The Road to Tortosa

But first, can we talk about the weather?  The weather has been perfect here in Spain.  We were watching temperatures for the past couple of weeks and it's been hot everywhere. It was around 74 degrees and overcast in Barcelona and even cooler here in Tortosa. It has been storming here in Tortosa for about an hour but we don't mind because we have nothing to do until the 9:30 dinner and we have a lovely balcony to watch the storm from. If the weather continues to cool off, we can have a perfect record of always bringing the wrong clothes to Europe.

The train ride to Tortosa said "express" when I got the tickets but by that, they meant there were only about 8 stops before we got here. Tortosa was the end of the line.  We got the one taxi that was sitting outside the station and made our way up to the castle. The castle is at the top of a mountain, of course, because that's the best place from which to defend yourself. We have yet to find out from whom these people were defending themselves.

The castle was built in the 10th century. We want to find out when it was renovated. The rooms are spacious, there's a beautiful pool, and the bathrooms are huge. I realize we've stayed in only two places so far but we have concluded that Spain has the best bathrooms in Europe.

V & Nicole at the castle hotel

There is a nice restaurant here as well as a bar that serves tapas and sandwiches. The restaurant is closed for lunch so we had sandwiches in the bar.  It may sound boring that we have eaten sandwiches for lunch everyday but honestly, European sandwiches are the best. They're always multi-layered with meat, cheese, lettuce and often egg. Lola's club sandwich had chicken, bacon, ham, cheese, lettuce, and a fried egg on it. My roast beef sandwich had lettuce, cheese, and a sliced hard-boiled egg.

Nicole and some of the other wedding guests just spent three nights camping at a nearby delta. Nicole said it was beautiful. By camping, they mean staying in 2 bedroom bungalows with private baths. The campground has a pool and store. The price is 15 euros a night.  It sounds like my kind of camping.

This pre-wedding dinner at 9:30 is actually early for the Spainards. If you want to eat at 10 or later, it is best to make a reservation.  Most of the restaurants in Barcelona reopen for dinner at 8 or 8:30.  Tonight, dinner is down the mountain in the town. Here's some of the town:

View of Tortosa from the Parador de Tortosa