Michele and Drew's Excellent Spanish Adventure: February 2015

Feb 12-22 Cataluña, Spain

Tarragona

crowd gathered in the plaza for race-Tarragona

Part of the Roman Circus used for charriot races-Tarragona

We decided another trip was in order (ok, maybe it was my idea). I had a 10 day holiday from my public language school so I wanted to take advantage of that. Drew had 5 days to play…so we decided to fly into Barcelona and take the train an hour south to Tarragona for 3 days, and then spend 2 more days in Girona, an hour north of Barcelona. I would take another 5 days to travel on my own “somewhere.” I decided to play it by ear, leaving my options open.

Tarragona

We caught a direct bus from Barcelona airport to Tarragona, and managed to arrive at our hotel as the clock struck midnight. We awoke to clear blue skies, and a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean from the end of Las Ramblas, the broad pedestrian walkway in front of our hotel. Tarragona was a town of great importance in ancient times. When the Romans first occupied the area in 218 BC it had already been inhabited by Greeks and Carthagians as well as the native Iberians. In 27 hBC what we now think of as Spain was made a Roman province, and Tarragona (Tarraconensis) was the capital city with 200,000 inhabitants according to my Lonely Planet guidebook.

Roman Amphitheater-Tarragona

Tarragona beauties

We immersed ourselves in visits to the necropolis (burial sites), forum, amphitheater (site of gladiator and wild animal battles), the circus (site of chariot races), and visited the Archeological Museum of Tarragona. There are even Roman remains in a shopping center parking garage. I learned a few new things about Roman culture/society here. Romans wore white woolen togas (not cotton sheets ;-) which would be washed by lower class workers in vats of urine…stomped clean by these workers, who were often children. There were even big jars placed on street corners for men to pee into, which the workers would collect to wash with. One greedy emperor even put a tax on the urine, which these workers had to pay. The circus was an oval shaped racetrack for chariots. The races date back to the 8^th century BC. Everything was symbolic…there were 4 teams, each with a color representing the 4 seasons, the 12 chariots (12 months) represented the sun circling the earth (the arena). Circling the track represented the circle of life and death. The chariot teams were owned by rich entrepreneurs...some things just don't change.

We went to Tarragona for a "sun" and "ancient Roman history" fix, but to our surprise we found we had arrived in time for a really cool fiesta...Carnival (Mardi Gras). About 75% of the general population were dressed in quite creative and sometimes elaborate costumes for Carnival. A favorite is for men to dress like woman I was told. We found we had coincidentally decided to have breakfast in the plaza that was the starting place for a big crazy race (known as the Baixada) in which teams in funny costumes made crazy carts and raced them down a rather steep hill and around a curve lined with hay bales. Each team had it’s own theme song which was blasted from a speaker system, and thousands came out to watch (also dressed in the Carnival spirit). The platoon of “Storm Troopers” were competition favorites. I was personally taken with princess Leia, looking totally sexy with her “3 day” growth as she took a deep drag of her hand rolled cigarette. In the evening we found ourselves viewing a fabulous parade of sparking luminescent floats with teams of dancers affiliated with each float, wearing amazing costumes. Think of the samba dancers of Rio’s carnival combined with Cirque du soleil. It was really impressive. The dance teams members were of all ages. There were babies being pushed in decorated carriages to 70+ year olds, men women, and all body types, all in outrageous costumes. They prepare all year for this event. It was fabulous!!! I later read Tarragona’s Carnival may be considered in the top 10 in the world…who knew!

Girona

Carnival parade-Tarragona

Girona

View from Gironas Roman-medieval wall

Me walking Girona's wall

Gorgeous medieval Girona…It’s narrow winding cobbled medieval streets are a pleasure to get lost in. Its fabulous fortified wall, dating from Roman to medieval times is wonderful to walk on a sunny day for a view of river and mountains. It became a Roman city in 15BC. It was important throughout history as it was basically on the main “freeway” between Rome and the Iberianian Peninsula, so had both trade and military significance. Unfortunately its Roman bridge, stood intact for 2000 years until the Republican army decided to blow it up in 1939. During the time of the Roman republic people worshiped the Capitoline “triad”…the gods Jupiter, Minerva, and Juno. During the Empire period the Caesar was deemed a god, and was worshiped as a god. His name was often attached to the names of other Gods. So by not worshipping the emperor, you were failing to worship “god,” a crime penalized by death…a big problem for early Christians.

