Days 11 and 12

[Rhia’s comments are italicized]

• Train to Tarragona.

“More stairs,” exclaimed Rhia as she looked up from the train station in Tarragona! But like a true backpacking fiend, she trudged the three quarters of a mile up, past Roman ruins, to Tarragona’s old town.

I think people in this part of the world are, literally, trying to get closer to God; they build their towns atop the highest mountain and build their cathedrals at the tippy-top! And the trains we take? Well, they stay at sea-level, of course!

But what an incredible place! It was first built during the 1st century BC and was very important until around the 8th century AD. It had a revival during Norman times. These distinct periods can be clearly seen on buildings…

We played a “scavenger hunt” to get to know the place, solving clues along the way (and couldn’t stop thinking about you, Nance and Judith!) It took us through the history from 2,000 years ago through that from 1,000 years ago, to more recent history.

I love to explore statues. Some are self explanatory…

while others, not so much!

The art/sport of human towers was started here in 1801. One could question why but, then again, why not?

Other than the infinite number of steps, I LOVE Tarragona! The history is fascinating, the buildings are fabulous, and the people are fantastic! And it’s only an hour from Barcelona. We hit the jackpot with our Airbnb as it was a little apartment WITH A WASHING MACHINE so no more smelly clothes in our packs for a few days 😁