggage because he had to return home. After we said our good-byes, the rest of us had a tour of CASA MILA. The rooftop chimney park is mindblowing!! There are chimneys grouped together in 3´s & 4´s that look like space men!! There are rollercoaster type stairs that curve all over the rooftop. The rooftop is the best part of the house. The other floors were interesting (one floor is a restored apartment & the other one is the attic with excellent displays of Gaudi’s work) but overall we like Casa Batllo & Sagrada Familia the best of the Gaudi architecture.

We had dinner at a vegetarian tapas restaurant that also served meat & fish. The restaurant is called Origens & it’s in Born. We liked some of the food but were disappointed in some of the dishes. The salad, duck with peaches & desserts were all good.


DAY SIX: Montjuic, Las Pedrables & Sarria

We had a fabulous last day in Barcelona on wednesday. We spent the morning at Montjuic, where the 92 olympics were held. Montjuic is a huge park on a hill & you really need all day to see it. We took the funicular to the top to visit the fortress which also had spectacular views of the city and Mediterranean. We walked through some of the park, through gardens & pretty landscaping. There is also a huge art museum in a palatial building but we decided not to go in because the weather was beautiful. So we took a cab to the Las Pedrables neighborhood where we had a delicious lunch at el Mato de Pedrables, Bisbe Catala, 10, across the street from a monastery. I had asparagus & ham with a light cheese sauce, my husband had rabbit & potatoes & Courtney had sausage & white beans. (Too bad for Ashley, she was at school & missed this great restaurant.)

Then we walked through the Sarria neighborhood where families lives. We saw school children getting out of school wearing uniforms and families playing with their kids in the squares. We had a drink in Gracia again by the church where we were the other day. it was a perfect day & we saw just about everything we wanted to see in Barcelona.

TIP: If you have the time, I highly recommend visiting Las Pedrables, Gracia & Sarria. You won’t be disappointed.

We had dinner at night at Rosalert, Avgda. Diagonal 301, a seafood restaurant near our hotel. All the waiters were so nice & enjoyed helping us choose our dishes. We went to the counter & picked what we wanted for fish & seafood. My husband and daughters tried goose barnicles (I wasn’t brave enough), hake, anglerfish, razor clams, Norwegian lobster, sausages, & for dessert, almond cake and sweet cream cheese.
Everyone is so nice in Barcelona, from the waiters to the cab drivers. I am very surprised though that many people do not speak English. Ashley studied Spanish in high school & is studying Spanish again, so it definitely helped when she was with us.

We had a full five days in Barcelona which we thought was sufficient & we saw almost everything we wanted to see, except for the Picasso Museum. It would have been nice to spend more time at Parc Guell & Montjuic, but we were happy with everything we did & saw.

I’m still jetlagged, so hopefully can continue tomorrow with Costa Brava, Girona & northern Catalonia.
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Old Oct 19th, 2010, 05:22 PM
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Thank you so much for the trip report! It seems that your family had a lovely time. I also loved the fountain at Ciutadella. I took a ridiculous number of photos of it, and then just sat and enjoyed it while my husband relaxed in the shade near the mammoth. We did not spend enough time in the Montjuic, only seeing the Miro museum. We'll fix that next time, I think. Palau de Musica was a highlight for me. It brought tears to my eyes, it was so impressive.

I'm curious why you were surprised that most people did not speak more English. As a non-Spanish speaker, I was pleasantly surprised at how well I got along. The two cab drivers we had and several servers did not know English, but they were very patient with us and our dictionaries.

Will you go back? We spent 9 days in May, and I am looking forward to another trip next year.

Thanks again for the report!
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Old Oct 19th, 2010, 05:37 PM
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Kwoo, I'm loving your trip report. Thank you so much for taking the time to give such detail and tips. I'm looking forward to the rest of it. I will probably be going to Spain next March so I'll definitely be reading this again.
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Old Oct 19th, 2010, 05:48 PM
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Hi oopsy,
We noticed that people were very patient with us, too, & my guidebook did have a small vocabulary section in the back & that was helpful when Ashley wasn't with us. I guess I was surprised that most people didn't speak more English because English is now a universal language & I've always been told that most people do learn English as their second language. I'm not being critical of the Spanish people because after all, I only speak one language (English) so I certainly can't criticize others. One thing that I noticed is that people were happy & pleased whenever we did try to use some Spanish, however basic, such as hola, buenos dias, etc.

On a related topic, I was also very surprised to learn that Catalan is very different from Spanish & seems to resemble French more than Spanish. For instance, cheese in Spanish is quesos, but in Catalan it's formtage and in French, it's fromage.

