Day 104: Cadaques/Tossa de Mar, Spain

Another gorgeous sunny day on the Costa Brava... we had a hard time leaving our fabulous balcony view and the pool at the Hotel Playa Sol so we spent the morning dividing our time between those two favorite locations until it was time to check out. Here is a photo of our beloved pool in Cadaques:





We shared a quick bocadillo (sandwich) while sitting at the base of the Dali statue in the bay, watching the waves (another windy day) before setting off for our next destination: Tossa de Mar. Tossa is also on the Costa Brava but in another section called La Selva (the forest), which makes sense when you see the change in landscape and all the evergreen trees. I took this photo along our drive:




Our hotel here has another fabulous view of the beach from a small corner balcony with a small table and two chairs. This is the view from the balcony looking from right to left. In the first picture you can see the 12th-century walls of the old town area.










We spent the afternoon at the main beach which is right in front of our hotel and then in the evening set off to do our usual exploring. We walked up into the old city area which has a fortress area and then a lighthouse at the top of the hill.

Here is a closer shot of the old city walls:




This is a view of the old town from up on the walls, which are ramparts with a walkway.




This is my new favorite plant (no idea what it is) and a view of the coastline:




This is the view back toward the old town and the rest of Tossa from up on the hill.




My favorite photo of the trip for some reason:




Here I am climbing up the paths to get to the top where the lighthouse is:




A great view back towards the bay from up on the hill:




At the top of the hill is a lighthouse that is now a museum and a bar with stunning views of the Mediterranean. We sat down and made a dinner of 2 beers and an order of patatas bravas with one of the best restaurant views ever.




On the way back down the hill on the bay side, there are ruins of an old 16th century Gothic church:




Here is another view of Tossa and the bay as we came down the hill:




Along the path is a statue of Ava Gardner commemorating her role in the movie Pandora and the Flying Dutchman which was set in Tossa de Mar.




Another view of the bay, with all of the seafood restaurants along the water, as it got darker and the street lights all came on:




We strolled along the whole length of the bay and Frank got a good night shot of the old town lit up:




At the other end of the bay, we found a beach bar with tables right in the sand surrounded by tiki torches, so we ended our night there with this view:




I was so sad to leave Cadaques but I didn't realize that Tossa de Mar would be another gem! Two beach towns in a row is really making us feel like we're on vacation. And even less enthusiastic about coming home!

Oh, and we had some fabulous news yesterday while we were traveling! My sister Nadja (a recent guest blogger) has gotten engaged! Glen proposed in Budapest where they spent the past 3 days, and they are now headed to Prague for the rest of the week. We are all very excited for them and are thrilled to welcome Glen to the Mair family!!

ILM