The Costa Brava

Catalonia's northern city of Girona.

Girona is a real gem.

The steps of the Cathedral.

Catalonia is a beautiful country in any season, but there's nothing like it in Summer. Barcelona sits on the Mediterranean, getting the warm weather and the cooling breezes that come with this great location, the Costa Brava stretching up North towards France and mountains tucking the city in from behind. South of Barcelona there is Tarragona, a beautiful city which holds Roman ruins at every turn, and to the West is Lleida, The Heart of Catalonia. If you take the road North you come to Girona, the University City of Catalonia. With a population of only 90,000 or so, Girona is a great mix of busy city with everything you need and a smaller, quieter place to relax and enjoy. A convenient car park right next to the old town (which is also free) makes it easy to visit and see the sights. As soon as you step out of the car you are hit the with beauty of this little Northern Catalan city, the first of many bridges crossing the River Onya and it's hard to not stop on that bridge to soak it all in or even take a few photos (it's a popular selfies spot too), and even cause a few traffic jams along the way - but nobody is bothered, as they're all doing the same The Basilica of Sant Feliu lies across the bridge in front of a little placa, and from here you head through the small cobbled streets, stone arches lining the road, boutique shops and ice-cream stores everywhere.

The colourful houses that line the river in Girona.

One of the many bridges.

The Placa.

I have been here a few times, but the excitement and enjoyment never gets old. I visited Girona in August with my friend Tereza from the Czech Republic, and although her own country is absolutely stunning, it's own style of architecture and of course the wonderful bridges in Prague, she was still impressed. I had another good friend visit very recently in Winter, and the sun was still shining and the city charmed us both. Although it's not my city or even country, I still feel proud when people come here and admire where I live and what is right on my doorstep. Most people don't see this where they live. People here ask me why I'm here, and to me that's a silly question - open your eyes and look what you have right in front of you! Girona is a great place to visit and revisit, just wander and get lost. It has been made more popular lately due to that famous TV show about a throne made of swords and something about Winter coming - it's not the bustling city of Dubrovnik, the fans flocking here because of the same show, it's still a wonderful place and cleaner than what you see on television too.

Gustave's red iron bridge.

Girona.

Hand-made jewellery in Cadaques.

Wandering the streets of this city is a pure joy - the many bars offering great food and good beer, everyone speaking Catalan on the street, and just the general business of a city yet the comforting and familiar feel of a country town. Walking up the hill from the Basilica, there are the city walls and the huge gate that leads to the Girona Cathedral. Like something out of a computer game, you can imagine yourself running through the streets, climbing onto the rooftops and escaping from Templars and assassins. Apart from all of these wonderful buildings, stone-block paved streets and secret alleys, there is something here that you won't see anywhere else in the World - a bridge designed and built by Gustave Eiffel. If that name doesn't ring a bell, it should, as this is the guy who is responsible for that iron and concrete marvel in Paris. One of eleven bridges in the city, this has to be the favourite - Mr Eiffel built this a few years before his big project in France, and it is a very similar style, except this construct is bright red. Whether it's the original colour or not I'm not sure, but could you imagine a red Eiffel Tower?

Cadaques - a white-washed town on the Costa Brava.

Anyone home?

The beautiful Cadaques.

Not far from Girona is the Costa Brava, home to many coastal towns and villages that are just too numerous to name. A few of the hotspots here are Palamos, where you get great seafood, Roses, L'Estartit, L'escala and my favourite, Cadaques. Known for it's most famous visitor, Salvador Dali, who lived in the neighbouring village of Port Lligat, it was also visited and favoured by artists like Picasso, Joan Miro and is even mentioned in the story "Tramontana" by Gabriel García Márquez, author of "Love in the time of cholera." It is now an extremely popular summer spot for both Spanish tourists and foreigners, the population goes from just over 2,600 people to 10 times that number, the village quickly fills up with French and Americans, shops, bars and restaurants also fill up and of course up their prices too. I have visited several times, but again, it never gets old. This time was the middle of summer, a bad time to come here due to the influx of people. Driving is the way to get in, and parking is neigh on impossible - I, however, am wily when it comes to parking, and asked the police officer set guarding the entrance, very politely in my best Catalan, if we could come in as I was just about to run out of petrol. We were waved in no problems as I had a Spanish number plate and spoke the lingo - the French and Italians were not so lucky and either had to park miles and miles away, or enjoy the wonderful view of the bay from their cars. Usually windy but always beautiful, Cadaques is on my list of favourite places in Catalunya.

This view and they are both on their phones...

The finish line!

Abseiling down.

While the weather is warm, I always love a bit of hiking, and here is a great place for it. If you want to take outdoor activities to another level, you could always try a Via Ferrata. Meaning 'Iron Road' in Italian, this sport started way back in the start of the 19th Century with alpine exploration, and is now quite popular here, in Italy and even Andorra. I'd never done anything like this before, so when I friend suggestion it, I was all up for it! We hit the Catalans sacred mountain, Montserrat, for the Via Ferrata La Tresina. We harnessed up, got ropes for the abseiling down and packed food, and hiked to the starting point. The Ferrata has a 'life-line' along the whole path - you basically climb, scramble or walk along but are always tied on to a steel cable for safety. It's still scary in parts, especially when you get slightly over-confident and then clip, your heart jumps right out of your chest - you wouldn't die, but you'd still fall a few metres, collecting cuts, scrapes and maybe some bruised jewels along the way. The sense of joy when you make the top is amazing - it was a fairly tough 4 hours, but lunch came with a view, and when we popped out at the end at the lookout at Sant Geroni, it was funny how we scared people, clambering from nowhere with all our gear on, while they had caught the train to the top and walked casually in their Sunday shoes to see the view. The way down was even more fun though - abseiling 30m drops, Mission Impossible style, and smaller drops in tight spaces that had us worried we weren't going to fit! A great way to spend a Sunday!

The Ferrata on Montserrat.

Enjoy the view!

The gang.

Between my first Ferrata in September and now, late December, I have done 3 more. The first, on Montserrat, one was the most exciting and will always stick in my memory as the best, the last as the toughest and scariest in Agulles Rodones (a K5 - the toughest being a K6), but the most beautiful would have to be the Cala de Moli just near Sant Feliu de Guíxols. We probably started a little too late, arriving at around 9:30am, as it was Summer still and a Sunday to boot. We were part of a long line for the course, but the sun was, we were warm and with friends - enjoy it! It turned out to be quite slow for the most part - in some parts we just had to hook on and wait, and not everywhere is comfortable to wait, legs hanging over the water, sun beating down on your face and your harness riding up your bum. Most people doing this were tourists, not locals, and had little experience - it can be quite scary for some people, a slight fear of heights for example, or maybe people with no enough upper body strength to hold themselves up with clipping onto the next safety line. The whole things took us about 3 hours and it was worth it as the views were stunning and it was another Ferrata under my harness. Beer and lunch came next, and as much as I love climbing, Spanish food in the sun is a great way to top off any day! It had been a great summer in general, and I was very happy to be back in Catalunya with good friends. Autumn and Winter was on it's way, but that doesn't stop you hiking and climbing here.

Sant Feliu de Guíxols seen from the Ferrata.