Author: gironapete

While everyone has their own opinion this is just mine, and I recognize it might differ with other Girona residents.

We live in the La Devesa neighbourhood and have remained here for the last 14 years. We were  lucky to have arrived in this ‘barri’ on our first visit. Little did we know then that it ticked a lot of our boxes. Conveniently situated for access into Girona old town, Girona’s bus and train station, plus four supermarkets. Plenty of cafes, Devesa park a 5 minute walk away and our kids’ school within eyeshot.

La Devesa is a fairly modern creation as elderly locals remember this area as being just fields and sparsely populated. There are pockets of what look like more older properties but the majority is a swave of modern low-rise apartment blocks. While I’d always felt safe here my kids have had a couple of brushes with low-level crimes committed against them. 

Walk a couple of blocks towards the train station and you’ll cross C/ Santa Eugenia. This for me at least, acts as a sort of delineator. It’s where La Devesa ends and the Santa Eugenia area begins, and feels like the wrong side of the tracks. 

It’s certainly more built up with taller apartment blocks and a touch grubbier. Please don’t think I’m running it down, I grew up in London’s East End so no hairs and graces here. 

Every September the Devesa community organises a neighbourhood ‘festa’ or festival. The highlight is a large communal outdoor lunch, held under the shady rows of Plane trees in La Devesa Park. Long tables are set up, people bring their own drinks, cutlery and cups to enjoy fideua and some music. It’s also a chance to catch up with familiar faces and have a convivial chat-though our little English enclave always sits together. Some things will never change.

Don’t get me wrong, we did a lot of things to get involved with local culture, enrolling our kids into the ‘el cau’ or scouts group. We became more prominent as ‘the English family’ as we also ran an English language school, minutes from our home. Unfortunately as far as diversity goes, this stuck-in-a-time-warp area still hasn’t moved away from it’s apparent white, middle-class image.  

Girona Old Town (Barri Vell)

The backs of the houses along the river Onyar look ideal and some lucky owners even have a balcony where you can enjoy a well earned glass of local vino and take in the view.

While it’s a real crowd puller for tourists and day visitors it’s quite a different kettle of fish if you’re thinking of living here. Back in the old days it was a less salubrious place to live and had its ‘barrio chino’ red-light area. People were drawn to move to the more modern parts of Girona, into newer better equipped housing. 

Lots of narrow, shady streets and alleys, tall old buildings means it depends on where you live if you’ll ever catch the sun. Car parking is more of an issue, restricted to residents and limited spaces. If you can accept all that it could be quite the romantic alternative that some like.Your typical American tourist blogging their way around Europe will, I’m sure, find it a delight.

It’s also a popular hangout spot for visiting professional and tourist cyclists, who don’t mind running their bike up five flights of stairs. Many apartment buildings don’t have a modern lift, those medieval builders never foresaw this useful addition. 

This has led to a rise in pricey rental apartments from owners cashing in, but alienating those locals who want to keep it like it was. It’s echoing a similar effect with what’s happening with Airbnb apartments in Barcelona, where runaway tourism impacts local sensitivities.

Life in Girona’s old town is also prone to those negative points of noise from bars, cafes, nightlife goers and tourists. A friend who lives near Girona cathedral can hardly get out of his front door during certain city festivities like the flower festival, or at Easter when many flock to view its processions. For me I’ve got used to enjoying it for a casual stroll through La Rambla, an occasional meal and a weekly pub crawl.

Palau

Mention this area and the euro signs start to flicker as it’s one of the poshest areas of Girona. You need to go uphill so it affords good views and has more houses than apartments. It’s quite a way from the old town and Girona’s shopping areas, and there’s little in the way of shops, cafes and bars. However, if you prefer a spacious home with a pool and ample parking this could be the place.

Montjuic

Loosely translated as the ‘mount of the Jews’ it stands high up above Girona and has a mix of upmarket houses and apartments. Girona’s Jewish Museum has a good collection of Hebrew inscribed tombstones recovered from here, as it had a Jewish burial place.

There’s only one long winding road up and once you reach the top all you have is a petrol station, supermarket, pizza take away, bakery and not much else. Plus points are the views but for me a bit too boring, the walk down to the old town would take about a half an hour.

Quimics

The site of a former glue factory still has its tall brick chimney. A popular residential area with lots of new build apartment blocks, it’s not too far from the commercial hubs of Girona. 

Montilivi

Moving further away from the more downtown areas of Girona and uphill again, this is a largely residential neighbourhood that is home to Girona football club’s stadium, certain University buildings and student digs. 

St. Daniel.

If I had to move this is on my bucket list, but rental properties are as rare as hens teeth.

Tucked away just minutes away up behind Girona’s cathedral this tiny village has a special feel about it. Friends that live here say that it’s split into a sunny and shady part, the latter can make it feel a bit damp in winter. Much of the topography makes it quite hilly and the surrounding forests make it popular with dog walkers and mountain bikers. No real shops here except a bakery.

