A nice one or two day trips.

Catalunya is a fascinating region. I adore it´s natural beauty. I also love walking through it and hopefully taking part of that beauty with me back home in my dreams and wishes.

I just came back from a two day walk on the cami de san jaume , a new extension of the Camino de Santiago, just north of Barcelona that goes through the volcanic region of La Garrotxa.

It´s very easy and beautiful.

Summarising you walk , eat good cheap food, take pictures, laugh, sweat and be happy.

How to achieve such?

You take an express bus to Olot, a small town, at the bus stop that is just 5 blocks away from where we are.

Once in Olot from the old train station you start walking on the via Verde del carrilet which is a route following the old railroad track that joins Olot and Girona. You can also cycle but then you rush past places.

This track goes through a lot of towns. So you have a rest point , hotels, restaurants , shops every 5 to 8 km.

No need to carry much food, water nor camping gear.

So your first worry would be in what town to have lunch and the menu del dia which is a festive occasion on it´s own with wine , three courses of good home cooking, desserts, and coffee for about 11 euros.

After lunch we suffer a bit more walking for a few hours and then we choose where to sleep as you also have nice hostels every 10 km . I stayed in a very nice hostel had a great supper again a supper of three courses .

The track takes three days to complete but you can do one , two or three nights . When you get tired you wait for the bus in one of the towns along the way, go to Girona and there take the train to Barcelona.

This is the bus timetable for buses to Olot from Barcelona. Go to http://www.teisa-bus.com/web/horaris/L9.PDF

For buses along the track that goes from Olot to Girona you have one every couple of hours.

More info on the track Via Verde del carrilet

More info of the whole track called cami de san jaume.

http://www.camidesantjaume.cat/

It is very easy to do, transports to there and back are excellent , the food is great and the views pretty nice.

Yes the delta of the llobregat where the airport is located.
A fascinating unknown area of the city

Delta Llobregat , Barcelona day trip by Hostal Residencia Australia

How to get there?

Well from Hostal Australia, take the train to el Prat ( 10 km) and walk or rent a bike. You have a train every 10 minutes.

This picture shows you the flora and fauna

This also shows you the metal birds that you can also birdwatch.

And after all the hard work head down to the beach for a paella.

Enjoy your day.

For more info look up: http://www.deltallobregat.cat

Yolanda had wished she had been part of the 6000 km trip.

In the picture we have Yolanda Zhang, me, and Jingjing Ma.

Do I love her so much? Barcelona daytrip

Today I recommend an interesting day out in Callela, a small town right next to Barcelona and on the coast. On the 12th and 13th of June they celebrate a medieval fare showing Catalan life back in the good old days.

Just imagine what life would have been like. No need for manners, you could be filthy as a pig and still be loved. Nothing like fighting until death for your loved one. Things have not changed since then, have they? . When we wanted a girl we would just show up and chop off any competitors head. Yes things were good in the old days.

I have just read through the programme they advertise and it seems like fun.

You will be able to experience what is was like to hunt with a hawk.

You will be able to make a tapestry for Grandma or some warm underwear.

Barcelona tapestry,

You will learn how to shape boulders for house building. This seems very practical for present day recession awareness

You will learn how to make plates, bottles, cure headaches with herbs.

And of course you will be able to eat what they were eating back then. This I am really looking forward as I have always wanted to have a wild boar for myself as in Asterix and Obelix

See you all there

Thomas Lorenzo

Banyoles is a small town about 100 km from Barcelona. This link takes you to the google maps.

It takes about an hour to get there but the trip is worthwhile because of the scenery and it´s famous lake.

Lago de Banyoles, Girona, Catalunya, España

What I find interesting in Banyoles is a new museum that has been opened that consists of a real reconstruction of a Neolicthic village. This is the only one of it´s kind on the Iberian peninsula.

Parc neolític de la draga

The remains and ruins date back from 5200 BC

Now this can be good fun to see what the village would have looked like 7 thousand years ago.

Parc Neolitic de la Draga, Banyoles, Girona, Catalunya. España

Did they have star bucks?

Now the only way to see the village is to organise in advance a visit Tel. 972 57 64 99
arqueolitic@arqueolitic.com

It is very easy to rent a car for the day so no worries here. At our reception I will give you a detailed itenary that we could also map on google for you and you car navigator.

Easy very easy.

This will give you a chance to discover a region only 30 km from Barcelona next to Monsterrat where most of the famed catalan cava is produced.

Here are some pictures that might help you decide .

a nice view of a part of the penedes wine region

Depending on when you go you might get a chance to see the human towers in action called the castellers. When they tumble and fall you will here bones crack.

The human towers in action , the castellers

This is a nice view of the freixenet cellars .

A front view of the cellars

This next little map gives you an idea of the 30 km route we propose as a day trip outside Barcelona.

The wine region we propose to visit

The route will go through the following landmarks

Vilafranca del Penedès,
The church of Sant Cristòfol.


Guardiola de Font-rubí
Pla del Penedès.
Santa Maria de Bellver
Sant Pere de Riudebitlles,
The church of Sant Pere,
The gothic palace of the marquesos de Llo
The romanic churches of Sant Marçal, d’estil romànic, i Santa Maria.
Modernist arquitecture of the Casa Mestres, l’Ateneu Agrícola, l Freixenet and Codorniu

Things to do outside the city involving drinking wine, do not feel guilty as this is a cultural experience and you might remember afterwards something of what you have learnt.

I have a book with over 50 organised suggestions for wine tasting outside Barcelona.

These two are today[base ']s selection

This one sounds like fun.

. Tourism and cycling and in between glasses of wine

You must take a helmet with you as I am sure you will fall of the bike, also get yourself a good accident insurance, and take a dark marker and a big map so you will not forget how to cycle back home. This alcoholic exercise can be found at winepleasure.com

You will tour the Penedes region, by bike, this region is right next to Barcelona, and of course behind you in a car you will have permanent assistance and they will organise for you all the necessary catering accommodation etch.

The cost is around 175 euros.

As a tip I would take with me 5 or 6 water flasks and fill them up with wine when the winepleasures.com people are not looking.

This penedes region is fairly flat so do not worry about heavy breathing.

This is a cheap one.

For 4 euros visit the famous Alella Marfil wine cellar constructed in 1906 by the modernists architect (yes gaudi was not the only one) called Jeroni Martorell. Alella is very close to Barcelona.

They will explain to you all the secrets of wine production and tasting. The wine they make is a very special wine called DO alella.

They will let you taste the wine.

I am sure you will want more and buy a bottle of this white wine.

For more info visit>www.alellaviñicola.com

Well its time to go.