Welcome Home!

Welcome home, nearly everybody!

After a very early departure the majority of the group traveled to Barcelona's El Prat Airport to begin their journey home to central Virginia.

I heard from some of you & was lucky enough to even see a few travelers back Stateside, as a few of us arrived into Dulles at around the same time.  

Over the past week+ we have seen some learned a little about the passionate & proud catalan people, seen some spectacular sights, & eaten some wonderful food!  We were lucky with the weather & didn't have any major problems with transportation, etc.  However a positive attitude to travel always makes a tour better so thank you all for playing your part in a very successful & fun tour. 

I hope to see many of you again in 2015 for an Italian adventure! 

Farewell to Catalonia

We returned to Barcelona this morning, with a full day ahead of us to enjoy the city - sightseeing, shopping, hitting the beach, etc - on our last day in Europe.

This evening we rendezvoused one last time for a farewell group dinner, riding the metro again into the heart of the Old City.

Dinner was a the popular La Crema Cannella, a great meal to end a great trip.

After dinner to soaked up the atmosphere of Placa Real one last time, then rode the metro home ahead of a VERY early start for most of us in the morning - departing the hotel at 4:00am to make our 6:00am+ flights! 

Roman Tarragona

The important Roman city of Tarraco, nowadays known as Tarragona, was our focus today.

This morning we split into two smaller groups, each with a local guide, to explore the fights of the city including the Roman circus & amphitheater.

In some places the ancient arches of the Roman circus still exist - within modern buildings such as this bank!

After our morning sightseeing ended we had the whole afternoon free - to explore further, to shop, or to enjoy the beach.  In the evening we ate 'al fresco' in the courtyard dining room of a former aristocratic palace.

Finally, on the way home to our hotel we were lucky enough to encounter practice for one of Tarragona's local 'castle building' clubs.  An amazing sight!

Montserrat, the Serrated Mountain

After bidding farewell to Girona today we traveled south, heading around Barcelona & eventually on to Tarragona.  Along the way though we detoured to visit the legendary mountain of Montserrat.

Disembarking our bus we used the historic cable car to ride to the top of the mountain, enjoying spectacular views as we almost brushed the rock face.

 The site of a religious community for over 1000 years, Montserrat appeals to nature lovers as much as to the faithful.  As well as the basilica & iconic statue of the Black Virgin of Montserrat, there are also numerous walking trails around the mountain.

From Montserrat we continued our journey south to Tarragona.  After check-in there was plenty of time to relax or explore the town, then regather for dinner - tonight a Catalan buffet.