My good friend and spiritual advisor Big Dog Beller has been telling me for years to go to the Costa Brava and stay in Tossa de Mar. We finally made it and he was right, of all the coastal resort towns we have seen, it is the most charming. A little remote, not too crowded, nice shopping district, some quaint family run restaurants, two small beaches and a terrific walled old town. The place has kind of an old South Beach feel, but with history. We even stayed at the Hotel Florida.

The road winds northeast up the coast for about 30 km, hugging the shore and offering fabulous views of coves and inlets with the clearest water you have ever seen.

Tossa de Mar’s additional claim to fame is as the location of the 1951 hit movie “Pandora & the Flying Dutchman” starring Ava Gardner and James Mason. There are pictures all over town of Ava cavorting with the locals while Frank Sinatra, her husband at the time, maintains a somewhat jealous vigil on the activities. They have even erected a statue of her on the ramparts overlooking the town.