Tourist Day in Tarragona

Our full "tourist" day in Tarragona fell on Constitution Day (December 6). Since it was a holiday, some of the attractions were only open in the morning. We planned accordingly, and after breakfast at our hotel we started with the UNESCO world heritage sites shortly after they opened. The huge Roman amphitheater was right across the street from our hotel, and in fact we had a great view of it from our balcony. It was built around the year 100, and later became abandoned before a Visigoth church and then basilica were added, and then finally it was used as a convent and then a prison. The remains of all of these structures can still be (sorta) seen. 

The next stop, included on our ticket, was the remains of the roman circus just across the street. Much of the "old city" of Tarragona is built on top of the circus, but you can still visit some of the remains including a couple of long tunnels. It's now a whole archeological complex that also includes the remains of another basilica, museum exhibits, and part of the medieval city wall and tower. There were good views across the city from the top of the tower. 

An exhibit showing how it looked when a basilica was built in it.

Overview of the remains of the amphitheater.

A long tunnel that was part of the circus. Fans walked through to get to their seats.

The arches and roof of the former basilica, on top of the circus.

View from the top of the former basilica.

Next we continued on toward the city walls, which are also part of the UNESCO site. On the way we stopped at the model of Tarraco, which we actually thought was the entrance to the walls. The model was great for seeing how the Roman city was laid out, and how the current "old city" was built right on top of it. From there we walked around the corner to the actual entrance to the city walls. You can't go in them, but as you walk along them there are signs describing how they were adapted and re-used by many different empires and leaders. We also met a cute little cat we named Manchego.

Little Augustus and Booberella.

A cool model of the old Roman city.

A large portion of the city walls are intact, as they were added to and reinforced over the millennia.

David found a friend!

There was still one more site included in our ticket - the local forum, which was about a 20 minute walk from the exit of the walls area. There's not too much left here, but there are a few columns and foundations remaining. After the forum we walked toward the port. We had wanted to visit the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona, but it's closed for renovation. Luckily, they took some of their best artifacts and put them on display in a temporary museum in the port. The port itself was interesting too, with a lot of people strolling and exercising on the promenade alongside the marinas.

The forum of Tarraco.

Outdoor escalator - there's a big altitude different between the port and the central city.

Random street art. Paul-achu, I choose you!

Nautical Homer for the win.

The museum is housed in one of the port buildings.

The temporary archeology exhibit.

Great bicycle infrastructure!

We walked back up to the old city, and had lunch at shifu ramen. It was not great (the tonkatsu did not taste right, but the miso ramen was decent) but atmosphere was good, with an over the top anime and Osaka subway theme. It's definitely been interesting trying various global cuisines in Spain, but it makes us appreciate the incredibly diversity in food of the USA.

Our next stop was right up the street: the cathedral. It has a large number of museum exhibits, and a pleasant cloister with orange trees, turtles in the fountain, and a resident cat or two. Overall a very impressive cathedral that shouldn't be missed.

Ramen Shifu is themed like the Osaka subway.

Before - yummy ramen.

After - cute bowls!

One of the many quaint intersections in the center of Tarragona.

A baroque elephant decoration in the cathedral.

The interior, with the impressive organ and dome.

Walking along the cloisters.

The views from the cloister courtyard were amazing.

A cat sitting in the shadows.

Oranges and stone.

One of the many museum exhibits in the cathedral.

Next we made a quick stop for ice cream at Bico de Xeado, a fancy Spanish ice cream chain. The arroz con leche flavor was delicious, and we also tried a unique fig and cheese flavor. We walked back and watched the first half of Spain world cup game outside on plaça de la font. There were lots of people, especially teenagers, watching from the restaurants and bars on the square. We caught the second half of the game back at our hotel, with Spain unfortunately losing in penalties. That night we went for a stroll and picked up Empanadas at Tio Bogotes and doner at Kebab Torraco, for a low-key dinner. Paul just wanted french fries from the kebab place, but they didn't quite get our order and gave us two sandwiches.

Ready for the world cup game!

A drink on the square.

The rooftop pool of our hotel.

David on our hotel rooftop with sweeping views.

Ha - message received emotionless pool rule board.

It's always a good time for empanadas.

We had a great time in Tarragona. It's not a major tourist destination like Barcelona or Madrid, but it's worth a visit for the roman ruins, quaint old town, and sea views. One thing we noticed both here and in Barcelona what that there was English-language Christmas music everywhere. We were surprised there aren't more Spanish holiday songs.

The next day (David's birthday!) was our travel day to Valencia, but our train didn't leave until 1PM, so we had a nice relaxing morning. We started with breakfast at the hotel, which was included each day because we booked online, and was really nice. The ground floor of our hotel had a large seating area and they set up a breakfast buffet each morning. It was a nice way to start each day in Tarragona. After eating we took a little stroll around town, stopping at the nearby Mediterranean balcony for some views, and then the remains of the Roman theatre. We popped in a couple of stores, including a small anime store, Flying Tiger, and the central market. 

