On To Madrid

The route from Tarragona to Madrid is not filled with three-star sights, nor even one- or two-star sights, nor is the scenery all that interesting, so we took the freeway, and in a matter of hours, arrived at old friend Camping Osuna, on the capital city's northeastern burbs.

The Prime Meridian arch

Our first bull sign of the trip...more to come

Tarragona Roman Museum, 2

Continuing our visit to the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona...

Counter weight for a scale

Thus

Looking from the museum top floor out to the
amphitheater

Ships' anchors

This low-riding tanker was anchored off Tarragona the two
days we were there; we wondered what made the city so
prosperous-looking and well-maintained...and when we drove
on to Madrid, we passed the largest refinery complex and
tank farm we have yet seen...

Falo antropomorfo, the sign said; a reproduction
of the god Priapo

Nice, very large mosaic, especially for seafood lovers

Huge hall of statues, busts

Marcus Aurelius

Another big hall

Euterpe, flute muse

Tarragona main square; beautiful, interesting place; we should
have stayed longer, but for our date at the Seville feria

Parthian shot: Modernista garage

Tarragona Roman Museum, 1

After lunch we walked the short distance over to the city's Roman museum. We can never get enough old stuff, and the National Archeological Museum of Tarragona is said to be one of Spain's best.

En route to the Roman museum, more Roman bits; a sign said
this was the site of the synagogue; usually, in Europe, such
signs are dated 1942 or thereabouts; this is Spain, and it was
dated 1492; a reminder that, in addition to unifying Spain and
giving us Cristoforo Colon, and the New World, the dynamic
regal duo, Ferdinand and Isabella, and mostly Isabella, also 
expelled all the Jews and Muslims, and gave us the Inquisition; 
all in 1492

In the museum, a helpful map of Augusto Tarraco

"You want a toe? ...Hell, I can get you a toe by 3 o'clock this
afternoon"

Yeah, but, a really big, big toe

Toga! Toga!

What it takes to reassemble a mosaic

Ditto

Seriously ditto

From the Centcelles villa, painstakingly reassembled by a German
team in the 1950s

Interior shots of the dome at Centcelles

Obligatory amphora, some recovered from the sea

Thus...and memories of Turkey

Oil lamps, and, something we'd not seen before, an oil lamp
chandelier

Doll with moving parts

Service for several

Great Roman glass

Including these two huge jugs

Two-toned

Best €15.50 Tasting Menu Ever, So Far: Ares In Tarragona

After the cathedral we headed for a restaurant we had read about, Ares. What attracted us initially was the guidebook description of it as Modernista. That turned out to be true, sort of, but the food, traditional Catalonian, was at least as good as the decor. As it turned out, it is a mom and pop restaurant--she cooks, he serves--and he designed the place 12 years ago. We had the five-plate tasting menu.

Beautiful old city

Ares restaurant

Interior views

The meal started off with bread and olives, and the included
wine

Then, the beginning of the five plates...first, a salad

Then a creamy squash soup

Then couscous with chicken and carrots

Then the sardines (I got all the sardines)

Then the pork medallions with patatas (what was left of them)

Then--we were tired of flan--cacao coated almonds

And coffee

Then more of the decor

It was early for lunch...1:30, so we were the first customers
of the day

Neat place

Exterior wall, with original column, arch