Priorat wine tour

The Priorat is one of the hidden gems of the Spanish wine world and luckily it is much easier to visit now that the access roads have improved and only takes an hour and a half to reach from Barcelona.
Why go there? Well the terrain is mountainous, the climate very dry and extreme and the roads narrow and winding but despite all of this the drama of the steep slopes planted with almond trees or vines, villages built on rocky outcrops and above all some spectacular wines are what should bring you here.
This is where the traditional varieties of garnacha (white and red) and cariñena are blended with newer arrivals cabernet, syrah and merlot to make some of the most powerful yet complex wines which reflect the wild herbs and red fruit aromas which send wine lovers all over the world into ecstasy.
It is fair to say that these wines have a bigger following outside of Spain due to what is referred to locally as "Riojitis" but cost has also been a factor since many of these wines have been overpriced. Reality seems to have set in and there are plenty of very interesting offerings in the 10-25? range as the number of Bodegas (wineries) has exploded from a dozen to nearly a hundred in only ten years.
A day trip visiting two contrasting bodegas with a full lunch in between is a great way to discover this wild area and I know you will fall in love with it just like me!
Contact: wine.walks@gmail.com for more details.

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Hospital de Sant Pau- Modernist gem

Barcelona is not short of its own versions of Art Nouveau and Gothic style architecture which became known as Modernism in the late 19th century. The scale and extent of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau started in 1902 on the medieval site which has been in continuous use since 1401 is something to behold.

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Lleida la Seu Vella cloisters

Lleida is on the westernmost edge of Catalonia and on the main roads to Zaragoza and Madrid from Barcelona. The plains around here produce many kinds of soft fruit like pears, peaches, cherries and apples as well as grapes from the D.O.Costers del Segre. The key to the agriculture is having the river Segre as a source for irrigation as without it only olive trees, almonds and vines can survive the extreme conditions.

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Sitges museums

The three museums in Sitges are all close together and worth visiting, displaying some impressive collections of art, glassware, ironwork and antique dolls in buildings that are also architectural treasures.

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Olive oil-the oldest industry in Catalonia

Olives and olive oil is what brought the Greeks and Romans to the Iberian peninsula some 3,500 yrs ago and it has been a crucial commodity ever since. The south of Spain produces the quantity with thousands of hectares cultivated in the poorest soils where nothing else will survive the extreme  weather, but around Lleida in the western part of  Catalonia there are also extensive plantations.

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French Christmas tradition-oysters!

The French, as always, have their own way of eating at Christmas. None of these heavy meat based cooked meals with stuffing, gravy and vegetables followed by the "coup de grace" of large helpings of cakes and chocolates for them. No, they have a much better idea, they eat oysters and other seafoods. Keeping it light and healthy and other than a few glasses of white wine, feel fit enough to take a siesta with their partner followed by a coffee instead of passing out in front of the TV.
Only an hours drive from Girona on the motorway you can reach Leucate on the coast, just north of Perpignan. Here you can drive along a spit of land between the Mediterranean and the lagoon where some of the best oysters and mussels are reared in clean unpolluted waters and in harmony with the surrounding protected salt marshes famous for migrating flamingoes and other birds.
In a cut between the lagoon and the sea a cluster of fisherman's shacks line each side of the water and you can buy direct from the fishermen or consume on the premises. This is not a pretentious place and people pour in to sit at plastic tables outside next to the street for two simple reasons-the freshness of the product and the price. The oysters we had were so fresh that they actually squirmed when we squeezed lemon on them. If you happen to be lucky enough for a sunny, windless day then this has to be one of the best ways of spending 24th december, and when you see the bill you can take a few kilos home for friends. Vive la France!

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City walls walkway Girona

From the Cathedral gardens there is quite a steep climb to where you get onto the old city walls. These walls have been extensively restored and you can see a mix of old sedimentary rock, bricks and stones combined with modern materials making it a safe experience for all ages. The views of the Cathedral, Sant Felix Church as well as all of Girona spread out below is worth all the huffing and puffing.
Looking down from the height of the walls you can see Modernist private houses, secret gardens and interesting features such as an ancient “privvy” or toilet incorporated into the wall, presumably for the patrolling guards. Buildings of Girona University, churches and some of the narrow lanes give the Old Town or “Barri Vell” its charm. Once you descend from the walls close to the river Onyar you are in the heart of modern, commercial Girona, at the Placa de Catalunya and only a short walk to the pedestrianised Rambla de la Libertad with lots of shops and cafe  terraces.

