Pic of the week 3/11/19
So half term inches towards its inevitable conclusion with parents consultations this afternoon, but what a fantastic week and half its been.
Monday evening saw Becky & I jet off for a few days in Girona, our first trip abroad sin hijos for over twenty years. It had been a bit of a “on the whim” purchase of flights back in August and it did feel like a bit of an adventure as we headed off in the dreary dark, wind and rain to Bristol airport.
And what a fantastic place Girona is – it was all that I hoped for, and more.
A picturesque city, steeped in history, but compact, accessible and not overcrowded.
We arrived at Girano airport at circa 11 pm local time time to warm, clement, conditions. I’d pre-booked a taxi (this turned out to be a good move) that whisked us to our hotel in about 20 mins.
Tuesday was a bank holiday – by fluke our visit coincided with Fires de Saint Narcis, Girona’s major festival and we got to see and hear much music and dancing, although we probably didn’t make the most of the “big headed people” parade. We walked the wall of Girona (a must do if visiting the city. Top tip, start at the Cathedral end – not only do you (tend to) walk down hill, you are also rewarded with the best views at the start; I suspect that if you start at the other end, you may think “meh” for the first part of the walk.)
We also spent much time just sat drinking coffee at various cafes, outside, soaking up the warm sunshine. It was wonderful.
On the Wednesday, we took a bus to Palafrugell, and then another local bus to Calella de Palafrugell, which is a stunning seaside town, to which I am sure we will return some day. I had a swim in the sea – I’m not a religious man, but swimming in the sea is the closest I get to a spiritual experience – it (the water) was not warm, but not too cold either, it had a refreshing edge to it and, with sunshine and an air temperature of about 23-24 degrees, basking in the sunshine after my swim was a real pleasure.
Thursday was more wandering the historic old town, picking out a few Game of Thrones locations before heading back to the airport, via a public bus.
I didn’t much use my embryonic Spanish, but it was good to be able to to try the odd phrase, and pick out the odd word spoken in Spanish. Hopefully by Majorca 2020 I’ll have a slightly wider range of phrases to call upon.
And a few words about Ryan Air – one hears bad things about them, and this was our first flight with them. So a sample size of one trip is not statistically significant, but I liked the simplicity and efficiency of the whole experience. Lets be honest, air travel is not the glamorous experience that the ’50s and ’60s promised; it is simply a means of getting from A to B as quickly as possible. Their was no faux luxury, the stewards looked a little harassed and tired, but they loaded us on the jet quickly – no faffing about – and got us in the air and to our destination swiftly. It was just like getting the bus to Palafrugell, a means to an end, I was happy with that. (And I’m now a big fan of just having carry on luggage – significantly less queuing outbound, and waiting to pick up bags on landing – a big win.)
A fantastic few days in my new favourite city. Becky’s blog has a much more detailed account of the trip and many more pictures. Worth a look:
http://dotsandspotsdesign.blogspot.com/2019/11/girona.html
