As the weather became warmer during the spring, I noticed that a few people on the list were beginning to post and exchange information about 'casa rurales'. There was talk of chickens and cows, remote countryside and idyllic nooks containing hammocks and whatnot.
I had been thinking of somewhere to escape to during the Sant Joan holiday weekend. I am not a fan of loud banging things exploding right outside my window so the idea of relaxing far far away in a Catalan farmhouse in the middle of nowhere during the festivities sounded appealing. Unfortunately all of the BCN Tot casa rural recommendations were fully booked for the weekend in question. Thus began a detailed period of research the likes of which I have not engaged in since I bought a new vacuum cleaner several months ago, an endeavor which involved translating customer reviews from both the German and French sites of Amazon.com. You’d think I was charged with planning a royal honeymoon rather than just two nights with one husband, two children, several baby farm animals and 10,000 mosquitoes.
Some of you may already know what a casa rural is, but for those of you who don’t, here’s the rundown. A casa rural is pretty much exactly what it sound like: a rural house. In Catalunya, they are often converted masies, traditional Catalan farmhouses. Although they vary widely in what they offer, they tend to feature appealing amenities such as swimming pools, terraces overlooking scenic valleys and delicious home-cooked meals. Many are actually working farms and offer children the chance to interact with the animals (gathering eggs, riding ponies, screeching at the ducks and so on).
To aid me in my search for the PERFECT casa rural, I used a few different websites. My favorite was Top Rural where you can search by location as well as other amenities (swimming pools, activities for children, proximity to beach, etc). In the end, the one I found was great. Not perfect, mind you, but a lot of fun for all of us. They had a small children’s playhouse stocked with toys, a paddling pool and several adorable farm animals, including a rambunctious puppy (or “Goggy” as Luca called him), ducks (“Gucks”), a donkey (“Gonkey”) and chickens (“kitchens”).
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