Tarragona

Last night I arrived home from my second adventure away from Barcelona. I went on a school organized and mandated study journey to the coastal city of Tarragona, a small city about 60 miles south of Barca (although still located in the region of Catalonia). The tour was three days long and organized by the school. In fact, we received very little information about the trip until the night before, so most everything we did was a surprise.

Thursday morning, between the hours of 7:45 and 8:45 all 470 of us left to Tarragona. It was almost humorous the amount of America students in this relatively small town. We kind of took over the city with our 8 tour buses and 4 hotels. Despite having so many kids, it was very well organized, and there was never more than 25-50 or so people doing the same thing at once.

It only took about an hour to get there and the drive was beautiful. The road ran parallel to the Sea most of the journey, and we went through many mountainous regions and tunnels. (It almost reminded me of something you would find out west). After arriving in Tarragona, we began our first tour, which included a historical walking tour all around town. Tarragona is one of the oldest cities on the entire Iberian peninsula as the Romans arrived around 200BC. Tarraco was the first Roman military foundation, as its location atop a hill served as a natural watchtower, and it also served as the capital of the Roman Province of Hispania Citerior. Obviously the city isn't Rome, but it is very unique in the Western half of the Mediterranean for the quality, quantity, and state of preservation of many of its Roman structures, and it is now a World Heritage site.

We first viewed the amphitheater, where public executions and gladiator shows took place back in the 1st century AD. It is now recognized as one of the ten wonders of Catalonia. After, we explored the old part of town. This area still displays the intact city walls which are very well preserved. Within in the city walls encompass the three parts of the old town: The Cira (where chariot races were run), The Forum(where meeting were run, and the province was governed), and The Temple(which was later turned into a Cathedral after the inquisition).

The ruins were very interesting. I have never really been a history buff, but it was very fascinating to be walking around things that were 2000 years old. For lunch, we ate in a restaurant that was one of the old arches of the Circa. It was very cool, and I ordered my first Menu del Dia. (consisting of lots of yummy food). Later that day we explored more of the city and went to a local museum that featured more ruins and artifacts. After a long day of walking and touring we headed back to our hotel, Hotel Astari. It was located on Via Augusta, a very historic road that connected southern Spain to Rome (back in the day). The hotel was very beautiful and we had a small ocean view from our balcony.

The next day (after a very early start) we went to Torres Vineyards, one of the major wine producers in Spain (and worldwide). The tour was very interesting and included a train tour around the vineyards (although it would have been better if everything wasn't so dead looking). We also watched a movie, participated in some crazy Tunnel of Seasons (where you could smell the different vineyard scents of the seasons) and finally tasted some wine. One boy was so excited about his 3E Torres Wine purchase, and he came back to the bus and was telling everyone, only to be told by one of our teachers that he had bought vinegar! HAHA.

After the vineyards we departed to Altafulla, another coastal town that appeared almost ghostlike (due to the time of year). We ate a wonderful lunch at a little beach side restaurant, and had some time to just spend at the beach. It was so wonderful to just take off my shoes and walk around the beach in such a scenic place. After the beach, we walked down to another Roman ruin site, Els Munts. Here we saw the ruins of a Villa where a high Roman official lived in the summer months. It was interesting to see these ruins,and to see how the lifestyle of the the fortunate few differed from the normalcy of Tarragona. As part of the tour we had to dress up like Romans. It was so bizarre, but made the experience pretty funny. Later we hiked to Medol, the quarry where the Romans obtained all the limestone for the structures they built in Tarragona.

After a long day we came back and ate another gorgeous meal at the hotel. (I haven't mentioned yet, but all the meals were provided as part of the trip, and man, IES outdid themselves. We ate so well! Everything was so gourmet,authentic, and amazing!) For dinner that night we ate our first course, and only after finishing it, I realized I had ate octupus! Ahhh, Grace Hall does not eat seafood! I was impressed with myself though, and actually didn't mind it.

After dinner, we ventured out for the night. It was awesome because the bars we went to were both built into the ruins. So even my nightlife revolved around Roman Ruins. It was pretty cool to be drinking beer in a structure that was over 2000 years old. The second place we went to was called El Cau (The Cave) and it was literally a cave, that was part of the subterranean tunnels that connected the Cirus to the Local Forum back in the day. It was neat and authentic and there was a cool live band (it was like a Spainsh/Irish/Regaee mix) At any-rate, it was a fun night.

The next (and final) day a friend and I got up early to go watch the sun rise over the beach! What an awesome way to begin the day.

Afterwards, we left the hotel and travelled up in the mountains to a beautiful monastery, Poblet. According to our guide, it is one of the most important and largest medieval monastic complexes that exists in Europe. It was built in 1150 and was founded to colonize the conquered lands of New Catalonia. After touring and learning about the monastery, we took a nice hike throughout Paraje Natural, the woodlands and mountains that surround the monastery. Many of the reasons this beautiful land and trails have been kept in tact is due to the monastery, and how it encourages the lasting beautification of natural refuges. I guess it is typical for the natural areas around monasteries to be beautiful and very well preserved.

After the tour and hike, we ate another outstanding lunch. For an appetizer they served us Calcots, a typical Catalan delicacy (grilled sweet spring onions served with a Romesco sauce). It was pretty hilarious, because they served them to us in these huge platters and none of us knew how to begin eating them. It wasn't until they explained us how, that we learned the authentic way to dig in.

Finally, as a last stop we toured the 12th century medieval town of Montblanc. It was very neat (and WINDY!). The town is still completely surrounded by the city walls. After a trip full of Roman ruins, it was a nice change.

Overall, although exhausting, the trip was very informational. Not only did we learn a lot, but it also gave us a good chance to get to know more people and professors. We were organized by bus according to our Spanish class, and we had no say in where we wanted to stay or with who, or what we wanted to eat, or where we wanted to go. They jam packed the schedule from 8 in the morning till 8 at night (well actually dinner started at 8, but due to the slow style of eating we finished at about 10 each night).

We all just did what we were told and embraced the unknown. It was a refreshing trip in two ways. 1) Absolutely everything was planned. Unlike Madrid, where we had to plan and devise our entire trip plan, it was nice to just go with the flow on this one. 2) It was also refreshing to be in such a beautiful place. Barca is beautiful, don't get me wrong, but there are 1.6 million residents here which means people, everywhere. It was nice to be somewhere a little less intense for a few days. Although the weather was just about the same as Barcelona, Tarragona is known for it's "eternal spring." Overall, from the weather to the history to the daily surprises, it was a great trip!