This is your day to take in a little history as well as a little "cava" without having to drive much farther than 45 minutes. Cava is the Spanish equivalent of French champagne and the most famous cava region, the Anoia and the Penedès also happens to be in Barcelona's backyard. Lucky for you because the cava is a very high quality and reasonably priced.

This day trip will take you on a tour at Codorníu, one of the largest and the most famous cava cellars of Spain. After enough bubbly I recommend heading south for a large Spanish style lunch in a "Masia" (a farmhouse converted into a restaurant) and then tour the ruins of an ancient settlement originally established 4,000 years ago but later thrived first as a major Roman settlement and then during the Middle Ages.

Established in 1551 Codorníu is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the world. It also touts one of the largest underground cava storage caves in the area and during the tour you can ride a train around the maze of bottles. No tour is complete without visiting the tasting room and you won't be disappointed. Codorníu is opened seven days a week and their phone number is (34) 93-818-3232. Their website is www.codorniu.com. I recommend calling and setting up a tour in English.

There are two Masias I recommend eating at so you'll have to decide which one you'd prefer. Both a quaint old farmhouses and both have good food so you just have to decide if you want to go to the "newer" one (built in 1812) or the older one (originally built in the 16th century).

The "new" one is "La Casa del Conill" (The House of the Rabbit) located in the small town of Sant Miguel d'Olèrdola right before you get to the ruins. You can't miss it; it is a big white building that says "Restaurant" on the side of it. When you are making your reservation ask to sit in the "bodega" room. Once the farmhouse stables, it is now a quaint room lined with port barrels and old livery. At La Casa de Conill their specialty is garlic rabbit. I also like their Duck breast in an orange sauce and their steak in a Roquefort cheese sauce.

The "older" restaurant, Restaurant Masia Segarrulls is closer to the Roman ruins and in my opinion, quainter. It is also slightly more expensive. All their food is good but one of their specialties is a sizzling steak on a heated piece of slate.

Perched on top of the highest hill within the region, the hill of Olèrdola was inhabited as long ago as the Bronze Age (4,000 years ago) until as "recently" as the Middle Ages (12th-13th century). It was a favorite place to settle due to its strategic location and water supply.

Personally the most interesting parts of the ruins are the giant 350,000 litre Roman cistern used to collect rainwater and the anthropomorphic tombs. Cut in stone in the form of a human figure, these tombs were used around the 10th and 11th century.

To learn more about Olèrdola, please go to the official government site at www.mac.es.