The big plus is its one and only tip-top restaurant Cull del Mon. No better way to spend a leisurely afternoon dining on its terrace or comfy interior. Because of its proximity to local cycle routes the village has become the go to base location for the pro and tourist cyclists.

I should mention two satellite villages that have a certain appeal if you’re after the quiet life. Fornells de la Selva has St. George’s International school on its outskirts, a railway station and a solitary cafe-which is closed at lunchtime. Isn’t that when people want to eat? 

However, it has its own social centre which serves up a decent set lunch for a modest price. The local old boys sit around playing cards and dominoes, a good place to practice your Catalan. Housing is a mix of old village properties and a lot of new built detached houses and blocks of flats. People with very young families like it but it’s not a place you’d drive through on the way to somewhere else. If you’re into outdoor pursuits the surrounding farmland and verdant countryside make up for the passing tumbleweed!

Villablareix has a quaint historic core and has grown bigger with plenty of low-rise modern apartment blocks. Away from its industrial estate area this village has a bit more life to it, a primary school, bakery, butchers and a pharmacy. There’s a branch of the popular restaurant chain Konigs here too, and one or two more cafes along the main drag. The road through here can take you to the airport via the next village of  Aiguaviva and further on, to Santa Coloma de Farners.

Lastly, Girona areas to avoid. Locals tell me that Vila Roja is where you could easily lose the hubcaps off your car, and maybe the shirt off your back too.

I can never think of jazz without remembering that character, Louis Balfour in the 90’s BBC comedy The Fast Show and his catchphrase-Jazz, nice!

I’ve always been puzzled by the lack of live music venues in Girona-any music. My theory is that many suitable places are too near to residential blocks so locals would complain-which they do quite readily.

Contrast that to when the city celebrates its week long city wide festival of St Narcis in late October. What a racket then. Street bands galore and the large open area next to Devesa Park called La Carpa becomes a giant youth club dominated by a nightly blast of live music till the early hours.

In our middle-aged case we opted to go to the small but cute Sunset Jazz bar in the old town. The Saturday night music was a tribute to Billy Holiday by an American singer whose name I forget. Great, we thought, a meal first and then some sounds. First we went for a mini supper where we waited too long for our food and maybe overdid it a bit with the local vino blanco.

On entering the Sunset club we had to stand by the bar as all the seats were taken. The dim interior and bum-numbing seating makes for what you’d expect of a Bohemian-style jazz joint.

The rendition of Billy Holiday songs was a token effort and far from what we’d imagined. We were enjoying our drinks engaged in quiet conversation when the barmaid gestured ‘shoosh’ at those of us sitting and standing around the bar. We duly obliged rolling our eyes upwards.

The music progressively derailed itself from its original intention. The singer blurted out some felicitations in Spanish, which probably didn’t go down too well with the fiercely proud Catalan audience.

The shooshing waitress continued to patrol the bar acting like a scolding headmistress. To the point where we’d had enough and left. She spoke to us in unintelligible Catalan-probably saying ‘you’re barred’.

We’ve never been back since.

I like to keep my brushes with officialdom to a minimum if I can. Language issue is one reason but secondly, the almost inevitable sinking feeling of not being able to complete what is in most cases a simple task in one go. Let me explain by using one past example. 

We had to renew our empadron (registering as a resident in the city or town you live in), this is a document obtained from the local city hall ajuntament/ajuntamiento. Gironas’ is housed within a fine old building in placa del Vi. Off I went with the requisite documents I needed to show. which were all listed online. 

First step is the ‘gatekeeper’ who directs you on where to go depending on the purpose of your visit. I already know where I need to go but this jobsworth beckons me forward. Mini interrogation over I enter the section on the ground floor where gatekeeper no.2 sits. I repeat what I’ve just said to the previous drone. You’re given a numbered ticket, sit down in the waiting room and watch the small screen above. 

As far as waiting time, this is entering into the ‘how long is a piece of string’ scenario. A quick tally of others waiting is useful but not indicative. Your number eventually appears with a designated table (taula) number. This time around I fail, there’s a problem with my latest rental payment receipt. It’s missing the agency’s official stamp. No explanation on earth will change matters, off you go with your bundle of papers. 1-0 to them.

After wishing I’d rather watch the grass grow I summon the motivation for try number 2, having obtained said agency stamp. I fail again-do these people relish others misery? This time my electricity bill is too old, it needs to be a more recent one. I’m starting to wish this place had a ‘screaming room’ to let of some steam. 2-0 to them.

Third time, paperwork in order I decide to take my Catalan speaking daughter as backup. It’s a Friday afternoon so their minds are set to POETS ( piss off early tomorrow’s Saturday). We breeze in, a cursory glance at my passport, and bingo, we get to the finish line. The documents are printed and handed over. I pinch myself to check it’s really happened.

