Today we were booked for our move out of our BCNGotic apartment to the Abba Sants Hotel which was included in our cruise to return home. I called the hotel and asked if we could check in late in the day, they assured me it was no problem. I then checked with BCNGotic who said if we collected our bags before we left for the day, they would store them in their office where we could retrieve them when we returned. So far so good.
Having packed our bags, gobbled down food from the fridge and Teresas dessert for breakfast, we were off to the Palau de la Musica to meet our Viator guide Sergio for our Game of Thrones day tour to Girona. We knew the group would be small but were very pleased to see only 6 of us climb into his van for the day long trip (I got the front seat!). Girona is 61 miles north of Barcelona, taking us a little over an hour to get there going north on the Grand Via, park the van and begin our tour.
medieval city to learn more about its history and to see the sights used in filming the Game of Thrones (GOT). Although Sergio did focus on the GOT, he is an historian which pleased me greatly. The City of Girona was founded by Romans and the Old Town contains some of the best preserved historic architecture in the country. We began by walking the Bridge of St Feliu over the Onyar River with its impressive reflected views. Once over the bridge we entered the historic town through the northern gate where a festival was underway to celebrate All Hallows Day. Market tents were set up and already busy in front of the St. Feliu church.
In the creation of the GOT, Girona was transformed into Old Town in Kings Landing, and the powerful yet dark city of Braavos. We were soon off on foot to identify these locations. Sergio provided background details and photos of many scenes from the movie, each while standing in front of the location as it is now. The transformation was really quite amazing. Sergio also provided a great deal of history about each location which embellished the background references in the movie as well.
The Benedictine monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants, one of the most important Catalan Romanesque landmarks of Girona, was built close to the northern wall of Girona, on the left bank of the Galligants river. It dates from the end of the 10th century and in 1131, Ramn Berenguer the Great (who was the count of Barcelona) made an important donation to the cost of the construction work. The church has a basilica with three naves, the middle of which is covered with a barrel vault and the other two with quadrant vaults and has a perfectly symmetrical bell tower. The interior of the historic monastery was used as the citadel in Old Town where Samwell Tarly, by Gilly and little Sam, came to train as a Maester.
It was November 1, All Saints Day and as we began our walk through this historic part of town, the church bells began tolling to mark the celebration. It was hauntingly beautiful and made the history of this alive for me.
We began our walk through the labyrinthine cobbled streets that wound through alleys, up narrow staircases, archways and passages in El
Call, the Jewish Quarter, or Barrio Judio de Girona, one of the best preserved Jewish Quarters in the world, passing medieval churches and ancient fortresses and their protective walls and towers. It was easy to see why this city was chosen as one of the sites to portray the Game of Thrones story. Gironas Jewish Quarter is located within the Force Vella or mighty Roman fortress built in the 1st century BC.
We crossed over the old stone bridge and arrived at the Plaza dels Jurats, a festival square at the base of the cathedral, used in outdoor theater scenes in Braavos. The bridge between the Plaa dels Jurats and the Sant Pere de Galligants Abbey is used as the bridge in Braavos where the waif, masked as an old woman, stabs Arya.
