Ready, Set, Go!

Our countdown of sleeps has come to an end ... with only one more sleep on the plane (we hope to have a restful night during our flight) before our rendezvous with la Belle France,  

All travel arrangements are made, flights and car rental  booked plus we found the perfect accommodation in the quaint, tiny village of Montlaur in the Aude department, Occitane region (formerly Langedouc-Roussillon). 

We will spend a little over a month here this time. 

We are packed and are “Ready & Set to Go” ... 



 À bientôt. 

Time in Tarragona

Sunday, April 28th, 2019 ... I’m writing this post as I’m readying to embark on our next adventure. I still have plenty of photos and stories to share of our 2018 Spanish trip and will have to comeback later to finish them. 

Monday, June 25th, 2018 

After staying put in Torredembarra for the long weekend due to all of the festivities and swarms of visitors (we weren’t certain we’d find a parking space if we took the car out); we ventured out today on a road trip to visit the city of Tarragona. All we wanted to do was wander and discover this city. 

Description

Tarragona is a port city in northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. 

It was founded before the 5th century BC. 

“There are many ancient ruins from its time as the Roman colony of Tarraco. 

The Roman Amphitheater is a 2nd-century arena facing the Mediterranean, the Necropolis contains Roman tombs, and traces of the Forum stand among the alleys of the walled, medieval Old Town. 

There is a walkway along the ramparts with long views of the city” ... info from Wikipedia 

This “Human Tower” is a monument dedicated to the “castellers by the Catalan sculptor Francesc Anglès i Garcia. 

It is located on Rambla Nova de Tarragona.  It was inaugurated on May 29, 1999.



The Mediterranean balcony ...


Two views of the Roman Amphitheater ...


                                        



Mural painted on a building in Placa Sedassos.

Art Deco entrance doors to an antique shop ...


We wandered throughout the city, enjoyed a delicious lunch and wandered some more ...



I’m still trying to catch up on my posts ... G & M are waiting to see and read more about Seville.  

I will be posting for the next while about our current travels in France. 

We arrived early this morning ... April 29th, 2019. 

It’s Party Time in Torredembarra

 The weekend of June 22nd to June 24th, 2018. 

It’s Friday, June 22nd, 2018 the beginning of a long weekend of festivities throughout Spain.  The weather promises to be wonderful for the “Big Party” to celebrate the Feast of Saint John.  

On the eve of  Saint John Day (Saturday, June 23rd, 2018 many celebrations are held throughout Spain). 

In Torredembarra, the feast of Saint John is also known as the festival of Sea Bass. 

During the weekend of Saint John, there are bonfires, dances, festivals, singing and plenty of fun and partying.

Lots of activity happening on the beach, promenade and in the squares in preparation for the festivities. 

On our morning walk we watched as many places were being decked out in colourful flags and ribbons ...

We’re not sure what’s actually happening at each location but I’m sure it will all become clear soon. 

Regatta finals were held on our beach, so we had front row seats from the balcony. There were so many people. 

It’s like Señor always says about watching the Formula 1 whenever I suggest he go to the actual event/ location to watch the race ... “you can see so much more from the comfort of your home on the television rather than sitting in the stands and only seeing what’s flashing by at that specific spot”.

 

From the balcony we could see it all in living colour just like watching it on a wide screen tv. 

After the races were over there was lots of comadarie, food and wine for the participants and guests.

The festivities continued all weekend with dancing in the streets, parades, bon fires and fireworks.

  

     

This structure was built on the beach earlier in the week ... pallets on pallets piled high and then fenced in! 

Here it is lighting up the sky ...and then the firework spectacle also provided light and colour for the sky every night. 

Where did all these people come from? 

This is overlooking “La Sirga” ... we were so happy that we chose to have our dinner date on Thursday night before all the festivities started.

  









The square on Monday morning ... soon it will all be cleaned up.

It was a busy weekend, maybe a little noisy ... the revellers partied until the wee hours of the morning. 

Early Monday morning view of beach groomed and cleaned, ready for everyone’s enjoyment this week.

Today we are heading to Tarragona for a different view. 

Come back soon for some more posts ...