It’s set to get down to –11C later this week in Paris which is just the incentive I need to get out of here and move south to warmer locales. At least I hope that’s what I’ll find when I arrive in Spain where I’ll be exploring the medieval towns and sampling the regional cuisine in beautiful Catalonia.

Girona

Until recently, all I knew about Girona was that you drive by it on the way to Barcelona. Then I read about the Girona Flower Festival and I saw how beautiful the town looks and now I can’t wait to go. I will be there too early for the festival but I’ll have to chance to wander around the medieval city.

Figueres

Figueres is home to the Dali Museum where you can find the largest collection of the surrealist painter’s works. I’ve only seen a few Dali paintings here and there so I’m looking forward to visiting a museum dedicated to his work.

Salvador Dali in Munich

La Calçotada

La Calçotada is a Catalan festival where barbequed calçots are the main attraction. They are kind of like a leek or large spring onion and once grilled you dip them in romesco sauce before downing them like a sword. Of course there will be plenty of wine flowing too which you drink from a porron. You can see all about it in this video of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. It’s going to be messy!

I’ll be staying in a few different places including this villa in Cadaques. If anyone has any tips for places to visit in Catalonia please let me know. I’ll have a couple of weeks there so plenty of time to explore.