Tarragona, day one

We used our time pretty well on our last morning in busy Barcelona, heading out on the early side to try and avoid the heat of the day. Decided to poke our heads into the cathedral and wound up purchasing entrance to the entire majestic complex that included many side chapels, the choir area and best of all, rooftop entrance. The views were stunning, as always. Pretty much what a city of 5 million looks like:

From there, it was about half an hour to find La Rambla, a huge pedestrian street with every kind of shop you could think of. Flowers, music, live shows and some tempting sidewalk terraces, one of which was too irresistable to pass by. We asked for a glass of sangria and in short order two "glasses" about the size of a basketball each arrived. Filled with ice, fruit, seltzer, wine and who knows what other devilish good things that were in it. It went down with gusto and only when we got up to leave did I notice that it packed a bit of a punch. More like a wollop. Made for a silly but fast trip back to the hotel, where we picked up our luggage and literally walked across the street to catch the train for Tarragona. The first half an hour or so was disappointedly all in a tunnel, but I cleverly utilized the darkness for a rather good nap (thanks, Sangria.) Finally, the sun flashed me back to life and the rest of the journey was spent admiring the exquisite beauty of the Mediterranean beaches, all populated with happy souls enjoying a swim or a loaf in the sun.

We spent last night at the Hotel Canada, in an industrial part of Tarragona. The rooms were so reasonable, especially compared to Barcelona's crazy prices. Dave even got a balcony in his room, but my room has a bathtub! Pure bliss for sore feet. There is not much to do in this part of town, so we're putting in a few hours before moving to our next spot, just across town and quite close to the beach. No doubt that will also involve a trip to the closest grocery store to load up on goodies. I finally convinced Dave to throw out the remaining Kasekrainer, an Austrian sausage that I got to haul around in my backpack for the last few days. It's a wonder I didn't attract every dog in town. That, plus a jar of Italian seasoning and a couple of boullion cubes. This is what happens when you travel with someone who likes to cook! Happy October 1 to all!