The attitude at Cal Pai is très laissez-faire--at least until dinner, which is at 8 P.M. sharp. Most diners are inn guests, but it's possible to call ahead for a table d'hôte dinner to taste the results of Françoise's foraging, which might include asparagus and chanterelles, along with sheep's milk cheese from a farm down the road.

I take a seat at the 25-foot farmhouse table and introduce myself to pink-cheeked 40-somethings from Toulouse filing in from a hike. Françoise and her sous-chef can often be counted on for hearty local dishes like trinxat, which is made from bacon, cabbage, and potatoes, but tonight there's a more exotic menu of cumin-scented beet salad, white nettles and goat cheese in flaky phyllo dough, a crock of lemon-tinged crema catalana, and a platter of stinky French cheeses. Carafes of young red wine from Roussillon are emptied and refilled, and the conversation turns to politics. As the only American in the house, and possibly for miles around, I take one for the country as I get gently ribbed about French-fry boycotts.

La Cerdanya has more than 250 miles of hiking trails—including this one cut into the mountainside at Gorges de la Carança (Ana Nance) [enlarge photo] Planning a trip to Barcelona? View our handy, printable menu decoder. Download the menu decoder as a PDF View it as HTML RELATED ARTICLE • Getting There (And Around)

The next morning, after a steaming café au lait, a warm baguette, and a taste test of more than a dozen preserves, I begin the drive to Barcelona. I take a shortcut back through Saillagouse and wave as I pass the sausage guy and the kindly gentleman who pointed me toward God. When I spot my British friends as they're entering Le Crapahuteur, I make a mental note to e-mail them and ask what exactly is on the menu. Then again, maybe I'll come back--yet again--and find out for myself.

Transportation

• Le Train Jaune Runs between Latour-de-Carol and Villefranche-de-Conflent, France, trainstouristiques-ter.com, $23

Lodging

• Cal Pai 1 Carrer del Ventador, Eyne, France, 011-33/4-68-04-06-96, gite-calpai.com, rooms from $52 with breakfast and dinner, $27 dinner only
• Bernat de So Cereja 5, Llívia, Spain, 011-34/972-146-206, hotelbernatdeso.com, from $137
• Hotel El Castell de Ciutat Carretera N-260, La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, 011-34/973-350-000, hotelelcastelldeciutat.com, from $248
• L'Atalaya Hôtel-Restaurant Llo, France, 011-33/4-68-04-70-04, atalaya66.com, from $129
• Casa Penalolen 3 Domaine de Ste. Eulalie, Villefranche-de-Conflent, France, 011-33/4-68-96-52-35, penalolen.fr, from $87, with breakfast

Food