Spain 2009
Cambrils
Summer of 2009 we spent two weeks in Spain, based in Cambrils, a charming Catalonian town on the Costa Dorada full of families taking a seaside break from their homes in Spain’s interior. Cambrils has a wonderful long sandy beach, where we usually had an early morning swim before breakfast and the day’s excursions, and a train station, so it’s a great base from which to see Tortosa and Tarragona as well as Barcelona. The café right by the station does a mean coffee to kick-start the kidneys before you head off, and on the days when you don’t want to venture far there are several charming little museums in the town itself, including the Museu Agricola, a former wine and olive cooperative designed by Bernardi Martorell in the Modernisme style.
Summer of 2009 we spent two weeks in Spain, based in Cambrils, a charming Catalonian town on the Costa Dorada full of families taking a seaside break from their homes in Spain’s interior. Cambrils has a wonderful long sandy beach, where we usually had an early morning swim before breakfast and the day’s excursions, and a train station, so it’s a great base from which to see Tortosa and Tarragona as well as Barcelona. The café right by the station does a mean coffee to kick-start the kidneys before you head off, and on the days when you don’t want to venture far there are several charming little museums in the town itself, including the Museu Agricola, a former wine and olive cooperative designed by Bernardi Martorell in the Modernisme style.
Tortosa
Fascinating town, where I recall, as a child, seeing the eerie night-time Procession of the Penitents, barefoot hooded figures in chains – highlights included the marvellous municipal market hall, where we ate Spanish omelette, pan tomate, aioli and battered aubergine slices from Manolo’s, followed by huge yellow peaches; the Cathedral, magnificent art including a painting of Christ’s burial, with Mary Magdalene dressed in deep red, by the School of Juan de Ribera; exterior of a deteriorating art-nouveau Palau des Puig, and the fantastic Egyptian-styled façade of the School of Criminology. There is also a massive sculpture standing in the middle of the Ebro in the town. On Googling for this monument, I found a reference to the fact that it was actually erected by Franco in 1966 to remember those who fell on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War – see www.albavolunteer.org/2010/11/franco-monument-to-be-left-in-place-in-tortosa
Fascinating town, where I recall, as a child, seeing the eerie night-time Procession of the Penitents, barefoot hooded figures in chains – highlights included the marvellous municipal market hall, where we ate Spanish omelette, pan tomate, aioli and battered aubergine slices from Manolo’s, followed by huge yellow peaches; the Cathedral, magnificent art including a painting of Christ’s burial, with Mary Magdalene dressed in deep red, by the School of Juan de Ribera; exterior of a deteriorating art-nouveau Palau des Puig, and the fantastic Egyptian-styled façade of the School of Criminology. There is also a massive sculpture standing in the middle of the Ebro in the town. On Googling for this monument, I found a reference to the fact that it was actually erected by Franco in 1966 to remember those who fell on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War – see www.albavolunteer.org/2010/11/franco-monument-to-be-left-in-place-in-tortosa
Tarragona
Tarragona, known to the Romans as Tarraco, and birthplace of Antonia Gaudi, is very well worth a visit, in addition to Barcelona, if you are staying on the Costa Dorada. We had a great couple of days there seeing some of the major sights. Tarragona is bidding to be the Spanish representative as European Capital of Culture in 2016, so that would be a great year to visit if they succeed. We enjoyed:watching the procession on the local festival day in the streets of St Roc quarter, with the dignified slow marching band from Reus and children dressed in traditional Catalonian costumes; the Archeological Museum, Roman walls, Praetorium, Amphitheatre, and the stunning section of the original Circus; the Cathedral; the superb Museu d’Art Modern, perfect for a morning’s introduction to some of the wonderful artists who trained in Tarragona’s Art School from 1951-1976. The Workshop and School of Painting and Sculpture of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia was opened in Tarragona in 1931, but destroyed in the bombing during the Civil War. We saw work by Julio Antonio, Jaume Solé, Ana Sanchez, Mariano Rubio.
Tarragona, known to the Romans as Tarraco, and birthplace of Antonia Gaudi, is very well worth a visit, in addition to Barcelona, if you are staying on the Costa Dorada. We had a great couple of days there seeing some of the major sights. Tarragona is bidding to be the Spanish representative as European Capital of Culture in 2016, so that would be a great year to visit if they succeed. We enjoyed:watching the procession on the local festival day in the streets of St Roc quarter, with the dignified slow marching band from Reus and children dressed in traditional Catalonian costumes; the Archeological Museum, Roman walls, Praetorium, Amphitheatre, and the stunning section of the original Circus; the Cathedral; the superb Museu d’Art Modern, perfect for a morning’s introduction to some of the wonderful artists who trained in Tarragona’s Art School from 1951-1976. The Workshop and School of Painting and Sculpture of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia was opened in Tarragona in 1931, but destroyed in the bombing during the Civil War. We saw work by Julio Antonio, Jaume Solé, Ana Sanchez, Mariano Rubio.
Barcelona
We did our usual thing of catching the Big Red Tour bus – an excellent way of seeing the layout of the city centre, and where things are you might like to come back and see in depth. Barcelona, like any other great city, would be worth spending a week or two to get more than just a surface look round, and we will definitely go back some time. In the short time we had there we were, naturally, enthralled by the unique beauty of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, and Parc Guell, all incorporating his vision of nature’s flowing forms captured in stone, bricks and mortar. MNAC, the National Museum of Catalan Art, housed in the magnificent 1929 palace on Montjuic, is wonderfully laid out. We looked at the Romanesque Art, and enjoyed the eye-opening introduction to Catalan artists including Ramon Casas, Joaquim Mir, Maria Pideleserra, Francesc Gimeno, Feliu Elias, and Rafael Benet. For a welcome, friendly, air-conditioned break from the heat, we enjoyed the inevitable Starbucks!
We did our usual thing of catching the Big Red Tour bus – an excellent way of seeing the layout of the city centre, and where things are you might like to come back and see in depth. Barcelona, like any other great city, would be worth spending a week or two to get more than just a surface look round, and we will definitely go back some time. In the short time we had there we were, naturally, enthralled by the unique beauty of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, and Parc Guell, all incorporating his vision of nature’s flowing forms captured in stone, bricks and mortar. MNAC, the National Museum of Catalan Art, housed in the magnificent 1929 palace on Montjuic, is wonderfully laid out. We looked at the Romanesque Art, and enjoyed the eye-opening introduction to Catalan artists including Ramon Casas, Joaquim Mir, Maria Pideleserra, Francesc Gimeno, Feliu Elias, and Rafael Benet. For a welcome, friendly, air-conditioned break from the heat, we enjoyed the inevitable Starbucks!