The Christmas log is a regional symbol.

Metal stands showing where the stone seating used to be.

There was a big Christmas tree in the center of the market.

A light birthday lunch on the train.

We showered and packed up at the hotel, and caught the train to our last city of our trip, Valencia, for our final 2.5 days in Spain.

Tarragona and Port Aventura

After sleeping in on Sunday morning, we took the subway to the Barcelona-Sants station and caught a south-bound train. The train was slightly delayed and the queuing/boarding process was quite confusing, but eventually we were on our way. It was a smooth and fast ride, and we arrived in Tarragona in about an hour. It was a short (but uphill) walk from the station to our hotel, H10 Imperial Tarraco. This was a fantastic hotel, probably one of the nicest we've ever stayed in. Our room had a huge balcony with sweeping views of the old city, the coast, and Roman ruins.

Tarragona is a relatively small city (about 130,000 people), but is worth visiting for its impressive Roman ruins, which are a UNESCO world heritage site. We had to plan our time here carefully, as our three days involved both a Sunday and Monday, when many things are closed, and a national holiday (Constitution Day). After settling in to our hotel, we caught a bus to the Roman aqueduct just north of town, the Pont del Diable. The bus only took cash if you didn't already have a card, and we were a bit worried since we only had a 20 Euro bill (and all of the stores were closed since it was Sunday so there was no place to make change), but the bus driver was nice and made change for us. It was only about a 10 minute ride up to the aqueduct. The entrance is right on the highway, but the aqueduct is set back in a wooded area. This is a well preserved and impressive aqueduct that towers over a forested ravine. It's also unique because you can walk across the top of it. 

After spending some time walking around and viewing the aqueduct, we went to catch the bus back. However, since the northbound bus stop was on the side of the divided highway, there wasn't a corresponding southbound bus stop. We walked about 15 minutes north to the next bus stop, technically in the small town of Sant Salvador. Turns out we didn't need to do this since the bus makes a loop, but it was a nice little adventure.

Back in town, we walked down the main street, rambla nova. There was a small Christmas market and crafts market, but it was relatively quiet since it was a Sunday. Even though it was chilly we got some ice cream at Hi Cream before heading back to the hotel.

Staying safe on the train.

Spectacular views from our hotel balcony.

Our room was amazing.

A sign for "authentic" looking "tacos."

The impressive aqueduct.

Paul on top of the aqueduct.

A little pond in a big traffic circle in Tarragona.

A statue of the "castell" human towers Tarragona is famous for.

The statues had creepy proportions with disturbing looking hands.

The Christmas market.

Hi Cream - there wasn't tons of ice cream this trip, but we found a little spot in Tarragona that was very popular!

After dark we ventured back out and had dinner at Baires Bar. According to reviews it is known for its artichokes and milanesa (thin fried chicken), so we got one of each. David defied the winter temperatures and got an aperol spritz. Oddly the end of the meal came with cough drops on the bill instead of mints. Well I guess technically they were mint cough drops! We walked around a bit and got some churros with chocolate, and ended the day back in the hotel watching the England vs Senegal world cup game.

Throughout the day we definitely noticed there is much less English in Tarragona. On top of that, just like Barcelona the residents of Tarragona speak Catalan, not Castilian Spanish. It's still easy to get around, and we had no problem using a combination of English and simple Spanish when ordering food and taking the bus.

Plaça de la Font. We spent a lot of time in this square that is lined with restaurants.

Artichokes, and classic milanesa with fries.

Churros with dipping chocolate!

The next day was our roller coaster day. Since almost every tourist site in Tarragona is closed on Mondays (including all of the museums and the roman ruins), the timing was right to head to Port Aventura. This park is known as one of the better parks in Europe. It opened back in 1995, and has been on Paul's bucket list. After breakfast at the hotel we took a taxi to the park. There is a train, but it only runs a few times a day so a taxi was quicker and more convenient for the 9 mile trip from the hotel. The park was relatively crowded, with some rides having lines of over an hour throughout the day, but we had express passes that allowed one ride on each of the major coasters without waiting. Definitely worth the cost for your first visit since the park is quite large, and we also needed time to visit the neighboring Ferrari Land. Overall the park is very nice, similar to the Busch Gardens parks in the US. Shambhala stood out as the best ride, and we also enjoyed the indoor Sesame Street ride where you shoot cookies. Unfortunately park operations left much to be desired - several of the rides broke down throughout the day, loading was very slow, and one major ride (Stampida) never opened. 

For lunch, we were adventurous and tried the "Marco Polo" Chinese buffet. It was... interesting. There was almost nothing Americans would recognize as Chinese food, 2/3 of the buffet was Spanish foods and 1/3 was Chinese-Spanish adaptations of dishes. 

Ferrari Land area was essentially a giant commercial for the car company. Not unexpected, but a little off-putting. Still, the Port Aventura / Ferrari Land combo should be on every coaster enthusiast's itinerary. It's also interesting enough for non-enthusiasts, thanks to the well-done theming and big variety of rides. David barely grumbled about spending the day here. 😏

Morning views from our hotel balcony.

