Sunday 19 May 2013

Girona


When we decided to do our first trip out of Barcelona we decided to visit Cadaques, a little seaside town close to France. On our way there we stopped to look around in Girona. Unfortunately the weather didn’t give us its best, it was cloudy all day but luckily it didn’t rain.
This is Girona’s coat of arms.


You have probably already heard the name of this Spanish town thanks to Ryanair who flies here under the disguised name of ‘Barcelona’.  Thanks to this Girona doesn’t enjoy much confidence from the tourists who, as soon as they get off the plane, make their way to Barcelona.

We have to say that we were very pleasantly surprised. Many people said that the town is pretty but we hadn’t been prepared for how charming the Old Town proved to be. This was our first glimpse of it.


Soon we got to the river Oñar where we saw all the lovely colourful houses reflected back in the water.




Then we made our way to the Old Town, the city’s medieval centre. It seemed that we suddenly stepped into a completely different era. It's full of charm and it is very authentic. We walked along the cobbled stoned streets open-mouthed amazed by how well preserved the buildings were. In every corner there was something new to see, nooks and crannies to explore, great views to admire.
Let me show it to you through the many photos I took.






This wall used to be around the town. Now Girona has grown out of it. You can walk on top of it for quite a while.



Under these huge chestnut trees a cute little cafe is hiding. This is where we stopped for a break.


Some more photos of the city.










You can also explore the Old Town by this little train.



As there was a festival at that time many balconies were decorated with Catalan flags.


Some of them gave a very strong message. Girona is a Catalan town through and through and fully supports Catalonia’s separation from Spain. The writing on the bottom of the flag says ‘Europe’s new state’.



Unfortunately we only had half a day in Girona but we haven’t seen the half of what this charming town has to offer. It’s only an hour from Barcelona by car so it’s an ideal choice for a day trip but I would definitely recommend spending a whole weekend here so that you have enough time to fully explore the place.   

No comments:

Post a Comment