Le Train Jaune through the Pyrenees
August 27, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activities, Activity tours, History and culture, Tours
The yellow train is a tourist institution celebrating its centenary in 2010 and is the highest train ride in France going through the Pyrenees from Villefranche de Conflent to Latour de Carol. You might well ask what does this have to do with being based in Girona for a holiday, well it is less than an hours drive to Perpignan from where you can get an ordinary train and in 45 min arrive in Villefranche where the "Train Jaune" begins.
The whole trip from one end to the other takes over three hours winding through the mountains from 400m altitude to 1,600m with spectacular scenery all the way.
The train itself is special as it is built for sightseeing all year round and taking skiers up to famous ski resorts like Font Romeu and Les Angles. The fun part is choosing a town along the route to get off and explore a bit more on foot. Mont-Louis is one option where you can discover the fortress building skills of Vauban, the foremost military engineer of the 17th century. He worked consolidating France's borders from a defensive perspective and was duly rewarded by his patron, Louis XIV, making him a Marquis.
Villefranche also has an impressive Vauban fort to walk around and these as well as 6 others have been made UNESCO world heritage sights in 2008.
Le Train Jaune is a great excursion for all the family; there is something for everybody from the train ride and scenery to all the different villages, fortresses and ski resorts to explore.
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Nature bike ride
May 24, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activities, Activity tours, History and culture
About 30 people of all ages got together last sunday morning to follow Montse around cycle paths to Sant Gregori while she stopped and explained all the wonderful plants we were seeing and their medicinal properties.
First stop was the elderberry/elderflower with large white flowers which makes a cordial or cava which we tried later on and was delicious.
From the most common plants like dandelions, poppies and nettles to flax, bindweed and borage we learnt to identify them, which parts of the plant were of interest and how to prepare an infusion or compress and what ailments it helped.
We all felt very inadequate and the common lament was how we were losing contact with our surroundings and an important part of our heritage that our grandparents took for granted.
Thank you to Montse and Mou te en Bici for organising such an interesting ride and I hope it becomes a regular event.
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Strategic Hostalric
May 23, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activity tours, History and culture, Local news and info
Hostalric is a town built on a basalt outcrop in the 12th century above the river Fogars because of its important position on the France-Barcelona trade route.
This intersection has proved both good and bad for the local residents over the centuries, encouraging investment in the form of castles and defensive structures but also attracting more than its share of sieges and sackings.
Hostalric is now on the main road and train lines with trips in under an hour to the centre of Barcelona so its strategic position has evolved somewhat to one of a dormitory town but there are plenty of local industries based here too.
It boasts easy access to the Costa Brava and also the Montseny mountains which is a protected UNESCO scenic area. The river Fogars it is the dividing line between Barcelona and Girona provinces.
It is the perfect place to stop for a walk around following the easy routes that are marked and finish up sitting in the mulberry shaded main square sipping a cool drink and looking up at the massive fortress which still dominates the skyline above town and which now houses a restaurant.
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Empordà wine tour
May 7, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activities, History and culture, Tours, Wine and food, Wine tours
Spring weather is as fickle as ever this year but a trip to visit a Bodega (winery) in the Empordà is always a good option since the worst that can happen is that you get stuck in a cellar with plenty of wines to taste while you watch the rain come down in the vineyards.
If the sun shines this is a glorious time to wander around the countryside as everything is growing furiously and the shades of new green are startlingly vivid. After all this activity, or maybe in spite of it, a glass of cool white or rosado wine does wonders for looking at life in a more positive vein. Follow this with a selection of reds, some young and fruity and some with oak ageing and by the time it comes to taste the dessert wines things are positively wonderful.
Having activated the taste buds and got the saliva flowing the only possible follow up is a wonderful meal at a nearby restaurant with fresh fish and lamb with wild herbs dishes that seem to be particularily appreciated, washed down with a choice of wines, of course.
By now it is completely normal to feel a bit satisfied and even drowsy so either another walk is needed to explore some of the prehistoric burial sites which dot the area or it's time to have a doze in the back of the van for the ride back to Girona. Either way it's a day of pampering oneself with tastes, flavours and experiences that make visiting this part of Spain a fantastic experience.
Day tours to wineries in the Empordà inc all transport, tastings and lunch cost 125€/person, groups of 4-8 people.
Contact: gironaj@gmail.com for more info or to book.
