What is there to eat on Tuesday?
Not much before 21:30. We land at 19:55 and reach the house at 20:30, so the terrace drinks
are the first food of the evening and they are drinks, not dinner. Eat at Rotterdam Airport
or bring something on board.
Can the paella workshop happen on Wednesday?
The date is not the problem — there is no day of the week where this cannot work. It depends
on the house chef and the capacity. The house has its own professional cook and works on a
half-board basis, so ask there directly: show cooking with a large paellera for seventeen
people, with the group joining in. If that falls through, caterers in the area will come out
with a paellera, and there is a cooking studio in Girona that runs the same workshop — but
then we are driving and it costs the whole evening.
What exactly is Clos de Basella?
A small organic and biodynamic winery in Siurana d'Empordà, about fifteen minutes from the
house. They run a guided walk through the vineyards and the cellar, a tasting in their wine
bar or among the vines, and a longer version with food between the rows. One warning: late
September is harvest time in the Empordà, so they are busy. This is the first booking of the
whole week, and worth asking for the version that includes lunch — the gap between a 09:30
breakfast and an 20:00 dinner is otherwise six hours of wine.
What is the Thursday activity?
Open, and Thursday afternoon is the right slot for it — nobody has to change outfits twice
and there is no ceremony to be back for. Nearby: Hípica Aldebar and Hípica Arnau near Castelló
d'Empúries and Empúries ride through the Aiguamolls and along the beach, Cavall al Centre in
Albons works with small groups and has Dutch-speaking guides, kayaks are five kilometres away,
and there is karting within fifteen. Riding and kayaking both cap out well below seventeen
people, so either split the group or pick karting.
Are we going out on Thursday evening?
Dinner is at 19:00, and if we eat in L'Escala it is twenty minutes each way. Worth knowing:
late September is the end of the season there. Restaurants and the cocktail bars along the
Riells promenade are open, the larger clubs usually are not, and on a Thursday it is quiet.
For dinner and a few terraces afterwards it is lovely. If anyone wants a real night out, that
is Friday in the cellar, where we are playing records anyway.
How does the working part work?
Wednesday and Thursday from 09:00 to 13:00 are working mornings. Wifi throughout the house;
the library and the dining room are the quiet spots, the courtyard and the terrace are not.
Bring headphones — with seventeen people in one house there are always two calls at once.
Is this a real wedding?
No. Nothing signed here has legal standing in Spain, the Netherlands or anywhere else.
The hangover is fully valid.
