Girona



Girona, compliments of Wikipedia


I had no idea what was going on with the day, except that Joaquim had presented an idea¨-- we are going to Girona which is about as far one other way from Calella as Barcelona is the other way.

On the car ride there, he told me that Girona is known as the Invincible City, having been under seige three times and withstanding the forces assaulting it, each time. So, there it was for my enjoyment today, Girona, an attractive Medieval Catalonian City of more than 100,000 people.

There is a fountain in Barcelona, drinking from which gives you magical powers that assure you will return.

There is a similar custom in Girona that gives magical powers. You must climb a pole and kiss the backside of a lioness who is crawling up the pole. Not to be outdone by Bonnie Wyora who made the climb and deposited the appropriate kiss while getting a photograph taken, I climbed but could not manage the last stair.

I have been alarmed the rest of the day at my decreasing physical powers. It is not that I can´t climb stairs. If you get into any cathedral, you just about have to be a stair climber. I can´t climb a stair that is two feet high and has no handrails for support. Given my failure at maximizing my chances of ever getting back to Girona, I took advantage of every opportunity I had during the day to see the sights.

Bonnie and I spent the morning with 2 audioguides in the beautiful Girona Cathedral. Exquisite, with rooms full of ancient vestments, tapestries, Bibles, chalices, holy septers and many tombs.

We ate lunch on the Cathedral Plaza and looked over the lovely city.

We spend the afternoon in the Calls of the prominent Jewish quarter and spent one-half hour, which turned into one hour in the Jewish Museum about the Spanish Diaspora.

We walked across the bridges on the river, bridges that mirror the spaces and length of those on the Seine or the Thames, and our walk included visits to the merchant stalls along the side of the street selling their artisan wares.

On La Rambla Jordie pointed out an old map of Paris, etched on the roof of one of the arches, and unearthed during some recent contruction. The cornerstone on the arch was dated 1791.

Joaquim´s brother Jordi works at a newspaper, El Punt, that is published in the Catalan language. Jordi gave us a tour of the newspaper office and its newly refurbished rooms, once of which is a long lecture hall dedicated to local events. The newspaper is in an old flour mill, and the owners lived in part of the mill -- so we saw the lead filled glass windows, the mahogany wall paneling, the vaulted ceilings more than 2 stories high that had been part of the owner´s personal residence. Now that was fun!

I am afraid if I don´t write about the day, I will forget what happened in it, so I am up at midnight, for Bonnie and I are going back to Barcelona tomorrow. Joaquim found us a deal -- seven different museums for 22 euros, and though we have already seen the Picasso Museum twice now, the special deal is going to save us money as we strike out to see the Miro Museum and the Gaudi Stone Quarry tomorrow.

Arta