Amy and I got going early and caught the 9:10 train to Girona. \240Girona is a cool old medieval town whose \240origins date back to the Roman times. \240It’s best known for the two main churches (Girona Cathedral and Sant Felix Basilica) and it’s well preserved Jewish quarter (El Call). \240Game of Thrones used it for a location in season six.

We got to Girona around 9:50 and immediately headed for the Cathedral. \240It was cool to walk through the narrow winding streets and then come upon the cathedral with its grand staircase.

Scene from Game of Thrones

The interior was quite impressive. \240It is the second widest cathedral in the world after St. Peter’s in Rome. \240We were also treated to the organ playing, which made the atmosphere even more cool.

Play the above video and you can hear the organ music.

We had an audio guide that gave the history and context of the building. \240That attached cloisters were quite cool \240(and cold! It rained for bit today. \240You will notice that Amy bough a hat and scarf to stay warm).

After the cathedral we walked back through the winding streets to grab lunch at a pizza place.

Interesting door knocker.

Another scene from Game of Thrones below.

After lunch and warming up, we headed back to the old town and crossed the river Onyar on a bridge designed by Gustav Eiffel before he built his tower in France.

We then walked over to the Sant Felix Basilica.

While not as interesting as the cathedral, the basilica had some fascinatingl features.

Saint Narcissus casting a demon away (with a head for a rear end!)

A third century sarcophagus built into the wall.

Once done with the basilica we took a quick tour of the Arab Baths from the twelfth century. \240They offered some nice views of the city from the roof.

I then took in the Jewish history museum while Amy walk around the city. \240There was a thriving Jewish community in Girona for 600 years until all the Jews were expelled in 1492. \240The Jewish quarter in Girona is one of the best preserved in all of Europe.

On the way back we walked to the top on one of the Roman walls with more beautiful views of the city.

On the way to the train station we came upon a Spanish Civil War (1936-39) era bomb shelter. \240Franco’s Republicans did not like Catalunya so much and sent bombing air raids. \240Girona was hit over the course of a couple of nights.

We caught the 5:20 train to Barcelona. \240We hung out at our place waiting to hear from Luke, got some empanadas for dinner, and met Ellie as she got off the bus from the airport and brought her back to our place. Back to touristing in Barcelona tomorrow.