Bridges, Bites, and Blogging in Besalú

“I didn’t know you were staying in a mansion!”, Tim texted me. Well, it wasn’t quite a mansion but I was staying at Casa Marcial, an amazing villa located on a hill where the old noble castle of Besalu once stood. With 12 bedrooms, a library, multiple sitting rooms, a dining room, and an ample kitchen where private chef Lee Pennington cooked up Catalonian specialties, I certainly felt like I was staying in a mansion!

My primary purpose for being in Besalú was to attend the first ever Blog House, a collaboration of five bloggers master minded by Michael Hodson of Go, See, Write who Tim and I had met in Bled, Slovenia over the summer. Michael and his four partners, Michael Tieso of Art of Backpacking, Stephanie Yoder of Twenty-Something Travel, Kate McCulley of Adventurous Kate, and Cailin O’Neil of Travel Yourself, shared their various skills and knowledge of all things the business of blogging related through mini sessions delivered in a casual setting.

Chef Lee Pennington cooking up paella and other Catalonian specialties

Shrimp with garlic cream sauce

Calamari stuffed with sausage

But as the first evening wore on, computers quickly got stashed away as the first delicious scents of paella wafted up from the kitchen. Our very own private chef, Lee Pennington, was busy cooking up a menu of his specialties to give us a very special welcome to Catalonia. Plates of saltcod mousse, cured sausage, and shrimp with roast garlic cream began making their way around the dining room table and glasses of wine were poured. We each held our glasses high in a toast as our hosts thanked us for coming. And then the chatter gave way to forks and knives clinking on plates as we stuffed ourselves with calamari stuffed with sausage and seafood paella. Silence being the sound of a truly tasty meal. Cups of chocolate topped with a raspberry sweetly finished off the meal and excited chatter returned.

My first real glance at the lovely town of Besalú wasn’t until the morning when our group walked across its 12th-century Romanesque bridge to have breakfast in Ribera Bistro’s quaint garden where we had a stunning view of the bridge and medieval town. Melon, chocolate croissants, and cappuccinos were the perfect way to start the day.

While I didn’t have a whole lot of time to explore the town itself, I did find this amazing little shop called 10 del Pont (literally 10 Bridge and you easily find the shop on the left by walking about ten paces from the bridge) that sells over 100 varieties of teas from around the world and makes homemade caramels in a variety of flavors (try the licorice and the cappuccino!).

View of the bridge from Restaurant Pont Vell’s terrace

Fideua with clams

Dinner on our last night at the Blog House was at Restaurant Pont Vell, which is located in an 18th century building right next to the Fluvia River and even has one of the original  arches from the Romanesque bridge. I took my seat facing the open floor-to-ceiling doors leading out to the terrace and more stunning views of the bridge. Owner and hostess Nuria explained each dish as plates were passed around the table. Homemade foie gras, pates, and tomato and onion salad were passed around. Nuria dished up heaping spoonfuls of fideua with clams (sort of like a paella but made with a type of pasta instead of rice) and we oohed and aahed over the house specialty of sweet and sour rabbit with raisins and baked apples.

Overall, my experience at the Blog House was great! I learned a lot, made some new friends, and got a lot of great advice and encouragement. But next time I return to Besalú, I hope to relax and just take in the sights of this gorgeous village

A huge thank to you Charming Villas Catalonia for hosting us in Casa Marcial and to Lee Pennington, Ribera Bistro, and Restaurant Pont Vell for hosting us and ensuring we were all well fed. All opinions (and decisions to eat and eat…and eat) are my own.