Long time friend, Mandy, had a trip planned to Barcelona for a while. She and some friends were visiting some old work colleagues, and so we arranged to meet up while she was here.

It turns out that her friends lived a little further and more east than the 1 hour north of Barcelona we originally thought. But what better excuse to explore the Costa Brava? On Sunday morning Espe and I set off for L’Escala and picked up a hangover wielding Mandy before working our way back along the coast towards Barcelona. Forget the reputation and avoid places like Lloret de Mar, and you’ll realise that the Costa Brava is actually very stunning. Lots of little rocky coves tucked away, large cliffs, long beaches, the odd castle, a smattering of hills and some wonderfully twisty roads.

Not sure, though, about those horrific high rise concrete hotels, or the small villages full of holiday apartments that feel like ghost towns in January.