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A walk through the Cathedral gardens, Girona

As befits a town that has been a settlement since before the Visigoths and later developed and influenced by Romans, Moors, Jews and Catholics ever since, there are many layers of building mixed together here in the Old Town of Girona.
The Cathedral gardens are nestled below the impressive town walls, walls that repelled many sieges over the years and are both high and thick enough to resist any but the best equipped armies. The local council has done a very nice job restoring and incorporating a walkway along the top of the walls, from which the views of the Old Town are one of the best ways to start your visit to Girona.The whole walk takes about an hour and involves some climbing of steps as Girona Cathedral is at the top of a hill with commanding views of the town below.Today we get a look at one side, the gardens, next time we will finish the rest of the walkway.

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Day trips to Barcelona

Many people are starting to find out that Girona is a pretty darn good base and visiting Barcelona
is quick, easy and cheap. The best and most relaxing way is by train
and there are regular trains every hour with the Express trains taking
about an hour and a quarter. The only thing to be aware of is that the last train from Barcelona
is at 9.20pm so don’t miss it as it would mean either a taxi back or
staying in a hotel overnight, and both options are expensive! The cost
of the train is a very reasonable 12? (approx) return which compared to
the motorway tolls, petrol and parking is a real bargain.
The best stop in Barcelona is “Passeig de Gracia” which drops you off very close to two of the best Gaudi buildings the Casa Batllo and the Pedrera and once you have seen them (and visited the excellent shop in the bottom of the Pedrera for gifts) Plaça Catalunya and the Ramblas are an easy 5 min walk. The Ramblas
are charming and crowded so watch your handbags/wallets and the living
statues are rightly fascinating. If you walk all the way to
the end you come out in the Port area where there is a good aquarium and an IMAX cinema as well as a food court and many shops.
I always recommend a loop so walk along the port until reaching Via Laetana off of which the Cathedral and various impressive government buildings can be seen along the narrow streets of the oldest part of Barcelona the “Barri Gothic.” All roads lead back to the Plaça Catalunya and from there the train station is only a few minutes walk.
If you are interested in the local gastronomy then do not miss a walk around the Boqueria
market (1 third of the way down the Ramblas on the right) and then instead of the plastic food at the port discover some of the wonderful bars off to the right of Laetana such as La Vinya del Senyor (for wine by the glass and food) or Cal Pep for fresh and simple cooking.
All in all you will have seen the main Barcelona sights in an easy day trip although there is still plenty left a bit further afield for the next time!

 

Sant Pere de Rodes

Image via WikipediaThis tour goes to one of the most beautiful parts of the Empordà region, the Sant Pere de Rodes monastery and surrounding Cap de Creus natural park. When starting from Girona you need to allow at least an hour’s travel time. I always go through the small village of Villajuïga and stop to fill up my water bottle with the mineral water available at the tap next to the entrance to the bottling plant where the well is located. This is a water rich in minerals and one of the few that come out of the ground with a little natural carbonation which is nice and refreshing without producing the aggressive bubbles of gas added mineral waters.
From here we enter the Cap de Creus natural park and wind our way up the hill through the olive trees and then cork oaks and meditterranean pines and heavy gorse and broome (called ginesta in Catalan.) The area suffered a very big fire in 2000 which destroyed most of the pine trees while the cork oaks with their thick protective layer of cork survived even though they are still black and sooty on the outside which shows the hardiness of this local species.
From the top not only do we have spectacular views of the coast, the Bay of Roses and Pyrenees but also the famous 10th century monastery, Sant Pere de Rodes, set in a commanding position where they could survey the terraces where the grapes and olives made them one of the wealthiest landowners in Catalunya for nearly 500 years. By the early part of the 20th century a combination of phylloxera which wiped out the vines and a shortage of labour from migration to tend the very steep terraces meant the whole area went into dramatic decline until the tourists arrived to bring new life and income to the remaining people.

Several of the benefits that the fires produced was to reveal the old terraces on the steep slopes as well as acting as a renovating and revitalizing force for new plant growth throughout the park.
Coming down the other side towards Port de la Selva, making sure to watch out for the many cyclists that use this road for training, especially in the spring when all the wild flowers are out and seeing the sparkling sea get closer is a joy. Time to head into this charming fishing village for lunch sitting outside and tasting some of the fresh fish which the fishermen bring in each day.

Labels: Cap de Creus, Girona, Mineral water, Monastery, Sant Pere de Rodes

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