Tarragona and Barcelona

Last night we left Ordesa park and drove 3 hours to the coastal town Tarragona. We never actually heard of it before, but it’s close to Barcelona which is where we fly home from. And, you guessed it right, there was a VoiceMap tour in Tarragona which was apparently the most important Roman Empire city outside of Rome. Also, an interesting fact was that the encuentro organizers (and some other dancers) were all from Tarragona. The city was quite beautiful and the tour very interesting. It was great to step back in time and imagine what it must have looked like in Roman times. There is quite well preserved/reconstructed coliseum for the gladiator fights. There were ruins of the hippodrome for the chariot races, and ruins of the Roman theater. Interestingly, a lot of it was just underground, as the city accumulated layers of history through medieval and to our times. Apparently, people in Tarragona would sometimes during the constructions uncover the pieces of columns in their bedrooms or bathrooms and because it’s all protected, would have to build and decorate around them! After the tour, we drove about an hour to Barcelona and did a VoiceMap tour of the Gothic quarter, which was very beautiful and fascinating. We also uncovered on the tour another Gaudi building that we never visited before - Palace Guell which we went and toured inside. It’s amazing how many more treasures we find in Barcelona despite many visits. We also agreed that from all the major European cities, Barcelona is one of the most walkable and livable, with welcoming vibe.Read more