For our getaway, my favorite guy had the notion of heading north to Cadaques, as I've never seen it before and he wanted to show me its beauties.  As it turned out though, there were no hotels or AirBNBs available in that lovely town for the entire weekend!

Once again, we'd waited too long to book our reservations... and in Spain, this is a real thing.  If you don't make your plans in advance, you will find no vacancy anywhere!

After a flurry of last-minute searching I located an AirBNB just outside of the Costa Brava town of Calella de Palafrugell.  This is a coastal 'pueblo' south of Cadaques... it's actually south of Tamariu as well.  The little town sits closer to Barcelona, but still along the exquisite Mediterranean sea.

"It's a small apartment," I told my husband, "and it's apparently a 20 minute walk downhill into town. That said, the place gets good reviews and has an ocean view.  Since we're so last minute on this, I think it's the best we're going to do."

"What's the cost?" he asked.

"Pretty reasonable... about 89 euro a night."  

(This is about $100 USD, roughly the cost of a Motel 6 in San Diego, California.)

"All right," he agreed.  "Let's do it."
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"I can't believe we've been here ten months already," I exclaimed.  "It feels like we arrived yesterday."

'Yeah, it's hard to believe how fast the time has flown by," Señor Aventura agreed.  

"I'm so glad we decided to stay an extra year.  I can't imagine what it would feel like to be packing up to go back to the United States right now.  There's so much left to see!"

"Soon we'll need to work on renewing our visa.  There's a lot of paperwork to get together for that."

"We should begin the process before we head to Italy in June."

"I'm so proud of the kids," I added. "They're finishing their first full year of school in Spain!  They've learned so much... and it definitely hasn't always been easy."

"Nope," he said, "Especially in the beginning. But they are doing a great job with their Spanish now, all of them.  Even Little Angel is finally speaking and reading in Spanish."

"Her teacher told me that her comprehension in Spanish is equal to all of the other students now," I smiled.  "She can finally do the same work as everyone else in her class without special instruction!" 

Happily we thought about how far our kids have come in less than a year... from uncomfortable English-only transplants who couldn't speak a word of Spanish or Catalan to comfortable, successful students taking and acing their end-of-year exams in Spanish, Catalan and even Chinese and German.  

They're also playing the violin, flute and cello... trying out for the CP Sarrià fútbol club and enjoying many wonderful, special friendships! 
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​"Wow," I remarked in disbelief.  "There's nobody here I need to walk to the bathroom, or watch play on the beach, or ask to stop bickering with their sister or brother."  

"Let's enjoy it!" my husband smiled and toasted my water glass. 

Soon we'd finished lunch and were ready to head to the AirBNB.

This is where things got really magical.  Anyone who has read this adventure travel blog for a while knows that we've had many really awesome and a few truly awful experiences with AirBNB apartments.  Usually we have good luck... sometimes terrible luck.

On this day though, we had incredible luck!

As our car climbed through the hill toward the address we'd been given, we noticed that the houses around us seemed to be larger and more spread apart... less densely clustered.  They had gardens and grounds, and some were clearly estates.  

"I'll bet a lot of Barcelona families have summer homes around here," I said.

Before we knew it, we'd turned down the small street Carrer de Miranda where our rental was located.

"Oh my gosh, honey - wow!  Look at the view!" ​
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​The apartment itself although small was charming, very clean, well-supplied and even had a local black cat who tried very hard to adopt us over the next two days!

"We really scored a win with this place," Señor Aventura grinned.  "Nice work, hon!"
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"This is so cool!" I exclaimed. "I feel like we're walking into a secret garden!"

"It's really well planned out," he agreed.  "Let's see where this next staircase leads."
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It's safe to say that out of all of the many magical adventures and experiences we've had in Spain this year, the path from Platja del Golfet to Calella de Palafrugell is at the top of the list of things that have taken my breath away with surprise and amazement.
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We spent the next two days blissfully doing more of the same.  Wandering the coastal paths, hanging out at the beach, swimming, eating al fresco under the stars and enjoying our charming rental apartment and black cat.
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At night we gazed in wonder at the bright spotlight cast across the sea and land by the lighthouse across the way.  "This place is really special," we agreed.  "Wow.  We need to return here.  We need to bring everyone we love!"

