Bravo to Girona & Costa Brava: Thanksgiving Trip Part Five

This Thanksgiving trip has been packed full and it's not over yet! After two full days in Barcelona, it is time to head out of the city and along the coast!

December 3: Girona & Costa Brava Day Tour

Today was another early start as we had to meet our tour guide at 8:30 am; with Katie planning trips, there is no rest for the weary.

TRIGO COFFEE

Before meeting our guide, Matt, we had to make a pit stop for caffeine. Just up the street from our meet-up point was Trigo Coffee, where we grabbed some coffee and pastries to-go! At 8:30 sharp we met Matt and were pleasantly surprised when we discovered this would be a private tour for our group!

Basílica de Sant Feliu

After a one-hour van ride to Girona, Matt dropped us off at the Basilica of Saint Felix. On the steps of this 17th-century Baroque church, Matt gave us the layout for our morning in Girona. To Katie and I's excitement, we discovered that Girona was the setting for numerous scenes from Season 6 of Game of Thrones!

Escales de la catedral

After a few minutes of wandering the tight cobblestone streets, we made it to our first stop of the tour, the Girona Cathedral! If you check the photo on the fourth row below, you may recognize these impressive stairs as the Great Sept of Baelor from Game of Thrones.

Pont de les Peixateries Velles

We continued walking along, Katie and I feeling like citizens of Kings Landing, when we came across a picturesque bridge over the Onyar River named The Old Fish Market Bridge. Now, not a super beautiful name, it is more commonly known as the Eiffel Bridge, named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel.

That's right, this bridge was designed by the same man who designed the Eiffel Tower, but was one of his earlier works having been constructed in 1877; twelve years before the famous Parisian tower was built.

Xuixo Castelló

After getting some free time to explore, our first stop was Xuixo Castello to try the famous Catalan Pastry, the xuixo (pronounced chi-cho). This sugar-coated, doughnut came with many different filling options; we tried the tiramisu, lemon, chocolate, and dulce de leche.

Botiga Oficial Girona FC

With pastries in hand, we made our way to the Official Girona FC team store. The local fútbol club in town plays in La Liga (the highest division in Spanish fútbol) and even qualified for the Champions League this season (the largest, most prestigious tournament in Europe). Impressive for a small club in a town of nearly 100,000 people. Although we didn't buy any gear, it was fun getting to look at their jerseys and apparel.

Plaça de la Independència

During our explorations, we stumbled upon a small Christmas market. Of course the crew spent some time browsing through the stalls and even bought some pottery to take home.

Plaça dels Jurats

While everyone was spending their time at the Christmas market, Katie, Ryan, and I snuck away to get one more Game of Thrones scene in! We made the short walk over to Jurats Square which was the setting for a market and theater in the beautiful city of Braavos during Season 6.

Pals Old Town

Our next port of call on the day trip was the Medieval town of Pals! This beautiful town nestled in the plains of Catalonia had many beautiful streets surrounded by centuries-old Romanesque and Gothic buildings.

Església de Sant Pere

At the top of the town is the Church of Saint Peter, the highest point and most important church of Pals. Within its walls was a copy of the Black Madonna (stay tuned because we'll be seeing the original tomorrow!)

Mirador d'en Josep Pla

This beautiful town provided fantastic views of the Mediterranean to the east and the Pyrenees Mountains to the north! Of course we had to stop for a photo op!

Ceràmica Planas Marquès

Since it's the offseason for tourism, most of the shops and restaurants in town were closed up, but of course, the Kimble crew sniffed out the only open store! Cindy and Ryan walked away with some new pottery to take home!

La Vela

Following another short ride to the coastal town of Calella, it was time for lunch! Matt organized for us to eat at La Vela and even made meal recommendations for us to try! Katie, Jamie, and I tried the mixed paella, Kelly had a Caesar salad, Cindy had the local white fish, and Ryan and Richard had a burger.

Our paella came with sausage, a little bit of chicken, mussels, scallops, and langoustines (looks like a crawfish). Neither Jamie nor Kelly were really keen on the texture of the mussels or pulling the heads off the langoustines so I had them all to myself! It was a huge tray of rice and fish, so after eating as much as we could, we all decided that paella was a one-and-done type of meal! Happy we've tried it, but none of us really need to have it again!

