COSTA BRAVA, PALS, AND GIRONA, SPAIN — MAY 16, 2026

What an excellent decision we made when we decided to take a road trip for our last full day in Spain! The tour, our guide, and the locations we visited were fantastic. We booked a day trip with Spanish Trails. It was even better than we expected, and we expected a lot! Our guide, Anthony shared a wealth of knowledge about the area and its culture, history, food, and art. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide!

We were picked up early Saturday morning and drove about an hour and 45 minutes northeast to the coastal town of Calella de Palafuegell. We saw white houses, restaurants, and hotels lining the cliffs overlooking the impossibly blue Mediterranean, and colorful flowers were blooming everywhere. The tranquil white and blue background with an abundance of bright colors created an idyllic scene way beyond what I imagined we would see that day. It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect — clear blue skies and warm but not hot temperatures made walking and exploring pleasant.

After about an hour in Calella de Palafuegell we walked to Llafranc by following the coastal trail. This was a great way to get from one town to the next, although there were some pretty significant elevation changes.

Our next stop was the village of Pals, a beautiful Medieval hilltop town about 20 minutes from Llafranc. We walked the cobbled streets and explored the village before lunch.

We had lunch at a local restaurant, Antic Casino. They are known for their paella/rice dishes, and it was a very popular, very busy spot.

It was about 1:30 when we got to the restaurant, so we were definitely on Spanish time! The late lunch would come into play later, but at the time it was fine. I was ready to get off my feet for a while, and we were able to sit outside to enjoy the gorgeous day.

The drive to Girona took about 50 minutes and took place under increasingly dark clouds. By the time we got to Girona it was cold, windy, spitting rain, and we encountered wall-to-wall people! We discovered it was the weekend of the annual Flower Festival, and it seemed as if everyone within a 100 mile radius had descended on Girona!

Anthony dropped us off near the bridge to town while he searched (in vain) for a place to park. He never found a spot. Jim and I walked around for a while, but it was crowded and cold, so we lost our enthusiasm pretty quickly. We called Anthony and told him we were willing to call it a day.

So…Girona was the main reason I booked the tour, and it ended up being the only part of the day we didn’t enjoy. I think that had more to do with circumstances than Girona itself, but nevertheless we were kind of relieved to head back to Barcelona. We had a fantastic time, but a long travel day was up next, and we still had to repack and make sense of everything that was haphazardly thrown in our suitcases the night before we got off the ship.

I know Anthony felt terrible, and he offered other things we could go see, but we honestly didn’t think it was necessary. Our day was fantastic, even without really seeing Girona. Besides, it will give us a reason to return.😆

We were tired and still full when we got back to Barcelona, so we cancelled our dinner reservations (or tried to), got snacks from the little terrace bar, and spent the evening lounging once we had the suitcases taken of. It had been a great trip, but like all vacations, once it was over I was ready to get home. After all, we would be leaving again in just over three months, and I had some planning to do!