Overnight visit to Cornudella Monsant, near Tarragona November 28-29, 2009

About 1 1/2 hours to the south-west by car, lies the little mountain village of Cornudella Monsant, where a Coty colleague of Pat's spends weekends and some holidays. We have now visited them there three times, enjoying wonderful Catalan specialty dishes each time and getting to know their family and friends. The first time we went late last fall was to pick olives and watch the first pressing of the oil at the village co-op. We had our grilled lunch by the open fireplace, in the room below which opens up in summer to the back yard and pool.















The old wine cellar around the corner boasts many rare and old bottles, not to mention a healthy layer of dust!



















The view of the village from the house.















Joan's vineyards with some grapes protected from the birds with paper covers. They would be picked later to allow the highest sugar content to develop. We found them might sweet then!




















A brand new baby olive tree!




















Joan with his two young sons showing Pat how to pick olives using a "rake" powered by air pressure.















A mountain water reservoir nearby, full at that time.















Persimmons on the tree!















The village olive co-op ready to press the new crop.














The press ready to produce olive oil.




















Olives being dumped into the press.















Day 2: a visit to the mountain village of Siurana, where we would spend Pat's 55th birthday after Christmas with Steph and Lou (see later blog).















The village of Siurana, all in stone, has a population of about 50 residents!















The outer "street" of the village.














Pat and Kathie in front of the Romanesque Church.















Here is the hotel we stayed at in December-great views and a wonderful restaurant!















The village Church with the reservoir below.

First day-trip into Southern France November 22, 2009

The day after our visit to Parc Guell in Barcelona, we decided to drive into sunny Southern France and explore their Mediterranean coast a little bit. We left late morning from Granollers along the AP7 (Autopista with tolls) for about 145 kms. to the first exit before Perpignan on the coast. The Pyrenees were quite spectacular on our left as we drove into France, vineyards and orchards abound in the area. We headed towards the Sea and stopped for lunch in Banyuls-sur-Mer at Claude's Restaurant, the only one open along the beach-front "strip", as it was very much "off season".

We took Steph and Lou there for lunch again at the end of December and Claude, who remembered "les canadiens", took great delight in greeting us French-style (both cheeks) then introducing us to some other patrons as "des canadiens qui habitent en Espagne et qui mangent en France"! We will be back-fish, salad with goat's cheese and the local aperitif, Banyuls, were all delicious! Merci bien, Claude! A la prochaine!

View of Port-Vendres














Local wines from Cave Tombour-we woke the owner up from a nap in his caravan!














The sea front at Banyuls-sur-Mer






























A map rendition in tile on City Hall




















Patrons at Claude's enjoying lunch in the sun (as we did)















Leaving Banyuls-sur-Mer on the coastal road high above the Med are some incredible views of the Sea, surrounding orchards and hills, and below the village of Cerbere, just at the Spanish border.















Au revoir!

Gaudi's Parc Guell Barcelona November 21, 2009

What to do on a sunny warm fall Saturday afternoon in Barcelona? Visit Gaudi's whimsical Parc Guell in the Gracia area of the city. It is now officially a public park and well attended by locals and tourists alike, however it began as a real estate venture for a friend of Gaudi, Count Eusebi Guell, who planned to make the park into a model garden city community of some 60 homes, a market and a Church. It was never finished and was taken over by the city in 1926. The park spans several areas of woodland overlooking central Barcelona with wonderful views to the Sea. Neither of the two homes which exist today in the park were built by Gaudi himself, although one became his residence in the latter part of his life.

We began our tour from the top of the park, having had some difficulty in finding a place to park!
This is the first home we passed-note the fencework, which looks like twisted vines or branches, but is, in fact, carved stone!




















A close-up of the wall















Here we are about half-way down the hill within the park-look how far away is that first house!















Trees? No, just more unique stone carvings made to look like trees!















Walkway and mosaic-covered stone wall leading to the park's main entrance















The main entrance in the Carrer d'Olot has two gingerbread-style gatehouses. At the time of their construction, Gaudi was, in fact, working on sets for the opera "Hansel and Gretel" at the Liceu Opera House downtown. Perhaps just a coincidence?




















From the entrance gatehouses rise steps to the Sala Hipostila (marketplace)




















The second gatehouse-gingerbread style!



































The park's centrepiece is this tiled lizard, featuring a fountain in the middle of the steps. A popular photo op spot!





















Mosaics on the ceiling of the marketplace-four in all represent the seasons















An impromptu classical concert-well worth the CD I bought from them! Their rendition of Pachelbel's Canon in this spot was amazing!




















In the elevated square above the marketplace is a sinuous bench, said to the longest in the world (Banc de Trencadis). It forms the perimeter of the square and was designed and decorated by Josep Maria Jujol (1879-1949). The story goes that the workers were ordered to bring Jujol all the pieces of broken crockery and glass they could find for the bench! From here you can see the cranes working on La Sagrada Familia Church and many other landmarks in the city.















Leaving the park we saw some newly-planted rosemary bushes to serve as ground cover over time-love this Mediterranean climate!















Throughout the park on some 3 km of paths lie some of Gaudi's typical sculptures and figurines. Since we didn't find many of them on this first visit, we'll just have to go again!

Adios!

