Snow in Blanes

After yesterdays photos of the snow in Lloret here is a piece of TV footage from the same day showing the snow in Blanes just 20 minutes down the coast. This morning in Lloret its been snowing again last night but on the coast we just have a very light covering.

Lloret de Mar Weather - February

A weather warning is in place for all of Catalonia.

March 2010

It looks as though we are facing a sharp drop in temperatures from today, with snow being forecast in the region even at sea level! The cold snap is forecast for it to carry on until at least Sunday, and warnings are been given out for everyone to be well prepared by stocking up with essential items at home and to ensure heating appliances are in good working order.
The worst weather seen in Lloret was 2 years ago when heavy snow brought electricity pylons and phone lines down, leaving thousands of people without power, phones and in some cases water for almost a week!
Lets hope there's no repeat of the chaos which occurred then...
Check out the photos from 8th March 2010 here > SNOW IN LLORET DE MAR

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We're surrounded by snow in Lloret

 On the road to Girona today we had some beautiful views of the snow covered mountains in the distance...but in Vidreres it was an unbelievable 20c!...... the photos were actually taken from the car window as we were travelling.

Snowy weather in Lloret de Mar

Well, the weather has suddenly taken a turn for the worse today in Lloret. Our friends up on the neighbouring urbanisations have had snow today, while down here on the coast however it's been a cold and wet day....and as yet no sign of snow.

Thanks to Paul for the photo.

Lloret Weather Latest Update !

After talking to friends in Lloret again this afternoon it seems that the town is almost at a standstill.

Thousands of homes are without power, many cars have had to be abandoned as many roads are impassable owing to the heavy snowfall. Some roads were passable only in 4x4 vehicles.
All schools in the Girona region will closed this afternoon and tomorrow.

A statement on the Ryanair website says that Girona airport is closed until further notice.

Heavy snow has also affected the main streets in the city of Barcelona, snow ploughs are out trying to keep them clear.

Ripoll & Gombrén

Heading towards the Pyrenees just a little over 100 km from Lloret is the fairly large town of Ripoll surrounded by some lovely little villages and set in amazing countryside, very popular with hikers and rock climbers. Ripoll town centre is a good shopping area with an abundance of cafes, restaurants which cater for its 11,000 + population.  The Pyrenees can be seen in the not too far distance from Ripoll and just now are covered in snow so you also have great views of the snow capped mountains.

One of the nearby villages is Gombrén where set in the hills is the ancient monastery - Santuari de Montgrony which is first documented in the year of 899 and rebuilt in the 12 century. 

Snowy Lloret

 Well it was forecast! and here we have the first photos of the snow taken from our balcony this morning (2-2-12) It doesn't look as though the beach is covered, but if it continues to snow I'll have a walk out and get more photos later.

Llorets Week Long Power Failure.

Owing to the week long blackout caused by the snow and falling of the electricity pylons which serve Lloret de Mar and other Costa Brava towns there now seems to be an understandable outrage by the local businesses and residents. The estimated figures quoted by the hotels for lost trade is said to be €1.5 m for Lloret alone. This takes into account tourists not coming to town and also food which has rotted in the fridges and freezers.

Restaurants and bars are claiming to have lost
€2 m, not taking into account trade lost owing to the premises having to remain closed during the power failure.
Schools have now been open from Monday after being closed for almost a week, it was hoped the schools would have been able to open last Friday but they first had to be
checked to ensure no damage had been caused by the heavy snow fall.
A demonstration is to be held in Lloret tomorrow (Wednesday 17th March) by business owners and residents. This is against the power company 'Endessa' for the distress caused due to the lack of management and service to the infrastructure.

Catalunya Villages - Pubol

 Another well worth visit if your travelling around the Catalan countryside is Pubol where the famous artist/surrealist Dali once lived, so there is a small museum of his works of art you can visit. Pubol is a typical very well kept village with narrow cobbled streets and just a few small gift shops and restaurants again only about a 1hr drive from Lloret. From here you have fantastic views of the surrounding countryside and Pyrenees mountains which just now are still covered in snow!

