Espagne and Catalonia

Dear Family and Friends,

After living in France for over three years, we have learned that life has only two speeds - fast and slow. During school, all three of the kids, including our seven-year-old Nathaniel, have an over-abundance of homework each day. Sometimes, just to complete their assignments on time, they have to work well beyond bedtime. Add music lessons, tennis, soccer, and rugby and it makes for a very busy week.

When the kids get discouraged with their lack of free time, we remind them of the school vacations, which fortunately come every couple of months. For kids who live in the moment, this is not always an immediate comfort. Nevertheless, there was a resounding sigh of relief the day that vacation finally arrived a couple of weeks ago.

While we let the kids just play for most of the vacation, we did decide to spend a little time as a family and took a short vacation to Spain. While Joe had been there for business trips, this was Julie's first time in any Spanish-speaking country and she was very excited to be able to use her mission language skills. Since we didn't have a lot of time, we decided to go to an area that is relatively close to France called Catalonia. This area is well-known for its resorts along the Costa Brava and we were able to find a nice resort in the hills not too far from the sea.

Hotel Spa

After arriving late at night, we spent our first morning checking out the hotel facilities, including a very nice spa that we had all to ourselves. We donned the mandatory cap and enjoyed an hour or two in the relaxing warm water with all kinds of different jets and bubbles. The waterfall was the favorite, though the various types of showers and steamrooms were also interesting.

Palamo and Lla Franc

We started exploring the coast and came upon the pristine town of Palamo. Here, we found a very nice beach, an interesting port, a staircase that led to the upper parts of the town, and a sea-side trail. Unfortunately, as soon as we got a kilometer or so down the trail, it started to pour and we had to rush back to the car as fast as we could.

Pals

During one of our drives, we discovered the medieval town of Pals. Though hill-towns from the sixteenth century are not new to us, the architecture had a distinctively Spanish taste. We also found a ceramics store that had some very unique pictures and vases. Joe, who loves folk art, browsed the store while the kids chased each other around the cobbled square. We're not too sure that the locals appreciated this, but as there weren't too many people here, we weren't too concerned.

Cadaques

By the evening, we had reached the northern most part of the Costa Brava and embarked upon a winding mountain road in order to reach the sea-side resort town of Cadaques. This village is unique because it is entirely white-washed. In some ways, it reminded us of some of the Greek towns we've visited.

Of course, the treat of the evening was being able to sit down in a cafe and eat churros and hot chocolate. Unlike traditional hot chocolate, the traditional Spanish variety has the consistency of hot pudding and is perfect for dipping.

Montserrat

The next day was Sunday and we drove into the city of Girona to attend church. Sometimes attending unfamiliar branches is intimidating. However, it wasn't too long before we were able to meet some of the members and feel more at ease. Interestingly, many of the members were from South America and only a minority were native Spanish.

Later in the day, we drove south to visit Montserrat, a monestary pearched on the cliffs of a high mountain. When we first saw the buildings from the valley, we couldn't believe that any car could reach them. However, we located a curvey, narrow road that seemed to climb endlessly up the mountain. At one point, Joe asked Julie to tell him how high they were, but Julie was too scared to look.

While the buildings themselves were not spectacular (many had been rebuilt in the 19th century after a war), the view was unparalled. Even the road next to the monestary was actually a viaduct along the cliff that was supported by steel beams.

L'Estartit

The next day, we headed to the town of L'Estartit in hopes of being able to take a glass-bottom boat ride. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and the sea was so choppy that we did not sea any boats coming or going from the harbor. Fortunately, the kids were able to find their own boat complete with crow's nest and helm.

Peratallada

On the way out of town, Joe took another detour to see another medieval village called Peratallada. Unlike most of France's hill-towns, Peratallada was more like a museum than a living town. However, it was interesting to see signs of the architecture that one typically associates with Spain, like the unique church or the many towers, and the cart tracks worn into the roads over the centuries.

Given that it was a Monday, the off-season, and siesta time (the Spanish typically have a two hour siesta each day), there were very few people in the village besides us. Nevertheless, we decided to stop at a restaurant to have a traditional Spanish meal before heading back to France (Julie ordering Domino's pizza in a mixture of Spanish, English, and French was entertaining, but not exactly a cultural experience). Our favorites were Spanish sausage served in a sweat apple sause and fried white beans.

For a first venture into Spain as a family, we had a very enoyable time. Hopefully, we'll be able to come back soon.

Adios,

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel