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Tarragona & Tortosa – My Historic Weekend Break on Costa Dorada

Tarragona & Tortosa – My Historic Weekend Break on Costa Dorada

Tarragona + Tortosa Trip

My latest trip to Tortosa brought back memores. If you have already read my post about Tarragona 23 years on you´ll know that last weekend I spent 3 days the region. This region South from Barcelona is somewhere I spent a lot of time when I was a student. This time I stayed in Tarragona itself and visited the region around Tortosa & the Delta del Ebro.

The excuse for my visit was to participate in a Bloggers Conference. Travel Bloggers Meeting – TBMCatSur. This took place on 17th-20thMay in the Palau de Congressos de Tarragona. Over 100 bloggers descended on this historic city to meet up and also experience this fabulous location.

Tarragona Cathedral Catalonia Spain by piccavey

Tarragona

Tarragona is over 700kms from my hometown of Granada. I travelled there with AVE High speed train and stayed in Tarragona city centre at the Hotel Ciutat de Tarragona

This city is captivating, particularly for historic enthusiasts, lots of Roman walls, relics and buildings. The highlight is a magnificent Amphitheatre situated next to the sea.

This group of monuments has UNESCO World Heritage recognition. I am collecting UNESCO World heritage sites in Spain it is quite a hobby of mine. So far I have seen about half of the ones in Spain.

This photo above of Tarragona Cathedral built in 1154.

Tarragona Ludi Scaenici Roman Music 17 May 2013 piccavey com

Tower of Pilates

The night we arrived a Roman music concert was held for our group in the Tower of Pilates. This building is dated 1 A.D. It is quite incredible the ancient monuments in and around Tarragona

The concert was part of the Tarraco Viva annual festival, celebrating the historical past of the city.

The group Ludi Scaenici specializes in the music and culture of ancient Rome.

They offered us an enthralling and unique performance. (The musicians are pictured with me)Terres del Ebre May 2013 (8)

Outdoor activities were based around the Delta del Ebro region. This area South of Tarragona called Terres del Ebre is rich in birdlife and natural spaces.

A great setting for water sports, cycling and hiking. We got to try Kayaking and Paddle surf on the beach. 

Terres del Ebre May 2013 (4)

Sant Carlos de la Rapita

We had a gorgeous morning at Sant Carlos de la Rapita  messing about on waves in the Kayaks and Paddle surf boards for a few hours. Of course we got a bit wetter than we´d expected but as it was a sunny morning we soon dried off. 

Kayak Sant Carles de la Rapita Tarragona Spain

Tortosa

That afternoon we headed inland to the historic town of Tortosa. We had an interesting activity set up for us. At the same time as visiting the quaint old parts of the town we would be involved in a strategic role play game amongst our group.

Tortosa Tarragona Spain A walk up to the castleTBMCatSur

Each person was given a script for a particular character. We had to interact with the other group members to try to convince them to support us, give us money or help us in someway. As the afternoon went one the game got more fun as the characters become more clear. 

The Cathedral of Tortosa, (cloister pictured above) the Castle & Parador de Tortosa and the old part of the town were a wonderful setting for this activity.

As you can see from the photo we had great weather too.

 Tortosa 19 May 2013 by piccavey

The experience over the weekend made the long trip from Granada worthwhile. The TBM in Tarragona was in Spanish language with bloggers from all over Spain.  Thanks to the sponsors and organisers of the event. It was very well coordinated and great fun! Tarragona Spain TBMCatSur piccavey com



Booking.com


Special thanks go to Terres del Ebre & Costa Dorada Tourist Board who created great variety of activities for us to enjoy. Also to Panama Jack Boots & HomeAway for the handy Backpacks that we were given to put my extra things in to travel home with.

My personal highlight was meeting other bloggers and chatting to them. I met alot of new friends over this week and am already looking forward to the next TBM!

Tortosa Tarragona by piccavey

Please Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. All thoughts, feelings and opinions shared on this blog and in this post are my own.

  1. Simon Harris says:

    I really love this part of the world, Molly! I haven’t been to Tarragona for 3 or 4 years and reading this makes me want to pay a visit ASAP.

    We tend to go down to the Ebro Delta every September with a group of friends to potter about in boats and generally indulge ourselves. Last year we went on an excursion to what is known as ‘La Paupa’ – an ancient fishing technique where you catch fish with your hands. It works! My girlfriend and I went back home with 5 kilos of Dorada!

    Finally, Tortosa! What a magical place … I think it’s one of the undiscovered secrets of Southern Catalonia. Love the Templar castle and the church, the food and drink and the general laid back atmosphere!

    Looks like you had a great weekend …….. I’m jealous!

  2. Josh says:

    Looks fabulous! Wish I’d known about this conference – I could do with a few pointers! And I’ve always wanted to participate in a roleplay activity like that. How often do they come along?

    • Molly says:

      Hi Josh, I had a great time. The TravelBloggersMeeting is usually once a year, but they have other meetings around Spain too. Follow them on twitter @bloggersmeeting and keep up with what they are up to. This is the Spanish organization.

      The International one is TBEX they are in Toronto at the moment and in October in Dublin.

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