On our final morning, we finally decided to travel the path to the right to discover and explore the small cove at Platja del Golfet.
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"I feel like we've stepped into paradise," I hugged Señor Aventura. 

"Yes," he agreed in Spanish. "It's definitely incredible."  

​We sat down in front of the water in silence, listening to waves crash gently upon the rocky shore. ​
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We spent our last hours of vacation by the edge of the sea staring toward the blue horizon and contemplating the inescapable truth that despite all of the terrible things that do sometimes happen in our world there is still such powerful BEAUTY to be experienced!

In the end, our spontaneous getaway to Calella de Palafrugell turned out to be one of the highlights of all the adventures we've taken during our first year in Spain.  ​
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Whether you, like us, are a couple getting away on a romantic holiday - or you're a family or group of friends looking for somewhere truly special to swim, hike and explore - we recommend that you seriously consider traveling to Calella de Palafrugell.

You will never be sorry you've chosen this awe-inspiring locale!
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​In the 40+ years I'd spent living on this planet before moving to Europe I never once thought to myself, "Someday I hope I'll travel to Spain so that I can see some cool ancient Greek and Roman stuff!"

Which begs the question... "Are there ancient Greek and Roman ruins worth seeing in Spain?"  

For those of us who grew up 6,000 miles away this is a real query, not a joke.  

​When most Americans think of touring the ancient Mediterranean world to interact with history, we typically think of visiting modern Greece, Italy or Egypt.  Spain is not usually the first country that pops to mind... mostly because Americans in general don't seem to know as much about Spain as they do about some of the other Mediterranean countries.

As it turns out though, Spain has A LOT to offer in the way of incredible ancient sites colonized thousands of years ago by Greeks and Romans. ​
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By the time we reached the exit for Empúries the children's stomachs had begun to rumble.

"Mommy, can we get lunch?" Little Angel asked.  "I'm SO hungry!"

"Absolutely," I replied.  "Viva says there is a good restaurant at the Hostal Spa Empúries.  Let's check there."

We pulled off of the road and into a spacious dirt parking lot with simple signage.  To the right, various cars and vans appeared to be camping.  To the left, a more elegant looking white building rose in front of the beach with its own parking lot.  

The children clambered out of the car. "Food!" they exclaimed and pressed forward.

When I hear the world 'hostel' I typically think of a 'vacation on a shoestring'.  For example, "Hostelling International" hosts backpackers from across the world.  Twenty years ago, I typically stayed in hostels while traveling.

That did little to prepare me for the Hostal Spa Empúries though, which turned out to be a four star LEED certified, sustainable luxury hotel.  ​
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As it turned out, the Hostal Spa Empúries actually had three different dining options for visitors and guests.  First, there was the expensive and elegant Restaurante Villa Teresita with meals around $28.00 a plate.  Lovely ambiance and perfect for an anniversary getaway... but not the most economical with three hungry kids!

A few steps away there was an outdoor patio restaurant that offered a middle range menu including drinks and several different types of dishes in a more casual environment.  This was more accessible for us but the tables were all outside and I was feeling a little chilly in the afternoon breeze.
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Hundreds of years later Empúries allied itself with Rome during the Punic Wars, which explains why there are ruins of a sizeable Roman colony on the same piece of land with the original Greek town. In the 3rd Century AD locals finally abandoned the Greek town altogether, living and working instead in the Roman city. It survived in different incarnations until Vikings began to raid the region in the mid-9th Century AD.  ​
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We learned all of this from little headsets given to us by the woman at the admissions desk.  With the headsets firmly attached to our heads, our family set about exploring all of the many incredible, jaw-dropping sights that remain in Empúries today.

