After my mixed day in Barcelona I was a bit tired, so I crashed at the hostel for a bit and caught up on the internet world. As the afternoon wore on I figured I should be more productive, so I headed downstairs, pinched a map and plotted a course for my time in Girona.
The stairway to the old wall of the city was barely 200 metres from the door of my hostel. As the late afternoon sun burned warm on my back I hauled myself up the stairs and along the sloping pathway of the old city wall. At various points along the wall there were raised viewing platforms. The view was incredible. I watched the sun set from the walls and then finished my leisurely stroll when the wall finally descended to ground level again behind the town cathedral. As darkness set in I made my way back to the city centre through the streets of the old quarter, where my hostel is.
I found a little cafe two minutes from my hostel, where I settled in with a pizza and an Agatha Christie. They were quite impressed with my Spanish, and informed me that I was the first Australian they'd had there. I eventually bailed and headed back to the hostel to do some work on my laptop and chat to my English and Spanish roommates.
Day 2 in Girona - or Day 1 if you count full days. I set out at 11am in search of the local tourist train (LOVE tourist trains). A quick trip to the Girona tourist office put me straight - the train no longer existed. Disappointed, I decided to make my way up to the cathedral instead. The Girona cathedral is quite unusual - though Gothic, the cathedral is square and blocky, without the usual spires, and the facade simply has several alcoves with statues instead of the usual decorative arches. The stained glass windows inside were lovely, though. I think it's become a new passion.
The cathedral is also linked to the Basilica of Saint Felix, a five minute walk away. After a much-needed coffee-and-muffin break, I made my way over. The Basilica is smaller than the cathedral, and the inside is fairly church standard, but the side-chapel dedicated to Saint Felix was incredible. The huge rounded marble ceiling and elegant, sparse interior reminded me of grand Italian cathedrals I've seen. It was beautiful. Leaving the Basilica, I continued north through the old quarter, passing a cute little chapel and a monastery that had been converted into a museum. I took a walk along a cute little path behind the cathedral before finally deciding it was lunchtime.
I stopped for a burger in a place I'd passed in the old quarter, and caused the usual consternation with my words 'no meat' (the concept completely escapes them here in Spain). Food in my belly, I headed north again with the intention of walking the second, smaller section of old city wall, just north of the previous day's one. I made my way partway up a lovely cobbled passage through a wooded area behind the cathedral without any luck, until some quick backtracking and a closer look at my map put me straight.
Unsurprisingly, the views were truly amazing. I think I sat there for about an hour, watching as the sun's rays spread slowly across the city of Girona before it sank below the horizon. I made my way along the rest of the wall and back to ground zero, by which time the sun was making beautiful pinky-orange streaks across the sky. Naturally, more photos. I finished my day with a lovely walk home along the river back to Plaza Catalunya, the main square, followed by a cold dinner in my hostel room and a last repack of my backpack, ready to leave in the morning.
Final day in Girona. Had breakfast and left my bag at the hostel before heading out for the day. The lady at the hostel had told me that everything worth seeing in Girona was in the old quarter, so it was back onto the streets and up north again. Walking past the cathedral again, I started off at the Banyos Arabos, or Arab Baths, which actually weren't all that exciting. After that I started up the Passeig Archaelogic, or Archaeological Passage, which turned out to be the cobbled street through the woods I'd ventured onto yesterday. It was another beautiful morning, and as I walked up the hill along the Passeig I could see the snow-capped mountains that ringed Girona. I even found my own patch of snow-frost, left unmelted by the morning's sun.
Reaching the top of the hill, I decided to bush-bash my way through to the city wall again and pass underneath it. Crossing under the wall, I found myself in a beautiful courtyard of trees and greenery, ringed by fragments of the city walls. I sat for a while and shared my rice cakes with some pigeons before passing under the arch out of the courtyard and choosing a street to explore.
I wandered in the Jewish and old quarters for a while, soaking up the vibe of the city, before deciding that it was lunch time. After a veggie burger at a wacky restaurant by the river, I picked up my backpack from the hostel and made my way to the station to take the bus to Girona airport for my flight home to Paris. Hasta luego, España.
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| Girona's old quarter |
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| Sunset over Girona, night 1 |
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| Girona cathedral |
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| Basilica Sant Feliu |
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| Girona, late afternoon |
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| The cathedral from the north wall |
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| Sunset over Girona, night 2 |
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| Sunset over Girona, night 2 |
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| Sunset over Girona, night 2 |
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| Sunset over Girona, night 2 |
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| Sunset over Girona, night 2 |
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| Pink-clouded sunset sky |
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| The moon beside the Saint Felix spire |
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| Sunset over Girona, night 2 |
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| Centrepiece at the Banyos Arabos |
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| Alleyways in Girona |
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| Banyos Arabos courtyard |
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| Mountains around Girona |
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| Beside the old city walls |
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| Walking up the Passeig archaeologico |
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| Alleyways in Girona |
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| Mimicking a postcard of Girona |
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