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Cork: an important local industry
February 17, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Cultural tours, History and culture
Yes, we are talking about the corks that are normally found in a bottle of wine or sparkling wine. This is an industry which has been important for Girona province for 150 years. It is centred on the towns of Palafrugell and Cassa de la Selva, either side of the Gavarres hills where most of the cork oaks are found.
Cork is an amazing natural product which was discovered by the Greeks over 2,500 years ago to seal the amphoras of wine and olive oil they transported around the Mediterranean basin.
As well as being lightweight, it is waterproof and fireproof which means the cork oaks are some of the very few trees that survive the regular fires which sweep through most forests. The trees take about 30 years to mature sufficiently to produce a layer of cork (its bark) but another 15 is needed before it is thick enough to be used for commercial purposes.
So, this is no short term industry, the trees take about 14 years to re-grow its bark for the next harvest which is all done by hand up in the hills. This area is the second largest exporter of corks in the world after Portugal and some 1,500 people are still employed in some way by the industry locally.
Unfortunately, like all mature industries, there is severe competition from other methods of closing bottles which are more economic and the market for corks is sliding steadily. Their niche is still relatively secure in the more upmarket sectors of the wine and champagne sectors but the cheaper end is moving to plastic corks or screw-caps.
Make sure you come and take a tour of a cork making factory (ask at the local tourist information offices) or visit the cork museum in Palafrugell before this fascinating industry disappears forever!
Masia Freixa, Terrassa
January 3, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activities, History and culture
Masia Freixa was also designed by the architect Lluis Muncunill in 1907/10 and shows clear influnces of Antoni Gaudi in it's organic shapes.
Commissioned by the industrialist Josep Freixa to convert an industrial space into a private residence it is now set in a public park and the building itself is used by the municipal music school.
It is extraordinarily interesting visually which shows the great imagination the Modernists used to create buildings which still surprise and give us pleasure many years later.
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The Science Museum of Terrassa
January 3, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activities, History and culture
The Science and Technology Museum has been established in the restored textile mill of Aymerich, Amat i Jover, which was the largest in Terrassa when it was built in 1907/08, closed in 1976 and bought by the Catalan government subsequently to house the museum.
The building was designed by Lluis Muncunill who was responsible for many buildings both private and public while he was the Terrassa city architect.
The mill itself is impressive both in its size (11,000 sq metres) and also in the details; the use of bricks in curved shapes, the large north facing windows to allow in the maximum amount of light and the simplicity of the metalwork throughout make this a delightful building to wander around enjoying all the various exhibitions.
Of special mention is the detailed explanation of how the textile mill worked from the raw material stage to the finished product with much of the original machinery on display.
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Terrassa a Modernist gem
January 3, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activities, History and culture
Terrassa is only 28 kms from Barcelona and close to Sabadell which also developed in a similar way at the start of the Catalan Industrial revolution in the mid 19th Century.
Both these cities were at the vanguard of textile manufacture and as such the legacy they have left us is visible as textile mills, houses built for industrialists of the time and public buildings using architects that tried to reflect the new materials at their disposal (bricks, ironwork, glass, tiles) in a style which was collectively known as Modernism.
Terrassa has managed to preserve and re-use some of these buildings, turning them into wonderful public spaces like museums, art galleries and schools while others are protected but used as private dwellings or business premises. The tourist information offices have a map that highlights the main buildings and routes around town, all of which are marked with a signpost.
I will try to reflect the variety of buildings and capture some of the beauty of the details in the pictures below:
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Girona m’enamora!
November 27, 2009 by Admin
Filed under Activities, History and culture
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Charming spots: Sant Andreu de Pedrinyà
November 22, 2009 by Admin
Filed under Activities, Cultural tours, History and culture
Many people visit the Dali/Gala castle at Púbol but do not realise that only a couple kilometres off the road there is a charming church hamlet to visit without any tourists, Sant Andreu de Pedrinyà.
Set off a country road which turns into a gravel path shortly after, but in a peaceful and beautiful location next to a stream with plantain trees which offer a cool place to rest and contemplate the small church.
Currently part of La Pera diocese there are some 20 inhabitants in the few houses surrounding the church.
The village goes back to the year 971 and the present church is documented from the 11th century and is a good example of Romanesque features revealed during the restoration in 1975.
The interior is simple stone with fragments of the original murals having been transferred to the museum of Girona for safekeeping.
The gardens are well kept and it is a nice spot to picnic if you are walking or biking in the area.
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