Mom woke up early as usual and went to the store to get some provisions for the day, and once she returned she woke everyone else.
I started off the day by taking a shower then eating some coco krispies, which were delicious. I was very excited for today because I had planned and mapped out an entire walking tour in Gerona, Spain.
The walking tour would hit many of the different settings for some scenes in the ever so popular TV series, Game of Thrones, including the Great Sept of Baelor(the Gerona Cathedral), as well as many of the settings for scenes in season 6, with Arya Stark in Braavos.
We left the apartment at 10:30, and set off towards Gerona. Once we arrived in Gerona, we had to figure out where to park, which proved a little difficult. (Parent note: Matt is becoming quite adept at maneuvering our very large and unwieldy van around extremely tight corners meant for tiny European sedans!). Once we finally got parked, we headed over to the start of my tour.
I started my tour at the Eiffel Bridge, which, you guessed it, was designed by the same guy who designed the Eiffel Tower.
After the Eiffel Bridge, we started trekking up towards our first setting of many from the Game of Thrones series, La Pujada de Sant Domènec, which in the show is called the Braavos Market from season 6, in the scene where Arya Stark was stabbed and falls down the steps. Connor and Kayla decided to recreate the scene by "falling" down the steps themselves.
After that we walked up towards the Torre Gironella, the ruins of a turret from the old city wall. The ruins were quite cool and were up on a hill, so you could see over the entire city.
We then went down towards the old city walls, which we were able to walk on around part of the city, which had many beautiful views, and Kayla was only able to do it because she had Connor holding one arm, Mom holding the other, Dad in front of her, and me behind her.
After walking the walls we walked down through the Jewish quarter headed towards the Great Cathedral, which had more archways than any other place I’d ever seen, meaning Kayla was in heaven.
Upon arriving at the cathedral Connor was very excited as this cathedral was cast as the Great Sept of Baelor in the Game of Thrones series, and he was keen on recreating part of a scene called, “the walk of shame”. Once he had done that, Griffin and I went inside of the cathedral because our tickets were very cheap.
The interior of the cathedral was very cool, even though it was not in Game of Thrones. There were a bunch of stained glass murals that were quite cool, as well as an open courtyard and a treasury that had a one thousand year old book, a one thousand year old tapestry, along with other artifacts.
While we were in the cathedral, the rest of the gang ate lunch on the steps, and once we got out, we ate our lunch as well, which consisted of, you guessed it, sandwiches! (Parent note: don't tell the kids, but I almost had my own private sandwich rebellion, but was able to soldier through!)
After eating we walked over to the Basilica de Sant Feliu, which griffin and I entered as well because our tickets were for both the cathedral and the basilica. The basilica was nowhere near as cool as the cathedral, but it was still alright.
After the basilica we walked to the Ferran el Catòlic Street and Archaeological Walk, which is another site in Game of Thrones, the Braavos Port Market.
After that we walked along a different part of the wall(which Kayla did not do), and then we had a decision to make. We could either take a 25 minute walk uphill to the ruins of a castle, or we could go downhill towards the river and walk along it and go across the many bridges. While discussing this, griffin made a rude comment and you guessed it, got yet another Bitch Mint.
We decided on the second option, so we set off for the river. Upon arriving at the first bridge we found, we went across, and then walked up to the next bridge, and went back across. This went on for a couple of bridges until we finally decided that we’d had enough bridges for one day, and called it a day. We went back to the car and drove off.
(Parent note: Gerona was truly a delight. Not just because of the Game of Thrones connection, but the old town is, in my view, the best living example of a city from hundreds of years ago. The old stone buildings are practically on top of each other, with tiny roads and walkways crisscrossing in every direction and stairs around every other corner. And this is still a vibrant city - certainly with many tourists, but it seemed more authentic than many places we've been. One of my favorite stops on this trip! Due in part to our fabulous tour guide, I am sure!)
On the drive home there was only one person asleep, which was Griffin (a common theme, perhaps?). Once home, Mom, Dad, Connor, and Kayla went to the store, griffin took a little rest and then went to the soccer field to workout. Once the store crew returned with burgers for dinner, Dad cooked them up and threw some French fries in the oven. Once we had eaten, Connor put some Top Gear on the TV and we watched it until people went to bed.
(Thank you for your patience with the photos)
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