#11: A Day in Girona

On Wednesday we left Sabadell and went to Girona, which was another nice city not far from the French border.  I really liked Girona a lot!  The tour guide took us to a centuries old statue of what looked like some sort of polecat with a smushed face.  Supposedly it was a lion (obviously the artist had never seen a real one) and legend says that if you climb up the pole and kiss the lion, you'll return to Girona someday.  Since then, the city was kind enough to build some stairs to help you ascend.  Most of the class took turns kissing the lion--Genny's son M went first!  I was a little freaked out because there was no wet nap or sanitizer dispenser for me to wipe off the lion before I kissed it, but I lived, so I guess it's a good sign.

Julie right before she kissed the lion.  (She had been to Girona before anyway.)

As we walked around the city, I became very glad that I had taken my chances and smooched the statue!  Girona is very old and very beautiful.  It looks like a typical European city, or I guess what TV always showed us.  We visited the cathedral there and the museum (where I got in trouble for taking pictures).  The main thing to see in Girona is their fascinating collection of medieval artifacts like books, paintings, and jewelry.  The biggest attraction is the Tapestry of Creation, which was made in the 11th century and is remarkably well-preserved (again, no pictures--sorry!).  The tapestry was in its own room separated from the viewing area by a thick glass wall and minimal light (there's something called photodegrading, which is when an object loses color or decays over time because of harsh light exposure.  This process can be exacerbated by camera flash).

On the bridge, looking downriver.  (I think this pic makes me look very European.)

After the tour, we were free to explore the city on our own.  Our guide recommended that we go to the Independence Plaza to find the best restaurants.  Lindsey, Ellen and I went to a german restaurant with a delicious menu.  I had a frankfurter with bacon and cheese and some patatas bravas (a spanish tapas dish--seasoned, diced potatoes covered in a thick, creamy, tangy sauce).  The patatas bravas were some of the best I've ever had!  I also ordered cider to drink, thinking it would be a mug of apple cider.  It was hard cider--pretty much beer made from apples.  It wasn't bad, but I wasn't crazy about it.

We also found a shop that sells caganers!  Remember, the caganer was the guy pooping in the Catalonian nativity scene.  Well, this shop had all sorts of famous people as caganers.  I should have bought one.

 American politicians make very popular caganers.  This shop had President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, former President Bush, Dick Cheney, and for some odd reason, Elvis. 

On the walk back to the bus Ellen and I decided to use the restroom because we weren't sure how long it would be to France.  Most shops in small towns don't have public restrooms, or if they do, you have to buy something first (and they won't let you grab something off the discount rack, let me tell you!).  Instead we went to the city public restrooms, under an overpass.  That was... an experience.  Basically, as soon as you walk in, there are the stalls to your right and the sinks to your left.  The end!

Ellen is staring into the men's bathroom next door.  AWKWARD TURTLE!

We drove across the border into France and stayed in the city of Perpignan.  According to Patrice (Julie's husband, and another professor at our college), Perpignan is pretty but compared to other french cities, it's ugly.  I liked it.  The hotel was very stylish and modern on the inside.  It was also conveniently located near the commercial center of town, so it was a quick walk to just about anything.  Lindsey, Bethany and I put down our stuff and walked around the neighborhood.  We found a great little shop called Visca (which means Viva in Catalan), that sold TONS of Catalonian merchandise.  I bought a really cool poster of a map of all the Catalonian regions (ignoring the political boundaries of France, Spain and Andorra).  We also asked questions to the shopkeeper that dealt with some of the topics we've been discussing in class, and she provided great answers.  The only downside (for the rest of the class!) is that I'm the only person who speaks French in the class (so do Julie and Patrice, but they're professors).  There are maybe 3 other people who have studied it, but they didn't progress to a level where they could speak without much trouble.  At Visca, Lindsey and Bethany asked questions in English and I translated them to French, then translated the answers back.  I had so much fun!  Translation and interpretation is really what I'm cut out to do for a living.

That night we went to a restaurant down the block from the hotel.  The food was good but a little odd.  First course was a spinach salad with a half-cooked egg on top as dressing.  I'm weird about not having food fully cooked (salmonella, anyone?) so I didn't try it.  Second course was a fish (cod, i believe) stuffed with something tasty with rizotto on the side.  Unfortunately, something in the fish or stuffing gave me a horrible allergic reaction, and I left right after dessert (chocolate truffle).  I crashed for the entire night.

If you're interested in the next set of pictures, you can view them here.  Remember, the album is open to the public so you don't need to log into facebook (or create one if don't have an account) to view them.