I have had the extraordinary opportunity to see many castles
in Spain, near and around Barcelona. I
had no idea that Europe was full of so many amazing structures.
The castles in Spain are much smaller than the castles in
say, Germany. The reason being that
since Spain and its main cities are on the Balearic Sea there were far more
battles, due to the enormous waterfront.
Since there were many battles there was not much time to build huge
castles and the Spanish had to resort to building smaller structures.
(Crystal clear water)
October 7, 2012. I
had met this really nice guy in the incambio group I had been going to for a
few weeks. And he was a physical trainer
and invited me to go snorkeling with him at Garraf Harbor, since he had all the
goggles and snorkeling equipment. I
never would have thought I would be going in the sea in October and it be
tolerable! It was a great experience and
the water was so pretty and blue! We did
not see much more than some smaller fish and coral, but overall it was a lot of
fun.
(Garraf Harbor)
After snorkeling all day we decided to go to Stiges, Spain,
which is south of Barcelona. There is a
castle on the sea located in the little harbor town. This town is actually known for its gay
community and most of the people walking around were wearing rainbows. It reminded me a lot of Boystown in Chicago.
(Stiges, Spain)
The town had a ton of little restaurants and outside cafes
set up for just relaxing and enjoying the amazing weather. The streets were small and wound around
corners which led to beautiful structures.
It reminded me of the gothic area in Barcelona, only on a smaller scale.
Next castle I visited was in Tarragonna, which is also south
of Barcelona. Unfortunately I did not
get any pictures of this castle because it was at night. But it was this tiny castle located on a
point and had a large sea front. We were
able to walk along the rock shore and saw a tunnel leading to the sea, where
the king could escape if needed. We also
saw a bunker that was still intact on the rock shore. The tunnel and bunker were a bit eerie; you
could look inside and see the small slits in the rock walls where soldiers shot
from at their opponents.
The sky was so clear that night that the stars were so
visible. I saw about 5 shooting stars while
walking around castle. I do not think I
have ever seen so many shooting stars in my life!
October 11, 2012.
There is a castle in Barcelona, fortress Montjuic, located at the
southern most part of the city. To get
to the top of the hill, where the castle is located, you have to take a cable
car. Riding in the cable car gave an
amazing view of Barcelona and the sea.
(Montjuic)
(Panorama of BCN)
The original canons were still located on the exterior wall
of the fortress and I was able to walk through the main square. The flowered
square was outstanding and one of the few areas with green grass and flowers
due to the heat and expense of watering. I would love to travel Ireland next
and see all of the outstanding castles.
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