K & L's Travel Blog

It’s January 27th and we are just over two weeks into a monthlong stay in Barcelona. Feels like it is just the right time to take a weekend break from the big city and head to the countryside. My favorite wine is made in the Priorat region of Catalonia, and we had made reservations at a BnB for Friday and Saturday. We decided to include a stopover in Reus, which is 1.5 hrs. by train to Barcelona and a 45 min. drive to our ultimate destination, Gratallops, the small town where our BnB was located. 

Reus attracted me because of its link to the Modernista architecture I enjoy. It makes a claim as the birthplace of Gaudí and a center of Vermouth, but is also home to some famous works by Montaner, a contemporary of Gaudí and designer of the amazing Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona. There’s a famous mental hospital Montaner designed, but its opening hours are irregular. Instead we headed to another of his creations, Casa Navas. 

Like the previous Palau we visited in Barcelona, it was built for a wealthy industrialist couple (textiles). The husband died before living in the house, and the family maintained the home. Now it’s a private museum. I’d call it over-the-top modernista (camp?) style. It also shows how Montaner managed what was apparently a blank check for his creation. He brought in a team of artisans who used a range of materials: glass, wood, ceramic, concrete and marble. Pretty dazzling.

We had arranged to rent a car at the Reus train station. The guys at Enterprise were kind and had kept our bag while we toured the town. They had three available: a tiny car, a sporty car and a red jeep. We took the red jeep. Kitty drives and I navigate.  Somehow, we navigate the complex of roundabouts leading out of the town and find our way to Gratallops. The drive was beautiful with few cars on the road once we passed Falset. There were wind turbines lining the tops of ridges and yellow-green cacti spotting the hillsides. We found our hotel easily despite the abrupt turn. We had made a clear transition from major urban to major rural.

Clos Figueras was nice: clean, luxurious (for us) but low-key. We are traveling in the off-season and it seemed much of the staff was on vacation. A young and anxious man, Armand, checked us in, led our wine tasting and cooked our meal that first night. In the morning, Dolores brightened things up considerably with her enthusiasm and competence. As one of the reviews said, “She gave her best.” 

Clos Figueras had a bodega (wine and olive oil store–never open), a dining room, a wine tasting terrace and three rooms to rent. We got the larger room at the end of the hall. It was comfortable with a sitting area and beautiful views over the terrace to the mountains. The wooden shutters blocked all light at night and it was absolutely silent. There was never more than one other couple staying over.

The silence extended through the day, as Gratallops is a sleepy place, especially at the end of January. Our great delight was walking through the hilltop medieval town with its stunning views.

Ironically, our biggest challenge in the town was finding a bottle of wine. Everything seemed shut down on a Friday afternoon, and again the next night. We did find an open bodega that first afternoon and got two local bottles of Ònix wines (excellent) that lasted us the weekend. That first night the sunset was stunning. By Sunday afternoon things were starting to open across the town, and we came across restaurants and stores we hadn’t known existed. We spent our afternoon that last day at the local bar basking in the sun and eating bad, greasy tapas. I drank cheap wine that was still better than your average house wine. What a lovely stay at Gratallops!