Girona – Start of my Spanish Summer ’16:

So, after leaving Sky Sports, and seeing Wales reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016 (I’ll get that in often), I had a few weeks back at home in Cardiff. Next up, it was time to head to Girona, just north of Barcelona, and that was pretty much all the plans I had.

I knew I wanted to go to Spain, so that was step one, and I booked a flight to Girona because it was pretty cheap, step two. For once though, I was quite good at all the other prep involved in planning a trip abroad. I bought a backpack with months to spare (this was actually a big thing for me, as it kind of helped make up my mind), Spanish travel guides, a solar powered phone charger (still never used it), a weird travel towel, and other bits and bobs.

This was before all the anxiety I’m experiencing now, so besides the usual anticipation nerves, I was overall quite excited. I didn’t know anyone out there, and headed off to Bristol airport at ridiculous o’clock (probably why the plane ticket was so cheap), ready for what Girona had to offer. The first day, it didn’t offer very much. I met my Airbnb host at his place, and was delighted with my first room. Joan had a great house in the university area of Girona, around 10/15 minutes from the centre. I settled in, the day ahead of me, and then fell asleep. Solid start. I managed to make the local supermarket minutes before it shut, took a cliched photo of a bottle of San Miguel, and overall this trip was off to an uneventful start.

Just in case you don't know what a bottle of San Miguel looks like

Girona was the only place I booked prior to leaving Wales, so I’d done a bit of reading on the place, and headed out. Girona is a damn nice place, and while I could leave the review there, I’ll elaborate a bit. I got the bus down to the centre, tried to figure out where to get off, and headed to the river bed.

I’m a sucker for small, narrow streets, and Girona is full of them! These form part of the Jewish Quarter, and it really is a lovely area. I’ll point out here, that I was definitely on a budget (a lot of it went on the oft-mentioned Wales adventure), so a lot of the things I’d do were free/super cheap.

First up on this list, the Cathedral! During my time in Spain, much like narrow streets, I became a sucker for Cathedrals. I can tell you now, the one in Girona is hard to top.

Now, I don’t watch Game of Thrones (I know, I know), but I soon discovered that Girona played a massive part in season 6, with the Cathedral front and centre. It really is stunning….a Rocky training like collection of steps greets you, and when you’ve reached the top, and caught your breath, you can pay a relatively small charge (7 euros I think) to enter.

The Cathedral is located close to a lot of the other main tourist spots, and I spent a lovely afternoon walking around. Other things I’d recommend in Girona are the main square (Plaça de la Independència), which is surrounded by a load of nice restaurants and bars. I was too cheap to eat in one of them, so just sat in the sun for a while with an ice-cream, watching people chase imaginary Pokemon’s on their phones.

The walls surrounding the medieval quarter are also recommended. It’s pretty tiring, I should probably point that out, with a fair few steps involved. It’s certainly worth the effort though, with stunning views throughout. I did it from the start to near the end, but you can jump off (not literally) at any point, and explore more of what Girona has to offer.

The Arab Baths were cheap to enter, but there wasn’t really much to see, and it was over pretty soon. Besides these, the bridges that cross the River Onyar are well worth exploring. There are a load of brightly painted houses that fit just perfectly.

The beautifully coloured houses next to the river in Girona

I studied Film Studies at University, so a visit to the Film museum made sense. I found it very interesting, with lots of attention paid to the early days of cinema, and plenty of cool pieces of memorabilia (see some of the photos below).

What I really liked about Girona was that most of the main sights are relatively close to each other. I’d wander down from my accommodation most days, and simply ramble around the streets, enjoying the good weather.

I didn’t visit any clubs or bars too late, mainly because after a month or so of solid boozing beforehand, I figured my body could do with a break. The Girona tourism website I’ve linked to throughout this guide is brilliant, so please give that a visit as well.

I’ll always have a soft spot for Girona. It kicked off my Spanish adventure, and I’m glad my tightness resulted in me booking that cheap flight. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to experience some of what Catalunya has to offer.