It was not only Barcelona that we explored on this trip. Since we’ve chosen airport of Girona for our flight, we had an opportunity to see something different from the busy beauty of the capital. Girona is a small town, about 70 miles from Barcelona. Absolutely charming. It was established well before the Romans and had a different name, then Romans came and build a citadel there and called it Gerunda. And in 11 century it was declared a city. Then the 12th century brought to Girona a well-established Jewish community with the one of the most important Kabbalistic Schools of Europe…and later, of course, the Jews were expelled from Spain…
So Girona has been left with all this history to keep and she did it so perfectly. We’ve spend in Girona only about 4 hours. And I wish we’d stayed whole day. It was not that we missed some attractions, it was just the atmosphere in the city was so charming, that I didn’t want to leave. I could stroll those narrow streets endlessly…climb those stairs again and again and still find I want to do more…perhaps, small cities appeal to me more then the big ones…or maybe it was due to the fact that we arrived to Girona early Sunday’s morning and Sundays are totally dead days in Spain. On Sunday's mornings there is nothing opened, empty streets, only few lonely tourists, like us, wandering around…the set was beautiful.
I like everything in Girona. Her strange stairs-ways, old houses, cobbled streets… a street musician caressing strings of his guitar making her cry a tearful Spanish song…a huge Cathedral, which has, apparently, the widest Gothic nave in the world. It stands on a hill and 90 stairs lead to the entrance, which was the longest staircase in Europe when it was build in 15th century. I like the Gothic churches, magnificent in their noble beauty. I like the Arab Baths – public baths that have nothing to do with the Arabs, since they’ve been built few centuries after the Arabs were expelled from Girona. I like the colourful houses nested tightly around the banks of the river Onyar. They look like a box set of crayons. I honestly think, Girona worth a visit or, even should be a visit – she is a little gem in Catalonian crown…
last more to come and then that will be it...
So Girona has been left with all this history to keep and she did it so perfectly. We’ve spend in Girona only about 4 hours. And I wish we’d stayed whole day. It was not that we missed some attractions, it was just the atmosphere in the city was so charming, that I didn’t want to leave. I could stroll those narrow streets endlessly…climb those stairs again and again and still find I want to do more…perhaps, small cities appeal to me more then the big ones…or maybe it was due to the fact that we arrived to Girona early Sunday’s morning and Sundays are totally dead days in Spain. On Sunday's mornings there is nothing opened, empty streets, only few lonely tourists, like us, wandering around…the set was beautiful.
I like everything in Girona. Her strange stairs-ways, old houses, cobbled streets… a street musician caressing strings of his guitar making her cry a tearful Spanish song…a huge Cathedral, which has, apparently, the widest Gothic nave in the world. It stands on a hill and 90 stairs lead to the entrance, which was the longest staircase in Europe when it was build in 15th century. I like the Gothic churches, magnificent in their noble beauty. I like the Arab Baths – public baths that have nothing to do with the Arabs, since they’ve been built few centuries after the Arabs were expelled from Girona. I like the colourful houses nested tightly around the banks of the river Onyar. They look like a box set of crayons. I honestly think, Girona worth a visit or, even should be a visit – she is a little gem in Catalonian crown…
last more to come and then that will be it...