Costa Brava Excursión, 12 - 13 April

Mediterranean blue sky and sunshine accompanied BCEA´s overnight trip to the Costa Brava which took place on the weekend; saturday 12 and sunday 13 April.

Saturday was dedicated to art,history and culture while Sunday was more leisurely and slow paced with the day spent on the magnificent Costa Brava. Saturday morning got off to an interesting start with a guided tour of the Museo Dalí in the town of Figueres. Ana, our guide for accompanied us around this fascinating building (the museum is housed in what was once a theatre), which was created by Salvador Dalí himself. It is a great showcase of his work, the perfect backdrop and most appropriate context in which to exhibit his work. While Dalí lived, no explanation or guided tours around the museum were permitted by the artist. But we were glad to have a chance to understand the motivation behind his work.

In the afternoon we moved on to Girona, a fascinating medieval town in the northeast of Catalonia.As Ana our guide explained, the 12th century saw a flourishing of the Jewish community of Girona, with one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in Europe. The history of the Jewish community of Girona ended in 1492, when the Catholic Kings expelled all the Jews from Spain. Today, the Jewish Call is one of the best preserved in Europe and is a major tourist attraction. On the north side of the old city is the Montjuïc (or hill of the Jews in medieval Catalan), where an important religious cemetery was located.Most traces of Girona's rich Jewish history were wiped out when the Jews were expelled from Spain, but we visited what remains of the district.

We also visited the Banys Arabs, Arabic Baths which date from the 12th century and which have been restored and Girona Cathedral which consists of a big Gothic revival nave, the widest Gothic nave in the world 22.98 m (75.39 ft).

After some free time to go shopping and explore Girona a little further, we climbed back on the
coach and headed to Platja d´Aro where we checked into our hotel for Saturday evening.

After a group dinner we headed off in different directions; cinema, bowling, local bars.

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast looking out on the beach from the hotel dining room. We checked out and headed down the coast to the pretty beach town of Tossa de Mar.

The located on the rugged Costa Brava, Tossa de Mar is an enticing location. Artist Marc Chagall called it his Blue Paradise. The place has sprawled since Chagall was there in the 1930s, but Tossa has remained a pretty beachside village. The surviving walls and towers and ruins of the castle and fortress which once stood to protect the old town from pirates are beautiful and a provide a great viewpoint over the beach. We spent the afternoon eating picnic lunches on the beach or eating paellas on the restaurant terraces.

Exhausted and drifting off to sleep on the coach on Sunday afternoon we drove back into Barcelona, back to Spring in the city.

A great weekend!