The dead were typically buried along the road so that passers by could read their tombstones, thereby reviving the memory of that person; they believed that a person only truly died when they were forgotten.

Gerona was part of the Visogoth kingdom from about 4^th-7^th centuries (after fall of Rome), then under Muslim control from about 700-785. Its real heyday was in the Middle Ages. It had a thriving Jewish population till they were kicked out of Spain. We visited the interesting Jewish quarter and museum.

We basically ate delicious Catalonian food, andwandered the streets, museums, and churches for 3 days. Every turn was a feast for the eyes. Girona definitely has an artistic vibe. It’s a university town and I’d bet it has a pretty savvy progressive city council. They know what they’ve got and have made it an incredibly appealing destination.

Michele’s 5 days "sola" based out of Palafrugell

It was low season and much of the public transportationi to beach towns on the Costa Brava were closed. I was more in the mood for medieval-ness rather than beachiness so I happily made my way around taking local buses to small towns using Palafrugell as my base. It could be a nice area to rent bikes and explore. This part of Catalunya near the Costa Brava, is heavily dotted with medieval castled towns. It has a rural feel, and there are vast fields of rice grown here, in paella country. I also noticed there is a lot of ceramics/pottery made in this region. I visited hilly Begur, with its impressive remains of a castle crowning the highest part of the town. Pals, a little medieval gem of a town that was mostly “sleeping” during the low season, and even sleepier (if that could be possible) Peratallada which I found most alluring of all. The cobbled streets and stone houses looking like they were built to permanently stand the test of time.

Begur with Castle ruins crowning hilltop

Pals

I was virtually alone on the public bus, until we stopped in a tiny stone village in the middle of an agricultural area…5 retirees dolled up with died hair or wigs, aiming to look their best as they headed out to do their weekly shopping came aboard. The bus driver, in his 60’s, helped the women put their wheely carts in the luggage space under the bus. I literally held my breath as he maneuvered the mammoth bus down tiny lanes and around the tight corners of these ancient stone buildings, coming within centimeters of them. I was the only one he dropped off in Pertallada. I had taken an early bus, not that I had a choice...and would have to make sure I didn’t miss my ride back or would face being stranded. I left without eating breakfast, thinking it would be nice to go to a café when I arrived…I walked for a long time through town without seeing another person, it seemed like a ghost town. I eventually found one tiny shop open that served coffee to go, and had a few things like cheese fruit and bread. It was run by a charming character who called me “baby,” with what sounded like a French accent. Perfect, who doesn’t like a picnic! The information center’s sign “open March- September” said it all. A few tourists eventually arrived by car, and a hand full of locals came out of the “stonework” by noon, it was all very surreal feeling. When the bus came to pick me up, there were the same 5 ladies on the bus, now stocked up on their shopping. The kind bus driver helped each one unload her now heavy wheely cart from the bus. I got the feeling that this was his regular ritual…I felt I was tapping into the pulse of local life.

Roof top chimneys of Palau Guell

My last day was a sharp contrast…I arrived in Barcelona and within 5 steps of the bus station found myself cut off my trajectory (pleasantly) by a Chinese New year parade…the streets were amass with people. I miraculously found my way to my AirBnB location in the maze-like Gothic Quarter. After unloading my backpack I set out for Palau Guell. It is one of Guadi’s early architectural creations. I was there 15 years ago before restoration was complete and was anxious to see the final result. I was not disappointed. My good travel karma was in full swing, as the rooftop (famous for its mosaic covered chimneys), which had been close due to rain, opened just in time for my arrival. From Palau Guell I wandered aimlessly and found myself at the wonderful central “Mercat” (market), feast for the eyes and the belly. I headed to the Cathedral’s plaza to eat my yummy food, when I noticed several silver haired women changing their shoes…hmmm, could my travel karma be this good…I asked them in Spanish if they were here to dance the Sardana? YES, at 6pm the square would fill with circles of dancers, their belongings piled in the center of the circle, and they would dance this classic Catalonian dance. I had just enough time to take a look inside the cathedral before the dancing started. I couldn’t have planned a better day if I tried.