Cal Rei, Lles de Cerdanya, Spain

With the winter getting closer, we wanted to check up the Catalan Pyrenees and get a first feel of the Spanish snow.
Following the recommendation of a Catalan friend, we headed for Lles de Cerdanya, a small mountain village, 1500m altitude, only 2 hours drive away from Barcelona.
The place to stay is called Cal Rei (www.lles.net/cal.rei), it is a casa rural, the equivalent of the Italian agriturismi and French gîtes ruraux.
It is an old house full of charm, very nicely restored by the owners Lluis and Piluca, the views over the Serra del Cadi, on the other side of the valley, are just amazing, and Lluis does a good cooking in the evening based on local dishes, with everyone eating at the same long table.
There are great walks from the nordic ski resort which is 10mn away by car, at 2000m, the Estany de Llori for example, a little mountain lake.
For a good Arroz you can go to Cal Lliuret in Travesseres, a tiny village on the way back to the valley, good food and great settings!

Albergo Da Giovanni, isola del Giglio

It must be the traditional winter radiator effect: I long for a nice sunny beach... I know, I know, I'm the lucky one living in BCN, by the sea, and yet...
Anyway, I have a thing for small southern Italian islands, and Giglio is one on my list...

Crystal clear waters, nice rocks to climb for the kids, and the beach to yourself if you go in September like we did last year.
The island is pretty much empty apart from a 3 small villages, linked by the one road: you arrive with the ferry at Giglio Porto, you get across the island through the highest point, Giglio Castello, and then down again to Giglio Campese, simple enough. As I said, pretty much one road, no real need for a car there...
If you're in for lying out on a sunny beach, like I certainly am, I would recommand Giglio Campese, not a real village but there's a tiny port with an impressive old tower, it's the larger sandy beach of the island, and it is facing to the south-west so you enjoy the sun until the evening, unlike Giglio Porto, and the rocks take on incredible colours at sunset.

Albergo Da Giovanni is a good place to go, great settings and nice food, the rooms are nothing special but the view wins it all, just a few stairs away from the sea...