Wow!  We had to pinch ourselves.  We were standing in the heart of a city over 2,000 years old... a city which had been inhabited by various groups of people for over a thousand years!!!  ​
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To put that into perspective our hometown of San Diego, California was founded in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolá, making it a grand total of 248 years old.  San Diego is about 10x younger than Empúries! 

Yet here we were... five native San Diegans gently touching stones that had been carved by men just like Señor Aventura, looking at hearths that had been swept by women just like me. ​

We checked out the storage lockers used by members of the Roman baths and gym... thousands of years ago!
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We dallied in the impressive central Archaeology Museum of Catalonia-Empúries that houses the most priceless treasures they've discovered while carefully uncovering the ruins, inch by inch.  Some of the mosaics, sculptures, jewelry and glassware they've dug up are incredible and in perfect condition - almost as though their owner's just commissioned them yesterday. ​
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"Imagine!" I turned to Soccer Dude.  "Honey, you could come back here in twenty years and there will be so many new things uncovered for you to see!"

"That would be cool," he agreed. "This place is actually pretty interesting.  It's not as big as the Colosseum we saw in Rome but I've learned a lot about Roman and Greek history today."

"Yeah," The Scientist chimed in.  "The audio tour was really detailed. Also, I never knew that Greek and Roman ruins could be in the exact same place."

"Mommy, I want to dance in that big field over there," Little Angel chimed in.

"The circus?" I asked, pointing toward the circular ring outside the thick Roman city wall where gladiators had likely fought and chariots had raced.  

"Yep!" she giggled and skipped off.
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​Before we moved to Spain last year I stockpiled little bottles of sunblock, toothpaste, vitamins... all of our favorite 'day-to-day' essentials from home.  I also went to our doctor and got a year's supply of our prescriptions, because neither she nor I knew if I would be able to get them in Europe.  

Now that we've lived in Barcelona for 10 months I have to laugh about those days because Spain is an incredibly civilized country and there are very few things that I can get at home in California that I can't also get here. Additionally there are incredible doctors (and exceptionally affordable prescription medicine) here! Plus, there's always Amazon Prime.  

It turns out though, that there are several things we've discovered in Spain that I can't get anywhere in Southern California.  

At the top of that list, I'd place 'real-life ancient civilization'.  ​
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Apparently Peratallada itself dates back to the Bronze Age.  Its castle was built in 1065 and there is also a Romanesque church dedicated to St. Stephen nearby, constructed in the 1200s.  

Something I've noticed about truly old towns (as opposed to modern towns built to look old) is that there is a sort of fragile feeling to them.  I definitely felt this way in Peratallada, the entire time we walked through its cobblestone streets.  
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Peratallada itself is so beautiful. If you wind up on one of its narrow streets with no other tourists you can definitely picture yourself living a few hundred years ago!

It isn't hard to imagine gathering water at the town well while you listen to the parish church bells ring.  ​

Still, as lunch passed we did feel a bit as though we'd come to a visit a ghost town (or as my Catalan friend puts it, "un ciudad de fantasmas".  In the heat of the afternoon we encountered very few people on the little town's streets.

After lunch we walked around and saw lots of shops that were closed, but had signs posted on their windows or doors saying they would open again during the summer.  ​

"This place is fun, Mommy but it's really quiet!" said Little Angel.

There were also posters around here and there for a famous summer festival held in Peratallada every August - a medieval faire of sorts.  (We may take our dear friends to this faire when they are visiting in late summer!) I imagine that the locals must do fun simulations and re-enactments during the faire, which would be very interesting for our children to see in such a perfect setting.

A lot of the traditional homes in Peratallada may now actually be used as vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, or second homes enjoyed by wealthier families only in the summer.  There are art galleries, cafés and gelato stores.  ​

​Begur
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Perhaps in the United States a place of this historical significance would be closely guarded... and one might have to pay to enter.  There might also be guard rails up to protect people from falling, etc. 

