Month: April 2025

EIGHT DAYS IN ROSES: Days 5, 6 & 7

DAY 5 AT LEISURE

We bussed it into Roses this morning (not too early as it was designated a day of leisure) for the weekly market. Acres of stalls, most selling clothes were situated just behind the Citadel. After a few purchases of linen tops – renovation will be required when I get home but I liked the fabric- we needed a toilet stop and lunch. We’re fast becoming “tapas” experts. We also checked out the local Tourist information centre for options to touring with Margaret every day.

La Ciutadelle was our focus for the afternoon, as it’s supposedly essential for anyone visiting Roses. It was declared a historical and artistic centre in 1961, and its history was well described with a short video at the entrance to the Museum.

 

The museum had cabinets with some lovely displays of the antiquities that have been left behind by many cultures. After struggling to understand the descriptions (in French, Spanish and Catalan) we discovered that were was an informative brochure available which hugely helped our tour.

 

The outdoor walled enclosure was built in the 1500’s, a military fortification with a monumental Sea Gate. Inside that were various ruins which very difficult to manoeuvre even with a map – or maybe because of the ‘confusing map’. I eventually settled on the simple brochure that we had been given at the door which gave a very broad outline of the many civilisations that had occupied this site over the ages. There were physical vestiges of the various occupations of the last thirteen centuries but as they were built often one on top of the other, I couldn’t always differentiate.

The important archaeological site which lies within the fortification consists of :

  • the remains of the Greek settlement of Rhode (hence the modern day name Roses);
  • the Roman villa, dating back to 6th century AD;
  • very early Christian society (close to the age of the apostles)
  • some Gothic buildings.
  • the Romanesque monastery of Santa Maria, dating back to the 11th century
  • the remains of the fortified medieval town.
  • the remains of several military buildings dating back to 16th century.

DAY 6 NURIA VALLEY AND THE NURIA RACK RAILWAY

 

 

Today certainly upheld Margaret’s “not to be missed” experiences. One of the few rack railways operating in Spain, the Núria Valley Rack Railway represents one of the only ways to access the Núria Valley besides hiking.

 

 

Having watched some of the hikers on narrow rock faced paths, I certainly preferred this opportunity to appreciate the serene beauty of the valley and its lakes from a train seat. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe the magnificent scenery from almost the moment we left Ribes-Enllac station, taking on passengers in in Ribes-Vila station and Queralbes, the last point that can be reached by road.

 

It is also the start of the rack section of the line.  Photographs won’t do justice to the splendour of the the sheer valley walls, dotted by pine trees on quarry stone, the chasms and rivers as we climbed almost 2000 metres to the terminus at Nuria.

 

 

And we still had the breathtaking, panoramic views from the cable car to the summit and then the unimaginable, perfect silence to marvel at the beauty and spectacle of the landscape!

 

The railway was opened in 1931 and is the highest rack railway in southern Europe. It operates 365 days a year.

No wonder St Giles decided to settle here in 700 in the company of the mountain shepherds; later in 1072 St Amedeus also found retreat here. There are two churches here, the little church of St Giles (where you write your intercessions) and the Basilica to the Virgin of Nuria where couples pray for fertility or give thanks for children with ancient symbols of a cross, a bell and a pot.

 

DAY 7 CADEQUÉS

We took off on our own today to on a boat trip to vsit the picturesque little town of Cadequés with its narrow cobbled streets and blue doors and windows.

En route we passed the Punta Falconera and the Lighthouse Bunkers, two sets of bunkers built between 1945 and 1946, as part of Franco’s defence plan in response to the possible threat of invasion by allied troops. More obvious on the northern point of the bay was Castell de la Trinitat, a 16th century fortification designed to protect Roses.

We also had a close encounter with the cliffs as the captain took us landward at speed until the bow was inside the opening to a large cave. Once we caught our breathe, it was an amazing photo opportunity – quite an amount of squeezing into the bow as fellow Spanish cruisers were slow to allow all snap the amazing rock features.

Cadequés was beautiful.

 

We climbed to its crowning glory, the Església de Santa Maria, This small white walled church houses the most wonderful golden baroque altar piece as well as the Black Madonna of Cadequés.

 

 

 

In the little chapel there were the most wonderful series of paintings by Catheriene Rey, Exposition Lévitation-Maasai.

 

After a leisurely stroll up and down the steep “Carrers Cadeques” we sat at the port to enjoy delicious pastries from Pastisseria Quer a Cadaqués, almost missing the return boat!

Cadeques Postres – pastries unique to this village

EIGHT DAYS IN ROSES: Days 3 & 4

DAY 3 THE RED TRAIN FROM RIVESALTES TO AXAT

Our bus driver dropped us at what was little more than a siding in Espira de l’Agley – Rivesaltes station was closed for renovations.

