Venturing Forth: Girona

We got to our hotel in the old part of town around 7:30 pm and went out for dinner around 9pm. We were sort of trying to get to a place the woman at the front desk had recommended but missed a turn somewhere and found a charming corner with several restaurant options. We went for Basque tapas at Zanpanzar. Lining the bar were pinxtos, like elaborate crostini. Slices of bread were covered with different toppings like mashed leek and eggplant topped with an anchovy or roast red pepper and grilled chanterelle. They were all cold or at room temperature and you could just go up to the bar and pick which ones you wanted. You could also order hot tapas. We got a selection of pinxtos and ordered chorizo and a plate of grilled vegetables. All this was more than enough food given that we had said we were just going to have a light dinner! Hard cider seems to be the traditional accompaniment for Basque tapas.

In the morning after breakfast we took a walk on the old defensive wall that goes around the backside of the old city. It’s a good three stories tall. The front is bordered by a river. Maybe there used to be a wall on the other side too, I’m not sure. The old part of the city is built on a hill and has a large number of large stone churches and church associated buildings as well as apartment buildings.

There used to be a large Jewish quarter here too. The streets are all cobblestone and many flights of steps lead from one area to another. The tall buildings and narrow streets mean that the streets are rather dim except where an intersection forms a small open space. Houses are built right along the river and several bridges cross over to a slightly newer part of town. We also walked through the cathedral near our hotel which was softly filled with the sound of priests singing in a side chapel.

Garden with olive tree along the wall

On the wall

typical street in the old quarter

We had lunch at Café Le Bistrot at an intersection of two sets of stairs and a road. Tables were set up in the open plaza area and you could get lunch of one or two courses with dessert and wine for 12 – 15 euros. Jake got an onion bread pudding sort of thing in a manchego sauce that the server recommended. It tasted wonderfully rich. My appetizer was the traditional escalivada, grilled vegetables, in this case eggplant, onions, and red pepper. We both got the duck confit with rice and chickpeas for our main course. A big leg and thigh of slow cooked duck in a gravy. For dessert we shared a slice of chocolate cake and a bowl of raspberry sorbet. I had a bold red wine of unknown origin to accompany my meal.

After a nap I went out to explore the other side of the river. I started in the Devesa, the floodplain forest turned park at the intersection of two rivers. Large sycamores dominate the park. A huge fair was being set up throughout the park, so it was not the peaceful walk I’d hoped for! I walked back into town and meandered through the shops and squares on that side. There are lots of tourists in town, mostly from England and France. There do seem to be more people here in the day time that must come in on tour buses. It’s really a lovely town and well worth a couple day visit if not longer. There are some longer walks out into the countryside that look interesting that we aren’t going to have time to do.