Girona, Spain
An impulsive decision to book a girls’ trip to Girona turned out to be an excellent idea. We had no real plans beyond eating as much as possible and talking endlessly over crisp white wine which, in hindsight, was exactly the right approach.
Girona is the perfect size for a long weekend. It has its own airport, everything is walkable, and for a relatively small city, it has an impressive concentration of serious restaurants, including several with Michelin stars.
We spent our first afternoon at a small wine bar, sitting in the sun with what might genuinely have been the best white wine I’ve ever had. Two bottles disappeared very easily, and we eventually made our way across town to dinner giggling our heads off.
That evening we ate at Sinofos, which was excellent. We started with leeks and burrata, then moved on to prawns and a beautifully cooked octopus. At some point we realised we might have slightly over-ordered, so asked for the smallest steak they could do for us to share. What arrived was not small. It was enormous, it spanned the width of the table. Slightly overwhelming, but we committed and, somehow, finished the whole thing. The wine definitely helped.
The next morning, we did what felt necessary and got up early to walk it off. We wandered up to the Girona City Walls and spent a couple of hours walking along them, taking in the views over the rooftops. At some point during this, we decided (again with very little planning) that we’d go to Barcelona the next day for lunch, after discovering it was only about 40 minutes away by train.
Barcelona turned into another full day of eating: artichoke hearts, squid ink meatballs, salmon sashimi and an accidental drunken double order of prawns. We then impulsively got on a bus to “see the city” and immediately fell asleep in the sun. We just about made it back in time for our train. The day was an absolute blast.
For our final night back in Girona, we booked Restaurant Normal, the more relaxed spot from the Roca Brothers, whose influence and status looms large over the city. It felt a bit more refined than our previous meals. The seared tuna was excellent, and the suckling pig was rich, indulgent and slightly too much for me by the end.
Girona feels like one of those places that people either know very well or haven’t really considered at all. But if you’re even slightly interested in food, it’s such an easy, enjoyable trip. Small enough to feel relaxed, good enough to feel special and ideal for a few days of doing very little beyond eating and drinking well.
