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Published: November 8th 2009
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The morning of our second full day on the Mediterranean we were once again greeted with a grey haze, but soon beautiful blue skies, white fluffy clouds, and sunshine came through and made for a glorious day. Comme d'habitude, we first set out for our morning café crème and croissant, this time at a different little bakery in the old town. These were just almond croissants, but the warm and creamy almond paste inside left us quite happy.
Taking advantage of the sun, we decided we'd head up past the old town to the Tour Bellanda, a mid 19th century tower that supposedly was to offer spectacular views of the cityscape. First, however, we stumbled upon the city's cemetary, an absolutely incredible maze of old tombs and small mausoleums. With the backdrop of the old town and the ocean it was truly breathtaking. I wish American cemeteries weren't so boring...even the oldest in the country in New England are just so plain and puritanical.
Next to the Catholic cemetary was the Cimitière Israélite, the Jewish cemetary. Sorry Jews, but the Catholics really put you to shame here. There were some elegant tombs, but nothing like next door. Continuing along
the path, we finally arrived at the tower, and the views were stunning. Aquamarine blue water washing up on the shore, the sunlight illuminating the golden buildings with their red stucco rooftops, and of course the mountains and blue skies in the background.
Once we'd had our fill, we went down the steps and headed down to the water, first venturing further toward the old port. We eventually made it down to the beach to say we touched the Mediterranean - it wasn't exactly a hot bath but I most certainly could have swam in it.
Back in the town we walked again through the Cours Saleya, which was now turned into an antique market. We rummaged through some things, but most of what was displayed was legit antique and cost quite a bit of money. No fireking peach lustre, unfortunately!
Continuing on our way, we grabbed a bite to eat at a stand with pizzas and things like that before spending a couple of hours shopping. I couldn't help but buy some things at H&M since we don't have one in Andorra, and then got a nice scarf from Zara. Recharging with another round of café
Sainte-Reparate Cathedral
17th Century construction crème, we ventured further away from the center in search of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Apparently the largest outside of Russia, St. Nicholas Cathedral was beautiful, particularly as the sun began to set. The neighborhood it was in was extremely ethnic - tons of shops and restaurants - Russian, Moroccan, South East Asian, Indian, Portuguese, etc.
On our way back to the hotel for a short rest, we continued to shop and I got myself a nice pair of leather boots for fall/winter. We then picked up a round of Kronenbourgs and went and sat in the old town before a dinner of.....surprise! musseld! We couldn't resist the menu outside describing them in a cream sauce with lardons, white wine, crème fraîche, mushrooms, onions...It was here that we engaged in a language battle...
Despite the fact that in public we speak to one another in Catalan - legit, not even a word in English when we walk into a store, restaurant - some people just can't resist practicing their English for some reason. At this restaurant, when the waiter spewed out something in English, Alex quickly responded with something to the effect of "we don't speak English. get
over it". To be a jackass, the waiter then legitimately said everything in English for the rest of the meal. Why do people insist upon speaking horrrrrrrid English when it is much easier to just communicate in French? Le sigh...
Anyway, dinner was good, and since Kelsey had yet to try some lavender ice cream, we stopped back at the ice cream place in the same plaza. Twas quite a fulfilling day and we were happy to retire and rest up for another day of adventure.
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Mom
non-member comment
Hey, thanks for keeping an eye out for fireking peach lustre! Don't forget about those sparkly stretchy bracelets.