Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Mountain Cows
brrrr...in the morning
St. Llorenc de Campdevenol Romanic Chapel (1075)

We took advantage of the last few days of Fall to go to the Pyrenees to plan a tour for next September. We were really lucky with the weather and only one mountain pass we wanted to cross was closed for the season. We talked to a man who was complaining that there was hardly any snow yet this year, he said last year this time they had 2 palms already (they measure in 'palms' here-your hand with all of your fingers outstretched, and in 'four fingers'- your four fingers together).

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Mushroom Hunting

Saturday we went mushroom hunting in the hopes of finding some late season mushrooms. We got lucky and had a delicious plate of "rovellons" with lunch!

Jaume and his mommy. The hunt begins!

Wine Country

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Here are some photos of our days with the group from Calgary: the marvelous bike guides, Bernat and David, the organizers of the group from Canada in the restaurant , Matt and Jen, scenes from the areas we passed and some suffered through:)

Wine Tour in South Catalonia

Jaume with the group

What clouds we had this week!

Wow! All this past week watching and actually riding one day during the tour was so amazing. The countryside, wine, food, and everything! Now, it is hard to come home and not have a big project ahead and Sally is not here:( I don't think that set in until we came back because we were so busy! The group was from Calgary, 14 people, and they had a wonderful time in this kind of remote area. I always think of Anita Laraia (Aunt Nancy's friend) who was going to do the wine tour with us, that if she knew how incredible this area is she would have found some way to make it happen! Oh well, that is what makes it so special too - nobody knows about it, even wine experts hehe!!! shhhh!!!:)

South Catalonia

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Trip to South Catalonia

Jaume and Debbie and I left this past Tuesday on a camping trip to visit south Catalonia, they are doing some more prep work for their big cycling tour coming up later this week. We visited the beautiful coastal cities of Sitges and Cambrils, saw the exciting start to a day of La Vuelta de Espana - bike race, in the historic Roman city of Tarragona, and toured some interesting sites, hiked, biked, and sampled and purchased some of the local delicious wines in the famed wine regions of Priorat, Montsant, and Penedes.

Hike to Rocacorba

Debbie at the top of Rocacorba with the Monastery, Mother of God, in the background

Yum! at Can Xifra

Debbie and I hiked to the highest point near Girona, Rocacorba. It was a beautiful hike with a view of the church/monastery perched on the rock at the top to entice us up the winding and steep path we were on. We treated ourselves to a yummy lunch at the Can Xifra restaurant afterwards!

Banyoles and Besalu!

The bridge at the entrance to Besalu

An historic Pescador, fishing house, on Lake Banyoles

I visited these scenic and historic towns today by bus from Girona. Baynoles has a beautiful lake which is an important bird migratory site. I was too early for the birds, only saw some coots, and gulls, and a couple of robins. But I did hike around the entire lake 8km, and swam in its clear blue water! I had a lunch of black rice paella (cooked in squid ink!)at a restaurant in the big square of Baynoles, and then visited Besalu, a charming town with a cute bridge, before heading back to Girona before it was completely dark.

Jornada de Cuina al Carrer

Jaume waiting for his dish to be prepared at the French restaurant

Debbie and Jaume enjoying a taste of Girona!

The first taste of Girona was a hit! We arrived early and tried several of the yummy samplings that 16 different restaurants were offering. It got crowded later on, we were glad we arrived early so we didn't have to stand in long lines. We tried a seafood rice dish, a fish dip, a tapas of patatas bravas, and a fish dish from the french restaurant, and of course una mica de vi negre! ...Yum!

Trip to S'Agaro on the Costa Brava

Debbie near the beach houses in S'Agaro

Debbie and the sea view along the promenade

Sally along the promenade

Walking down the steps to the beach where we swam

Sally sunning on the rocks above the beach

Debbie and I visited S'Agaro, a posh little town with a beautiful beach and a wonderful promenade along the Cami de Ronda, the coastal trail. We took this path up above S'Agaro to the north passing an historic hotel, and beautiful houses overlooking the sea. Many of them had plazas that went over the path with neat archways that we walked through underneath. We stopped at the next beach, which was less crowded, perched ourselves on some rocks to warm up before we jumped in the water to swim. It was a lovely day!

