Girona

I have thought a lot about Girona … for some reason it’s always been a city I wanted to visit. When it briefly made an appearance in Killing Eve, I noticed. When it made a lot of appearances in Game of Thrones, I definitely noticed. But it had been on my mind long before and I finally made plans to see it. I picked a lovely day to go, too … sunny and very warm.

Girona is just over 100km away from Barcelona so I decided to take the train there. There are local trains that take about an hour and 20 minutes and there are high speed ones that get you there in a very quick 38 minutes. Since I didn’t buy the ticket online (mainly because I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get to the station and at this stage I don’t like to be rushed anywhere, thank you very much), I went down to Barcelona-Sants train station by bus (4 stops) and bought a ticket there. I gather the gentleman who sold me the ticket thought I was in a hurry so I was on the next fast train (AVE) instead of the slower regional one. I would not have minded the slower one but I think my error was in getting to the station a little late thus missing it. Sometimes having a lot of time is not a good thing, lol.

The trains in Spain are great; it’s such a wonderful way to travel. I did have to go through security where they scanned my bag (though not me, thankfully … having bionic knees also means getting a thorough pat down each and every time) … the Atocha-Madrid bombing attack back in 2004 has had a lasting effect on train travel in Spain. Imagine my surprise to see that the train I was getting on had Paris as its final destination! And here I was going a mere 100km and just to the first stop, at least from Barça. I could never determine where the originating station was, to be honest, though I have a sense it might have been Barcelona itself. All the cars were double-deckers and my seat was upstairs in car #18. There were not many people on board so everyone was nicely spaced out, and, as everywhere else, masks were mandatory. This was definitely a fast train so the scenery whipped by and exactly 38 minutes after departure I stepped off in sunny Girona.

The first thing I noticed was that the air was much dryer than in Barcelona — a good sign, I thought. And then I started walking … and all the illusions of feeling comfortable in the drier air went right out the proverbial window. Sweat is a nasty thing, especially when one is wearing a mask, carrying a backpack, and wearing socks. I do want to know how it is that Spaniards do not seem to experience heat quite the same way I do; I swear, I’ve never seen anyone glistening the way I do. OK, there was this one guy on the bus the other day, but he didn’t glisten, only his shirt betrayed his humanity. Everyone else seems to be impervious to the heat or have no sweat glands. I’m told it’s something I will get used to, eventually, but in the meantime it’s killing me. But enough whinging and please note, I am not complaining about the heat, only my body’s reaction to it!

After getting my bearings, I started toward the old part of town and came across the local food bazar, Mercat del Lleó (Lion’s Market), where it was also the day local farmers bring their goods to town. After a stroll around I bought myself a very large, juicy, and sweet peach for a snack–it was delish–and felt sufficiently fortified to tackle further walking. I had read about the awesome wall that surrounds all of the old town and really looked forward to walking it: the views promised to be spectacular. But, alas, Covid has managed to interfere here too and the walkway was, unfortunately, closed. Undeterred, however, I sought out the next best thing: a museum.

The Girona Museum of Art is located in the old Episcopal Palace, a formidable-looking place, in the heart of the old town. Its holdings date from as far back as the XI century and are the province’s most important ones. My favourite item was the sculpture of some dude very keen on showing us his osito (Ori, you’re probably the only one who will get this reference). I really enjoyed strolling in an air-conditioned environment (!) with absolutely no other visitors around. Having a museum all to oneself was a luxury I did not expect but definitely enjoyed. A sampling of art and other interesting things is in the Gallery (and also below).

After the museum and a little pitstop for some refreshments, I headed out into the sun again only to be transported into a different world. Even if you are not a Games of Thrones fan (yes, this is King’s Landing), I’m sure you can appreciate the sense of days gone by, a world where kings ruled, ladies hid behind fans and chaperones, and life was short and fragile. Yeah, I’ve been reading too much Guy Gavriel Kay lately so my imagination has been primed to appreciate Girona’s architecture. In any case, I absolutely love this town, its Cathedral (built between XI and XVI centuries), the little narrow streets, the cool buildings on the banks of Riu Onyar, the medieval wall (Passeig de la Muralla) I didn’t get to climb … All I can say is that I will definitely go back, and, if things work out, I may even spend a little extra time here next time.

Speaking of going back, it was time to hop back on the train again, this time it was one headed to Madrid via Barcelona (and a few other stops) though where it originated, again I couldn’t tell you. A few more people on this time, and when we reached Barcelona, there were even more getting on. Trains are definitely a favourite way of travel here, it is cheap and comfortable. I look forward to more.