I doesn’t inspire confidence when service performed at every station

Our cheery little red train arrived and following a meet-up with members of the restoration committee we were off. Our guide informed us that we were particularly lucky to be travelling on this model called the Picasso. It is known to locals as the Train du Pays Cathare et des Fenouilledes.

 

The scenery was amazing as we travelled up the Agly valley between the Coberes mountains. The Aude part of the line took us through the Cathar Country forests with frequent stops to allow for lots of photo opportunities.

There were tunnels and viaducts, views of the Quéribus Castle hanging on a rock and the UNESCO fortress of Puilaurens. We even experienced how the little train had to reverse back the valley to get a ‘run’ at the climb up into Axat. We all got a copy of “LA GAZETTE TRAIN ROUGE” – I’ll have to brush up my French to read through it at some stage.

 

Axat itself was a sleepy town where we sat in a bar beside the river to prep for the return journey to Roses.

 

 

 

 

DAY 4 FIGUERES

Margaret, our guide was a scream – every morning she greeted us with an enthusiastic “Today is not a day to be missed” and the focus on the Dali Theatre-Museum today was certainly “an opportunity of a lifetime”.

 

 

My very limited knowledge of Dali amounted to knowing that his pictures often were of deconstructed bodies, he had painted a melting clock and an elephant on spider legs.

 

But I’m always open to new experiences and Margaret presented quite an interesting history of Dali as we drove to Figueres. The heart of the museum is the town’s theatre that Dalí knew as a child (hence the name Theatre/Museum).

 

 

It was where one of the first public exhibitions of young Dalí’s art was shown. The old theatre was burned during the Spanish Civil War and remained in a state of ruin until in 1960, when Dalí and the mayor of Figueres decided to rebuild it as a museum dedicated to the town’s most famous son. The museum now includes buildings and courtyards adjacent to the old theatre.

 

The museum displays the largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador Dalí, many of which were from his own personal collection. In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, three-dimensional collages, mechanical devices, and other curiosities from Dalí’s imagination.

 

 

A highlight was a three-dimensional installation of the face of Mae West (when viewed from a certain spot). I also liked the “take on the Sistine Chapel ceiling art, the Abraham Lincoln face, the “rainy” Cadillac, the Dali “Oscar statues”, the corridor of pencil drawings on Alice in Wonderland and the Jewellery.

 

EIGHT DAYS IN ROSES on the COSTA BRAVA: Days 1 & 2

DAY 1: ON THE WAY

There have been so many changes to the Costa Brava since my first visit with Shay 50 years ago – Lloret de Mar was our resort of choice then and it was just beginning to develop as a tourist attraction for the Irish holidaymaker. Sun, sea and sangria was the order of the day and we indulged in all.

The itinerary was slightly(?) different this time round with a variety of train trips into Pyrenees the focus of our visit. The sun split the blue, blue skies most days but UV Filter creams meant exposure to the rays was far more wisely done; the sea was too cold to even dip the toes so instead we promenaded along the esplanade building up our ‘steps’; we accompanied meals with some nice red wines rather than all night ‘booze-fests’.

 

The first and last days were mainly travelling days- the very early starts necessitated some recovery both days, although we did get a chance to do some exploring around the resort on our arrival.

 

 

We found a lovely restaurant close to the Hotel Monterey where we indulged in Tapas. Our hotel had hints of Fawlty towers, but the staff was lovely, including the handyman who had a few visits to make to us.

 

There was an emphasis on fish dishes in the dining room which suited us. Our fellow travelers were great craic so there was lots of laughing and chatting at table, in the bar and on trips.

 

 

DAY 2: CAP DE CREUZ NATURAL PARK ON THE ROSES EXPRESS

This train journey began in the town where we got the opportunity to see why Spanish residents are becoming increasingly concerned with the influx of tourists, concerns that stem from rising housing costs, strains on infrastructure, and the perception that tourism is not always sustainable or beneficial for local communities.

 

 

Roses was once a small fishing village has become a large conglomerate of hotels and villas all along the sea front and now extending into the adjoining hills.

 

 

The Cap de Creuz Park provides a barrier to the development. It is the first maritime-terrestrial natural park in Catalonia, encompassing both land and sea areas. Although not a trip for the faint-hearted as the train wound its way up and down narrow shale paths, it provided an ideal opportunity to see the wild ruggedness of the landscape and panoramic views of the Bay of Roses, seemingly the largest bay in Europe.

This Puig Alt route which we took, brought us around the reserve culminating with wine and biscuits at the highest point.

We took the local bus to Roses in the afternoon and found an amazing restaurant, Las Tablas, on a little back street. The tapas selection here was amazing – although the portion size meant our eyes were bigger than our stomachs – but delicious.