I can’t believe it’s nearly the end of our holiday already. Five weeks already gone and only a few more days left. We want to make the most of the final week so Dad said we could have one final big adventure. After lots of ideas – beach, countryside, town, castle – we decided on the nearest big city – Tarragona!
The city is about an hour and a half from Peniscola and has been standing in the same place for nearly 5000 years. Now that’s old! It’s been known by various names over the years but the Romans called it Tarraco. The modern city is full of Roman sites mixed in with more up to date buildings and is so big you can’t see everything in one day. As my legs are short and still aching from all the walking I’ve done, we decided to visit one area where we could see a bit of everything – Rambla Nova.
Rambla Nova is the main street in Tarragona and the place to see and be seen. It runs in a straight line from the Francolí river and Plaça Imperial at one end down to the sea at the other. At over a kilometre long it seems to me that it goes on forever! It didn’t exist until the middle of the 1800s because it was the site of the San Juan city walls.
The Rambla is a dual carriageway of sorts with lots of traffic passing on both sides of the central promenade that is full of fountains, statues and monuments. There are also restaurants and cafes so plenty of places to rest my aching legs!
We park the car near Plaça Imperial which is now the main transport hub in the city and start our long walk towards the sea. After crossing the first road I can see a huge statue reaching up to the sky in front of me. It is the Castells monument that celebrates the human towers that are famous in Catalonia especially during the Santa Tecla festival in September. The statue reaches up 11 metres in the sky and had 222 individually cast bronze people who make up the tower. It all looks too dangerous to me and I’m glad it’s November!
As we carry on walking I spot tall buildings on either side of the street. They don’t look Roman, I think to myself and Dad explains they are in the Catalan modernisme style again, the same we saw in Reus. I like the look of these. I always think I’m in a Poirot film set waiting for the murderer to be revealed. Some of the buildings look a bit tired (like me!) now but I can imagine how stylish they probably once were.
Half way down Rambla Nova is the 1811 monument. It was built to commemorate the centenary of the siege of Tarragona after it was attacked by Napoleon. When it was made back in 1911 it caused a bit of a stir because it contains naked figures – not appropriate for the time. Dad said I wasn’t allowed to look because I’m only 6 but I got a sneak peek anyway!
Finally we reach the end of the Rambla. It has a great viewpoint over the sea, port and to the old town. This is called the balcony of the Mediterranean and at 22 metres above the sea I can understand why. The view is great but it makes me feel dizzy looking over the edge of the cliff. I’m sure I could fall through those little railings!
Back to the car now for a well earned rest I think to myself but no, Dad says there’s one more thing to see. Mene ad amphitheatrum? or should I say which way to the amphitheatre?
Luckily it’s just a short trot across the balcon and we can see the amphitheatre nestling between the cliffs and the sea below us. It’s a massive building and looks impressive even today. Tarragona (or Tarraco as it was known then) was on the main route along the coast of Iberia and it was the biggest and richest city on the peninsula. There was a forum, circus, walls, villas, aquaducts and of course the amphitheatre. It really was the place to be! The amphitheatre originally held 15000 people and as we look at the remaining building today, I wonder how many dogs sneaked in to watch the brave gladiators battle it out in the arena.
Can we go home now Dad? It’s been great seeing so many exciting places but I’m all holiday-ed out and I need a rest!
A Dog's Travel Adventures in Spain (and other places too!) 