If you are already feeling jaded after being back at work for a few hours, a cheeky weekend in Girona in Catalunya might just put the smile back on your face. Girona10 is a special initiative taking place on January 14/15 with all sorts of discounts and events, which look pretty tempting to me. From [...]
Archive for the ‘Catalunya’ Category
What Girona10 is all about…
Posted: January 3, 2012 in CatalunyaTags: cheap hotels, Girona, January hotel sale
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Mushroom hunting in the Girona Pyrenees
Posted: October 30, 2011 in Catalunya, Spanish food and wineTags: Costa Brava Pirineu de Girona, El Ripolles, Gombren, mushrooms, Xesc Rovira
I’m feeling very autumnal after spending a morning foraging for mushrooms in a forest in the Ripolles area of Catalunya, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The Catalans are mushroom mad, it is fair to say. Go to any market in the region and you’ll see piles of ceps, chanterelles, saffron milk caps and a [...]
A volcanic lunch in La Garrotxa
Posted: October 13, 2011 in Catalunya, Spanish food and wine, UncategorizedTags: cuina volcanica, Girona, La Garrotxa, Pep Nogue, volcanic cuisine
Ah! That first sip of beer when you’re hot and thirsty after walking through a volcano. Okay, it wasn’t really that strenuous. Oh alright, it was just a really pleasant stroll along shady paths in La Garrotxa volcanic nature reserve in Girona province in Catalunya, but that beer certainly slipped down well. It wasn’t just [...]
Eating Oysters in the Ebro Delta
Posted: August 27, 2011 in Catalunya, Spanish food and wineTags: Delta de l'Ebre, Delta del Ebro, Ebro Delta, mussels, oysters, Sant Carles de la Rapita
As simple pleasures go, eating heaps of the freshest oysters and mussels takes some beating – particularly out at sea and even more if there are a few glasses of chilled cava involved too. Along with about two dozen others, I had got on a boat in the harbour of Sant Carles de la Ràpita, [...]
Not grinding but pounding – Catalan cooking in El Priorat
Posted: April 30, 2011 in Catalunya, Spanish food and wineTags: Catacurian, Catalan cooking, Catalunya, El Priorat, Spain, travel
My technique was all wrong. ‘Don’t grind, pound,’ said Alicia Juanpere firmly, taking the large ceramic mortar from me and demonstrating how to wield the wooden pestle. ‘Like this. Pom, pom, pom!’ The almonds and hazelnuts were swiftly transformed into a smooth paste, which was mixed with garlic and saffron to make picada, one of [...]
Dancing with the devil in Tarragona
Posted: September 26, 2010 in CatalunyaTags: castellers, Chartreuse, Santa Tecla, Tarragona
Sometime after midnight, a troupe of devils was dancing down the Rambla Nova boulevard to the beat of dozens of drums. Swirling sparks showered from the firecrackers stuck onto the iron pitchforks that the devils were twirling above their hooded, horned heads. As a winged dragon lurched towards me, breathing fire, my friend Rafa grabbed [...]
