Pauline's perfect planning...

Our current big adventure has pretty much all been down to Pauline's planning skills and attention to detail and so far has gone very smoothly. Her choice of hotel for our stopover in Tarragona however proved to be a masterstroke. We were a little early on arrival so it was suggested we might want to partake of a refreshment on the rooftop bar while our room was being finished, we didn't waste any time and were soon up having a welcome drink and admiring the views, which were stunning!

The views also proved that the hotel's location was also perfect for enjoying the treasures of the place. After settling in we headed out to explore the city. We  first headed for Tarragona's well-preserved Roman amphitheatre which was literarily a stones throw from the hotel.

Then it was up the steps into the heart of the city to find one of the many plazas to have lunch.

We ended up at a small family run tapas restaurant in Placa del Forum where we had a lovely lunch and some rose wine in a fine ambiance. 

After lunch we wandered through the narrow streets uncovering more delights before arriving at the mighty 12th century cathedral (will do a separate post on this)...it was huge!

After visiting the cathedral we decided to return to our hotel to catch the sunset from the rooftop terrace.

Then it was back into the city for dinner and a look at their Christmas lights...

Oh and by the way did I say how great the hotel was?

In the footsteps of Charles Rennie Mackintosh...

 

While staying in Perpignan we took advantage of the 3 euro train trip down to Port Vendres close to the Spanish border. It was a wee bit of a pilgrimage for us as this is where he spent the last four years of his life as a painter. There is a local association dedicated to keeping the memory of his time spent here and other parts of the region alive.

There used to be a small museum dedicated to his works but the association now works out of a small 'shop' which was sadly closed for winter. Although peering inside we did not appear to be missing much as the main focus was on a large book showing his paintings  plus the history of his time spent here and we already own it, it was this that had brought us here.

It is a picturesque town, still largely unspoiled, where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean and it is easy to see what brought him and many other painters here.

There is a path to follow that takes you to many of the spots he did his paintings from which we decided to do...but only after a spot of lunch by the harbour with a glass of sangria to start, well are nearly in Spain!

While sitting there we reminded ourselves how lucky we are to be able to have these little adventures!  

After lunch we headed out on our walk to catch the views of CRM and walk in his footsteps.

Part of the path led uphill on a rather dicey patch so I suggested to Pauline she should walk out to the end of the pier and I would try the climb before joining her there.

The further I climbed the worse it got underfoot but the views were amazing!

On the way up I had crossed a narrow road so I chose this as the easier way down. Unbeknown to me Pauline had got a wee bit anxious and had been texting me as she lost sight of me on my climb but my phone had used up its data so I was not receiving them!

Did eventually phone her during my decent as thought she might be a 'wee bit anxious'...she was!!

We met up again on the low footpath and walked back into town safe and well.