Begur castle, Sa Tuna & Tamariu.

We took a short drive up the coast yesterday to the area around Begur, first visiting the the castle of Begur which looks out all over the coast and also the countryside and mountains beyond. At this time of year the mountains are covered in snow which is always a great site to see, especially when we can still get very mild temperatures of between 15-20c on the coast!

This short video shows the amazing views we captured.

Mountain views from Lloret

 Living in Lloret de Mar we are not very far from the Pyrenees mountains so just a few minutes drive from the centre of Lloret brings you to these amazing views of the snow covered mountains!

Lloret de Mar Weather Today

Its been a beautiful day in Lloret today, we are still only in the first half of March and the weather is fantastic. Such a vast contrast to the  March of 2 years when Lloret spent almost a week without electricity because the heavy snow brought power lines down!



Now that the hotels are starting to open up again there's quite a few holiday makers in town and the place is looking a bit more lively.  Some which I've seen today have actually had a bit too much sun and are looking quite red!

Lloret de Mar Weather

Now that things are back to normal (more or less) in the Costa Brava towns which were left without power for 6 days, a friend has managed to send me these photos for the blog. All of them taken taken in Fenals on the day that the snow brought complete chaos to the Girona region. Nobody could have foreseen at the time these were taken just how much chaos and madness was about to come into their lives for the next few days.

Lets hope the people who's responsibly it is, get their act together and don't EVER let it happen again.

Lloret Weather Latest Update !

Lloret de Mar residents are still without electricity today since the bad weather brought down pylons last Monday, and have been told to be prepared for another night without electric, heating and hot water!
All shops are closed, no cash points are working and all schools are closed. Its been reported schools may be open tomorrow (Friday) with the use of extra generators being brought in, providing there has been no damage caused by the heavy snow fall.
Generators have been brought in to give emergency power to some other buildings in town. Most homes are having to rely on butane gas for their heating, but many homes are totally dependant on electricity.
In the neighbouring town of Blanes all services are running as normal, so the roads between Lloret and Blanes are seeing long tailbacks owing to Lloret residents having to go for shopping and to banks etc. Extra buses have been put on to try to ease the traffic problem.

Some hotels that have their own generators are operating as normal.


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Lloret de Mar - Montseny views

Looking towards Barcelona from Lloret de Mar you can see what is the highest mountain in this region south of the Pyrenees -  'Montseny' National Park at its highest point is 1,706 mts which during the winter months we  can clearly see covered in snow from Lloret. Yesterday however it was a beautiful clear day with bright sunny skies and a very mild temperature so we were able to get these shots of the mountain from not quite at the top!

Above is a view towards Montseny from Loret 

Lloret de Mar Weather

Now that the clocks have gone back one hour and we are seeing the nights drawing in the weather does seem to be much cooler, especially when the sun goes down. Snow has been falling in Andorra (good news for the skiers!) and we have had some heavy spells of rain in Lloret but not too prolonged.
These photos were taken last Thursday evening, after a fine clear sunny day the clouds started to roll in then we had a thunderstorm, but the next morning we were back to normal with the sun!

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Catalan Towns near Lloret

 Places to visit near to Lloret de Mar

Not far from the Costa Brava coast are a number of beautiful medieval villages, and two friends of mine Svein and Mercè  recently told me about the one pictured here - Peratallada, and in the words of Mercé "Its absolutely gorgeous!"

On the way to Peratallada you have stunning mountain views which just now are still covered in snow, and after arriving at this gorgeous little town you will find not only is it free parking but there are so many typical Catalan restaurants that you are spoilt for choice of where to have lunch!  

Only about a one hour drive from Lloret de Mar and you can be taking a leisurely stroll through these pretty little streets of this well kept medieval town!