Tarragona day trip

Having exhausted ourselves of Barcelona and its tourists, we took a day trip down the coast to Tarragona, an old Roman stronghold. On the train, we passed by posh beach resorts and serene Mediterranean villas that were a nice break from the hustle and bustle of BCN.

Tarragona turned out to be a terrific day trip, because, in addition to being pretty devoid of tourists, it’s a great example of how Europeans just live amongst their history without really thinking too much about it. Roman amphitheaters just sit next to the beach, and are recycled from gladiator pits to churches to political arenas. People live in houses that share walls with Medieval city walls.

The Roman Amphitheater in Tarragona

Roman circus ruins in Tarragona

A tunnel underneath the Roman Circus in Tarragona

But my main goal was to see the Roman aqueduct in Tarragona. The Pont de Diable was not in the town center, and sits all by its lonesome out in the middle of a nondescipt valley. After about four bus trips in which we made complete fools out ourselves to all the bus drivers, information center employees, and locals in Tarragona, we finally found the Pont de Diable. Which was well worth it, since one can actually walk across it…

Tempting the devil on the Pont de Diable aqueduct

Satisfied from our conquest of the aqueduct, we headed back to Barcelona, where we had atrocious (but cheap) tapas. We were too tired to care, and we slept well eagerly awaiting one last treasure in Barcelona...