For the first time since I’ve started this blog, I’m having a serious case of writer’s block. (Is that what you call it when you’re blogging? Typer’s block? Blogger’s block?) Anyways, I think the reason why I’m at a loss for words is because I just got back from the most beautiful, relaxing, amazing weekend, and I’m worried that there are no words to do it justice. I’m hoping that I can illustrate it well enough with my words and some pictures, but Costa Brava might just be one of those places you have to see for yourself to really understand what I’m talking about.
The weekend sort of reminds me of one of those plot lines that they teach you to make in second grade (sorry, the elementary ed major in me is coming out). You know, a beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion. It just kept getting better until finally we had to get on the bus to come back to Barcelona.
We left Barcelona by bus at 8am on Saturday, and arrived at Empuries, an archeological site with ancient Greek and Roman ruins from 600 BC. I can appreciate how amazing it is that something that old still exists and that I get to see it, but they were less-than-breathtaking (to put it nicely), as the ruins were, well, ruined.
You couldn’t really tell what anything was, so it was up to our tour guide (a woman dressed as an ancient Roman who thought she was much funnier than she actually was) to create the scene in our minds. She didn’t do a very good job, and it was SO hot, so we all kind of wanted to get out of there and get to a beach. Thankfully the tour only lasted an hour, and then we had 4 beautiful hours to relax on the beach. For the last hour we rented this paddleboat shaped like a car that had a slide on top of it, and had a great time in the water.
From there we went to our hotel in the cutest little town called Roses. All of the houses were built into the mountains, and reminded me a lot of what the scenery looks like in Greece (not that I’ve ever been to Greece – I just know what the scenery looked like in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, so I’m going with that picture in my head). Our hotel was up on a hill and had the most breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and of the town below. The actual hotel was a little bit underwhelming – they must have thought that with such great views from the balcony of every room, there was no need for things like air conditioning, comfortable beds, travel size toiletries in the bathroom, or more than one key per room. But in the grand scheme of things, none of that mattered because I got to wake up to this in the morning:
We had a great dinner in Roses and got to walk around the town for a little while. My favorite moment might have been earlier than that though, after my shower –clean and wrapped in a towel, sitting on our little balcony and reading my book. There was a nice breeze, the view was amazing, and I think it was the most relaxed I’ve been since I’ve been in Spain; maybe even the most relaxed I’ve been all year.
Sunday morning after we had breakfast and checked out, we drove down to the port and boarded a double-decker boat to take a trip to a town called Cadaques, most famous for being home to Salvador Dali for many years. The boat ride was absolutely amazing. The water was clear, the cliffs were surrounding us – it was breathtaking. At one point the boat stopped and they let everyone slide down the back and swim in the sea. I opted to hang on the top of the boat, soak up some sun and take pictures of the swimmers. It was so much fun to be on the top of the boat with all of my friends here, listening to music, taking pictures, and having a good time.
I thought Roses was the cutest town I’d ever seen until the boat docked in Cadaques. This town looked even more Greek, with the white houses built on the windy roads up endless hills. We walked along the road on the coast and shopped a little before stopping to eat lunch at a cute little outdoor restaurant. I had my first seafood of the trip – spaghetti with clams! It was delish. After lunch and a little more exploring, Maggie, Morgan, Mallory (do all my friend’s names begin with m?) and I found a little bit of shade on the edge of a cliff and sat there for an hour or so just talking and taking in the amazing views. After a stop for gelato (obviously) we boarded the boat again. I put my towel down on the top of the boat and took the best ½ hour nap in the sun while the boat took us back to the port, where our bus was waiting to take us back to Barcelona. The perfect ending to the perfect weekend.
I hope you get the idea of how amazing this place was. But the good news is, if you don’t, I’m pretty sure my wedding will be in Cadaques, and you’re all invited!
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