Not here!  ​

When Napoleon's army came rolling through in 1810 during the Spanish war of independence against the French, the Castell de Begur was sacked for its third (and so far final) time.  It remains mostly in ruins to this day.  

In the 20th century a few improvements were made to its condition... for example, it is now wheelchair accessible.  There's no guard on duty though, or really anything to separate this historical treasure from daily life. You can walk or roll right up its ramparts and have a picnic at the top, if you'd like.  
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We had a splendid time at the top of the Castell de Begur.  The children tried to catch butterflies (thankfully unsuccessfully) and poked their heads out of the castle walls to check out the incredible views.  ​

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​Are you an adventurer at heart?  If so, you just may adore the moderately challenging cliffside hike between Costa Brava's glorious beach town of Tamariu and the picturesque, mysterious cove of Cala Pedrosa.

Cala Pedrosa, which translates loosely to 'rocky cove', is hidden to the right of Tamariu (if you're facing the ocean) and the most beautiful way to get there is by hiking along the edge of the cliffs, some of which have no guard rail.  The final descent to the cala itself is even more challenging, with loose stones on a steep ancient path.  ​

According to Google Maps, this tiny cala is just a 20 minute walk along the main road from Tamariu.  Based on our personal experience though I would say that, when traversing the edge of the bluffs with children to  get there, it takes closer to an hour.

We'd heard about this special place from a friend in Barcelona, who recommended it at the top of his list of things to do in Costa Brava.  "You must go there!" he exclaimed.  "It is preciosa!  Preciosa!"  

After spending 24 glorious hours at the beach in Tamariu, we were excited to begin exploring the region a bit.  

"Let's check out Cala Pedrosa!" my husband and I decided, and we rallied the kids.  ​

He peered down the side of the cliff.  "Yes?"

"Our friend in Barcelona told me that there is a man in that house who will cook lunch for us, right on the beach."

"REALLY?"  The Aventura kids were very surprised.

"Where is the man, Mommy?" asked Little Angel.  "I don't see him."

"I'm honestly not sure, sweetheart.  Why don't we head down to explore further?"

Fearlessly, the children raced ahead.  ​
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My husband began to ask questions about the special of the day.  "What does this homemade rice dish contain?" he asked the man.  "The special of the day?"

"Oh, I will have my mother-in-law tell you," the man smiled.  "She is the cook.  It is her recipe."

"Wonderful!"

Within moments, a lovely older woman with short hair and a bright, wide smile had joined us at the table.  When she ascertained that we spoke Spanish, she switched from Catalan to Castellano and began to explain the ingredients in her special cazuela (casserole).  It contained sausages, rabbit, mussels, shrimp and rice.  

"Delicious," Señor Aventura decided.  "Would you like to split that with me?" he asked Soccer Dude, the other shrimp and seafood lover in our family.  ​
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We ordered a lot of food... starving after our day at the beach and hike along the cliffs. Between the five of us the table was soon covered with dishes full of Patatas Bravas, tortilla, pan con tomate and many other tapas. My husband enjoyed a cold beer and the rest of us made short work of a tall bottle of water as we waited for our lunch.

Later while we ate the older woman returned to our table to see how we enjoyed our food. We fell into conversation with her, and were amazed by the stories she recounted!

It turned out that the beautiful stone cottage in the cove is no less than 600 years old!  It is her family's home.
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We were enthralled with her explanation and looked out upon the rocky shore with new eyes, imagining a pirate ship anchored just off the shore atop its azure blue waters. ​
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"You are a lovely family," the grandmother embraced us warmly at the end of our meal.  "You are welcome to come back here anytime!"

"We cannot wait to return," we assured her. "We will bring our friends this summer!"

If you don't mind working a little bit for your afternoon meal, we highly recommend hiking to Cala Pedrosa!!!  Nothing could taste better than the homemade cazuela and bunuelos that await you in this tiny pirate's hideaway.