I have to complement Mrs. Cindy on her fish choice! That was delicious and the perfect meal for our beach-front lunch! Ryan and Richard were just happy to see a taste of home on the menu with their 100% beef burger patties!

Punta dels Burricaires

After lunch, we had some time to walk along the beach and grab some pictures of the clear Mediterranean waters! We eventually met back up with Matt and began the 1:45 journey back to Barcelona.

La Rambla

After getting dropped off back in town around 6:30, we made the short walk over to La Rambla, a bustling street full of shops and markets! Somehow we found ourselves inside the FC Barcelona Official Store where I bought a Barcelona shirt to commemorate our trip!

After some exploration, it was time to get back to the Airbnb for Cindy and Richard to pack up! They had an early flight back home the next day, so instead of going out for dinner, Jamie, Ryan, and I grabbed Five Guys and brought it back to the apartment. When Katie and I travel to big cities, it's nice to have some American comfort food.

December 4, 2024: Monserat

The next morning came early as we said goodbye to Cindy and Richard and got them loaded up in an Uber to the airport at 6:45 am! Take note of the stylish outfits that Katie and I wore to walk them to their Uber meeting point! No judgement- we were tired and looking to get every ounce of sleep possible!

Funicular Aeri de Montserrat: Aeri de Montserrat

While the Kimble parents were off on their journey home, it was time for the rest of the crew to get up and head out of town to Montserrat! Following a one-hour train ride, we made it to the cable car that would take us to the top of the mountain! A short 10-minute journey through the clouds later and we finally made it to the Montserrat mountain top.

Montserrat

Montserrat, meaning "serrated mountain" in Catalan, is home to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey! Our first order of business was the walk around the small market with vendors giving free samples of nuts, honey, and cheeses. We also reached the viewpoint, but due to the early morning midst, we weren't seeing much down below!

Once the fog rolled out, the views of the jagged peaks and valley below were stunning!

Museum of Montserrat

Our first stop at the monastery was the Museum of Montserrat. Honestly, this was a bit of a disappointment; the group was hoping the museum would be on the history and religious significance of the monastery, but instead, it turned out to be a small art museum with a few pieces by Picasso, Dali, and a bunch of artists we had never heard of.

Abadia de Montserrat

Now, the crown jewel and main reason for our pilgrimage to Montserrat: The Black Madonna. Said to have been originally carved in Jerusalem, The Black Madonna was brought to Spain in the 1st Century. When Barcelona was attacked by the Moors in 718, the statue was moved into the Catalan mountains where it remained lost for over 100 years.

Legend says that in 880, the carving was rediscovered by shepherds in the mountains who were led by a bright light coming out of a cave. The current Black Madonna is a Romanesque remake from the 12th or 13th Century and no one knows what became of the original statue. Either way, this statue is a major pilgrimage for Catholics, so we had to wait in line to see it for ourselves!

When everyone started getting hungry, we knew it was time to make it back to Barcelona. We made the 10-minute cable car journey back into the valley where we grabbed the next train to town.

Dionisos Gótico

Along our journey back into Barcelona, Katie made a reservation for lunch at Dionisos Gotico, at the group's request for Greek cuisine! Nothing beats a lunch of halloumi salad, gyros, and baklava! Greek food is some of the best in Europe!

Dow Jones Bar

Our evening plans consisted of bar hopping! Katie found a cool bar on TikTok called the Dow Jones bar which has fluctuating drink prices based on supply and demand. The theme of the bar sounds cooler than it was in reality; the drink options were pretty slim and the prices between "rock bottom" and "market highs" didn't vary much. We each had one drink here before moving on to our next bar.

Bobby's Free BARber Shop

A much cooler find was Bobby's Free, a speakeasy bar hidden behind a mirror in a staged barbershop! As soon as we got there, the bouncer ("barber") got Ryan in his chair before giving us a riddle to solve. Once we provided the correct answer, he allowed us entry! This bar was themed like a 1920s Prohibiton-Era American bar. The vibes were definitely in, but with each drink costing around €15, we all agreed one drink here would be enough.

Popeyes Famous Louisiana Chicken

As we were making our way back to the apartment, we came across a Popeye's, so of course we had to stop for chicken sandwiches and tenders!

At the AirBnb we packed up to prepare for another early morning of travel tomorrow. Thanks for sticking around and stay tuned for Part Six, the final part of our Thanksgiving journey!

Salud!

Bryan