Tarragona — weekend getaway from Barcelona
Woke up another Saturday morning having little idea on what to do over the weekend. Going to Tarragona was a fairly easy choice. It was close, I hadn’t been there and we managed to find an Airbnb instant book apartment. Just over an hour by train and we were there. This was the first thing of note that we saw.
A gorgeous port. It always baffles me how they are able to keep everything so clean and spotless. Anyways, as we walked past the cruise ships, we decided that some day we should be doing a cruise. Probably the only time I was inside a passenger ship is when there was a book fair ship that came to Cochin when I was very young.
Having read a lot about the amazing seafood that Tarragona has to offer, we took our host Marcus’ advice and went to the Carrer de Pescadores (street of the fishermen). Given the Roman influence, we ordered Melijones Romesco. When in Rome, do like the Romans. And of course, Paella. I’m not a great foodie, but it tasted pretty great.
Then came the Rambla and the fountain. The Rambla had a Christmas market running and the festive moved had kicked in. This sculpture of the castellers on the Rambla was also pretty nicely done.
This is the Colloseum. Among other things such as history and how they constructed this 100s of years ago, what struck me most was the proximity to the sea and the hole through which you could see the sea and winds could blow in. Reminded me of the Chepauk cricket stadium where wind would blow in through a similar vent affecting the swing of the ball.
This is another view of the Colosseum with the miracle beach. It was taken from the long elevated walk through the road. It was a beautiful walk.
No description of Tarragona would be complete without its cathedral (although this is not the greatest click). Built in typical Roman majesty, it has much more behind it.
This is the Roman circus. When we read that there’s a place where they did chariot races, I expected this to be a lot bigger. But this was only the paltry remains of what might have been a gigantic structure. But, come on. This this has been preserved for some 2000 years. One thing of note (spotted by wife) is that the cave like structure is actually metal sheets to support the structure. Pretty clean way of preserving the look.
Next step was to go to the Roman forum. Now, when you think of Roman forum, what comes to your mind? A sprawling garden with temples for Julius Caeser and a lot of big structures, right? The way they have it in Rome? Nope. This was the Roman forum of Tarragona.
Yes, the one on the left corner. Of course the rest was probably destroyed and I don’t blame anyone. Just the disappointment that we had to find it and walk all the way for nothing. Oh, there’s also a restaurant named Roman Forum to which Google maps search initially took us. Probably we should have got the hint of insignificance.
We also came across a lot of nice boutique stores of which this one was probably the best.
We missed the bridge as it was getting dark and it was a bit out of the city. The bus frequencies were not great either.
One final note, NEVER GO ON A SUNDAY. Everything is closed. Maybe it was because it was Sunday and the Constitution day. But better check before you go.
