Girona

My last full day in Barcelona dawned a bit overcast and cool. For the first time I thought I'd be in need of my windbreaker. It was November 8.

We had a great day planned: train to Girona and an afternoon touring the city; back to Barcelona to buy a suitcase, maybe do a bit of packing; dinner. We met on time at the train station and got in line to buy tickets.

And then it started, our adventure. We were in the wrong train station! Of course, we needed the one I left from to go to Figueres, actually closer to my apartment. Off we went!

And we got in line and they stop selling tickets 5 minutes before departure. That's exactly when we got to the counter. So, déjà-vu, we waited an hour for the next one.  

An easy one hour ride and we arrived! And the day was glorious, with striking blue skies and a bit of a breeze.

And the requisite rally in the plaza for the vote the next day.

Across the river.... So beautiful! These houses along the River Onyar were built after the city walls were destroyed by the French in 1809.

And then we are in the old town, wandering the streets near the old Jewish quarter, and making our way to the Cathedral.

We can see it! We thought we'd start there.

More interesting doors.

And a funny little tourist train.

And the Cathedral. At the time, he didn't know I took his photo, but this is one of my favorites from the trip.

The Cathedral is early 15th-century. It's said to have the widest Gothic nave in the world. The audio tour was really good, as was the exhibition of "treasures" which included an incredible creation story tapestry from the 11th/12th century. 

Our tickets were also good for the Basilica, so we headed in that direction. 

First, we got caught by the courtyard, a wonderful spot to be pensive for a while.

Then there were the remarkable trees and buildings along the way.

Even a little color for the approaching fall.

But we got sidetracked by the Arab baths, and a good thing! We had just 15 minutes before they closed. These are from the late 12th century--after the Moors had left--but they are stunning. This octagonal lantern is well known. The baths were smaller than the ones I'd seen a few years before in Córdoba, but still impressive.

Then to the church, which was small and very pretty. The Església de Sant Feliu is where most people in Girona worship. I found this blue marble room stunning.

Once again I was reminded of the incredible craftsmanship of our forbears.

It was definitely time for lunch. We found one of the Km0 (kilometer 0) restaurants I'd read about, a restaurant that only sources locally and offsets much of their power and waste. Interestingly, it was very similar to the place we'd eaten the night before! Even had the same house wine, which we enjoyed again. We'd missed the main lunch crowd, so it was peaceful. Finally I had fried artichokes, and ox. Once again, we were way too full.

So off we went again. We didn't really have time to explore the Jewish Museum, but I did stop into the shop for some small gifts for friends. We had wanted to take the 5:00 train back, but now were aiming for the 6:05. Good thing that somehow in the craziness of the train station in the morning we only had one-way tickets. So of course we decided that we had time now to see the walls. As an architect-archaeologist, my friend was very keen that I see them.

The walls are the old ramparts that surround much of the city, originally built by the Romans. They are now an archaeological walk, and include Roman foundation stones marking the Via Augusta, or the road from Tarragona to Rome. We didn't have time to do all of it, but we did some, and caught a spectacular sunset while we were at it.

And then we were running back to the train station! Because this new station is so big, they stop selling 10 minutes prior to departure. We arrived at 6:00. Next train, 7:03. So we grabbed a drink and wandered the small exhibition and the gift shop, where I bought chocolate in the shape of flies. After all, thanks to the Basilica, I now knew the story about how the flies saved the city from the French, descending on the horses and troops and becoming the city's good luck symbol.

We got to the platform and were stopped; our tickets were for Tuesday! Seriously. And they couldn't exchange them because it was too close to departure time. We had to go back upstairs and argue with the counter clerk. That didn't go well; he insisted it was our fault for not looking more closely. No apology. No compensation. (Here's my cynical side coming out. Despite his excellent Spanish and good Catalan, and my decent Spanish, we clearly were both foreigners. I will never say that caused the problem, but I did believe it didn't help solve it. Too bad.) And another hour to wait for the next train. "Our" table in the cafe was still empty. It was our theme, after all.

Thankfully the trains are great. We actually caught a TGV to Paris, and thought about staying on it.... But I needed to hit the department store before it closed at 9:30, or I wasn't making it to the airport the next morning. 

We did, barely. And with 10 minutes to browse and buy, I found a great bag, also on his recommendation. It was more than I wanted to pay, of course, but I think it's going to last a long time. And, as it turns out, I really did need all the space. I did buy a lot of olive oil.....

Since I'd missed the magic fountains and we were by the Plaza Catalunya, I decided to get at least one fountain photo. It seemed an apt last photo for the trip.

And that was it! My vacation and wonderful adventure was at an end. I went to finish packing. Airport check-in was smooth and quick (early Sunday morning bonus, I think), although my passport caused some confusion to the girl. I had a leisurely breakfast, and boarded my plane for home.