I went to a castle and made friends! Saturdays don't get much better than that! But as it turns out, all castles are not preserved equally and I have yet to see a castle like the one you're probably imagining right now. Hopefully I'll get to see something like that before I come home.
Saturday's excursion was to Hostalric, a small town northwest of Barcelona. It was organized by the Voluntariat Lingüístic de la UPF, an organization for which I am increasingly grateful. The Voluntariat Lingüístic de la UPF is an organization that arranges outings (like the one I took to Montserrat) for exchange students studying at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra to help them learn more about Catalan culture. It's run by Albert, a spry man whose warmth and ability to speak multiple languages leave me happy to have spent my day with him each time I do so. The Voluntariat Lingüístic is fantastic because it offers- for a very low cost- trips I'd otherwise be unlikely to take and provides the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who are all at different points in their life. Since adventuring and meeting people different from me are two of my favorite activities, any day with the Voluntariat Lingüístic is a good one.
This particular Saturday, our day started with the one hour drive to Hostalric. Hostalric is a town so small and so infrequently visited by tourists that if you want to spend multiple days there, you have to book a room in the next town over as there is nowhere to stay. We started our trip by going up the Torre dels Frares (Monks' Tower). The top of the tower offers beautiful views of Hostalric, the surrounding mountains, and the castle. It was a great way to start our tour as we were able to see the general layout and size of things.
Then, we had a lesson in making pa amb tomaquet (bread with tomato), a traditional Catalan appetizer. All it involves is cutting a very juicy tomato in half, spreading as much of the juice as possible on the bread, drizzling olive oil over the bread, and then adding sausage, garlic, and salt as you please. Being the adventuress I am, I had to try all the types of sausage offered. My pa amb tomaquet was maybe a little less attractive because of this, but still tasted good. While everyone else made and enjoyed their pa amb tomaquet, I was interviewed about why I liked the Voluntariat Lingüístic for their upcoming promotional video. I'll add that to this post once it's available. We also learned how to drink from a porró, a glass pitcher for red wine dating back to the 1700's, when it was uncommon to have enough glasses for everyone.
I was the only American on the trip and one of very few newbies when it came to using the porró, so everyone was excited to take pictures and videos of my first attempts. We all had a good time laughing at each other's attempts until my Filipino friend managed to keep the porró aimed exactly in his mouth while he leaned back until he was practically laying on the ground. It was incredible. That's the performance that should have been filmed. He received a porró to take home for his skills and I received one for being adorable. So if you see me drinking anything from now on, there's at least an 80% it will be from my porró.
After lunch, we explored various defensive tours, medieval arsenals, and watch towers around the castle's ruins. I hope you like the picture of me with the wooden dragon because I ended up locked into that medieval tunnel. It turns out, if you dawdle taking pictures, your group will move on, leave the tunnel, and lock the gate at the exit. I ended up arriving at the exit as the group was walking away. With no phone reception, I had a moment of, "I wonder when they'll find my body." Someone heard me (and a couple other dawdlers) calling for help in time to catch the guide's attention and free us. Starvation and death postponed yet again!
Although the castle wasn't as I imagined, I did enjoy the views and the opportunity to meet people from around the world. I can't wait to go on more adventures with the Voluntariat Lingüístic de la UPF!
Until next time!