"A Long Weekend in Catalunya" a Catalunya Travel Page by into-thin-air

This, My Catalonia page is about a long weekend that I have just returned form based on a cheap ryanair flight into Gerona.

Again this short break I went with a travelling companion from companions2travel

We met up at Blackpoll Airport which is a great little airport to fly out of, The Long stay car park is quite reasonably priced, especially if you book it in advance and it is fairly handy for getting to the terminal. Blackpool being very small airport, it is easy to find your check-in desk, there were no queues at security, food and drinks are reasonably priced and all in all is quite a pleasant environment.
The flight came in on time and we were in hot and Sunny Gerona a couple of hours after leaving Grey and Wet Lancashire ;-)

We had pre-booked a car hire, this we picked up from Gerona airport without hassle, in fact as they didn’t have any of the smaller cars that we had hired they up-graded us to a larger diesel model at no extra charge

We had a fairly hassle free trip from the airport to Ribes de Freser, a journey of just under 100k, I had downloaded maps and directions from “Google Maps” and found these very useful, However we did find some difficulties in picking up the beginning of the route – but never-the-less arrived safe and sound in Ribes de Freser around 19.00.
I had pre-booked accommodation at “Prats Hotel” on a Half Pension (Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis) This is a delightful little hotel in the heart of the town, Gemma, The lady in charge is a “Great Lass” and made us very welcome.
We had time to freshen up, then had a quick leg stretch around town before an excellent dinner and a couple of glasses of wine ;-)
The next day we were up early and after a wholesome breakfast we made our way to the railway station for the trip up “The Vall de Nuria” on the Funicular Railway, This little railway takes you up from Ribes de Freser to Nuria, a height gain of almost 1,000 meters and is a Spectacular trip and the main reason for our visit to Ribes de Freser. From Nuria we caught the cable car up to the hostal and from there walked back down the Vall de Nuria as far as Queralbs. This is an Awesome walk on the old pack-horse way that links Ribes de Freser with France.
From Queralbs we re-boarded the funicular railway and back to Ribes de Freser
Another Excellent meal at Prats Hotel, a good nights sleep and then after breakfast we discovered that there was a Festival going on that day, so we had a look around it, It wasn’t due to start until around mid-day, and we were told by Gemma that when the festival did start that the roads would be blocked, so we had a look at the build up and took some photo’s before we headed out of town and the drive to San Feliu.
We stopped of at a Beautiful old town called Besalu en-route for lunch and a look around, The arrived at San Feliu mid afternoon. We hadn’t booked a hotel here so parked the car and soon found the Hotel Gesori, an old art-deco style hotel in the centre of San Feliu. Considering it was high season I think that we were lucky finding a nice central hotel and only 44 euro a night for a room !!
After a couple of hours relaxing on the beach and the obligatory dip in the Mediterranean, a shower and out for dinner, we chose a Chinese restaurant and were very pleased with our meal, a couple of beers and then to bed.

The next day we had a bit of a lay-in, breakfast at the café opposite the hotel and then drove into Gerona. We found a central car-park and left the car there and went in search of accommodation, Again we were Very Lucky and discovered the Pension Vila Domat, a Wonderful old pension right in the centre of the Old City of Gerona and just a couple of minutes walk away from the Cathedral.
I went out for a walk, First to the cathedral and then along the old city walls, This wall-walk is a real Must, The wall have been restored and the old walk-way has been re-established and the views over the city are the Best that you will see.
Then after a meal and a glass of vino tinto and a fair nights sleep it was time to take the short drive back to Gerona Airport, hand back the hire car, I am pleased to say that this was another hassle free experience, then a nice simple check-in for the ryanair flight back to Blackpool and from there the 100 mile drive back to Cumbria.
So, All in All a Good Trip and a very inexpensive trip !!,