Comfort Food in a Familiar Town
Our train trip from Valencia, Spain to Girona, Spain is broken into two segments with a fifty minute layover in Barcelona. But the Avant, the high speed train, suddenly stops in the middle of our trip and sits on the tracks. We are told there is heavy traffic and we will resume moving when things clear up. Our fifty minute connection fritters away to four minutes and we are pretty sure we will miss our next train. When the train comes to a complete stop in Barcelona, we grab our backpacks and climb down onto the quay, expecting to reschedule the next segment of our trip. But the stationmaster stands in front of us and points to the train next to ours. “This is the train to Girona!” Quickly, we climb aboard and the train departs. We are on our way!
This is our fifth or sixth time to this northeastern Spanish city. Since we started coming to it, it has gained notoriety through some episodes of the TV drama, Game of Thrones, which were filmed here. It also attracts foodies who are eager to eat like we did at Celler de Can Roca, a top winner in the best restaurants of the world, run by the three Roca brothers who grew up in Girona. What we love about this city is its charming colorful old houses lined up along the banks of the river Onyar. We never get tired of this picture perfect view that constantly varies with the changing daylight. We usually stay in the old town with its mazes of staircases that you can get lost in. These cobbled streets that have been walked on for thousands of years draw us into another world and give us a new perspective on the one we live in now.
This time around, we decide to eat at the original Can Roca. This is the restaurant run by the Roca brothers’ parents where they first honed their cooking, baking and sommelier skills. Local folks stop to eat their lunch here during the work day. It is on a nondescript street in the more modern side of Girona.
The 13 Euros set price menu includes a choice of appetizer, side, entrée and dessert along with a generous basket of bread, a glass of wine and water. The lunchroom is full, the waitstaff busy. We are the only English speakers and need to ask the waiter for help with the items we are unfamiliar with. When our plates arrive, the food selections feature ingredients from the local Catalán cooking tradition like beans, sausage, eggs, rabbit and tomato. The dishes are hearty and filling and generous. Even though we are satiated, we still order dessert, also Catalán specialties. For $14.35, we have had our fill of everything we might want, and that includes the tip!
We slowly walk back to our apartment and take the pedestrian path over the river and through the park full of tall sycamore trees. Then we stop at an outdoor café on the plaza for a coffee to finish off the outing. As we gaze upon the colorful houses now bathed by the late afternoon sun, we know we will come back again to this city that has captured our hearts.
