Mom and I are starting to plan next year's trip! Since I am not going to Europe this year, I have nothing to obsess, travelwise, about. So I have started obsessing early for next year.
We are going to have 3 weeks and are looking at a couple of weeks in Catalonia, then down to Valencia for a few days. We would like to go to Cuenca and Madrid, even briefly, on the way out but I don't think we will have time to do that, unfortunately.
We'll fly into Barcelona and spend a couple of days there just to chill out. Here is what I am thinking for the rest and would love to hear my fellow slowtravelers thoughts:
4-5 days in Girona (a good base?) 3-4 days north and east of Girona - I would like to stay at a parador or two here, if they take the "5-night card" so we can afford it. 5-7 days in Tarragona - or Sitges? This would be a base for exploring the area, but I am a little worried that Sitges is too expensive. Would Tarragona be a good base? 5 days - Valencia - is 5 days going to be enough? Probably not.
We are going to be on a Major Budget on this trip. So we have to be very frugal with our accommodations - spartan is OK, as long as it is quiet and the sheets are clean. Girona and Tarragona both seem to have some pretty nice apartments in our price range - Sitges not so much. The good news is we can live very happily on tapas and snacks in our room.
We would have considered Barcelona as a base, but I am not so hep about driving there, and I am worried that Barcelona would bring out my lazy side and I wouldn't see anything else in Catalonia.
Shannon,I can't offer any tips for Spain but will love following the development of your itinerary. I think it's going to be such a wonderful trip for you and your mom. What time of year will you be travelling? Barb Cabot
Posts: 572 | Location: Long Beach, California | Registered: 27 August 2007
I really like Girona, but I'm wondering if I'd like it so much as a base since there are so many wonderful rural areas in Catalonia, and beach towns, that I'd be tempted to base myself there and do Girona as a day trip. I would think that some rural lodgings would be very cheap.
If you like art and architecture, and really want to understand Catalonian nationalism, and the pride behind, spend a day in Vic, and visit the Plaza Mayor and the great museum of Catalonia art in Vic. It's extraordinary. In fact, I would suggest you check out Vic as a base, except it's a very conservative, Catalonian-minded town, and you might find it less easy to get on in. But here's a picture:
Thanks for your note, Barb. I really love the planning part...
Thanks for your recommendations, farinata. Vic looks beautiful - I know we will definitely be going there for a day trip, at least. I will check out the other towns as possible bases.
We don't want to stay in a rural location - we want to stay in a town where we can come home at the end of the day and walk to a tapas bar or cafe in the evening, so we can have a bottle of wine and not worry about driving after.
We are going in the last couple of weeks in September and the first week of October. It will still be high season, but unfortunately I can't go any later than that.
Farinata, do you speak any Castellano? My mom speaks some Spanish, but I think we will both try to learn a little Castellano - looks like it may be necessary, or will at least be appreciated.
There is a parador just outside Vic - maybe we can stay there to get a parador fix. It looks really nice.
Just for giggles, here are two other paradors we'd like to stay at - IF we can use the 5-night card. (Which I kind of doubt, at least in Cardona.)
I can appreciate wanting to stay in a town as a base, and Girona has some very lovely, atmospheric spots. My recollection is that some of the town -- perhaps most of it -- is pedestrian-only, and I think I would certainly want to stay in a pedestrian only area. Of course the food in Girona is marvelous.
I don't speak "Castellano" and I actually think the language you want for Catalunya is "Catalan" or "Catala". I quickly picked up the ability to decipher signs and menus. Catalan is a mixture of French and Spanish, with what looks like the odd bit of Flemish thrown in.
You'll probably want to avoid Spanish in such ultra-Catalan areas like Vic -- although you won't be treated badly. No one will expect you to speak Catalan, but if you assume they will be happy speaking Spanish, you'll be marked down as a bit clueless about just how badly they suffered under Franco. I'd try English first, or French if you're good at it.
I yearned to stay at the Parador at Vic, which looks stunning in photos, but it was booked (and it is pricey!) If it makes a difference, the lake it overlooks is man-made, as is the lake in the high plateau of Ribes de Fraser. Creating water features may be a legacy of the Moors in Spain (just my guess).
I think you'll find Sept-Oct still relatively depopulated -- and hot. A beach trip to Calella de Palafrugell on a weekday, with a lunch under the porticoes that come right up to the sand, might be perfect.
Those paradors look enchanting. I've only stayed in one -- the parador at the Alhambra -- and it was one of the happiest travel experiences I've ever had, including my lunch of Andalucian specialties (my fave was cold almond soup). If you are going to splurge on anything, I would make it a parador stay or meal.
PS: If you have your heart set on staying at some parador and it is booked, keep trying. After being told repeatedly that I would need to book the parador in Granada at least a year in advance, I figured "what-the-heck" and sent them a fax when I took a last minute trip to Spain one year. Sure enough -- somebody had cancelled.
It may be impossible for us to stay at one of these paradors unless they will let us utilize one of their promotions (5 night card, etc.) On our last trip, a few of the paradors we wanted to stay at didn't work out for this reason. No worries, we still checked them all out for a drink or a snack.
This place in Girona looks great - though unless the dollar rebounds a little it may be out of our price range.
My mom and I looked at that same place (the first one you posted) last weekend! My issue with it is - it looks like people live there when they don't have a renter. I don't like that too much... the second link looks good.
