NEW VIBES IN GIRONA, PALS, AND CALELLA DE PALAFRUGELL, SPAIN!

 Friday, November 10, 2023

Hotel Gaudi/Barcelona, Spain

Sunny, 64F

A beautiful day for the seaside! Vincent from Viator tours picked us up at 7:50 a.m. this morning right at our hotel. After we picked up two other couples (from Brooklyn and Naples, FL) and a young man from Ottawa, we were on our way to Girona, about an hour and a half west of Barcelona.  It is a city established 2000 years ago and today has a population of about 100,000.  This area is closer to France than Barcelona.   Did you know that trucks are not allowed in most cities on Saturday and Sunday in Spain. Vincent thought that most of the EU has that rule. We passed many trucks on the highway today.

Vincent told us they are trying to grow apples this way by grafting--not native to this area.

These are aaaaapple trees!

In Girona, the Church of St. Feliu’s style is 14^th century Gothic and is near the Roman wall that still partially stands.

San Feliu (Felix) Church

Nearby is an ancient cathedral which was used by the Moors as a mosque. After they were expelled, the Cathedral of Girona was entirely remodeled. And that is the thing about Europe. Instead of tearing down structures, Europeans reuse and repurpose.  Think about that, Ann!! Six hundred years old and still useful. Game of Thrones, Episode 10, was filmed here.

The Cathedral of Girona

Believe it or not, the French entered the city, intending to desecrate the body of someone buried in the church.  Thousands of flies burst out of the wooden tomb and attacked the French troops, which fled. This is the miracle of Sant Narcis flies, and thhat's the reason why the fly  has become an iconography to represent Girona.

Dali Museum nearby

 

Wonderful!

Candy shop

Rocks and Minerals

Ski the Pyrenees!

TK and his sandwich shop!

We walked along the narrow cobblestone streets with many shops, bakeries, women’s clothing, shoes, pharmacies, open air restaurants, and more to the Pont de les Peixatries Velles, over the River Onyar.  This bridge is very famous because it was built by Gustave Eiffel in 1882 before he built the Eiffel Tower and it is red.

The Eiffel Bridge

TK on the bridge

 Our next stop was Pals, Spain, a medieval town on a hill surrounded by farmland. Parts of the buildings date to the 4^th century. This is a popular, expensive resort area today.  Truthfully, I love the narrow streets, the hidden alcoves, the Old World feel of Europe and this town was a great example.

A city map

Love this!

Love this too!

The view from Pals

The Mediterranean in the distance with an archipelago

Our last stop was Calella de Palafrugell, where we had lunch at Cap Palet (restaurant), right on the Mediterranean.  This was another expensive resort town, with shops mostly closed for the season. But, the views were spectacular!!  

Calella de Palafrugell

Our view  from the restaurant of the 

Mediterranean

My favorite model, TK, at the restaurant

View from Calella

 

This house is for sale for $4 million euros! Great views! 

We enjoyed the company of the other people with us, the new sights, and our tour guide Vincent.  As an aside, the driver was going 86 mph (140 kph) on the highway marked 100 kph. Just sayin’.

Back on Las Ramblas about 6 p.m., we continued exploring for another hour—13,000 steps each for us today. Not bad!

 

 TK's Takes:  Erie traffic is worse than Barcelona's, even in Barcelona rushhour, 5.68 million people. Lots and lots of roundabouts.