L'Escala, Spain

view of bay from Greek ruins

Last Saturday, Matt, I and 3 friends rented a car and drove northeast of Barcelona to Costa Brava for a weekend getaway. We stayed in a nice campground in the coastal city of L'Escala. The campground, nestled in a coastal pine grove, was nearly empty and very quiet. The days were mild and sunny and the nights were chilly. The first night, we stayed in a modular bungalow. The second night, we stayed in an A-frame type cabin. Both places had resident cat families in the area that we befriended by feeding them, of course.

Outside of town, on a hillside overlooking one of the bays, were the ruins of both Greek and Roman settlements. The Greek settlement, there from the 2nd century B.C. thru the first century B.C., consisted of the remains of the foundations of homes and the remains of the common area, called the Agora. Further up the hill, above the Greek ruins, were the ruins of the Roman settlement that was there from the first century B.C. through the first century A.D. It also consisted of the foundational remains of homes and their common area, called the Forum.

Speaking of rental cars, this was my first experience of driving in Europe. The car we had was very small. If you've ever seen those cartoons where 7 or 8 clowns pile out of a tiny car, that's how I felt. I know a car is too small when I have my foot on the gas pedal and the left edge of my foot can touch the break pedal. Not cool. Anyways, it took a while to get used to the rules of the road and the traffic circles, but no one was injured and no blood was drawn.

It was nice to get out the metropolis that is Barcelona, see the countryside and hang out in a small, quiet town.

Modular bungalow

Hillside along the bay

The bay from the beach

More bay...

Roman Forum

More Roman ruins

A mouthy kitty wanting to be fed