We very rarely go back to a foreign destination twice because we like to visit new countries, so as much as we loved Barcelona, I don't think we would return. I definitely want to return to Spain again, but I think my next trip might be to Andalucia and Madrid.

By the way, I had printed out your trip report and brought it with me, & we decided to tour Palau de la Musica because of your recommendation
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Old Oct 19th, 2010, 06:56 PM
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"I've always been told that most people do learn English as their second language."

Wow - is that a big generalization! If you think they don't speak alot of English in Barcelona wait until you go outside of the larger cities and you will be in for quite a shock.

Happy you enjoyed Barcelona. So sorry to hear about the missing backpack though.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 01:29 AM
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So sorry about the backpack. I jumped when I read that you stayed at the Gran Via because that was the FIRST hotel I ever stayed at in Spain, back when I was just out of high school! And then I returned there about 10 years ago, before they redid the place. But with that happening to you, I agree that it is a very bad mark against the hotel.

I am eager to read more as the first part was wonderful!
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 02:01 AM
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CathyM,
You are right that the statement about learning English is a big generalization, & I should not have put any credence on it. We love Barcelona & the rest of our trip; i love writing about it because it brings back such wonderful memories. Hope to write more tonight. Now I have to get ready for work. UGH! I wish I was still sitting by the Mediterranean!
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 04:02 AM
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Thanks for the report. Loved reading it, planning on going to Spain, soon!
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 04:28 AM
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ekscrunchy,
Thank you for your compliments about my report.

I do feel bad about what I said about Hotel Gran Via because it is a nice hotel, in a great location & the staff were nice. However, I didn't think it would be fair to future travelers not to let them know about our stolen backpack. This way travelers can make an informed decision about whether or not they want to stay there.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 04:32 AM
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Thank you for your report. We were in Barcelona in August. I am interested in your story about the backpack. I am nervous when hotels leave luggage in accessible areas. That just seems like an accident waiting to happen. Hotel staff always say "oh it will be okay there" but with so much traffic I wonder how often this happens.

In any event glad you enjoyed the city. It is a beautiful place.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 06:50 AM
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Thanks for the report. Cannot wait to go back to Barcelona ( and a few other places in Spain) next spring.

I agree with cold about leaving luggage --- although, some hotels have separate area for it and even give you a ticket.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 08:50 AM
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I'm really enjoying your report. I also loved Cerveseria Catalana. We stayed around the corner from it and ate there twice.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 09:00 AM
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Kwoo: I understand the hesitancy about revealing what happened at the hotel and I think you did the right thing. Better to tell what happened and let people make their own decisions. I wonder if you were the first people that had an incident like that--somehow I think not and I wonder why the hotel did not take action beforehand, thus sparing you. But we will never know the answer..

I had a bad experience happen to me at a hotel in Palermo (I was robbed at knifepoint in the lobby and the hotel was also robbed at the same time; it was a small hotel and this happened on a holiday when there were few people around, in the lobby or in the street outside). I was not sure how to handle this--should I reveal it or not? I never wrote an online hotel review and I did not do a trip report back then but I did discuss it a few times on forums here but I think only once in passing did I mention the name of the hotel. But mine was really more of a one-time freak incident, I think, while yours involved a person who is and may still be, an employee of the hotel. so again, I think it was correct that you mentioned it. It is most discouraging to hear of all the petty crime in Barcelona but I wonder if it has any effect on tourism in the city..

Anyway, I am eager to read about less dark adventures!
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 03:48 PM
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Here is the rest of my trip report. I hope you find it interesting & helpful.

DAY 7: Road trip through Costa Brava to Cadaques

Today we leave Barcelona for our 4 day/3night road trip through Costa Brava, Girona & Northern Catalonia. We rented our car from Kemwel, & picked up our Passat at Avis in downtown Barcelona. Unfortunately, we got off to a late start. We had to rent a GPS because ours was in our stolen backpack. We also had to pick up our daughters at Ashley’s apartment so the Avis employee entered her address for us into the GPS. When we plugged it into the car, we think the GPS reverted to the previous user’s last location because we ended up near Montjuic & Ashley’s apartment is by Sagrada Familia. With traffic & lights, it took us an hour to get to her apartment after picking up the rental car so we didn’t leave Barcelona until 11AM.

Also, we told the GPS we wanted a non-toll road because we had read that the tolls are very expensive. That was a mistake because it took us two hours to get to our first destination, TOSSA DE MAR. The drive there wasn’t that interesting so I would recommend taking the toll road, which would be faster.

