Medieval Villages 2021

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March 26, 2021
Medieval Villages 2021 Traveler
Begur, Banyoles, Besalú
March 26, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 63 °F
We kicked off a 3-day inland road trip with our first stop to stretch and walk around Lake Banyoles on our way to Besalú. It was fun watching a rowing competition get started (this was a venue for the 1992 Summer Olympics which were held in Barcelona).

Besalú was our ultimate destination, having not had time to explore this charming town or the surrounding area on our trip last July. Best known for its 12th century Romanesque bridge, we decided to use this medieval village as our base.

We stayed in a quirky, laidback hotel at the base of the bridge. Els Jardins de la Martana allowed us to bring Brie and ensured an outdoor breakfast terrace. (Somehow, when planning this get-away we forgot that restaurants are ALL still closed for dinner due to Covid restrictions. Fortunately, the hotel helped us book a late lunch on the terrace of Restaurant Pont Vell across the river (see the 5th photo).Read more
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Medieval Villages 2021 Traveler
A Saturday in and around Figueres
April 3, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 61 °F
The current restrictions here permit us to move around all of Catalonia. We fear that this may change after Easter so we are taking advantage of every opportunity to safely see this new corner of Spain on the weekends. The town of Figueres is an hour north of us the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí. It features a museum housing his a large collection of his work. We booked tickets for 11am entry and had high hopes for strict social distancing. Sadly, was not the case, and we both felt uncomfortable being indoors around so many people. We did not stay long.

Dali’s art makes you engage and think, this is what I enjoy. Unfortunately, his best known work is in Madrid and other private collections; the selection in this museum was broad, but overall disappointing (many drafts and studies for pieces elsewhere). The most amazing thing for me was the museum building itself, and we did enjoy the jewelry wing.

Figueres is a small city and has a good vibe. After wandering the old town, we enjoyed a coffee in a sunny plaza to kill time before our lunch reservation.

We had plans at a restaurant with great reviews and were looking forward to a long lazy lunch. Ah, best laid plans... when booking I had written a separate email to the restaurant noting that we were only open to eating outside on the terrace which was shown on the Trip Advisor page. I asked them to let me know if this was not possible. I didn’t receive a reply but rather a second confirmation of our reservation; I assumed everything was fine. Wrong! The patio was deserted and it was indoor-seating-only in a space with low ceilings. We felt bad about bailing, but we are both in complete agreement about this.

In the end, we grabbed crepes (they constitute fast food when you are 15 minutes from the French border) and then took a lovely drive in the surrounding countryside, discovering the beautiful Darnius Lake, which saved the day!Read more
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Medieval Villages 2021 Traveler
Castellfollit de la Roca
March 27, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
After a nippy but tasty continental breakfast on the hotel’s outdoor terrace (watching hot air balloons drift overhead; something we both want to try sometime soon!) we set off for Castellfollit de la Roca. Dating back to the Middle Ages, this tiny village sits perched on a dramatic cliffside peninsula. Still off-season, we couldn’t find an outdoor patio for lunch and decided to return to Besalú for some additional sightseeing and another lunch option that would again eliminate the need for dinner (or take-out, hotel-room-dining).

A “lost in translation moment” resulted in meeting 2 expats (from California) who had recently moved to a town near Begur, and we invited them to join us for lunch. It’s always fascinating to hear the stories behind why people move to Spain. In our case, we never set out to move abroad permanently, it was originally an educational adventure for 1-2 years. And here we are still... ever grateful for these adventures.Read more
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Medieval Villages 2021 Traveler
Base of the Pyrenees
March 28, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
Building on recommendations from several different friends, we decided to make today’s destination Camprodón and then loop back home. Current restrictions prevented us from crossing over into France.

Paul met a friend for an early morning hike (retuning with a bunch of wild asparagus!!) and we then set off.

The single lane (one-car-width-passing-only-in-certain-areas) mountain road from Castellfollit to Beget and on to Camprodón might prove daunting in the high season or in a large SUV, but it was deserted and relaxing today.

The style of houses changed dramatically as we wandered deeper into the mountains, with steep roofs and deep overhangs hinting at the amount of snow this area gets in winter months.

Popular as a mountain ski resort, this destination near the French border was lovely! We explored the town, took photos of the old bridge, and were lucky to find a sunny spot on a quiet plaza for lunch.

Catalonia feels very different than the rest of Spain. Politics and their desire to separate from the rest of Spain aside, the area we explored on this trip inland feels vastly different in a geographical sense. It boasts old volcanic cones, and is lush with fertile valleys and beautiful meadows (currently featuring fluorescent fields of canola which fondly remind us of spring in Scotland!) Did we mention the rice paddies just outside of Begur?
http://bravamagazine.cat/the-paddies-of-pals-th…
More on that another time!

Until the next adventure!Read more
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Medieval Villages 2021 Traveler
One less bucket list item!
April 5, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Ballooning! Wow, just wow!
We were thrilled to be invited to go ballooning with a hiking friend of Paul’s who has her own balloon and pilot’s license.

It’s hard to find the right words to describe the quiet and the majesty of flying above the earth in this manner. It was a super morning for ballooning (and fun to watch two commercial companies launch their large balloons from the same field we used). There are many parallels to sailing (yes, wind matters!)

I had to pinch myself a couple of times to overcome the surreal feeling and freedom of soaring above fields of apple blossoms and glowing canola, while being able to see the sea and mountains (such a welcome antidote for being locked down for so long!)

Afterwards we shared a champagne picnic brunch with Jackie and her husband who was our “chaser”.
We are so very thankful for this unique opportunity, especially since it’s something that we have both been wanting to do for a long time.
Wow, what a perfect Easter Monday morning!Read more
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Begur, Banyoles, Besalú

A Saturday in and around Figueres

Castellfollit de la Roca

Base of the Pyrenees

One less bucket list item!