A beach bar with soul in the walled gardens of Girona

GironaA group of cypresses, the tree that symbolizes welcome and hospitality, surround the kiosk that functions as a bar in the Parc dels Jardins de les Pedreres in Girona. Josep Maria Esteban, who has worked there for ten years in a totally altruistic manner, mentions this symbolism of the cypresses because he believes that welcome is one of the essential characteristics of this urban park, which in past years the residents of the Pedreres-Fora Muralla neighborhood avoided due to its state of abandonment and which today they have made their own as a meeting place, for birthday celebrations, for snacks, for an outdoor classroom to practice Zumba or yoga, to walk pets there, and to celebrate spoken-word performances, among many other activities.  

Located next to the Barri Vell, in the area outside the walls –"We are the expelled from the city," says Esteban ironically–, the Parc dels Jardins de les Pedreres rises above the busy Plaça de Catalunya like a kind of oasis, a small green lung that instills peace. Little by little, it has been discovered by residents from other neighborhoods in the city, such as students from the nearby Faculty of Letters of the University of Girona, who go there especially in the late afternoon, or foreign cyclists staying in rental apartments in the Barri Vell, who stop at this park to rest and refresh themselves when returning from their routes. 

"Everyone is welcome here, I like all the atmospheres that are created here," says Josep Maria. With an amiable and open character, Josep Maria, 68, creates and cultivates friendships from the small counter of the park's kiosk. Furthermore, this job allows him to maintain an "active retirement." He raises the shutter every weekday at 4:30 p.m. and lowers it in the evening, often after midnight in the summer. He could limit himself to serving only drinks, but his drive and his three years of experience as manager of a bar in Girona push him to go further and offer a modest but appreciated menu: patatas bravas, mozzarella sticks, chicken curry strips, or conventional and special bikinis, such as the chorizo and cheese one, and the Nutella one, in addition to various tapas. He also offers a wide variety of beers, slushies, and mixed drinks, and will soon fill the freezer with ice cream.

Josep Maria is in charge of the kiosk in the Parc dels Jardins de les Pedreres since the City Council installed it, a decade ago. The Residents' Association, to which he belongs, proposed him to be in charge of the kiosk given his experience as manager of a bar in Girona for three years. "Since then, a replacement has never been proposed by the association and I have not considered leaving either," assures Josep Maria. He is a draughtsman and had worked for many years in the construction sector for various companies as a site manager in the Barcelona area, where he is originally from. "One day I came to Girona for work and I saw that a bar in Carrer de l'Argenteria was being transferred. I took it for three years and since then I haven't moved from Girona. They say that when you come to this city you can't leave, and that's what happened in my case," he explains. Early retired from the Girona construction company, where he worked after three years managing the Argenteria street bar, Josep Maria remains active, albeit without financial compensation, and is not afraid of the work, which at the Parc de les Pedreres kiosk skyrockets with good weather. Very soon, in May, Temps de Flors will attract avalanches of visitors to the city. The number 1 decoration of the route, created by the Residents' Association, is always installed in the park. Summer tourism will add passers-by to the usual park users, which will experience its peak of activity for the neighborhood's main festival, with a popular dinner, children's activities, and musical performances.