The hotel had a killer breakfast buffet! We usually don't eat hotel food, but made an exception this time!

Paul celebrating Navidad '22 at Port Aventura.

Woody Woodpecker and Red Force. One is a fictional bird and one is the tallest roller coaster outside of the USA.

The coaster skyline of Port Aventura towering over the great wall of China.

David enjoying the USA section!

Snowmen in the park disturbingly had feet. It's almost like they'd never actually seen one!

Lots of photogenic coasters in the park.

Ferrari Land is right next door, and is almost like another section of the park...that they charge you to enter.

That's "pad thai" on the left, and paella at the end. At the Chinese buffet. Uh...

David still looks happy with our "Chinese food..." Spoiler alert, he was not.

We left the park in the late afternoon. The train schedule didn't line up with when we were leaving, so rather than waiting a couple of hours we took a taxi back to our hotel. We caught some of the Japan vs Croatia World Cup game, then set out to walk around the old city at night. Tarragona has a small but lovely historic center. We had a drink at Twins Brewery before going to Sentits restaurant for dinner. Both were great.

Our hotel and the Roman walls at night.

The Tarragona cathedral.

The beers at Twins were quite good! A sour on the left, IPA on the right.

A BBQ chicken, avocado, and pickled onion toast at Sentits.

Yay, dessert!

With that, we wrapped up our roller coaster day. The next day we'd have a full day in Tarragona to explore the main tourist attractions.

Tibidabo and Wrapping up Barcelona

For our last full day in Barcelona, we started the day by taking a taxi to the funicular at the base of Tibidabo mountain. It's possible to make this journey by bus/train and an uphill walk, but we wanted to maximize our time and it was easy to order a taxi using a phone app. The funicular is easy to use. We bought our tickets to the amusement park online, which included a round-trip ride on the funicular, and just scanned our phones to be let into the station. Europe has really caught up/surpassed America in the use of smart phones to do daily tasks like enter museums, buy tickets for transit, etc.

Tibidabo is an amusement park, church, and minor basilica on top of a mountain overlooking Barcelona. Well, not exactly a mountain - it's more like a very large hill, standing 1,680 feet above the Mediterranean coast below. The name comes from the Latin for "I give to you," a biblical reference. The views from the top are fantastic, and we lucked out with a bright sunny day. The amusement park is small but has a surprisingly large family roller coaster that clings to the hillside, as well as a number of historic rides. After spending about an hour on the rides, we went up to the churches that stand above the park. The lower level is a church/crypt with interesting mosaics, and the upper level is the minor basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor). Both were built in the early 1900s. This was apparently a very transformative time for Barcelona, with these churches, the Sagrada Familia, Lluís Domènech i Montaner's modernist buildings, and Gaudi's grandest buildings all under construction. We took the funicular back down, and had lunch at Mirablau, which has great views. The food was good too!

Paul at Tibidabo

David having fun on the funicular.

City view and roller coaster tracks.

The coaster weaves among the trees on the hillside.

Sweeping views of the city and coast.

A vintage airplane ride.

One church sits atop the other.

Impressive mosaics in the lower church/crypt.

Overview of the upper part of the amusement park.

Inside the basilica. It's plain, but impressively tall.

Lunch time, with views!

A delicious carrot soup.

To head back into the city, we took a short walk downhill then caught a bus. Buses are frequent and super easy to use, and many of the routes have bus-only lanes to help avoid traffic. We got off near the Bullman Pub, as it was almost time for the USA vs Netherlands world cup game. Paul made a quick trip to the AirBnB to get his patriotic Atlanta United scarf while David secured a table. The USA played better than the Netherlands, but wasn't able to finish enough of their chances. We still had a fun time watching the game with a pro-US crowd (and one Dutch guy sitting behind us).

From there we looked for a cocktail bar. This was a pretty common occurrence on our trip. Since dinner is so late, it's standard to get a drink first. We found a nearby bar, Two Schmucks, with great ratings that was just about to open, so we headed that way. Even though they had just opened we got one of the last tables, shared with some other people. Turns out this place was rated the #7 cocktail bar on earth, which explains its popularity. We had a nice conversation with a brother and sister from the US who sat at our table after the first group left. They were on a mission to try the top cocktail bars in Barcelona, which was how we heard this one was so highly rated. Our cocktails were inventive and good, but maybe a bit too inventive for David. Fish sauce might not belong in cocktails!

We got some empanadas to go from Rekons, and went back to the AirBnB to watch the Argentina vs Australia world cup game and relax and pack up since we'd be catching a train in the morning. Empanadas are quite popular in Barcelona. We saw them everywhere. Not complaining!

Our cocktails included ingredients like clarified goats milk and curry leaves.

A tray of empanadas!

This wrapped up our short time in Barcelona. Next stop, Tarragona!