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Irish Times-Magazine Saturday, 25 January 2014 Page: 32,33
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TRAVEL
Spread yourwings beyond Barcelona Leave Barcelona behind andexplore thefascinating Catalan towns andvillages within easyreach, where you'll findculture and gastronomy atevery turn,writes UnaMullally
One
cangetlazyin Spain,especially Abbey(andembraceinthecourtyard,as I oneofthebestandmostbizarremuseums if you'rein Barcelona. sawtwovaguelytraumatisedcyclistsdo in the world,the DalfTheatreandMuseum. Thecityofferssomuchthatit post-vertical-ascent), oralternatively drive Thisis Salvador'shometown,and sometimes feelsasthoughtoo up,andhopontheterrifyingly steepfunicularwhentheoriginaltheatrewasbombedinto muchextraeffortwouldberequiredrailway tothetop.TheAbbeyholdsthe ruinduringtheCivilWar,Daliandthemayor to ventureoutintothe countryinstead shrineof SantaMariade Montserrat,or gottoworkin1960,openingwhatisnow ofskipping alongLaRambla. the "black Madonna",replicated to the largestpieceof surrealistart in the ButheadforthehillsandtownsofCatalonia, Knock-levels ofkitschinthegiftshop.It's worlda decadeanda halflater.Worksby andthe richnessofits landscapeand alsohometooneoftheoldestboys'choirs El Grecoand Duchampare alsohoused cultureinformsa muchclearerpictureof inEurope, whoperformeverydayinthe cathedral, here,butit'sDalf'sbrilliantandbonkersvision whatinfluences theart andcuisineofthis likeangelicpenguinswith their that makesthisplacefizz.Youcould fiercely proudregionofSpain,huggingthe whiterobesandhighregister. spendhourshere,downarabbitholeofopera-singing Pyrenees toitsnorthandtheMediterranean YoucanaddMontserrat tothelistofplaces cars,giantpixelatedAbraham totheeast. wherepeoplethinktheHolyGrailis located, Lincolns, hologram-like projections, furniture, Lookingoutwardsfromthe city,Monteserratbuttherealtreasureishanginginan jewellery andpaintings. isa goodplaceto start.Lessthan art galleryhere,whichis wellworth the Inthe18thcentury,youngfolkfromBegur anhouronthetrainfromBarcelona, ifyou â‚Ź6.50entrycharge.PaintingsbyPicasso, (anhournorthofBarcelona) setoutto can'tbebotheredwithcarhire,a hugealienRenoir,Le Corbusier,Miro,Monet and findtheirfortunein Cuba.Manyreturned mountaingreetsyou,likea badlyset evenCaravaggio populatethemuseumalmost to buildlargecolonialhouses,withbalconies, sedimentary jellymold.Shouldyoupossess casually. Thenewestacquisition isan patios,landscaped gardensandmurals calvesof steel,youcancycleup the Irishman's work:takea bow,SeanScully. oftheCaribbean islandpaintedonthe winding mountainroadtotheBenedictine NorthofBarcelona, Figueresishometo terracewalls.Thecrumbling LatinAmerican homesgivethetownanexoticvibe. FornearlysixcenturiestheCostaBrava sufferedrepeatedpirateattacks,but Begur's ninglunchtime stopover. AtCalSastrerestaurant, slightlyhiddenlocationand11defensive youonlyneedto uttertwowords towersprotectedit fromattack:only beforebeingtransportedintofoodbliss: sevenofthetowersremain,andtheyaren't duckcannelloni. CalSastremergestraditional muchdefenseinsummerwhenthepopulation cuisinesuchastheomnipresent Crema swellsfrom4,000to13,000asoutsiders Catalanaandslow-cooked vealcheeks, descendonthetrendytownforitscool withcontemporary flourishes;olivesencased restaurants(withan emphasison slow in Martinijelly,andchocolatecovered food),nattyboutiquehotelsandmedieval patelollipops. Eightyper centofthe castlewithspectacular viewsouttosea. foodis sourcedfromwithin15kmof the Intohiddengemterritorynow,andthe 11thcenturyvillage,andboydoesit taste tinymedievalvillageof SantaPau in the good. Garrotxa regionofGironamakesfora stun- MostpeopleknowGironaasthelocation for a Ryanair-serviced airport,whichis a bitofa rubbishclaimtofamewhena cityis as coolas this oneis. The Onyarriver's banksare stackedhighwitholdbuildings thefringeofthisRomancity,justhalfan Mostpeople knowGirona on houronthetrainfromBarcelona. Girona's asthelocation fora outskirts aren'tuptomuch,butthehillyhistorical Ryanair-serviced airport, centreisgreat.Cedartreeslinethe old churchesjostlefor attention, which isa bitofa rubbish parks, moresothanthe imposingbaroque claim tofamewhena cityis none cathedralwhere Sean Scullypops up again,thistimein the stainedglass.The ascoolasthisoneis
u
Irish Times-Magazine Saturday, 25 January 2014 Page: 32,33
mostmagical areathough,istheoldJewish Left: Begurvillageandcastle; quarter.At night,the dimyellowstreet above:the city of Girona;right: stone arch bridgeslying underthe Parador lightsbounceoffthecobbles, andwandering throughnarrowpassages,archways de Cardona.photographs:getty images anddownage-smoothed stepsfeelsbrilliantly mysterious. thetownthatwasflooded tocreatethereservoir. Girona'suniversity isspreadacrossseveral AtPuntaD'esMuts,ParadorHotel campusesandaddsextrabuzzto the Aiguablava isperchedamongpinesabove town,withseveralbarsandcafesspreading the wavescrashingon the rocksbelow, outunderneath porticos. OnyourCatalonian jaunt,you'llneed withsomegreatbeaches andcliffwalkssurrounding it. somewhereclassyto crash,and the region's networkofParadores offersa finealternative Thesystemofratesper nightin Paradores canbea littlecomplicated, withdiscounts to anonymous hotelsor sparse offeredfor everything fromyour holiday apartments. Paradores are State-maintained buildingsin fortresses, age,to thedayoftheweekyou'restaying, butMAPTravelhereinIrelandcanadvise castles,andmodernbuildings ofteninspectacular, list,notjustin sometimes slightlyoff-the-beatenandbookfromanexhaustive butthroughout Spain. tracklocations. Abreathtaking ninthcenturyCatalonia, inBarcelona, castleinCardona isa smashing example Youcanstillbaseyourself of howuniquethesehotelscan be. The but spreadingyourCatalonianwingsis Paradorat Vic-Sau is linedwithbalconies wellworththeeffort. andoverlooks theSaureservoirontheTer river,wherethe churchsteepleof Santa UnaMullallytravelledwithMAPTravel Romapeaksoverthewaterline, indicating andthe SpanishTourismOffice
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HOW TO BARCELO Gettingthere:AerLingus fliesto Barcelonaand RyanairtoGirona.
Stayingthere:Book Paradoresbycontacting MAPTravel(maptravel.ie) Gettingaround:Trains fromBarcelonamakeday trips easy,but for a proper rambleandfor better access to the Paradores lookintohiringa car in Barcelona. EatingYou'llbe upto your oxters inCremaCatalanaby the end of it,but the region's tapas are some ofthe best inSpain,alongwithsome excellentlocalwhitewines