[williswall]

As our kids get older, family trips become more difficult as individual lives get in the way. Fortunately, my son was able to get vacation from work and my daughter was on break from school, giving my travel guru spouse the go ahead to plan a trip to Catalonia, Spain, based out of Barcelona. We did a lot of walking over 8 days, sometimes upwards of 10 miles per day, so this isn't really a conventional trip report. However, we did get to walk some of GR 93 along the coast (Costa Brava) and did a hike at Montserrat. GR 93 is a definite candidate for a longer trip, especially this time of year....the beaches were practically deserted and we had the historic town of Pals to ourselves, all with beautiful sunny weather that didn't exceed 70 degrees F. We found Barcelona to be a very interesting and friendly city, especially now before the tourist season is in full swing, and the people extremely friendly. My wife and I want to spend some time living in Europe after I retire and we may have found a contender....Girona is only 30 minutes by high speed train to Barcelona, the beaches are minutes away, and skiing is less than an hour away. All this with reasonable prices compared to Barcelona proper. GR 93 shots, including Calella de Parafrugell and Llafranc

105. Calella de Parafrugell (Costa la Brava)

106. Calella de Parafrugell fishing boats

107. garages turned cool abodes

108. deserted beaches

110. blooms along GR 93

111. Approaching Llafranc

112. beach at Llafranc

Pals and a few Girona shots:

113. deserted streets of Pals

115. Pals alleyway

116. continuing Pals tour

121. Pals to ourselves

134. looking to the Pyrenees

136. classic Girona reflection on Onyar river

Montserrat:

178. Montserrat setting

180. Montserrat3

183. Cassie completes a 5.10

188. hiking with the "kids"

190. views from the trail

191. approaching Santa Cova monastery

196. Santa Cova monastery interior

198. the valley below

Lastly, food!

95. chilies at Mercat

52. Yum!

24. "And this, what is this?"

16. sweet treats

15. window shopping

7. my faborit place

[Malachai Constant]

But did you kiss the orb of the Black Virgin?

[JimL]

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

[puzzlr]

Nice, Montserrat just went on my future travel possibility list

[bobbi]

Fabulous ... Always a bonus when kids join the folks on a trip! Friends moved to Spain, new retirement home. I'll check the name of the town later. They love it, affordable for sure. They did mention having to learn, read, write, and speak Spanish, I think, especially for taking the driver's license test. the town is: Almuñécar, Spain

[nordique]

FWIW, Girona is a popular place for American and other pro bike racing teams, as a base for training and competing. Girona is a friendly place for English-speaking bike racing teams.

[Get Out and Go]

Looks like nearby Tossa de Mar, which I visited once. Beautiful!