Cadaqués

This weekend I welcomed my sister and brother-in-law to Tarragona for a few days.

Although they had already visited me once before during the first semester of my Year Abroad when I was living in Aix-en-Provence, I couldn't wait to see them again.

Before they arrived we had already planned a trip to Cadaqués, for the first full day of their visit.

There were two main reasons why we wanted to go; firstly, Mònica who I teach with at IES Martí i Franques, told me I had to visit whilst living here in Catalunya.

 Secondly, it was a belated birthday present for my brother-in-law, who is a very keen follower of Beady Eye (Liam Gallaghers' band) who filmed the video for the song "Millionaire" in, and around Cadaqués.

First, I took them to a café where I spend a bit of my spare time, which as a result has now become my local here in Tarragona where the staff know my usual order without even asking.

I personally think Magistral does the best coffee in the town, it's a well presented establishment, which is also pretty cheap at the same time !

After a few coffees and some mini-croissants filled with chocolate, we were ready to go...

Cadaqués is a small fishing town in the province of Girona, situated in a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus, on the Costa Brava.

It has a special significance in art history as influential painters such as Mei Fren, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí have resided there at some point in their lives.

Cadaqués is only 171 km from Barcelona, and 260km from Tarragona, making it pretty accessible.

We took the autopista AP-7 directly from Tarragona all the way up to Figueres, which took just under two hours. Before taking the exit for Cadaqués, I was surprised to see how close we were to the French border, especially when it said Perpignan was only a 34 minute drive away !

La France, tu me manques...

From autopista to carratera, the roads became smaller, and bendier, the higher we drove up the mountain. As we reached the top, we could see in the distance behind us the town of Roses, it was a fantastic view.

Once on the other side of the mountain, the cloud and mist disappeared, the sun shone, and down in the bay ahead lay Cadaqués.

We arrived just in time for the lunch service, but hesitated on where to eat, despite being very hungry.

We eventually agreed to go to Restaurant Sa Gambina as I remembered seeing it recommended on a gastro website. Fortunately, we weren't disappointed and it lived up to it's reputation.

As we were on the seafront, we thought what better excuse to have paella and it was well worth it !

Restaurant Sa Gambina

Riba Nemesi Llorens

Cadaqués

17488

España

www.restaurantsagambina.com

After lunch, the sun unfortunately disappeared and the grey clouds from the mountain earlier arrived, but, we decided to take a walk around the bay. We could still appreciate the beauty of the village, despite the rain.

"I have spent a delightful summer, as always, in the perfect and dreamy town of Cadaqués. There, alongside the Latin sea, I have been quenched by light and colour".

Salvador Dalí 

En route, we bumped into this little French Bulldog called Lucas who was sat outside one of the many shops along the seafront.

Ever since my sister and brother-in-law had spoken about getting one of these dogs, I have not stopped seeing them. I acted as a translator between my sister and the shop owner as they discussed everything, and anything about the pup.

I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing, but now I'm starting to think I want one...

After walking back to the car, we decided to drive around the bay to Port Lligat where the famous, albeit mad surrealist painter Salvador Dalí had lived.

His former house where he painted the majority of his work, is now a museum; Casa-museo Dalí.

I really wanted to visit the museum but, unfortunately, when we had arrived it was already closed (contrary to the opening hours on the sign outside).

Casa museo Dalí

Port Lligat

Cadaqués

17488

España

We took a slow drive back to Tarragona as the sun was setting, listening to the Beady Eye album Different Gear, Still Speeding, which seemed pretty apt.

I will always remember our day trip to the small fishing village on the Costa Brava.


"Sweet Cadaqués to Figueres a 40 minute ride..."