Was it due to the fact that my daughter spoke Catalan to them-I’ll never know.

I was asked once what I thought about the supermarkets here compared to ones in the UK. The first thought that entered my head was boring and how much of my life I’ve wasted shuffling around in these places.

I tend to do most of the food shopping and we live in the Girona neighbourhood of La Devesa minutes from 4 supermarkets, so me and my shopping trolley are happy with that. Anyway, if I had to take the car I could carry more but I’d have far more work getting in all upstairs. That’s because our apartment’s parking space is underground and the block’s elevator doesn’t serve our floor. That’s another story.

Just to go back to the subject of shopping trolleys. In the UK they’re synonymous with only the elderly using them, as they trot off down the high street. After moving here and buying one I just couldn’t wrap my mind around actually using one for several months. After all, here you see both young and old pulling them around. I have even cast my inventor’s eye to imagining a suitable trolley designed for beachgoers. One that has a tardis-like space to carry everything, keep beers cold, and wide rubber wheels capable of gliding across the sand.

My local Mercadona supermarket. Leading contender for the highly competitive title of ‘Most Boring Girona Supermarket ‘. I could walk blindfold around here and still  know where to get everything. Sometimes it serves a curved ball and I get mildly frustrated when I can’t find a tin of coconut milk or some sod has bought every single pack of avocados. The product ranges remain permanently entrenched and any newly stocked item or ‘novetat’ brightens up your day. So much so that it prompts me to report on such front page news to my good wife.

The last new and welcoming thing was Sharwoods Korma Curry Sauce, a true revelation for Catalan taste buds. Sadly it didn’t last and is no more, maybe it was a novetat too far.

Some other novetats have endured and remain as part of the run-of-the-mill Mercadona family, like versions of Hummus. Any UK Tesco’s  has about 6.

It just leaves the saga of the checkout but don’t expect any help with bag filling-you’re on your own. The shop assistants could win the Olympic gold for scanning items, leaving me to play catch-up as I load my trolley. The plan of attack is simple. Heavy stuff  like bottles and slabs of coke at the bottom, followed by layers of lighter stuff as you reach the top. Never mind the next waiting customer, the assistant’s only sarcastic sounding retort is to say “parking?”

This store also has a resident beggar who sits outside the entrance all day in all weathers shaking his plastic cup at you as you walk past. If I don’t have any loose change I offer him a can of coke instead. The hard part is trying to decipher his reply which resembles more of a grunt than a clearly defined gracias! Oh well, who am I to judge.

With the latest lockdown restrictions it means we’re spending a lot more time indoors and boy is it boring.

For starters there’s a night time curfew between 10pm and 6am which forces us to remember to take the dogs out for the last time, just before curfew begins. Ordinarily that would be much later.

Bars, cafes and restaurants have already been shut for about 3 weeks, only take away allowed but that’s not enough for these owners. Some young friends who run a bar are trying to find work, any work elsewhere. The various regions in Spain have their own rules, so in Madrid you can still eat and drink albeit not late.

You can still go cycling or running , hey-ho. My preferred pastime, playing golf is banned too. Can’t see there’s much risk there but a blanket no to all sports means longer dog walks. Even weekends are affected, no movement outside of your municipality-no nice Sunday drive to the coast. That’s been annoying the last few weekends as we’ve had sunny days touching the 20’s.

Walk through the old town and it’s eerily quiet, the only places open are the ice cream shops which are doing a roaring trade. The other beneficiaries seem to be the hordes of delivery app riders zooming around.

There might be some respite towards the end of November, who knows.

Well the site is back, we didn’t really go anywhere ourselves. The previous site called MyGironaSpain.com got hacked a few years back and I kind of lost interest in trying to resurrect it all.

Of course life got in the way and stuff in general. There are always other things to do aren’t there, and it was always a labour of love. I’d started the original site over 10 years ago and added to it as time allowed.

We’re still here in Girona after almost 14 years and now I’ve got more time. My thoughts were telling me I should restart the site. As with most things and places time doesn’t stop still and Girona certainly hasn’t. 

The big boom in cycling here has meant a bigger influx of tourists and professionals alike. Cycle teams like the place a lot and use the surrounding countryside for training, mountains in one direction and beaches in the other.

The climate is a big plus too. The pro-cyclists seem to have commandeered a lot of the new cafes and coffee spots, which many have been created with them in mind. 

Unfortunately my own mountain bike has remained more of a fixed decorational piece! Golf is more my thing, or rather pitch and putt.

At the moment things are quiet here, the latest Covid rules have put a stop to a lot of things. At least the sun is still shining today, mid November and 19 degrees.

Work on the new site is ongoing and may take a while to sort out, organise content and put up photos and videos.