A town that is so beautiful it seems a lie
1. YOUR POSTCARD PHOTO
With its church standing out (what is just and necessary) from its flat skyline, with its narrow pedestrian streets and its white houses with orange roofs lapped by the Mediterranean along with colorful fishing boats, and all surrounded by pine trees and cliffs… Who doesn't yearn (very deeply) for a town like Calella de Parafrugell? A town that is so beautiful it seems unbelievable, and that is why it is the muse par excellence from the watercolor painter to the laconic photographer passing through the brainy writer (at the time, from here, it was precisely Josep Pla , father of modern Catalan literature). And also, as we have seen, ** the reader enjoyment of traveler.es .**
So postcard...
two. THEIR BEACHES
El Golfet, Sant Roc or dels Canyers, El Port Pelegrí, La Platgeta, Platja d'en Calau, Port Bo, Port de Malaespina and El Canadell : eight perfectly drawn beaches, as if with a compass, and painted, as if with tempera, in turquoise and ultramarine blue. Urban, rustic, golden sand, stone; to go scuba diving, to swim, to watch the sunset... and even to listen to melancholy melodies that come from far away in space and time and dance together.
The Golfet
3. THE VIEWS
Like Paul Newman, Calella does not have a (single) good side , and is safe from "resign" or "caught". But if there was only one view to choose, that would be the Lighthouse of San Sebastian de Guarda , a lantern that has been monitoring everything since 1857. By "everything" we mean "everything": the three coves of the three nuclei that make up the municipality of Palafurgell - Tamariu, Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell - and the Empordà landscape in all its splendor. The same panorama can also be seen from the windows of an old 18th century inn that literally dances on the cliff and is now the Hotel Far; and more specifically from those of his restaurant, while he has a good account of rice or some delicious red prawns from Palamós. They have themed menus (lunch and dinner, except August) that change every month depending on what the Ampurdá pantry gives away. In September plays sanfaina, crayfish and pear . €34 never gave so much of itself.
The views from the Lighthouse of San Sebastian are essential
Four. THE GARDENS OF CAP ROIG
A 17-hectare castle and more than a thousand species from all over the world; corners with names as evocative and fanciful as "the staircase of the Cypresses", the "Spring Garden", or "the Walk of the Geraniums" and also infinite views of the Mediterranean: this was the caprice (whim) that the marriage formed by the Woevodsky-Webster . Russian, colonel and fond of architecture he; English, heiress of the best birth and decorator by profession, she. They took their dreams beyond the blueprints and built this true wonder of Botanical garden in the late 1920s (which we imagine very happy for them). In its open-air auditorium every year the Cap Roig Gardens Festival , a super festival where this year they have played (with a sellout) from Rod Stewart to Manel and from Status Quo to Alejandro Sanz.
Gardens of Cap Roig
5. THE HISTORICAL PIT
Not the Hamptons or Miami or Cancun. Here where you see it, this municipality was the center of fun and entertainment for great personalities such as Dalí, Antonio Gades, Paco de Lucía, Manolo Escobar, Sofia Loren, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas or the famous Gypsy of the Costa Brava during the 1960s. Filming, parties, feasts… Everything happened here. If you don't believe it, go to the neighboring town, Llafranc , and you will see the graphic testimony on the walls of the Hotel Llafranc, which had nothing to envy in terms of tenants or the very Hotel Martínez in Cannes.
6.**THE RONDA ROAD**
Used by fishermen, lovers and black marketeers and guarded by the Civil Guard (hence its name) for decades, there is no better way to lower the ice cream and elevate the mind than to walk these coastal paths, that is, the old coastal paths that thread the Costa Brava between the towns of Blanes and Portbou . Although it can be done in its entirety, both linearly and circularly, we can start with the section that goes from Calella de Palafrugell to Tamariu, passing through Llafranc, the San Sebastián lighthouse, and the small Cala Pedrosa. The type of landscape is changing , sometimes it is comfortable, other times you have to improvise and walk on the rocks, but it is always worth it. And if your thing is water, parallel to them are the rough roads , the marine itineraries reserved for sports and educational activities.
These beaches are the muse of artists
7. THE JAZZ
A bombo and a platillo. Or saxophone and drums. This is how autumn is welcomed here, with two jazz festivals: the prelude, the street-jazz (September 10) and the ** Costa Brava Jazz Festival ,** which is in its 22nd edition (from October 7 to 12) and which will bring together figures such as Myriam Swanson & Amadeu Casas, Janine Johnson Quartet or Wom Trio.
A place loved by celebrities and muse of artists
8.**THE TRAGAMAR BEACH BAR**
Its mere evocation is what makes us turn the pages of the calendar with joy throughout the winter thinking that there is one day less: canvas chairs and wooden tables ; feet playing with the sand; taste of the sea on the plate and summer in the glass. this beach bar, in the Canadell beach , is the pure image of the Mediterranean summer (yes, yes, like those of the beer commercials) . And from the holidays.
9. GUAYABERA AND PURE
The Cantada de Habaneras festival has been celebrated in Calella for fifty years, an event in which classics such as La bella Lola or El meu avi are sung, while cremat is drunk (a drink that sailors used to drink made from rum, coffee beans, lemon peel and cinnamon) and that transports us at a stroke to Havana at the end of the 19th century. The guayberas, the cigars and, above all, the songs The Indians and the sailors brought them here. And no one has taken them. They return here every year accompanied by many other things, exhibitions, gastronomy and markets. If you have experienced it, you will know what we are talking about (it was held from July 8 to August 17), if you have missed it, you still have another option, because on September 3, the Habaneras Song is celebrated on the big beach from Tamariu, where groups like Els Cremats, l'Empordanet, Neus Mar, Peix Fregit i Port Bo.
Singing of Habaneras
10.**THE AMERICAN JOURNEY (ROUND TRIP)**
Music is not the only way to look back; a path runs Llofriu, Calella and Llafranc , to relive the stories, adventures and misadventures of those who left here and went to Argentina, New York or other destinations in America in search of fortune. In the opposite direction, two others have done so this year: Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick whose stories have also transcended. They have come to Calella, not looking for fortune, but yes, sun, sea and lots of chicha (literally and figuratively). They have been happy and have eaten (among many other things) partridges. And we, as "we are also very fans", as Jordi Roca posted on his Instagram We are very happy for them. But above all, we will also continue to come to Calella.