A day in Girona

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We left Barcelona this morning and headed north to the lovely medieval town of Girona. Walking around the old walls - the Passeig Archeologic - was delightful. It's not a complete circuit like the walls of Jerusalem but instead weaves through gardens of cypruses, olive trees and flowering shrubs, up towers and into tiny corners and plazas, all accompanied by the bells of multiple churches at regular intervals.

After all the walking (not just today but over the past three weeks) it was great to stumble over 'Dr Fish', a spa that provides fish which nibble the dead skin off your feet. I've heard about them and always wanted to try it. It's a fabulous feeling, a little ticklish but very soothing. We should definitely have one at dance camps!

Girona had one of the largest and best-recorded Jewish communities pre-expulsion - including Nachmanides and various astronomers, doctors and poets of note - and has a significant Jewish museum. Like many Jewish museums it has the problem of trying simultaneously to teach non-Jews about Judaism (good work but not interesting to us) while also providing some deeper scholarship for Jewish audiences. I think the Jewish Museum in Melbourne actually does it better than most. The Girona Jewish Museum was a little obvious for us but there were some interesting bits : a copy of the expulsion edict, the remains of the mikveh and the original welcome stone from a major synagogue.

After that we indulged in a visit to the famous Creperie Bretonne (lemon honey crepe and salted caramel ice cream - no weight watcher tracking on holiday!) and are now relaxing in a shady hotel courtyard. This is the life!

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