It´s a cloudy Monday, the day of the Immaculate Conception. We go northward to Camprodon, Girona, foie country as I soon learn. After a 2 hour leisurely drive from Barcelona, we arrive at this picturesque village, crowned by a medieval bridge and flanked by a pristine river where mandarin ducks frolic.
We arrive close to lunch time and follow our instincts to Restaurant Casa Marquès, recommended by the Michelin Guide. It´s old and elegant, the ambience a perfect setting for an exquisite meal. Mushroom risotto with foie gras for me, followed by Argentinian beef which the waitress assured was brought up listening to classical music and was therefore refined in more ways than one. Tuna confit for JL and sirloin with, of course, foie gras and berries. With no room for dessert, we end the meal with cortado (espresso with a little milk).
The local delicatessen tempts us with homemade jams -- carrot with orange, pineapple with rum. We head off with four jars and return in a minute to buy foie with mushroom, pepper and other ingredients. It wasn´t foie gras d'oie (de canard): liver of fattened goose (duck), just plain foie of pork, but good enough to experiment with.
A sliver of blue sky appears and we leave for Beget, a pretty little village down in the valley. It´s what Spanish villages should aspire to -- well-worn paths and handsome homes reflecting the pride of its owners.
Well worth returning to, for a weekend trekking to France, then back for hearty country food.
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