Costa Brava Adventures 2021

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Trip start
July 1, 2021
Costa Brava Adventures 2021 Traveler
Barcelona
July 8, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
Sarah took a 20-hour city break to meet a BFF in Barcelona! Catching up with Aya in person was the very best part…the architecture is also incredible in this city!
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Costa Brava Adventures 2021 Traveler
Morning swim
July 14, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
We have started swimming early every morning here on the Costa Brava, choosing a different “Cala” or cove beach to launch from each day. We hadn’t anticipated how special these aquatic adventures would be (in addition to the added benefit of an hour’s worth of exercise—unfortunately those Holy donuts are still hanging around… see StilesCon Portland Trip 6/15 entry!)

Today’s adventure took us on a steep descent to the hidden cove of Aigua Xelida, now our new favorite!

The highlight of today’s trek was an octopus who refused to part with his breakfast of cangrejo when Paul tried to intervene on behalf of the 🦀. Memories of the outstanding 2020 documentary “My Octopus Teacher” immediately came to mind.Read more
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Costa Brava Adventures 2021 Traveler
Collioure and Céret
July 15, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
This road trip grew out of the need for some auto repair. Knowing that the Volvo dealer would want to keep our aging car for more than one day, we decided to go footloose in France with the other car “for a day or two”. The border is only 45 minutes to the north of the dealership in Girona.

The only plans we made were for the first night in Céret (deciding to let the rest of the trip unfold organically, depending on when the Volvo repairs are finished.) So we packed the Dolphin (Paul’s convertible) and headed off with our favorite four-legged traveler!

Our first stop was Collioure, a seaside town we’d visited previously on a trip to France with the boys 7 years ago. We had vowed to return at some point to spend more time in the numerous art galleries scattered throughout the town. It was as lovely as before, but of course warmer and a lot more crowded mid-July!

We didn’t discover any new art but had fun wandering the picturesque streets for a couple hours. After a picnic lunch in the shade we headed inland to Céret. The region around Céret is a major fruit producer, and is famed for its cherries. It’s also a stop on the Tour de France (yellow bicycles hang in second floor windows all over the town!)

Though the location was perfect, we were disappointed with the guest house we stayed in (complete and utter Trip Advisor fail!) however the owner was generous with driving route advice in the morning (and breakfast was delicious).

A call from the Volvo dealer confirmed the suspected issues and after a bit of negotiation we arrived at a repair plan (completely new air conditioning system, timing belt and windshield wiper fluid deposit, the latter which has leaked for all six years that we’ve owned this trusted workhorse!) Of course, they wouldn’t receive the parts until Monday (read “road trip extended”!)

Okay, okay, truth? This was really just an excuse for an adventure!Read more
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Costa Brava Adventures 2021 Traveler
Eastern Pyrenees & Llívia
July 16, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
This day we had very little idea where we were going, and no idea at all where we were staying! We started out taking a little-used mountain road that was a single track at times, based on a recommendation from our guest house owner. We then tackled two fortresses built by Vauban (famous in these parts) first Villefranche, which was like a medieval Disney in parts, although we did manage to get into the back streets and avoid the tourons. Mont-Louis was the next but much more basic and untrammeled. , Puigcerdà was a pleasant surprise that took us just back over the border to Spain. A large hilltop town with a sprawling old town full of charm.

We did the usual plaza-tapas-beer hang-out before failing to find a decent room (fully booked for a fiesta) and moving on to lovely Llívia, one of the finds of the trip. Nestled in the middle of a green valley, this alpine village is actually an anomaly, a piece of Spain surrounded by France. A great plunge pool in our homey hotel and one of the best meals at we’ve had in Spain (Restaurante Can Ventura) made us want to return!Read more
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Costa Brava Adventures 2021 Traveler
Andorra la Vella & Ordino
July 17, 2021 in Andorra ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
We started out early this morning for Andorra. Mostly known as a duty-free shopping tax haven and ski resort, we had to see it for ourselves.

We were pleasantly surprised by the collection of small mountain villages that comprise this spotless country of only 65,000 people. The drive over the mountain from France was spectacular and made for the convertible in the early morning hours (later on it got hot and we needed to put the top up for shade). We wandered the minor old town of the capital which was surprisingly buzzy and fun.

To find a place to stay we googled “most charming village in Andorra” and that is how we ended up in Ordino, which was indeed. Think perfect Alpine stone village, not a blade of grass out of place. The Swiss would love it….

Late afternoon we took the Dolphin for another stretch, trailed by a Ferrari (naturally). Winding through forests above the tree line, we found amazing views across rocky mountaintops. Made it back by dark. Dog didn’t make a peep. She has definitely turned over a new leaf.Read more
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Costa Brava Adventures 2021 Traveler
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Vic and the long way home!
July 18, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F
We decided to take the scenic route home with a stop for tostadas and coffee in a small town, then a pit stop at a fortified town where Paul managed to buy some shoes at the local market, and finally a late Sunday lunch on the famous plaza in historic Vic.

The surprise of the day was a little side adventure to the monastery of Sant Pere, located on a long peninsula in the middle of a lake. Nothing like a bit of 11th century Benedictine life to put things in perspective on a beautiful day. We ended up at the Parador of Vic for a look-see at its awesome location at the head of the same lake. Then back to Begur for a swim. Life is good.Read more
Traveler Beautiful! I need to visit this too.
7/26/21Reply
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Trip end
August 12, 2021

Costa Brava Adventures 2021

Barcelona

Morning swim

Collioure and Céret

Eastern Pyrenees & Llívia

Andorra la Vella & Ordino

Vic and the long way home!