Victor Frankl said that "Our greatest freedom is to choose our attitude." So free that we always want to feel, constantly fighting against a system that engulfs us, tied most of the time to thoughts, behaviors and opinions of others.
Sometimes they almost have to disconnect us to force us to look into each other's eyes. “We don't have Wi-Fi, talk to each other”, hangs on a sign in one of my favorite bars. And wouldn't it be more interesting if no one put obstacles in our way so that we alone could raise our eyes and observe the world without the need for a screen? For it seems that common sense is the least common of the senses.
So there was no better time or excuse than the first day of fall to leave the phone at home and get going. Road and blanket! Without being so clear about the destination, the only thing clear was the aim to discover somewhere close but unknown.
Cheeseboard.
EAT AUTUMN
In the direction of Vic is the cheese factory Montbru, passionate cheesemakers who handcraft goat, sheep and buffalo cheeses. A must visit the territory of Moianès, an area full of large forests and good pasture areas, an ideal spot for making these delicious cheeses.
For breakfast we would need a bread at the height of what we had been offered in Montbrú. So we stopped at meshpa, in Manlleu, where the self-taught Miquel Saborit relatively recently won the award for best young baker. If you are more into sinking your teeth into a good croissant, not far away by car you will find the Pastisseria Prat "Can Carriel, a stop also highly recommended.
With a championship self-made breakfast in his pocket, the next destination was the Puig Agut sanctuary. A beautiful hermitage located in the region of Osona, a place with history and great architectural beauty inside which houses two chapels. and whose dome and exterior façade make it a rare scene and, therefore, magical.
Puig Agut Sanctuary.
LAND OF VIEWPOINTS
Near Cantonigròs is the Ter viewpoint and, a little further on, the Morro de l'Abella. Two viewpoints where you can observe the precipice, the Sau reservoir and the monastery of Sant Pere de Casserres, surrounded by an incredible landscape and silence.
If you have time you can extend and visit La Foradada, a huge waterfall with a large hole in the middle (hence its name 'La agujereada') surrounded by rocks in the middle of nature. The perfect excuse to catch a little more hunger. Time caught up with us and we went straight to Thymus, one of the two Jordi Coromina restaurants.
THE ALCHEMIST OF THE GARDEN
Jordi Coromina cooks vegetables like nobody else. Is by far, the chef who best treats any ingredient that comes from the garden. We already knew him from l'Horta de Tavertet (where he works with a tasting menu that you have to try before saying goodbye to this world), but we had yet to discover this Thymus, his other restaurant in Manlleu.
Again you will find here humble cuisine, with absolute respect for the product. The season is what marks the tempos in his menu, made with 80% vegetables. Jordi and his team also create all kinds of fermented and kombucha under his own ENSO brand. And what to say about its selection of natural wines (it could not be otherwise), at the level of the gastronomic offer so that food and drink speak the same language.
with dishes like blood from the garden, water lily and nettle soup or with a collnegre tomato dessert, this alchemist of all things green has earned the Revelation Award from the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition, as well as the admiration of anyone who enjoys a conscious, responsible, sustainable cuisine with a lot of flavor.
After saying goodbye to the team with a bottle of homemade kombucha under his arm, We wanted to say goodbye to the day in style, in the Bellmunt sanctuary, a hermitage suspended in the sky. At 1,245 meters above sea level and built on rock, it is one of the most impressive watchtowers in the region of Osona and Catalonia. Who then remembered the hamster wheel, the neon lights and the sound of the alarm clock?
One of the rooms.
HOTEL PLUS THE FERRERIA
The place chosen to rest and regain strength was Mas La Ferrería. A place with history, surrounded by nature and ideal for a moment of rest whose origins date back to the end of the 14th century.
Arriving at night and with hardly any light, we could not observe the surroundings well, so it was not until the next morning when our room with views of La Vall de Binyana stole our hearts. The alarm clock was the smell of coffee and we enjoy an awakening wrapped in a thick fog that slowly dissipated as the sunrise advanced to show and give way (almost slow motion) to a movie panorama.
Foods at Mas La Ferreria.
The cornbread, sausages and cheeses from the area and coca de forner They are undoubtedly the hallmark of the house first thing in the morning. And if the day before we prepared our own breakfast, then the feast appeared on the table, little by little, Almost like a ritual. All this offered by an endearing and affectionate team that received and attended you in the different areas of the hotel. You were meeting them throughout your stay and it gave you the feeling of always being cared for by a family that welcomes you at home. Places are made by people, without a doubt.
But La Ferreria is an enclave surrounded by more than fifteen Romanesque churches scattered through the valleys, the Roman road of Capsacosta, the volcanic zone of Olot and the church of Sant Miquel de Corb. Some of the many testimonies of the history of the place. A great success to dismiss this impromptu getaway dyed in colors, textures and flavors of autumn.
Montsacopa volcano, in Olot.
David Trueba said: “the elixir of eternal youth is to maintain the desire to learn”. And learning is also traveling, eating, discovering... living. And what has been lived is lived.
For continuing to learn many more near and unknown places, for more moments of looking into each other's eyes and for many more autumns to get excited about.