With a few days off between tours, time to do another bit of exploring to a place in Spain I haven't been to before. This time round, Tarragona. Not far from Barcelona, it was an easy hour and 15 minutes train ride along the pretty coast. With a population of around 142,000, it's a fair sized city, famous for its Roman Ruins, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the Archeological Ensemble of Tarraco, listed in 2000 covering the preserved Roman monuments including the amphitheater, circus, forums, aqueduct, wall, necropolis and several villas. Not to mention columns and other bits and pieces of old stuff that just pop up here and there around the city. Nothing to see here folks, just another bit of an old Roman building in Mari Carmen's garden.
Now upon arrival and checking google maps, I saw that my little apartment was a mere 18 minutes walk away. OK, I thought, that's doable, I can do that. Turned out, I could not do that as it meant climbing several steep hills on a hot, humid afternoon, lugging my 21kg suitcase. Back to the train station I went to seek taxi assistance. Once I'd arrived at the front door, it was a struggle to stop my suitcase from rolling down the hill, while working out the door code. Good Samaritan to the rescue in the form of a helpful young man who was also staying and kindly lugged my case up the narrow stairs to my 1st floor apartment. An advantage of being old, young people offer to help - well at least sometimes. Another nice young man had also got my case off the train - ok it was only because I was causing a bottleneck, but I'll take all the assistance I get.
Apartment was small, but big enough - strange to have the shower in the kitchen, but there you go. Off to explore. The old city walls were literally across the road, so they were easy to find. Location wise, perfect all was close by. Although it is hilly.
The following morning I found a great coffee shop downstairs with the info centre next door. Perfect. Plan of attack loosely planned. I'd missed that day's walking tour, but plenty to go see and do. Over the next few days, I did do a walking tour and of course visited all the sites. I also ate very well, drank red wine and nice coffee.
The Roman Amphitheatre is impressive. I stared out into the distance, and thought “Yes, I'm sure the gladiators also complained about the heat and sand in their sandals.” The whole structure feels like it’s trying very hard to be intimidating, but the Mediterranean is right behind it, sparkling away like, “Sweetie, you’re not the main character here.”
I can imagine the Roman crowds: thousands of people cheering, shouting, roaring… all while secretly hoping the show would end early so they could nip down for a quick swim. Even the seagulls treat the Amphitheatre like their personal VIP box. They perch on the ancient stone, gazing down at visitors with the energy of retired gladiators who’ve seen it all and are judging your sandwich choices with deep historical disappointment.
The Circus and Pretorio were amazing as were the walls themselves which I walked along (not on) late on one afternoon and there was nobody else around. Peace.
The whole place feels like ancient Rome accidentally booked a long weekend on the Costa Dorada and never left. You wander through the old streets and half expect Julius Caesar to pop out of a tapas bar, holding a vermut and saying, “I came, I saw, I ordered the patatas bravas.”
The locals seem very unfazed by all the ruins around them. You’ll see someone casually jogging past a 2,000‑year‑old wall probably thinking that's just the neighbourhood’s vintage garden fence.” Meanwhile Mari Carmen is wondering if the bit of Roman Ruin in her garden would look good with a pot of geraniums balanced on top. Yes Mari Carmen, it would look beautiful.
Meanwhile, the Mediterranean sits there looking smugly perfect, like it knows it’s the real star of the show. The sea in Tarragona doesn’t just sparkle, it’s basically auditioning for a perfume commercial.
While I was there, the Santa Tecla celebrations were getting underway, so on the evenings, I'd come across some random parade, singing, dragons, giants and fireworks. Not to mention the Portaloo's and plastic urinals that really do ruin a photo. The city was buzzing and gearing up for a busy weekend I'm sure! But alas, on the Friday it was time to hop on a train back to Barcelona for my early morning flight to Bilbao.
Tarragona: where Roman history meets the glittering Mediterranean.
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