El Serradell
We finally escaped Barcelona to see some of the country. We had a trip planned with the Oakes for the Pyrenees, Saint Sebastian and Bilbao, but they obviously couldn't come to Spain, and we decided to put off visiting Saint Sebastian this year. The food scene is a huge part of the city's appeal, so it didn't make sense to go there while practicing extreme social distancing. Instead we rented a house in the foothills of the Pyrenees, in the Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa. We decided to stay in Catalonia to be on the safe side, in case there were any delays in lifting the restrictions on travel between autonomous communities.
The area is not far from Barcelona, about 1.5 hrs driving. However, the house we rented was a 15 km (9 mi) 45 minute drive up a rutted and twisty mountain road from the nearest town, so it was a bit longer than that for us. It was worth it! We stayed in a beautiful stone house, gorgeously sited on a hillside about 200m from the hermitage church of Sant Andreu de Gitarriu. The host was full of good advice about the area. He told us the house has been in his family for longer than anyone can remember, and that the structure may date back to the middle ages. The house and the site were incredibly picturesque. Recently renovated with a light and very modern hand, it was self-sustaining, with solar panels and its own cistern. It had a beautiful sheltered entry court bounded by barn and house, and containing a well and a kitchen garden.
Mad is pictured here sitting atop an old, unused beehive oven. The house has been split into a duplex: we got the oven, but the other unit had the door.
The weather was variable, with hot sunny and cooler misty days. The views were stunning in both conditions.
The patio was tucked against one of the house's stone buttresses, which help support the main sloping roof beams. It made a great backdrop for photos. Some people were more amenable to portraits than others.
