Walls in Spain: Weekend Adventure

Bucky and I decided to explore Catalonia over the weekend. We went online last week and basically looked up "the most charming towns in the Pyrenees" and found a few that we wanted to see! We made reservations to stay overnight on Saturday in Besalu at a hotel that allowed dogs, so we set out on our adventure early Saturday morning with India!

Since we were not in a rush, we decided to take the smaller roads north. We searched for alternate routes in the car's navigation system, and chose those that took the longest. Our first destination was Vic, a town that was about an hour and a half away. The town was teeming with people! We luckily found parking on the street and then sought out the main square. To our surprise and delight, there was a huge market set up! There were lots of vendors selling clothes and household goods, and many hawking fresh fruits and vegetables and even chickens!!

India was a bit overwhelmed by all of the activity within the square, but we did a tour of the market and then explored some of the quieter streets around town. It really did seem like every inhabitant of Vic was out and about that Saturday morning. Apparently, that is the place to be in Vic! Unfortunately, we didn't think about seeking out the Temple of Vic while we were on foot, but decided to do so once we got back to the car. After three attempts of driving through town, we decided the that effort was too challenging and we aborted. We can always go back to see the temple!

We then headed to Olot which was another town on the list of most charming. We took the scenic route which lead us through some pretty treacherous mountain roads. The drive was somewhat nerve-wracking, but the views were lovely. We drove to the center of Olot, but didn't see anything that really interested us so we headed to the main park right outside of town. It was lovely and India was in heaven. We walked the trails through the woods, explored the nooks and crannies of the property and had an interesting interaction with a half dozen geese - well, actually, India had the interaction! She was very interested in the big birds that sat on the edge of the pond we discovered. She ran over to greet them and they squawked and scurried into the water. Smart birds since India hates the water!!

We eventually made our way to the town where we would spend the evening, Besalu. When we were approaching the destination, we were less than thrilled with the surroundings, but at the last turn, we came upon a magnificent medieval town. It was totally impressive! Our hotel was at the foot of the bridge that went into the town so we had a spectacular view. We had a late lunch in the town and spent the rest of the evening wandering the cobble-stoned streets and the surrounding riverside. Besalu was a quiet town, but imagined that it is probably crazy busy during the summer. It was a lovely place to visit.

To my great pleasure and surprise, there was even a vide grenier right next to our hotel the next morning! So we enjoyed wandering around and checking out the old and unusual wares. We did not buy anything, but it was fun to look! We decided that we would take the route along the Costa Brava back to Barcelona. We were hoping to find some cute towns along the way and spend some time with India on the beach. The drive turned out to be great - lots of windy roads and spectacular views - but the towns were disappointing. They were very touristy and lacked the quaintness we were hoping for. It was still fun to explore and see some new places. The beaches we found were pretty, but none allowed dogs so we moved on. We got back home on Sunday evening pleased with our adventure! Enjoy the pictures below!