Girona and the Costa Brava - October 14

An army of Lead toy soldiers on the march
Carpaccio of Pig's Trotters
Two Catalan seagulls I couldn't resist including
The cove at S'Agaro
The Lioness whose rear end is supposed to be lucky if you kiss it
A view of the medieval city around the Cathedral
An interesting perspective of an archway
The entrance to the Post Office and Telegraph Building

Today we left as soon as we docked in Barcelona for a tour north to the city of Girona and the Costa Brava town of S’Agaro. Girona is only about 40 kilometers from the French border and for many years was a line of defense to prevent the Moors from moving further into France. The city is a study in contrasts. It’s divided by a river with one bank representing the new city and the other the old, dating back to the Romans.

We wandered the streets of the old city seeing the variety of colors and styles of the narrow houses, many of which are built on the visible foundations of very old walls. Near the cathedral we found an exposition of lead toy soldiers which is only open twice each year. It was our lucky day! The various dioramas we saw represented events during the war with France between 1806 and 1809 when Napoleon invaded Spain and set up his brother as King of Spain. From the environs around the Cathedral we could see the mostly intact walls of the old city.

As we made our way back to the river we passed a column with a lioness at the top. Legend has it that for good fortune one must kiss the lioness’ rear. Jose our guide told us that until recently there were metal steps next to the column, but today they were gone.

Next we drove to S’Agaro on the Costa Brava. The town is a summer resort for Barcelonans and was quite empty today. The town sits on a beautiful cove with sapphire blue water and red sandstone rocks and cliffs around the water’s edge. We strolled along a walkway winding around the cove. Eventually we made our way back to La Taverna del Mar, a charming open air restaurant where we had lunch. We each had something different and it was all good. Al had the most unusual thing which he ordered because we were curious about the name – Carpaccio of Pig’s Trotters. It turned out to be a cured ham. After lunch we drove back to Barcelona and boarded the Ruby Princess which sailed promptly at 4 PM. Barcelona was our last port in the Mediterranean. Late tomorrow afternoon we’ll sail through the Straits of Gibraltar and enter the Atlantic.