Walk Around Tarragona

After about an hour on a bus from Barcelona, we arrived at the city of Tarragona, Spain.  The city became part of the Roman Empire after the Second Punic War against Carthage in 218 BC.  At the time, it was known as Tarraco and became the provincial capital for centuries.

At one time, the wall below, surrounded the city. Now, there are only sections of the wall left standing.  The rest was torn down as the city grew or were used as part of new architecture throughout the city.  The large stones along the bottom were part of the Roman wall built in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC.  The smaller stones were part of the medieval expansion and the part coming out from the rest of the wall is a fortification built to defend against Napoleon's invasion.

At the top of the hill, we came across a parade with the man of many noses or L'Home Del's Nassos. 

It is a Catalan tradition of a nose on his face with as many days as there are left in the year.  The story goes that he is ashamed of his face until December 31st when he come out and look like a normal person. When he comes out, he throws caramels to the children hhile he leads a parade through the streets. Our guide happened to have grown up in Tarragona and knew the parade route, so we were there at the start and the end, but were able to see other parts of the city in between because thw crowds were with the parade.

Tarragona has a Rambla as well. At its base is a monument to Roger L'luria who defended the city.  He is facing away from the Mediterranean Sea and facing the city.

The Balco Del Mediterrani is a 40 meter high balcony that provides a beautiful view of the sea.