Shannon. I'm assuming you already know Barcelona? It's an un-missable place if you're planning a tip to Catalonia, and whilst Girona is a good base (great geographical location for moving around) it seems that yoyr plna is then to move south, so you must pass Barcelona on a budget route (train/bus - see trains and buses for tips! Tarragona is really nice, and is also close to the cava tours (no need to organise this yourself, just take the train to Sant Sadurni, and one of the best tours is right there - Freixenet!)
I highly recommend Monells, near Girona. It is a little jewel of a village. There are several nice eateries and this sumptuous b&b with about 6 rooms. It is not exactly a budget place but is not that expensive for such a magic spot.
Shannon, I'm going to be following your planning. We may have the opportunity to go to Espana this coming spring, but things are very tentative at this point. But of course, I'm already quite excited!
Hello Shannon: The posts so far have concentrated on Catalonia (and rightly so. It is a wonderful part of Iberia)
We visited Valencia in the run up to Las Fallas (March 19- San Jose's Day) and found it a lively pleasant city. We can recommend the Hotel Valencia ( http://www.hotel-valencia.com/ )as a clean, quiet, budget option with modern bathrooms close to all sights in the old town.
As for sights:the market is grand (dare I say rivalling Barcelona's), La Longa -cavernous silk merchants' exchange, a walk along Turia Park with Gulliver playground, the City of Arts and Sciences for the buildings (I don't think the exhibits are worth the admission price), the renovated harbour and beach area, modernista train station, the Museo de Belles Artes.
Apart from Paella ( try some place away from the centre) good tapas can be had on the pedestrian streets to the right of the post office looking towards the Cathedral. Horchata and fartons (icing sugar coated doughnuts) are another Valencia speciality. Santa Catalina has remarkable tiles and adequate fare.
If your heart is set on a Parador, we can recommend the one at Alarcon, about 150kms inland from Valencia. They had a 6 course tasting menu with appropriate local wines for each course for 38Eu.
If you are planning to drive south from Barcelona, a side trip to the hill town of Morella is worthwhile, especially if you can arrange to avoid tour bus times. Peniscola's new section is a mini Costa de Lager Louts but the old town and Templar castle area is worth a visit. The pretender pope, Papa Luna, holed up there.
Also the locals are proud of their own linquistic variation - Valencian - of Catalan.
Dennis
Posts: 211 | Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada | Registered: 08 November 2003
Thanks everyone... Terry, if it is your first trip, you have to go to Madrid! And Sevilla! and Granada!
Dennis, your notes about Valencia are great - thanks so much for posting them. And the parador at Alarcon looks fantastic - though the more I research the less it looks like we can fit Cuenca and Madrid into this trip.
The single most useful book for me when I was driving around Catalonia was The Rough Guide to the Costa Brava.
Although the title suggests it is only about the coast, it includes very accurate descriptions of the towns in the foothills of the Pyrenees. I found it invaluable in making choices in an area overloaded with small towns, each with their own differing appeal.
About the only thing I wouldn't recommend it for is restaurant choices. The focus is exclusively on budget meals, and not always good ones. But otherwise, it's very good.
You are going to get more recommendations for day trips than you can possibly do, but I was quite fascinated by the atmosphere of Castelló d'Empúries. Architecturally it's marvelous, with that amazing blend of cultural influences from all over that you find in Catalonia -- Greek, Jewish, Moorish, national Spain, French -- but the town is very insular. Its architecture attracts local tourism, but apparently very little international tourism, and so I really felt the pull of traditional Catalonian life. On the other hand, R.E.M. just played there last week. Nearby, at the coast, is the truly ghastly condo overdevelopment and ugly amusement parks that Zapatero has talked about purchasing and blowing up.
I didn't find a visit to Besalu very rewarding (especially since I ended up spending two nights there in the midst of the moment they were fertilizing the surrounding fields), and I understood why the very tiny towns of Rupit and Peretallada attract visitors, but I preferred places with more daily activity other than tourism. I think a visit to Rupit is probably best combined with the intention to spend the morning or afternoon hiking in the nearby densely forested parks.
We stayed 14 nights in Barcelona a couple years back. This fall we are going back to Spain, staying in Palma de Mallorca for 12 nights.
There is alot to see in Barcelona alone. So be sure to spend plenty of time seeing the sites and eating the great foods. Barcelona makes a great base to many sites in Catalonia.
As for side trips we really liked Montserrat which is a mountain near Barcelona that has a beautiful abbey that can be reached via cable car. The views were fantastic. It was just a short train ride from Barcelona.
We also took the train to the town of Figures to see the Dali Museum which is incredible, a must see if you are in Catalonia.
Another great trip is south of Barcelona to the town of Sitges, which is a quaint resort on the Mediterranean. We also took a bus tour to the Codorniu Winery, which is the world's largest producer of sparkling wine,that included a stop in Sitges.
You can also take a ferry to the island of Mallorca.
I've stayed at the Paradors in both Vic and Cardona. They are both exceptional buildings but I would highly reccommend Vic for the location and surroundings. It's located in a beautiful wooded area around some large lakes. The views are spectacular.
Also, if you get a chance stay for at least a night in Sitges on your way down to Valencia. It's a pretty little town with a really nice atmospehere. You can find some good value apartments there.
Thanks for those language links.
