Day 1

Arrive & meet your fellow travelers

After settling into our hotel, we’ll head off to the out-of-the-way Sants neighborhood for our first meal together, at the family-run Casa Jordi. In business since 1968, Jordi is a classic Barcelona restaurant, one that has adapted the masía (traditional Catalan farmhouse) concept to an urban setting. Tonight we’ve got the cozy restaurant – a favorite of neighborhood locals for decades – to ourselves, and as we sit at its big tables we’ll learn about what’s ahead for us as a group and what adventures await us.

Day 2

Exploring backstreets Barcelona

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll set out to begin our exploration of Catalan identity, in this case through the charming Gracia neighborhood. Located just outside of the city’s busy center, Gracia still feels like the village it once was, filled with small restaurants and shops that have been in business for generations. On our tour of the neighborhood, we’ll visit several of Gracia’s most iconic food spots as well as its lively locals-only public market, getting a taste of what makes this area such a wonderful showcase for Barcelona and its culinary traditions. After a short rest back at the hotel, we’ll go as a group to experience one of the most utterly unique and distinctly Catalan traditions, that of the Castellers. Dating back to the 18th century, this ritual revolves around groups that work together to form gravity-defying human towers that are the highlight of local festivals. We’ll get to witness one of these groups practice and teach the next generation of castellers how to scramble up to the top of the tower. For those of us brave enough, we’ll get a chance to go shoulder-to-shoulder with members of the group and help form the tower’s base. The evening is free for you to further explore Gracia or other parts of Barcelona on your own.

Day 3

Tasting the history of Girona

In the morning we’ll check out of our hotel and hit the road for the short drive to Girona, one of Catalonia’s most important historical centers. With a local guide, we’ll walk through Girona’s old city and learn about its fascinating Roman and Jewish history, ending up at one of the city’s newest landmarks, the restaurant Can Roca. It’s here that the three Roca brothers learned how to cook and run their family’s business, eventually opening El Celler de Can Roca, one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world and a key part of putting the new wave of Catalan cooking on the map. At the family’s original place, though, we’ll focus on the more traditional side of things, enjoying the hearty late morning meal known in Catalonia as “breakfast with a fork.” After our meal, we’ll continue our exploration of the Roca universe, visiting the brothers’ latest venture, Esperit Roca. Housed inside a historic hilltop fortress, Esperit Roca is home to a restaurant, distillery, wine cellar, hotel and exhibition space. Here we’ll tour the project’s gardens with the in-house botanist, who collects edible plants for the restaurant, and then sit down for an epic 10-course tasting menu dinner featuring reinterpretations of some of the Rocas’ most iconic dishes.

Day 4

The rural flavors of Empordà

After our jam-packed day in Girona, we’ll take the morning to relax and enjoy the idyllic views from Mas Falgaron. Towards noon, we’ll head out to the nearby village of Rabós to meet Jordi Esteve, part of a new generation of local Empordà winemakers crafting natural wines using indigenous grape varieties. We’ll have an al fresco tasting in Jordi’s vineyards, accompanied by his homemade charcuterie and cheese. From there, we’ll continue to another village, Mollet de Perelada, where we’ll sit down for lunch at a classic Catalan restaurant that’s been in business for more than sixty years. After lunch, we’ll make our way to one more village, this one a center of olive oil production since Roman times. Here we’ll visit ancient olive groves growing the prized Arbequina variety, learn about extraction methods from an artisanal producer, and get to taste the season’s first oil directly from the press. In the evening we’ll be back at Mas Falgarona, where we are free to relax.

Day 5

A seaside feast in Cap de Creus

Today it’s time to head down to the sea and take in Catalonia’s captivating Mediterranean coast. We’ll start off in the harbor village of Llançà, where we’ll take part in the daily wholesale fish auction, meeting some of the local characters and learning about the area’s fishing techniques and traditions. From here, we’ll continue down the coast to the stunning Cap de Creus, a protected nature reserve that juts out into the Mediterranean and is said to have inspired works by both Salvador Dalí and Picasso. Here we’ll meet up with Moises Tibau, one of the last fisherman working in this particular area, who will host us in his fishing hut for a seaside lunch of freshly prepared lobster rice and other maritime delicacies followed by a favorite local dessert – a sponge cake dramatically flambéed with spiced rum. After saying goodbye to our new friend, our coastal journey continues with a stop in Cadaqués, one of Catalonia’s most charming waterfront towns. Here we’ll stroll through the winding streets, stopping for a coffee or drink, before heading back to Mas Falgarona.

Day 6

The volcanic gastronomy of La Garrotxa

After our day down by the seaside, we now head into the mountains and to one of Catalonia’s most unique landscapes, the volcanic valley of La Garrotxa. Thanks to its fertile soil and ideal climate, this area is home to some of the most iconic Catalan agricultural products, such as the delicate and creamy Santa Pau beans and ratafia, a liqueur made out of green walnuts and herbs. To learn about this oasis, we’ll head to the town of Olot, where Chef Martina Puigvert from the family-run Les Cols restaurant will take us around to meet some of the key local producers she works with. Back at the chef’s restaurant, we’ll sit down for a late lunch that creatively incorporates many of the ingredients and products we learned about earlier in the day and gives a taste of what the area’s volcanic gastronomy is all about. After lunch, we’ll return to Mas Falgarona for our last night out in the countryside.

Day 7

Back to Barcelona and into the kitchen

After breakfast, we’ll check out of our inn, say goodbye to the captivating Empordà, and start the return trip to Barcelona. Back in the big city, we’ll keep our memories of the countryside going with a special cooking workshop celebrating Catalan autumnal cuisine, with an emphasis on mushrooms. Guided by Pau, our trusted companion throughout the trip, we will learn to handle and cook Catalonia’s most celebrated mushroom varieties and how to incorporate some of the ingredients and flavors we learned about during the previous week into our creations. What we cook will be part of a family-style meal our group will have together, capped off by one last toast to bid farewell to each other and pay homage to Catalonia, whose culinary magic we had all experienced over the last week.

Day 8

Say Goodbyes & Depart

We end our trip in Catalonia. After breakfast, we will depart for the airport or those who want can stay to continue exploring. Until the next adventure!