Painter Marc Chagall nicknamed Tossa de Mar “Blue Paradise” and he was spot on! Tossa is beautiful with a gorgeous walled medieval town with lovely landscaping & situated on a hill right next to the Mediterranean. The views are magnificent & there are a million photo opportunities here. We spent about 2 hours exploring this area. The restaurants in Tossa do seem a bit touristy with identical menus so we decided to have lunch in S’AGARO at Villa Mar, Passeig Sant Pol, 95. The restaurant is directly across the street from the Mediterranean. We ordered from the set menu, which includes an appetizer, main course & dessert. We enjoyed everything we ordered, & Courtney’s dessert was the best, a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass of orange juice!! Very simple, but delicious & refreshing. Then we drove to CALLELA PALAFRUGELL, a quiet fishing village, picture perfect little town. It reminded me very much of Greece. We only had time to spend 30 minutes here enjoying the scenery & taking photos. There were small colorful boats on the beach & little kids fishing & swimming. We were anxious to leave because it was a 90 minute drive to Cadaques, our destination for the night & we had to drive over the mountains on a serpentine road with hairpin curves, so we wanted to get there before dark.

We left Callella at 6PM & arrived in CADAQUES at 7:30PM. The drive over the mountains was a “white knuckled” drive, to say the least. I’m glad my husband was driving!! The scenery was beautiful but it was scary, too. I counted about 125 hairpin curves one way, so RT that’s about 250!! There are guardrails but no lights, so I would not want to drive this road at night. Anyways, when we started our descent to Cadaques, imagine our awe as we saw this beautiful white town located on the blue Mediterranean. Cadaques was our favorite place of our road trip. All the buildings are white with red tile roofs.

OUR HOTEL IN CADAQUES:
Playa Sol
Riba es Pianc, 3

We loved our stay at Playa Sol & would stay here again. Our room faced the sea & we could hear the seagulls as we slept at night. We had dinner at the Café Nun, right on the main street overlooking the sea. We weren’t too hungry because we had a huge, late lunch, so the 4 of us shared a huge fisherman’s paella & some soup & appetizers. I had gazpacho, which was pureed vegetables, instead of the salsa-like gazpacho I’ve had in the U.S.

DAY 8: Cadaques is heaven on earth!! And arriving in Girona.

We had breakfast on the beach, explored the town, then drove to Cap de Creus to see the lighthouse with more amazing views. This area is a natural park with rosemary, olive trees, thyme & with the salt air, the scent was so aromatic. We also visited Salvador Dali´s house in Port Lligat. What a treat this was, one of the highlights of our trip. I don´t know a lot about Dali, but his house was so bizarre, weird, eclectic & memorable. We loved it!!! He has sculptures of the Michelin tire guy, his stuffed swans are in his house, & there is a “tower” in his garden with a HUGE EGG on the roof! We also bought some pottery in Cadaques at Can Salo, which we thought was reasonably priced. We had lunch at Nord & Est, one of the best meals of our trip. And of course the obligatory Sangria!

We left Cadaques around 5:30 pm to drive to Girona, another 90 minute drive & over the mountains again.

In Girona, we stayed at HOTEL HISTORIC, C/Bellmirall, 4a, which I highly recommend. We had apartment 2B, the location is awesome in the old Jewish quarter, next to the Gothic cathedral. We had problems finding our hotel because the GPS brought us to Bellaire St. This is very weird. We couldn’t drive up the street to get to our hotel because there was a huge “pipe” thing that blocked us. But we saw a car come down the street, this “pipe” popped down, & then popped up after the car drove over it. We found out afterwards from Xavier, the hotel owner, that only locals can drive on that street. Their cars must have some kind of a sensor that informs this pipe thing (for lack of a better word). We knew we were close to our hotel, so my husband stayed with the car as my daughters & I started walking. We asked someone for help & he drew us a map. We immediately found our hotel, it was only 5 minutes away. Xavier gave us a map of Girona, & explained the route we have to take to get to the hotel from the opposite direction. I stayed at the hotel while my daughters walked back to where their father was waiting. They appeared about 20 minutes later with the car, & Xavier showed them where to park. I have since found out that if you go to the Tourist Information Center first, they will give you a map of Girona & explain how to get to Hotel Historic. So please don’t be scared away by the difficulty we had. If you want to stay here, go to the Information Center first or ask Xavier to send you a map. This hotel is well worth it. Sorry for the long-winded explanation, but if you go on to trip advisor, people will tell you the hotel is hard to find, but it is doable.

Xavier recommended several restaurants to us so we ate dinner at Boira, across the river from where we were staying, in the main square. The River Onyar divides Girona & there are tons of bridges to walk across. It’s really very pretty, especially at night. And during the day, you can see the reflection of the colorful buildings in the water. Dinner was good but I forgot to write down what we had.

