Out of all the beautiful cities we’ve seen in Spain, Girona was probably the most relaxed, and very historic. After a two hour bus ride from Barcelona to Girona, our wonderful tour guide Silva, who also did our walking tour of Barcelona, showed us around this old city. This city had a lot of ancient Roman and French architecture and influence. I’ve always loved seeing buildings and structures that go back hundreds of years because it really puts into perspective how much history was made there, and connects us back to those times.
We got to walk through a local museum, and see many pieces of original Roman craftsmanship. The area we were in was home to a very beautiful, old monastery and cathedral, that seemed to attract a lot of visitors daily. The beautiful weather outside also made it perfect to climb up the mountain, onto the ancient Roman wall that was built to protect different areas of the city. Now we can say we walked where the Romans did!
Girona was very relaxed and tranquil, and was the perfect location for the flower festival. The flower festival was such an amazing site and I’m so glad we picked this time to come. With the cathedral steps covered in flowers and flowers lining the streets and alleys around these sites, we got a million pictures and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the people come out and community come together for this occasion.
Our visit to Girona was also just before our friend Erin’s birthday! So after our walking tour, we got some ice cream to celebrate together as a class, and then it was time to get back on the bus for our stop at the Dalí museum. I know Dalí was known for his influence in surrealism, but I was not expecting the museum to embrace it this much! The outside of the building was covered in figures of bread, and eggs stood on top of the roof, signifying rebirth and satisfying the hunger of knowledge.
The museum itself is actually not a museum, but a theater! Because of its history and connection to the people of Catalunya, Dalí embraced this place, and made it a home for his extravagant work. He even decided not to reconstruct the roof after it was blown off during the bombings of the Spanish Civil War. You can walk down the corridors of the theater, the patio that was once the audience, the stage and backstage, and take in his early works, and other surrealism pieces. I was most interested to hear how connected he was with the United States, and had several pieces representing famous American figures like Abraham Lincoln, and a painting strictly dedicated to the U.S..
This was a long day and I definitely fell asleep on the bus ride home, but I’m so glad I can say I’ve been to yet another amazing museum and have seen even more of Spain!
