MEET Dolça Lafarque Bover

It’s always hard to start describing oneself, and the first word that comes to my mind is the Mediterranean. The colour, the cultures, the food. Everything around the Mediterranean feels like home to me!

I grew up in a small town in the Empordà area, well known for its seaside area: Costa Brava, near the hometown of Salvador Dalí, Figueres. I have lived between Barcelona and Costa Brava for the last fifteen years and I’m proud to feel like a true ambassador of Catalonia. The region boasts some of life’s best pleasures: good weather, excellent food, theatres, compelling museums, memorable festivals, and, of course, the sparkling expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. I was lucky to enjoy nature a lot while hiking through the Pyrenees mountains as well as snorkelling as much as my fingers were almost frozen! Many many summer camps and trips with my family, both in Spain and France woke up a bug for travelling and the curiosity for new places at a very early age.

When I was 18 years old I left my tiny town and moved to Barcelona to study Art History at the city’s university. That was a life-changing move: the world expanded and Barcelona felt like the most cosmopolitan city ever for a country girl like me. I became a city person by heart: riding my bicycle all over felt like freedom! Barcelona’s European fame started in the late ’90s and early 2000; universities started to facilitate European programmes called Erasmus scholarship so I ended my university years in Bologna, Italy, the oldest and most prestigious Art department in Europe, DAMS. It was pure euphoria! I Lived and absorbed Italy for two years. The Erasmus program helped a lot of friends to study abroad all over Europe so I discovered London, Cardiff, Paris, Amsterdam, Rennes, Lisbon, Porto… It was the time when cheap flight companies started to operate and it was so easy. All of Europe felt like home. Back in Barcelona, I started to work as a guide for educational programs and school trips, I also worked in Costa Brava museums as an educational guide.

At some point, my travel bug hit me again and I went to London for 3 months to improve my English! From that experience I learned my favourite place in the world to live is by the Mediterranean Sea, as much as I love experiencing the world. So here I am again in Barcelona and half-time in Costa Brava’s hometown. Since 2012 I have been a certified tour guide in English, Italian, Spanish and Catalan, with a bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of Barcelona and lately, I have finished a Master’s degree in Theatre studies. I am fascinated by art, theatre, history and architecture.

Finally in one of the world’s challenging years, 2020, I have met my partner in this adventure of Spain Private Guides, Pamela and I am as excited as a child with her new shoes! Thanks to the project Private Guides of Europe and the networking with other colleges throughout the continent who found themselves in the same situation, we can say that something good came out of this dreadful year!

I am open-minded, responsible and creative by nature. I love being a tour guide because I am passionate about sharing experiences with new people, and always do my very best to make sure that every traveller’s experience is totally unique. I invite curious, like-minded visitors to join me on an immersive, locally-minded and truly memorable adventure!