DAY 9: Sightseeing in lovely Girona

We had breakfast in the main square, too, at Frankfurt Konig, which I think is a chain. Then we went to the Saturday market in the park & bought ham, cheese, bread, olives, pastries & candy that we had for lunch later on back in our hotel. We walked along the old wall, visited the church & an art museum. The highlight of the church tour was a thousand year old original tapestry that depicts the creation of the world. The drawings of men, women & animals were very crude, almost child-like.

Girona is a lovely city, very pretty, & the old quarter is amazing, with narrow stone streets; it’s like a maze.

For dinner, we ate at El Bistrot, recommended by Xavier. We had pizza, different kinds of appetizers, such as mushroom cakes & salad with shrimp & green beans.


DAY 10: On the Road Again: Besalu, The Pyrenees, Ripoll, Rupit & Vic

On Sunday we left Girona at 8:30AM & by 9:30AM we were having breakfast in BESALU, sitting at an outdoor cafe facing the Fluvia River. The café is next to the Jewish Baths. It was quiet & peaceful. The highlight of Besalu is a medieval fortified bridge, which was amazing & very scenic. We walked on a paved path along the river, then strolled through town. Besalu is small & very pretty & one of our favorite places that we visited today.

Then we drove over the Eastern Catalan Pyrenees (WOW, what gorgeous scenerey) to RIPOLL to see a 9th century monastery. The road was another serpentine, hairpin curve road & the views are just spectacular. Then we beheld a strange sight. About 200 motorcycles drove past us & I’m not exaggerating!! They just kept coming & coming, one right after the other. Was there a motorcycle rally in the Pyrenees?? We also saw some bicyclists on this road, too!!! WOW!! I would have collapsed after 5 minutes on this road. The Monastery of Santa Maria was very interesting & very different form the other churches we have seen. Ripoll is larger than we expected, & perhaps not as unique as some of the other places we visited, but it’s a pretty & clean small city.

Then we drove back over this same route & through Olot to RUPIT. This drive was gorgeous, too, through the rugged Collsacabra region. Rupit is a town made of all medieval stone houses, located on rocky promontory over the river. We had a late lunch at El Repos, a restaurant that overlooks the river. Their specialty is beef-stuffed potatoes. Actually reminded me of potato pancakes, which I love. Rupit is a popular base for hiking & we saw many people coming down from the trails with their walking sticks.

On our drive back to Barcelona, we made a quick stop in VIC. I had read somewhere that Vic has one of the prettiest town squares in Spain. It was nice, but we’ve seen prettier squares in Europe, such as in Prague, Telc, & Krakow. Unfortunately, there was a festival going on with staging so I think that detracted from the square. Also, the square has a dirt “floor”, not sure if the town removed the paving & is repairing it or what, but that detracted, too.

It took us 90 minutes to get back to Barcelona because of heavy traffic. After we returned our rental car, we had dinner again at Cerveseria Catalana, one of our favorite Barcelona restaurants.

DAY 11: The end of a perfect vacation & our return home

Our flight left Barcelona this morning at 9AM. We had to change planes in Geneva AND Montreal. This was the cheapest ticket I could find at the time but it is very tiring & makes for a long day. The good part about flying to Geneva is that we flew over the Swiss Alps, which of course are amazing. Our flight from Montreal was delayed an hour, so our trip home was extra long, but worth it!!!
Kwoo is offline  
Old Oct 20th, 2010, 05:12 PM
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I have not heard of the Jewish baths in Besalu. Does anyone have more info about them? Are they a mikvah?
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 05:40 PM
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Great report! The square in Vic has a dirt floor - I found this very unique. I've always wanted to visit during the Wednesday morning market.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 06:01 PM
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nice report...we found Girona interesting. Some
buildings by the river look very colorful.
Cerveceria Catalana is my favorite place to eat in Barcelona. It is just sooooo busy.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 06:28 PM
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Hi Jubilada,
According to a guidebook we picked up at the tourist office, the Jewish baths in Besalu are a mikvah. They are the only Jewish purification baths in Spain. You have to make reservations in advance to see them. We didn't have the time to do that.
In case you plan on going, the telephone number in Besalu is: 972-59-12-40. Guided visits aare at 11AM & 1:30PM.
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 06:47 PM
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Enjoyed reading your report -- brought back memories of our trip this past Spring. I also loved all the villages in Catalonia.
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Old Oct 21st, 2010, 01:44 AM
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Great report. I would like very much to return to this area someday soon and you have provided the blueprint.
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