Montserrat November 15, 2009 and January 5, 2010

We have enjoyed two separate visits to Montserrat (Serrated Mountain), some 50 km north-west of Barcelona. My guide book tells me that "the serried ranks of wind- and rain-whipped rock pillars (reaching a height of 1236 m) were formed from a conglomeration of limestone, pebbles and sand that once lay beneath the sea". The mountain is best viewed from a distance as its makeup is quite unusual and awe-inspiring. One of Catalunya's most important shrines, a historic Benedictine Monastery, the Monestir de Monserrat, was built at 725m. It originated from the year 1025 to commemorate a vision of the Virgin Mary on the mountain. It was wrecked by Napoleon's troops in 1811 then abandoned as a result of anticlerical legislation in the 1830s. It was rebuilt in 1858 and is now home to about 80 monks. The most important religious icon in Calalunya is the medieval statue, La Moreneta (The Black Virgin), who is enclosed in glass high above the main altar (see picture below). She was found in one of the mountain caves in the 12th Century and is said to have been carved by the hands of St. Luke himself. In 2002 it was discovered that the Madonna is not black at all, just deeply tanned by centuries of candle smoke! (Catalans generally choose to ignore this discovery and line up to touch her orb all the same as she has been the official patron saint of the province since 1881.) Both times we visited we were disappointed to have missed hearing the very famous boys' choir, Escolania, sing "Salve Regina" and "Virolai", the hymn of Montserrat at 1 p.m. in the Basilica due to their being on holidays at the time.

On our most recent visit with Lou, because it was so foggy and damp, the boys were unable to hike on the mountain, so we spent time in the very interesting museum, which included some works by Monet, Degas, Picasso, Dali among others. Another part of the museum, the Espai Audiovisual, is a walk-through multi-media area highlighting the daily life of the monks and boys in the choir. There are between 40-50 "escolanets" between the ages of 10-14, who attend boarding school in Montserrat and must undergo a rigorous two-year selection process in order to join the choir.

The name Montserrat has become a popular name for little girls in Catalunya, generally shortened to "Montse". The receptionist at the Fonda Europa Hotel is called Montse!

Below is the Placa de Santa Maria from which you enter the courtyard of the 16th century Basilica.















A view of the pillar-like rock formation above the monastery and a dormitory of the monks.


































Entrance to the Basilica showing the facade's carving of Christ and the 12 Apostles, dating from 1901.





















A close-up view of the entrance to the Basilica















The Black Virgin looking over the High Altar to the congregation below-note the gold tilework surrounding the statue area




















Exiting the Church you are invited to light a candle















A miniature car club had visited when we were there in November and given permission to park in the Square. The drivers looked cold as they left in their little "convertibles" at dusk!















Another odd car was parked near us-completely rebuilt in fibreglas right to the road, it seemed! It had trouble managing the speed bumps!















An outing to Montserrat is definitely not to be missed-next time we'll pick a sunny day, bring a picnic lunch and hike to where the Black Virgin was supposedly found!

Adios!

November 16, 2009 We found a house to rent!

Having given up searching for a house to rent in the nearby village of Alella, we finally came across this gem one afternoon when we met our realtor, Miguel, to look at a beachfront apartment in Caldes d'Estrac. It is located some 30 km north of Barcelona and about 20 km over the mountains to Granollers, where Pat works at the Coty plant. You'll be able to find us easily given the bright Mediterranean colour and the fact that it is situated about halfway up the mountain overlooking the Sea! The house, built right into the mountain in 1957, was completely renovated in 1999. Despite the way it appears, is actually all on one level, a "bungalow", as we call it in Canada. You will note, however, that there are several terraces, all with a seaview, and two with furniture. There are gardens and plants everywhere, complete with a built-in sprinkler system and a gardener from Senegal! The picture below shows the front of the house, the large square window on the right is the TV/living room area. The single-car garage is located in the bottom left of the picture. You enter the house by climbing up two long flights of tiled stairs...who needs a step class anymore?!?


































The switchback road leading to the house! The gray hazy part is the Mediterranean Sea!















Extra parking for about 5 cars on the opposite side of the street.















Covered terrace and BBQ area




















Another covered terrace just outside the kitchen/laundry room















Pat on the large front terrace which opens directly into the three bedrooms and living room




















Front living/TV room (apologies for the poor lighting-it was a very bright but hazy day!)















Dining room with bar doors into the breakfast nook and galley kitchen















The blue breakfast nook just inside the bar doors (above)















The galley kitchen with skylights and lots of built-in cabinets




















At the end of the kitchen is the laundry room with more storage space, opening onto a terrace















Double guest room




















Twin guest room















Guest bathroom across the hall (green tiles)




















Master bedroom















Master bathroom with jacuzzi tub overlooking the Med!




















On top of an unused cistern at the back of the house-another terrace if needed! Notice how the house is built right into the hill along the back side. We are told it stays very cool in summer...































The far side of the house looking down to the entrance way























The opposite end of the house-anoher terrace!





















Pat with our landlady, Lourdes (far left), our realtor, Miguel (left) and Gemma, (right) his Admin. The deal was in the bag and signed on November 25th! We can move in from December 10th, although Pat is in the USA on a business trip that day and we do not know when our shipment will be deloivered from Halifax.





















After we settle in, I will send more pictures reflecting our own belongings in the house! Bookings at "Casa Bourque" for 2010 open soon...

Adios!