Now for something completely different -- a stroll to the Roman town of Tarragona. We booked our tickets from the comfort Newark Airport two nights before our trip, wisely opting to take the 10 am train instead of the earlier one, and opting to return at 9:30 after enjoying dinner.
We all know what happens to the best laid plans.
I convinced Don we would take the metro to the train station even though it was "only" an 18-minute walk from the AirBnB knowing the likelihood of us getting lost was great. Taking the metro to the train station was the short part of the trip. Finding the train station from underground was the hard part (look for the signs that say RENFE, we just followed people with luggage). We made it to our train early, but forgot to pause to pick up a croissant for Don (I made eggs for my own breakfast, but Don just wanted something from a bakery). 
(return trip when we sat together)
We couldn't figure out how to use our eTicket. We had to enter through the line with train staff who eyeballed the ticket and let us pass. Note to future self, just buy the ticket at the train station.
The train was full. We were lucky to get tickets across the aisle from each other. Yes, we did wear our masks. (See post about catching COVID for that to make more sense.)
Since one of my goals was to dip our toes in the Mediterranean Sea, we began our day in Tarragona by walking on the beach.
Probably more pictures than one needs about a beach in a town known for its ancient ruins, but keep reading.
At first the water was a bit brisk, but it was easy to get used to. In most places the sand was soft, and the waves gentle. There were a couple of rough patches where shells and pebbles gathered. I wore my Chaco sandals, but Don was barefoot. There were showers just off the beach where you could rinse off.
Taking the off-beat path meant an added challenge when trying to find the tourist section. I asked a local (a man walking a dog) how to find the tourist attractions (I tried a version of centro historico that seemed to work). Another note to self, I should have brushed up on basic Spanish before leaving. My default foreign language is French, which slipped out at the post office and other places that didn't understand English. A little "buenos dias, senior" would have helped over "bonjour, messieur" or "hola dude." No, I didn't say "dude," but I did think it.
We found the Roman Circus! A decision had to be made -- one attraction for 3 euros or 4 four for 7.40 euros. We'll take the four-pack! As we are paying for our tickets we learned one of the four is only open in the morning and therefore we can't go to it. Have a nice day!
Grumble, grumble.
We put a pause on the Roman Circus to find food. But, first we went to a building to see a 3-D map of the city because that building closed the earliest. It was free -- no ticket needed.
While there I eyed up a crepe place for lunch. I convinced Don a crepe could be lunch food (he was thinking of sweet crepes, not realizing they could also be savory). There was a long list of crepes with very stereotypical names. I had the Gringo crepe -- Gouda, guacamole, and white asparagus. Don had the Catalon crepe -- ham, cheese, spinach, and pine nuts. The service was best described as languid, a tough pace for Americans to appreciate. It was good, and filling.
We continued our walk to the ancient walls. It makes sense, but the walls grew taller over time as the needs of the locals grew. I did not make a lot of notes here probably because we were on the self-guided tour. We did meet an older couple from the United Kingdom (who happens to live in France) who took some terrific pictures of us -- not what I asked them to take, but much better. I jokingly said it might become our Christmas card photo, and they said "that's right you do that in America."
This was more what I thought I wanted:
More pictures from inside the walls:
One of the reasons I chose Saturday to go to Tarragona was because near the Cathedral there was going to be a Medieval Festival (which every time I say, I hear the lyrics "the king's festival" in my head). The festival was more like a local craft fair, they just happen to have Medieval-style artisans and games. I was in awe with how after winding through narrow roads the Cathedral is all of a sudden "there," much how it was a long time ago in Paris before homes were cleared to make way for a wide tourist-friendly plaza.
One more parting shot before heading back to Ancient Roman times:
We finally toured the Roman Circus. My brief notes say "many, many stairs -- from an open wooden 4-5 story staircase to a spiral stone one." There was an elevator for "the needy." Also many tunnels. Overall the pedometer recorded 30 flights of stairs.
Of note, in its day, Roman Circus was free for the general public. It was the main social activity for the area. I saw the wealthy paid a lot of money to make their presence know. I see this as early sponsorship opportunities.
Across the street, the amphitheater in Rome housed 125,000 spectators, this one only 25,000. Not many people lived in Tarragona at the time. I did not see how far they traveled to attend events. Roman Circus would have been connected to the Amphitheater in its day, but now they are two separate ticketed venues (or part of the four-pack).
We took a "Playbill" picture since we were in a "theater." Perhaps you need to be a theater geek to appreciate that.
Though the Roman Forum closed hours earlier, after having some gelato we walked over there.
Friends, Romans, Countrymen...lend us your ears!
By this point we were still hours away from the time on our train ticket. I took a gamble and said we would grab an earlier train. No one checked our tickets (not surprised based on the ride in). Until, that is, it was time to exit. Once again our e-ticket did not work with their turnstile so we had to show it to a guard. He took a look at it and waved us through -- two hours earlier than our train should have left Tarragona.
Whew!
Next up: find dinner and see the Magic Fountain show!
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