Ramble
Quest - Lingering Girona
I went to Girona a few days before I'd originally planned, just in case I loved the place. I do love the place. The charms of the medieval center are well known. Walks along the several long stretches of old city walls are simply breath-taking. Getting lost in the narrow streets of the Call, the old Jewish Quarter, or winding up the many ancient stairways are the stuff of dreams. The newer part of the city is not without some Modernist gems, particularly from Rafael Masó. The surounding countryside is equally wonderful, providing perfect hiking opportunities. It's definitely a town to linger in!
I wound up visiting all of Girona's museums, starting with the outstanding one inside the magnificent Gothic Cathedral. The Cathedral purports to have the world's second largest nave, after St. Peter's, I believe, although I've seen Chartres make a claim as well. The Cathedral doesn't feel immense though, but tall, dark, and curiously alluring. The second floor of the side courtyard provides wonderful hidden views outside. Among its many great art works, is the Beatus of Liébana's Apocalypse, an ornately decorated manuscript from 975. But, perhaps the most impressive piece is the 12th Century Tapestry of Creation. What's amazing about this tapestry is its originally for its age. I've never seen anything remotely like it, dated from the same time period. I'm mesmerized by its uniqueness.
The five municipal museums have a good deal on a ticket where, after paying for one full admission, you then pay half price at the other four. Plus they are reasonably priced to begin with. The City Museum is disorganized, but still well worth a look. The Jewish History Museum is a bit sparce, but worth visiting if only for its old tombstones and marvelous courtyard inside the former synagogue. The Archaeological Museum has a sparce collection, but it is located in the former Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants, and well worth going inside just to see the Romaneque building.
The relatively new Cinema Museum is a real surprise, for a few reasons, the first being the question of why Girona would have a Cinema Museum in the first place. The answer is that they have the donation of the large Tomŕs Mallol collection, which is a fascinating group of pieces, but the emphasis is clearly on the pre-cinema era. Mallol was a photographer and amateur cinema enthusiast. There are a very few movie star artifacts, such as a dress from "Gentleman Prefer Blondes", but the vast majority of the exceptional collection documents early photography and moving images.
The Art Museum, housed in a cool, old Palau Episcopal building (which was also used as a jail at one time), is the best of the lot, well worth a half day in itself. The regular collection includes two gems from the Poblet Monastery: a gothic alterpiece and a fascinationg 15th century Codex of Martyrology, with lusciously grotesque illustrations of how the saints got whacked. One of the temporary displays was a large exhibit of local travel posters, some more than 80 years old, and a real treat for a travel junkie.
The Valley of Sant Daniel is easily accessible from town by foot, yet I was thwarted during my first attempt to hike through there by the many large dogs that kept maniacally jumping out at me. On my next attempt, I took a more orthodox route along the Sant Daniel road and didn't have any problems. Along the way I come across several old fountains, which are not all that unusual in Spain. For some bizarre reason, I can never resist taking a drink from them, even through the area around them is often trashed and at the very best, the taste of the iffy water will be rusty.
Signs point the way to a "Sant Michael" and I follow them despite not having any idea of what it is. Really, I don't care. Aside from one noisy stretch while passing under a busy highway, the hiking in the rural countryside more than justifies the excuse of any destination. Yet the outing becomes even more special when Saint Michael turns out to be deserted castle ruins high on a hill with absolutely wonderful views from its tower. I loved it so much I wound up hiking out here on another day as well, both jaunts in perfect sunny weather, and was very, very glad to be a traveler.