Travels With Clo

I was sat on SkyScanner one evening, when I came across £4 flights to Reus, Spain that departed in the morning, and returned two days later in the evening.

Knowing that this was an absolute bargain, I immediately began researching what there was to do in Reus. That was when I stumbled upon the hidden gem of Tarragona.

Tarragona is a port city in northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region. Many ancient ruins remain from its time as the Roman colony of Tarraco- right up my street.

So, we booked the flights, and off we flew!

Day 1

Flying out of Leeds, we arrived into Reus at 10:40, and caught a taxi into the centre of Tarragona (about a 15 minute drive).

As always, we had a very chilled-out first day. We grabbed some lunch and moseyed around the shops, before checking into our hotel in the afternoon.

Since the flights were so cheap, we splashed out a little more on the room, and booked a deluxe suite.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach, admiring the blue water and walking along the rocks.

For dinner, we visited a tapas bar (a theme that will continue for the rest of the holiday). We ordered Patatas Bravas with fried eggs and chorizo, and liver. We then stopped off at the supermarket on the way back to the hotel room, to stock up on Lemon Fanta, as Callum had never tried it, and it tastes so much better in Spain.

Day 2

Our balcony overlooked the Plaça de Corsini, which was full of bars and little coffee shops. Whilst sipping on our morning coffee, we spotted the 3 Gats bar cafeteria, where we headed for our breakfast.

Fuelled for the day, we were ready to begin our whistle stop tour of all Tarragona had to offer.

Our first stop was the Balcó del Mediterrani, overlooking the sea. We stopped for a few pictures, but I was very anxious to get to our first attraction of the day.

The Amfiteatre de Tarragona came into view from the top of the hill, and I was lost for words. The Coliseum in Rome has always been on my bucket list, and this was the closest I had come to it.

Now a UNESCO world heritage site, the amphitheater was built at the end of the 1st century AD, and could house up to 15,000 spectators.

We then went to the Circa Roma, which was a surprisingly expansive site. There are serpentine caverns beneath the city, incredible views from the Monk’s tower, and the ruins of the circus itself (chariot racing track).

We planned on visiting the Archaeology museum next, but it was closed for refurbishment, so instead we found a tapas bar for lunch.

In the afternoon, we visited the Wall of Tarragona and gardens, the model of Tarragona and the cathedral, before a well-deserved Vodka-Fanta lemon break.

We then headed to the outskirts of the town to visit the Necròpolis paleocristiana de Tarragona. This cemetery is one of the best-known and preserved late Roman (3rd-5th centuries AD) cemeteries in the Roman Empire. It was discovered during the construction of a tobacco factory, and has provided invaluable information into the death rituals of the Romans.

Our final ruins of the day was the Colonial Forum, the social hub of Roman Tarraco. Tarragona’s forum was built in approximately 30 B.C., and today only a portion of the basilica remains, a building with three naves that once held the court of justice and was sometimes used for meetings of the city council.

After a long day exploring, we ventured out once more into the Plaça de Corsini, to Bar Mut and tried even more tapas!

Day 3

After a busy day yesterday, our final day in Spain was for relaxation. We returned to 3 Gats bar cafeteria for our breakfast, trying out some different delicious pastries.

We then packed up our backpacks and headed back to the beach for the day. The weather was incredible, topping 32 degrees, and was perfect for getting a suntan.

At lunchtime, we wandered over to one of the pier bars, where we tried some delicious cocktails and pizza.

We then returned to the beach for the afternoon, before catching a taxi back to the airport at 7pm, for our flight home.