Girona

Girona is the capital city of the area we live in and the name of the comarca. A comarca is comparable to a state, but it's not really the same. Anyway, it's a gorgeous city. Wonderful! It's this wonderful combination of the old and the new. There are great restaurants, beautiful old buildings, tiny little streets, little public gardens, playgrounds and more swallows than I have ever seen collectively in my whole life. I believe they are European swallows.

Girona Cathedral

At least once a week we end up in Girona. We go there for church. For the first month of Sundays that we were here we had to catch a bus at 8:15 am, which got us to Girona at about 9, and church doesn't start until 10:30. Then after church ended at 1:30 there wasn't another bus until 4:45. So, we wound up packing breakfast and lunch and just spending all day in Girona. And we did a lot of exploring. It was a whole lot of fun, but very exhausting as well. And hot. Girona is so, so hot. It is hotter than the coast, because you don't get those nice sea breezes inland. Anyway, now the bus leaves at 9:30 am and another leaves at 2:00 pm, so staying in Girona will now be optional, which is nice.

Katie in front of the river and the Girona's Church (that's not the cathedral, though they are right next to each other) There is a story that says that this church looked just like a church in France that was right across the Pyrenees, with two spires. So, when Napoleon tried to invade Spain, in his obnoxious and deadly attempt to conquer Europe, he shot one of the spires down with a cannon, so that it wouldn't be the same as the French one. I have no idea how accurate that is, but I really don't like Napoleon, so I'm guessing it's true. (Update: This story is not true. Oh well.)

Like many European cities, one of the most spectacular structures is a cathedral, and Girona is no exception. But, like most things that you want to take a great picture of in Europe, they are doing reconstructive work on it. I think this may be a conspiracy set up by the post card producers. Anyway, the Cathedral is set up on a hill, and it overlooks the whole city. It's pretty amazing really. Every time I see one of these great buildings I'm stroke with how futile it must have seemed when they were laying the first brick. And then, a couple hundred years later or so, it's done. And I get frustrated when the computer takes three whole minutes to do something. Stupid computer. We've been in the cathedral several times, because it is free on Sundays. Zach likes to look at their museum relicts, but I can only take so many pieces of the original cross and femurs of the baby Jesus, before my ice cream sandwich starts to resemble to martyred St. Sebastian, so I stick to the Cathedral itself. Virtually every cathedral has two things in common: it will be mind bogglingly cold inside, no matter what the weather is like, and there be a strong, almost overpowering, but still quite nice smell of incense. Always.

Now here are a bazillion more photos of Girona. I have another bazillion or two, but I don't know if you can handle that much gloriousness all at once. So here ya go, glory installment #1:

This is the plaque in front of a shrine on the path behind the cathedral. It says: On this spot, on the 4^th of February 1975, our Lord left the impression of his bleeding holy foot in the mud." That is all. And those are my feet at the bottom.

Zach, pushing the stroller up one of Girona's many, many hills. And that is the church at the top. Also, note the awesome stone work. Sweet stuff.

Garden Ruins behind the Cathedral. Notice how Zach is standing off in the shade? Have I mentioned that the sun here is incredibly strong? You do
not stay in the sun if you can avoid it. It's just too hot. And that's not just for sun wussy's like me, Zach, the Arizona Man, is sticking to that as well.

Girona Cathedral

This is not the one Napoleon supposedly shot down a spire from, but there is only one spire. I was a little confused at first two.

Katie and Sam after having climbed up all the steps. I don't know why Sam is making that face.

Sam walking down the steps. This only lasted a little while because he kept trying to run off.

Ben, Sam, Zach & Katie in Girona.

Oh, and see that red tractor that Ben is holding? It got run over by a car in Barcelona. I wish I were joking. Girona is so way more awesome than Barcelona. Hands down!