David Schwartz, Oakland CA

To call our stay with Eloi and Susanna in Catalona, Spain “memorable” would be a huge understatement. They didn’t have room to host us in their flat in Berga, so they offered us their country house – and a car to get there!

We were invited to a lunchtime gathering of friends on the grounds of a castle, with live musical accompaniment. Then a walk downhill to the medieval town center to behold the death-defying spectacle of “human towers” created by groups from all over the area, a local tradition. We spent our last morning hiking in the Pyrenees and unfurling their Catalonian flag atop a peak from which we could view a panorama of the region of our splendid stay.