Gaelle and Jorn's Visit

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Gaelle and Jorn's visit

Gaelle, one of Debbie's good friends from her time in school in France, came to visit with her husband Jorn for a couple of days. We showed them around Girona and Caldes taking lots of pictures, trying lots of yummy food and pastries, tasting the warm mineral water of Caldes, and cooling off in the pool at Jaume's parents house.

Trip to Collioure, France

The village of Collioure

The main beach and the Royal Castle in Collioure

Sally at the castle in Collioure, the church of Notre Dame des Angles is in the background

I took the train from Girona on a day trip to Collioure, France, a picturesque town on the coast. After exploring the Chateau Royal and having lunch at a Catalan French restaurant, I took a swim in the clear blue and refreshing Mediterranean on one of the beaches there. I stopped by a wine shop to get a bottle of local wine before leaving on the train, which we enjoyed with dinner when I got back to Debbie and Jaume's!

Overnight in Barcelona

A delightful Parc Guell design

Sally at Parc Guell



On top of Montjuic

View of Barceloneta from the teleferic.

Debbie and I spent the night in Barcelona. We had yummy tapas at Ciudad Comtal then walked along the waterfront and took the Teleferic (cable car ride from Barceloneta up to Montjuic, where we enjoyed great sunset views of the city from the castle at the top. The next morning we visited Gaudi's imaginative Parc Guell!

Costa Brava

A view from the trail above the beach where Debbie and Jaume and I swam along the Costa Brava

Cap de Creus

Hanging out by the pool at Dali's house
Cadaques

Debbie and I visited Cap de Creus, a wild landscaped peninsula close to France. The charming village of Cadaques, snorkeling and picnic in Port Lligat before visiting Dali's seaside home. Returning around to the north, we stopped to visit the Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery which was perched high on a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean.


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Day in Barcelona

Top of La Pedrera, a Gaudi designed apartment building
La Sagrada Familia
Miro Sculpture

I spent this past Wednesday in Barcelona exploring the Picasso and Miro Museums. Here is a view of the city from the Miro Museum on the side of Montjuic, a park on the coast in Barcelona. At the end of the day I also visited La Pedrera, an apartment of Antonio Gaudi's design, the roof of which was amazing :) Great views too! Sally

Sally in Girona

Discovering the medieval alleys at sunset.

I am so happy to have Sally wally come to stay with me here in Girona. Here you can look back on Linda's visit and see all the things Sally does during her time in Espana.

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Muchas Gracias por su visita !!!

mmmmm....carne
On the way to visit Gala's castle in Pubol.

We had a wonderful time with you and are so happy that you know where I live and met important people in my life. You are a beautiful family:)I hope you had a good flight home and got some sleep. Have a wonderful Summer!

On our last day, we went to Gala-Dali's Castle in the village of Pubol - the castle that Dali gave to his wife Gala. A lovely drive to a countryside lunch in St. Marti Vell. Home to pack up and enjoy the pool and eating al fresco one last time with a special little birthday party for moi!

Back in Barcelona

That is the sweetest baby!!!
Hanging out in Park Guell
We love Park Guell!
Jordan is so cute he had everyone in the park watching him feed the pigeons !

Last day in Barcelona picking up the sights we didn't want to miss - the spectacular Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, both Antoni Gaudi designs. We took our time and enjoyed a beer in the park then walked through this wildly creative space and felt inspired by the beauty and unusualness.

Els Volcans

Today we visited the volcanic area of the Garrotxa in the interior of Catalonia. We walked over the medieval bridge of Besalu and found some cute shops and had a nice lunch outside. It felt good to be in the country and Robert got lost in the skies with the birdies:) We saw the Croscat volcano and then enjoyed a coffee in Santa Pau before coming back to Girona to walk the wall at sunset. Robert and Linda had a dinner date with the baby sleeping and Jordan and I went to the park then watched videos at home while eating pancakes. Just two more days of visiting to go:(

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Jordanet on the wall
Enjoying views of Girona at sunset
Jordan's eating a foot!
Jordan on the rocks in Besalu.

Meeting Jaume's Parents

Let's see how many of these pebbles I can throw in the sea before we have to leave...
Jason in the big chair
I'm so happy to meet Jaume's parents!

Today we went back to Tossa for Paella with Jaume's parents and had a lovely time besides Jordan's pre-nap disposition. Jordan finally took a nap and we all enjoyed cod bunyols and lobster croquets and then a gorgeous seafood paella. Waddled our way down to the beach and some of us jumped in the chilly water and then napped up on the beach.