I found this quote about a few weeks before I left for Barcelona, and if I had to go home tomorrow, I would have no regrets or disappointments. Each day of this trip gets better and better. Today we woke up semi early, grabbed some breakfast to go and caught the 9:45 train to Tarragona. Den and Teena slept for most of the hour and fifteen minute trip, while Luke read and I blogged my day 3 post.
Pictures of the train station.
What is most interesting about Tarragona is that it is the first Roman settlement in this area and has many well preserved ruins that date back to 213 BC. It is even protected by UNESCO. When we arrived at Tarragona, we were greeted by a very tall staircase.
The first order of business was to grab some coffee and a snack.
Teena's cappuccino had a little foam explosion.
This is the fruit cup that they made special for me because they didn't have it on the menu. Then Teena called me a princess, and I am sure that I have no idea what she meant.
Our next stop was the Catedral de Tarragona. We walked through the winding streets...
and turned another corner, and I would like to point out that this is a view that I saw often. Den, Luke and Teena were up ahead of me most of the time. I would stop and take pictures of stuff so often that they would just keep walking and I would have to hurry up to catch them.
and then BAM! There it was! It was absolutely stunning...
Unfortunately the cathedral was closed but we were able to walk through the cloisters and the museum. This by far was the most beautiful cathedral I have seen so far.
After the cathedral, (we walked up a whole bunch of stairs) and headed to the Walls (Archaeological Promenade). Tarraco's Roman wall is the most ancient and preserved monument. The walking route (which has a whole bunch of stairs and is at a continual incline) follows the 18th century fortifications, which were built to protect the city against the war of the Spanish Succession of the Spanish monarchy.
Teena was asked to hold up part of the wall for a while...I think she did a great job. :)
The walk around the wall (and walking up all those stairs) worked up an appetite so we found a restaurant at the foot of the cathedral and partook of the "Menu del Dia" which is the menu of the day. This is a typical menu that restaurants offer in Spain. You have 4 or 5 choices for your first plate, 4 or 5 other choices for your second plate, and then dessert, all for one price. It was absolutely delicious.
This is a traditional Spanish dish called Paelle. Den and Teena enjoyed this deliciousness. I however passed because I do not care for "bugs".
Next we walked up a bunch of stairs, headed to tour two different houses that were built in the 15th century. The first one was the Castellarnau House and the second one was the Canal House. This house had the most amazing view of the Mediterranean from the dining room. You also had access to a huge roof top patio that gave us some more amazing views of the sea.
This was on the way...
This was built at the end of 1 BC.
One teacher...two pupils.
And although we were very tired, (because we climbed up so many stairs) we decided to head over to the Roman Circus Praetorium. This area was originally used for chariot races, but changed over time into what was called The King's Castle. Then in 1822 it was reconstructed to be used as a prison, and was used as such until 1953.
I started crying when I saw these stairs....and this wasn't even the whole set. They are at the top 1/4th of the staircase.
This next picture was taken at the top of the building that see you in the picture above, and yes, we had to walk up many many steps to get there.
.....and then we walked down, lots and lots of stairs.
Once we finished touring the circus, we all agreed that it was time to head back to Barcelona. We headed to the train station and had about a 20 min wait until the train arrived and a few flights of stairs to walk down and then up to get to the right platform. There were LOTS of kids waiting on the platform with us. They must have been with some camp or something because they were wearing matching shirts. And as we stood there, tired and sweaty, we secretly hoped that we could get on the train before them so we could get seats and not have to stand for the hour plus ride back to the city. Den said, "Please let the door to the train stop right in front of me." It was from Den's lips to God's ear, because as the train pulled up, it slowed and stopped right in front of him. We climbed on, grabbed our seats and settled in for the trip back. I have to say that until today, I never understood how Den could sleep on the floor of the train, but now...now I know.
We were so beat from the day, we headed straight back to Den's flat, (walked up a ton of stairs) took showers, ate dinner, (had some cava), hung out, and went to bed.
Here are a few other pictures that I took during our day in Tarragona.
Today was truly the best day so far. I could have spent days in Tarragona and still not seen everything.
Adios Tarragona...I WILL see you again.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
