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Painted houses on the Ter in Girona
Costa Brava
Near Begur
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Exploring Baix Empordà
This area proved to be a really nice
area to explore. The coast, of course, is the Costa Brava.
But don't let that keep you away. Away from the coast, there are
some great places to see - Iberian, Greek & Roman ruins. One
of the gems we discovered is Peratallada, a medieval stone village. It
was built out of the stone that they carved out of the moat that
surrounds the village. Deep rutted stone streets with
houses,
restaurants & hotels. Of course, since it was off-season, everything
was closed except for La Riera & another fancy hotel. The 1st
night we just explored the village & ate in our hotel's
restaurant. It was all cooked by the husband & wife hoteliers
& was very good with a nice wine from his cellar. The
restaurant used to be a stable some centuries ago.
Peratallada is a great find & was quite spooky - but spooky good -
at night.
The next morning, it was time to explore. We drove to Girona for
lunch & to see this large town. We ate in a modern restaurant
in the old Jewish quarter. There is parking in huge lots
across the river Ter - the one with all of the painted houses - photo op
here. I guess this is a tour bus stop in the summer months.
In the afternoon, we buzzed over to
the coast & briefly walked on the cold, windy beach. Also drove thru
some of the coast towns & did some shopping in
nearby La Brisbal de Empordà which turned out to be a pottery town with
numerous pottery stores selling their wares on the main street/highway
that runs thru. For dinner, we went with a suggestion from our
host & ate in a restaurant in a tiny village - Palau-sator - that was close to Peratallada.
Very nice busy place.
Our last full day, we decided to go
further a field & we motored up to Empúries. This is a major
archeological site with Greek & Roman ruins on a hill overlooking
the Med. We both loved wandering this area for several
hours. Everywhere you walked, there were shards of potter &
roof tiles underfoot. Amazing.
Then it was over to Figueres for the
Dali Museum. We are not really fans, but we were in the area &
it was an interesting stop. Bear in mind that most of his iconic
pieces are sprinkled around the world in museums or private
collections. We ate lunch in a bar around the
corner decked out with wooden beams etc. Good but not memorable.
Our last stop of the day was the ruins
of an Iberian settlement just north of Ullastret. On a hill with a
great view of the plain with the coast mountains in the distance - very
serene. After 1/2 hour, it was closing so we made our way back to
Peratallada & dinner at our hotel. This night, the owner
dragged me into his wine cellar & I chose a 20 year old Bodegas Lan
Rioja as a splurge. The food was good & the wine was great.
Early the next morning we bee - lined to
the Barcelona airport - 3 hrs or so - for the long flight home.
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