We arrived at the Little Bullocks B&B, a short taxi ride away from the airport, to find some homely delights, such as a friendly, warm house and large kitchen stocked with lots of food. We were impressed with our large room and the thoughtful touches such as magazines by the bedside and a wide variety of hot drinks including some delicious hot chocolates.
We had a relaxing and early night and a very early morning. It was very dark outside as we gulfed down breakfast and skittled to the waiting taxi in the drizzling rain.
For the £8 flights (and yes, that is for two) with Ryanair we didn’t pin very high expectations for our flying experience. It was 3am at the airport, and there was already a long line at the single check-in desk in the huge hall of check-in desks. We had a pleasant guy check us in. The analogue way. The poor soul was finding and marking names off a piece of paper. How budget could one get? At 3am we weren’t too bothered, but it we both thought some signage at the gate would have helped a lot. The Ryanair staff constantly got bombarded with the same questions as everyone lined up in confusion.
We landed in sunny Spain, in a town south of Barcelona called Reus. We took 15 minute taxi ride to Tarragona, our destination on our Spanish holiday. We arrived at Hotel Lauria, just off the city’s main strip La Rambla (two roads either side of a central pedestrian strip).
The hotel was basic, but bursting with 70’s décor. We had a balcony which looked out to the pool, and we were so close to the ocean, we could hear the waves crashing on the shore.
The great thing about catching a really early flight is that we had a full day in Tarragona. I don’t remember if the shops were even open yet, but we found our way through the cobbled streets, to a café for some coffee to wake oursleves up. After drinking the equivalent of hot milk in the UK, the Spanish coffee was strong. But we loved it and continued to enjoy numerous cups per day on our trip. This café was our favourite for the great coffee and friendly staff.
With no tourist guidebook, and just a map, we wondered the quiet streets of Tarragona.
We came across this cathedral and found the obscure entrance tucked away around several corners. We toured unearthed archaeological artefacts, the pretty gardens and finally found our way into the lofty cathedral. Its sheer size surprised us as it looked small from the outside.
Upon exiting, we got to see the true size, from the back streets.
We followed our instincts and exited the walls of the city to admire the stonework and house nested within it!
We made our way down to the water and to the remains of the amphitheatre by the sea. It was a spectacular site and we could only imagine the events that went on, as the sparkling ocean below lapped up on the shores.
Close by was the monument and museum called The Circus Praetorium, which provided rooftop views over Tarragona.
On the ground, we wondered into the tunnels and the tiny rooms.
One of the museum staff mentioned that Tarragona is literally built on top of Roman ruins and residences and commercial spaces often retained the ruins internally. We later found this bank, across the road from our favourite café.
Our full day of sight-seeing ended with a long walk along the beach.
And then pizza for dinner at a café.
The next morning we expected another quiet day, but right on our hotel doorstep was a long, bustling market on La Rambala, selling everything from small animals to shoes.
We continued our perusal in shops finding Zara and snapping up bags of clothes (when what you pay in Pounds equals that of Euros on price tags, how can one resist?). We also found tonnes of little boutiques such as this one where other purchases were made.
We spent the Spanish siesta time having a drink at a bar and then spent the rest of the day at the The Archaeological Museum (Museo Nacional Arqueologic), which told rich stories of life in Tarragona many, many lifetimes ago.
During our time in Tarragona we often felt like the only tourists in town. Nothing could have said this more, than a private screening at the museum, on a short history of Tarragona, or Tarraco, the city of eternal spring.
Our short time in this sleepy little place was over and it was time to depart the cobbled and stone seaside town.
Our next stop, Barcelona.
