Temps de Flores …Flowers and more flowers ,,, no bikes

An early start to seek breakfast in town … we are about a 15 minute walk away.

We enter the Old Town via one of the many bridges over the Onyar River, the temptation is there to take yet another pic of the colourful buildings on the river, it’s around 9.15am and the narrow streets are mostly deserted. Large metal roller doors are down of what was a bustling shop yesterday. The occasional door half open as the owner has arrived and getting ready for a day’s trading.

We recognise some of the flower displays from our hectic entrance yesterday no crowd at the moment. We cross the river again at another bridge and see an array of flower exhibitions in the Placa de la Independencia, on of Girona’s most popular squares featuring many restaurants, the flowers are amazing like all the exhibitions in the city during this Flower Festival. A small cafe attracts John’s eye and we settle for coffee and pastries.

The city is now coming alive … doors open, brooms out and shopkeepers are doing the last minute touch ups before a day’s trading. The tourist office gave us some guidance and sadly the path walk along the top of the city wall is closed while there are so many tourists in town. I’m taken back by school displays for the festival … one arcade designated to entrants from schools.

A walk on the outside of the wall then we venture inside again to explore the Jewish Quarter; so have many others … yes it’s started again for what proves another busy day. People everywhere and ushers directing tourists in a one way direction. The views of the narrow alleys coupled with the aged walls makes it a mecca for the keen photographer. There are no bad photos, flowers are the attraction for many and the city has done it so well. There is a reason it attracts so many people to the area.

Weaving through the alleys of the Jewish Quarter and people following, some on a guided tour we stumbled upon an open Jewish house leading us up small staircases, through arches all adorned with floral displays.

Another photo pic from the Pont de les Peixateries Velles (One of Girona’s 11 bridges, Eiffel Bridge (Pont de les Peixateries Velles) shines bright red and spans the place where four rivers meet. Eiffel’s Parisian architecture firm constructed this bridge before it built the Eiffel Tower.) I was most interested with this as I recently saw the movie ‘Eiffel’.