Leaving the City

 Thursday Sept 15

Again sleep was fleeting as Jason and I only slept about 4 hours each. The morning came way too early and we had to be up shortly after 6 in order to have breakfast and make it to our tour.

We found our way into the Gothic quarter of the city. This charming historic area is the center of the old city of Barcelona and reminiscent of Medieval streets filled with trendy bars, clubs and restaurants. The area retains a labyrinthine street plan. The streets are narrow and most are designated as pedestrian only areas. Wooden doorways and arches, small balconies and windows decorate the narrow walks.

We found a “chocolate” shop open for breakfasts and all had a wonderful unique breakfast. Mine was some kind of melted cheese wrapped in a crepe and covered in smoked salmon. Unique, delicious and filling. Move over chicken and waffles, I found a new breakfast friend.

We arrived on time at the tour office and was soon on a very full 17 passenger bus to the ancient town of Gerona. Girona is known for its medieval architecture, walled old quarter and Roman remains, and more recently as a filming location for Game of Thrones. Landscaped gardens line a walkway following the Old Quarter’s medieval walls, which include watchtowers with beautiful views.

We were told that the city's location, between the sea and the mountains, makes it an ideal place for cycling and is home to many active professional cyclists. The absence of wind and the small roads without much traffic also favor this practice. We met a young guy in his 20 that moved to Gerona from LA a year ago confirming that the city was a mecca for sports and fitness enthusiasts.

Girona has for several years been one of the major cities in Spain with the highest per capita income. It is also considered, according to several surveys published in general information magazines, as the city where it is best to live in Spain. Girona is also characterized by its houses hanging over the Onyar river.

We were informed of two interesting stories about the city:

In the 13th century the King of France invaded. He ravaged the city and the tomb of Saint Narcissus, patron saint of Girona. According to tradition, a huge swarm of flies came out of the tomb and drove back the French army. 20,000 soldiers died along with he king, carried away by fever. From then on, the patron saint of Girona was called "the Saint of the flies" and has an annual feast day remembering the historic event. Large bronze flies can be found on city walls for people passing by to kiss to receive good luck.

Several biting flies followed us around that day and for some reason we were not feeling very lucky.

One of the symbols of the city is a lioness. There is a medieval statue representing a lioness hanging on a column. Legend has it that anyone coming or going on a trip may kiss his behind so that luck smiles on him. A few years back someone fell from the column while attempting to kiss the lioness’s butt and died and ever since the practice has been outlawed. However they do have a small replica on a plaque that people can easily reach if they are adamant to kiss some ass before they depart.

Gerona also has a rich Jewish heritage. The Call Jueu is a tangle of medieval streets in the old town. This is where the city's Jewish community lived before the decree of expulsion of the Jews from Spain. It is one of the best preserved medieval quarters in Europe, and the largest in the Iberian Peninsula . In particular, there is the old synagogue, now transformed into a dependency of the University of Girona and into the Museum of the History of the Jews. The Call housed the Kabbalistic school  between the 13th and 14th centuries . To the north of the district stands Montjuïc (the Jewish mountain).

We had free time to explore the area. We crossed the old city walls and wandered through the labyrinth of narrow streets and effectively got lost. Which turned out to be to our benefit because what we did find was a bakery. And to make it even more appropriate, as we were enjoying a drink and a snack our guide wandered by and pointed us in the direction of our rendezvous point, the column holding the lioness with it's lucky butt.

Our next stop on the tour was the medieval town of Pals. The entire town still looks like it has for hundreds of years. All the homes and building are built in Roman style rock work as there is a city ordinance that requires all structures to use the same stone and building methods. The town is known for its rice production and is one of the best growers for its type of rice best suited for paella. The town is also extremely pro-Catalonia. Their courtyard in the city center has three flagpoles. One displaying the Catalonia flag, one the flag of the city, and the third pole was for the Spanish flag which is left empty as a constant protest against the Spanish. We didn’t stay long but didn’t need to in order to experience this magical trip into the past.

Our final stops for the day was at the beach town of Calella de Palafrugell.

Unlike most of the other beach communities it does not have the large hotels and mass tourism of other Costa Brava resorts. The coastline of the town stretches some two kilometers south and adjacent to some beautiful Botanical gardens.

The town has a number of good standard hotels, apartments and, at a distance from the beach, some campsites. We chose Tony’s, one of the many restaurants which flank the seashore, for a delightful lunch before Mark and Jason went for a brief swim in the Mediterranean Sea.

Prior to separating from the group for lunch Mark asked the tour guide where we could find the restrooms to change into our bathing suits. The guide notified us that here in Spain people do not use rooms to change in and it is quite appropriate just to change in public on the beach. To which Mark promptly replied without the slightest hesitation, “And just where can we find a restroom to change into our bathing suits?”

The return ride to Barcelona was mostly a series of catnaps. We arrived back to the Gothic quarter and immediately began our search for one of the many outdoor cafes that the area was known for. We walked street by street for 30 minutes and the place was basically deserted. We finally found the only open cafe and ordered.

It was not the most desirable area of the Gothic quarter which we were beginning to find out as we began paying attention to the less than flattering graffiti in the area. Our concerns were confirmed as we watched a man being arrested during our appetizers. Still, being the only place available we stayed for dinner.

Leaving the cafe the entire Gothic quarter came alive and at every step was another cafe; the smells of freshly baked goods and delicacies carried us through the streets. Apparently timing was everything here and the evening brought new life to the otherwise empty corridors of the area.

Back to the apartment for our final night in Barcelona. We contemplated what to do. Another walk down the Rambla, a club of some sort, a local pub for the entertainment. We unanimously agreed and off we went …to bed.