Catalonia Road Trip: Part One Figueres

[Full disclosure, the reason for this particular trip abroad was because Kat had to travel for a conference in Barcelona for her ‘9-5’. So, we decided to extend it with a mini-vacation in advance of the conference.] While this isn’t our first trip to Europe, it is our first trip to Spain! So naturally, we decided to make it a ‘Catalonia Road Trip’. This way, we could squeeze in ALOT of new experiences into our short time in an unexplored land.

Day 1 – Travel Day

We both flew overnight into Barcelona. As we were in different parts of the US at the time, we originated from two different locations along the east coast. During the planning phase of our trip, (about four months prior) roundtrip flights from various destinations along the US east coat to Barcelona ranged from ~$450-550.

Trip Planning 101: For this trip, we used SkyScanner for the first time, as we had received some recommendations. It was an interesting process from start to finish to day the least… Once we selected our flights, it sent us to third party sites to finish the process. Kat’s flights, for example, were finalized through Kiwi.com which is slightly less intuitive overall. Upon arrival at Boston airport (where she flew out of) the flight and airline her ticket was for (Iberia) were not readily obvious (which proved to be slightly frustrating). Turns out, Iberia also runs a budget airline called Level which is where the reservations ended up being. Long story short, our first experience wasn’t stellar.

We met up in Barcelona where we arrived at the airport early afternoon on the first day of our trip. After collecting our luggage (or in Phil’s case, arranging for his lost luggage to be delivered to our hotel the following day) we head over to the car rental desk to pick up our vehicle. On this trip, we booked our rental car through Budget via Booking.com. Our vehicle for the next few days is an economy sized European car, a Renault Captur Zen. For five days, the rental car cost us $109.49 USD.

Driving in Spain

Driving in Spain is just like driving in the US. Cars drive on the right side of the road, and the driver is on the left side of the car. In preparation for our trip, Phil bought an International Driver’s License from our local AAA office ($20 fee + 2 passport photos). Given our afternoon arrival, we did hit a bit of rush hour traffic on our way out of the city. But, we made our way north, out of the city, bound for Figueres.

Trip Planning 101: We used ViaMichelin Trip Planner to try to calculate what our Catalonia Road Trip would cost us in fuel and tolls. The calculator estimated €109 and we ended up spending €90 (~$100USD) so it wasn’t terribly far off.

Venturing out of the City

Catalonia has so much more to offer than the city of Barcelona! While researching our Catalonia Road Trip, we discovered Figueres. This is the native town of surrealism artist Salvador Dali. The architecture here is mix of traditional European and modern deco, with coble stone roads and stucco walls. We stay at Hostal Sanmar, a comfortable, budget hotel (~$50 USD/nt) within walking distance of the historic district. The accommodations at the hotel are updated in a modern Scandinavian style, and the included breakfast is truly European. It’s location is perfect for venturing into town to explore the gothic alleys and street art. We spent two nights here, taking full advantage of the hotel’s proximity to the major points of interest.

Exploring Figueres at Night

Having caught some rush hour traffic and rain, we arrive after dark. We check into our room and set out to explore the city at night. In Spain, restaurants open for dinner around 20h00 (8pm) so we head out in search of some tapas. Lucky for us, the town has all of it’s Christmas lights up! As we wander, we notice each of the alley ways has it’s own holiday light theme. And they are all so unique! Some of them appeared to have a Dali-esque flare to them, which we later learn isn’t by accident. We soon find ourselves in the city center where we come upon our first, European Christmas Market!

Unfortunately at this exact moment, we are far more interested in finding food so we decide to revisit the market later. (This ends up being a next day activity – see Day 2 below).

We find a restaurant just off the main square called El Dynamic Bar. And dynamic it was! They have a very wide variety of tapas, which make the food selection process even more challenging. We settle on some olives, fried parmesan balls, pork bites and an open faced roasted red pepper sandwich, with a couple Spanish beers. We regret none of our decisions!

Tapas – an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine . The word is derived from the Spanish verb ‘tapar‘, which translate to “to cover”. The first edition of which, were thin slices of bread or meat placed over glasses of sherry to deter the fruit flies from entering the glass.

Wikipedia

Unfortunately by the time we satiate our palate, we find the Christmas market has closed up for the night. Instead, we continue to wander the streets, looking at all the festive lights strewn along the alleys. We make one more stop at a hookah bar for another drink, and to explore a new form of social past time, before turning in for the night. What a great first day of our Catalonia Road Trip!

Day 2 – Around Figueres

The following day we start out exploring some street art and sculptures in town as we make our way towards the Teatre Museo Dali. Not surprisingly, the museum dedicated to everyone’s favourite surrealist stands out quite distinctly from the rest of the structures in town. It is a dirty rose building covered in golden ‘loaves of bread’, topped by a crown of eggs. It is stunning! And easy to find.

The €15 admission to the museum includes a walk through this incredible piece of architecture, as well as access to Dail’s jewel collection. Most are familiar with his ‘Persistence of Memory’ (aka melting clocks) and ‘The Temptation of St. Anthony’ (with it’s tall, stick legged elephants). But few people are aware that he used various medium in his time as an artist – which are widely on display here. Prepare to spend about two hours in this glorious space, taking in every masterpiece across four stories.

We build up an appetite during our museum exploration, so we wander across the street to a cafe for lunch. Here, we order our first sandwich with jamon Iberico and queso Manchego, varieties of meat and cheese widely consumed in Spain. We can totally see why!

Jamon Iberico – or “Iberian ham” is specifically the cured meat derived from the Black Iberian breed of pig. On our trip, we come to learn that they are, more specifically, free range pigs that inhabit the south country and graze freely on acorns and chestnuts.

Wikipedia

Next, we return to the alleys we wandered the night before. We explore the unique clothing stores and their ‘Black Friday’ sales. No joke. Then, we continue to roam the totally walkable city in search of more eye candy in the form of art. There are MANY cool sculptures in this town!

Catalan Christmas Market

After a couple hours of roaming, the sky starts to darken and the Christmas lights are once again all aglow. We head back to the city center to check out the Christmas Market. There are about 20 little wooden huts that have opened their windows for the evening. Some are selling candy and baked goods, others poinsettias and nativity scene figures. Before long, we are exploring the booths and learning about Catalan Christmas culture, all with their version of mulled wine in hand.

Christmas in Catalonia – the folks in Catalonia have some FASCINATING Christmas traditions. More specifically, Caga Tio and the Caganer.

Caga Tio is the local Santa. It is a log with a face and a hat on (pictured below) which comes out on December 8th and sets up shop underneath your tree. The children present it with offerings (ex. dried fruit and nuts) and keep it warm under a blanket through Christmas morning in hopes that it will “deposit” (or, poop out) presents under the tree.

The Caganer is a nativity scene related character who is generally found hiding in the background of the stable, sort of a ‘Where’s Waldo’ if you will. This individual is prone to a squatting position and can be found pooping on the set (Caganer translates to ‘defecator’). While the history of this shady character is somewhat unknown, it is thought to represent prosperity and fertility of the earth in the New Year.

After getting our fill of Catalan Christmas traditions, we head across the street to a restaurant offering a ‘Prix Fixe Menu’ for dinner. Here, we split a bowl of pumpkin soup, an order of paella (another traditional Spanish dish) and some candied orange slices for dessert. We head back to the hotel for our second and last night in Figueres. Tomorrow we are off to Olot and Andorra. Stay tuned for ‘Part Two’ of our Catalonia Road Trip.

Have you ever visited Catalonia?