Catalonia, Spain

Catalonia is an autonomous region located in northeastern Spain. I recall first becoming familiar with the region about five years ago, not because I was making travel plans to southern Europe, but rather while judging a high school forensics competition. The topic of parliamentary debate that particular month happened to be whether Catalonia should be able to secede from Spain, with the economic implications for both Barcelona and Spain’s capital, Madrid framing part of the debate- at least from an American high schooler perspective. Indeed, Catalonia’s largest city and capital, Barcelona, is home to 1.5 million people within its official city limits and attracts over several million tourists each year. Little did I think at the time that I would holiday in Catalonia. But fast-forward five years later, we were among those vacationing in Barcelona’s festive holiday atmosphere.

After heading back to Prague and real life at the end of the summer, Emily started missing family, and requested that we would make the trip out to Europe to see her and Mees. Not one to pass on an opportunity to travel, especially with how busy the last several months had been with work and grad school, I was willing to entertain ideas. Emily wanted to go someplace warm, perhaps reminiscent of the mild California winters she had grown up with. After some back-and-forth- and declining Michael’s offer to fly us to Warsaw for Christmas- Barcelona was decided on as our intended destination. With a Mediterranean climate and sunny skies, the north of Spain fit within the parameters of a warmer weather clime.

We flew into BCN on Christmas Eve- after Sami’s first semester finals, a delayed flight from Los Angeles into Munich, and some rerouting through Frankfurt. We arrived in Barcelona near midnight, about seven hours past our originally anticipated arrival. After a chain of hiccups which will make the subject of my next post, we were able to pick up a rental car from the only open rental agency to tide us over and get us to our AirBnB for the night. This was not an ideal situation, and there were definitely some learning opportunities with our travel missteps on this trek.

But after a sleepless night, Christmas morning dawned, and we checked out of the AirBnB to head to our vacation spot for the week: Girona. The Catalonia region of Spain is divided up into four provinces: Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona. The city of Girona itself is known for its medieval architecture and was one of the filming locations for HBO’s popular show, “Game of Thrones.” We stayed outside of the main city within the province of Girona in a beautiful, historic farmhouse with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Thanks to the rental car fiasco of the night prior, we could not all fit in the five—seater with a manual transmission. Thus, Michael drove Emily and me, along with most of our luggage and groceries the hour-and-a-half to the farmhouse, then went back to the train station to pick up Nate and Sami who were accompanied by their older brother-in-law. Fortunately, Girona is connected to Barcelona by a ride on the high speed rail, and this experience ended up being a treat for the younger kids.

We were not disappointed by our lodgings or the Instagrammable scenery of the countryside. Our location was also within easy driving distance to the Costa Brava, the coast of Catalonia which extends from the beaches north of Barcelona to the French border. We had opportunities during our stay to visit some of the coastal towns and enjoy sun and sand along the clear blue Balearic Sea. The drive to and from Barcelona was not particularly difficult by car; it was relatively easy to navigate the autopistas with the aid of Google Maps, which worked well on this trip. This would be important as we had to make several unanticipated trips into the city; it was also nice to be able to do some sightseeing once our business was conducted. There are many historic sites throughout Barcelona and opulent landmarks such as the famed Sagrada Familia basilica, designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and still unfinished after over 140 years. Additionally, being so close to the border with France, Sami was also excited to have the opportunity to visit for the first time.

The next several posts will detail our adventures in Catalonia and beyond, as well as some valuable lessons we learned on this trip. It was definitely an adventure to remember.

References:
Council, Barcelona City. “The City Keeps Its Tourist Appeal Intact.” The City Keeps Its Tourist Appeal Intact | Info Barcelona | Barcelona City Council, http://www.barcelona.cat/infobarcelona/en/the-city-keeps-its-tourist-appeal-intact_1248222.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2024. 

“Costa Brava. What to See and the Best Travel Plans.” Spain.Info, http://www.spain.info/en/region/costa-brava/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2024.