Two Beach Towns in Two Days

Look at this! An ancient castle on the shores of Tossa de Mar in the Costa Brava region, north of Barcelona. Stunning.

This was a day trip with CEA on Friday. First we stopped in Girona for a tour and lunch. It's an inland medieval city a little over an hour away from Barcelona.

It's really neat to be in an old city that's been well preserved. Everything is so much different than anything you see in the US.

Our guide talked about the different types of architecture from different time periods and all the old buildings. There were four rivers leading in and out of Girona which was important. Now at least one of them (maybe two?) is completely dried up.

Fun fact - Game of Thrones shot some of seasons 5-6 in Girona, like Cersei's 'walk of shame' and lots of Arya's scenes. It was super cool to be on the streets where they filmed part of the show.

Cersei had to walk down these steps naked in front of so many people to atone for her sins. A scene that I remember being very hard to watch.

Arya sat on these steps leaning against the wall, begging for money.

We hopped back on our bus in the afternoon to drive down to Tossa de Mar. It is such a cute beach town!

Our tour guides brought us up through the castle which had incredible views. It was very windy at the top! Our hair was all over the place and I had to grab my hat before it blew off.

After the tour we had an hour and a half of free time, perfect for sunbathing and swimming to cool off. The air conditioned bus was a relief on the drive home.

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On Saturday we took the train to Tarragona which is south of Barcelona. It took us around an hour and a half.

Honestly, I liked Tossa de Mar better than Tarragona. The town was cuter and the beach was prettier. However, it was still a fun day with good food, friends, and the ocean so I can't complain.

There are Roman ruins near the coast in Tarragona which we could see from the main walkway above the beach. You can see what used to be a chariot raceway and a little arena for plays.

It was a very long day so I was happy to get home, go to bed, and sleep in!