Autumn is settling in during these days before the Castaween celebration at school, but in our Catalan sessions we are all about getting to know the Castanyera and talking about how delicious pine-nut, coconut and chestnut panellets are. We are also starting to learn or remember vocabulary related to autumn and the Castanyada, the traditional festival we celebrate in Catalonia on 31 October.
Since we have the mid-term break, and autumn is the perfect time for day trips to discover forests full of colours, smells and paths that crunch underfoot, here are some places you can discover or visit near Barcelona:
Autumn plans
Fageda d’en Jordà (Garrotxa). The essential classic in the volcanic area of La Garrotxa, ideal to visit with children and friends.
Bosc de Merlí (Viladrau, Osona). 90 km from Barcelona is the village of Viladrau. There you can follow several routes through forests of beech, fir and chestnut trees.
Bosc pintat de Poblet (Muntanyes de Prades). A good place to start hiking. There you can look for painted mushrooms by following the marked route.
Pumpkin Fest, 23–25 October (Sant Pere de Ribes). And what can you do there? Stroll among the pumpkins, join in the activities on offer and enjoy a good afternoon snack!
Book recommendations
And finally, if what you fancy is a nice, quiet time, here are some recommendations we hope you will enjoy:
Ingràvida, by Fran Pintadera and Raquel Catalina. Discover the story of a girl who is only free when she is in the sea.
El diari d’en Samuel, by Emilie Tronche. In this book you will meet Samuel, a ten-year-old preteen who prefers to confide his secrets to his diary.
Tanit, by Núria Albó. This book is out of print, but you can find it in libraries. It tells the story of Tanit, a determined girl who wants to make friends and has to fend for herself because her parents work away from home. One day, deep in the forest, she meets old Perona, who knows all the secrets, and a strange friendship, surprising and tender at the same time, grows between them.
En Pere, la Lluna i un Gripau, by Jaume Coll Mariné. An ideal book to help children lose their fear of reading poetry, or to read with them.