Girona

Girona - where buzz does not mean crowds.

I found it more manageable as a city than say, Barcelona.  Of course, you can't beat the architecture and coolness of Barca but Girona is a lovely city to walk through and just soak in the colors and historical buildings all around.

Boira's Cod Brandada

It's also the culinary hotbed in Spain, and is home to the now-closed el Bulli and the 3-star El Celler de can Roca.  Food was of very high quality and even an unassuming cafe offered a yummy chopped salmon and apple salad, as well as the local specialty of a cod brandada, which is an emulsion of salt cod and olive oil.

Occi's prawn carpaccio and foie gras shavings

Japanese sashimi chefs would find their match at Occi with the prawn carpaccio perfectly thinly sliced, as with the accompanying salad which boasts the same thinness with the foie gras shavings liberally layered over the top.

The city's proximity to the Costa Brava strip in the same province means a day trip to L'Escala is very doable.  A small sleepy town which wakes up to many times its population of 6,000 in the peak seasons, of visitors who come to enjoy the unspoiled beaches....

the quaint little town centre with buildings from the past.....

Anchovies on tomato paste toast

and where you can also enjoy the town's most famous produce - anchovies.

If you just want a province which offers a myriad of things to do, but with a laid-back kind of feel, and get fed very well, Girona is just what you might be looking for.

Occi Restaurant
Mercaders, 3, Girona, Catalonia 17004

Boira Restaurant

Plaça Independència, 17, Girona, Catalonia 17001