Wednesday, 20 May, 2015:
DAY XVI OF THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION
OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA
We needed a few last FRENCH
croissants and pain au chocolates too!
Let the lush scenery begin again
We are near Perpignan
at the bottom of this map of France
Today's first goal city was Barcelona.
It is Barcelone in French.
FOLLOW THAT TRUCK!
Just another French village
Never been to Andora
Last rest stop in France
HOLA ESPAÑA!!!
Spain has random castles too
Last chance for Andorra
Tarragona it was -- almost there!
Our hotel is about a two minute
walk from the Med
Sant Jordi in Catalan
is St. George in English
My mother would LOVE this hotel
The Romans founded the city of
Tarraco here in 218 B.C.
Not graffiti from Roman times
New wall, Roman wall
Tarragona's University
Love going uphill
Not Roman old but still
old nonetheless
Classic French car in Spain
Tarragona's spectacular Cathedral
Old arches
What went here back in the day?
Nice window
Centurions of Christianity
Too bad it wasn't raining
Oversized Holy Water font
Sparkling Window
Sant Jordi in action
Interesting Cross
Gold is good
Ancient Mural
Me . . .
. . . and my shadow!!!
Weaving and Stained Glass
Mary, Jesus and Mary Magdalene
Adoring the baby Jesus and the BVM
An unknown but surely
important bishop
Lion on guard with . . .
. . . an Angel as backup
How do you feel about slaying demons?
Oh, I see . . .
Rapt attention
The Annunciation
No guess on this one
GREAT ceiling!!!
YIKES!!!
Holy Mother of . . .
A bit ostentatious for me
Even the Cathedral's floor
was outstanding!
Above the Main Altar
How long did this take to build?
Classic Dome
The Assumption
That is Laurie in the pink sweater.
I told you that this Cathedral
was HUGE!!!
The flag symbolizing many Catalans'
desire to separate from Spain
Reminiscent of many of the murals
on buildings in Lyon, France
People actually now live inside
the Roman walls, from the looks of it
Really, really old
Late lunch break
I like the painted poles that help
keep cars away from pedestrians
Comte is one of my favorite French cheeses
Ben Todd would smile at this
Tarragona is a colorful city
Ancient spigots
The old Roman Marketplace
Part of a long forgotten building
on the Fòrum Provincial
Typical narrow streets
Chocolate is any language is GOOD!
Another of Laurie's doors
The sky was amazingly blue today
Andy, Jenn and Kevin live in Las Vegas
Leaving the old Roman Quarter
Jesus is always BIG in Spain
The Med looked great
from the Roman walls
Meanwhile, we went back to our hotel
in order to . . .
. . . check out our nearby beach
We were on the road early (for us) today as we said adieu to Le-Grau-du-Roi in particular and France in general.
Our next stop was going to be the sunny Mediterranean city of Tarragona, Spain.
A Spanish city, chock full of Roman ruins, is just what we needed.
croissants and pain au chocolates too!
at the bottom of this map of France
It is Barcelone in French.
We should be back in La Hacienda on Thursday afternoon.
Maybe another spontaneous detour was called for on this glorious day.
We agreed that the extra four hours of driving was not necessary at this late point of the Circumnavigation.
Laurie agreed 100%. Me, not so much.
We pushed onward to our goal city.
walk from the Med
is St. George in English
The view from our balcony
Since it was a bit late for the beach, we opted to drive into Tarragona's city center/Roman ruins.
Tarraco here in 218 B.C.
In 25 B.C., Augustus made this city of over 200,00 people (more than its current population) the capital of all of his new Tarraconensis province which roughly covered all of what is now Spain.
old nonetheless
The Cathedral is a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic styles and is incredibly huge inside.
important bishop
was outstanding!
I told you that this Cathedral
was HUGE!!!
More ornate floor patterns
Truly a magnificent structure. We were both glad that we entered as the exterior really gave no clue as to the wonders inside the Cathedral.
desire to separate from Spain
on buildings in Lyon, France
the Roman walls, from the looks of it
Such a relaxing little spot. Luck favored us one more time.
keep cars away from pedestrians
on the Fòrum Provincial
Nevada that is, not this bar in Tarragona.
from the Roman walls
in order to . . .
Another remarkable day on the road. The Circumnavigation will be complete tomorrow.
Final Circumnavigation Tour Stop: Murcia, Spain
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