Only British architect Richard Rogers could turn a Bullring into a shopping centre! He kept the exterior but raised it about 5m and built this amazing steel support structure inside to support the floors with shops and cinemas etc. Around the roof is a circular terrace with cafes and restaurants with some of the best views in Barcelona. Forget the shopping, go see the building! Here is what it looked like while under construction from the architects web page:
http://www.rsh-p.com/work/all_projects/las_arenas/construction
The Fires or Festival of Girona continues apace with the holiday for All Souls (Tot Sants) on nov 1st being the busiest day. All around town but especially near the fairgrounds are stalls selling chestnuts (castanyes) and sweet potatoes which are a Fires tradition in itself. The monopoly on these stalls seems to belong to the gipsy community of Girona and make for colourful characters as all family members are involved from children to grandparents.
Fires ends this sunday 6th of november with a spectacular firework display so if can make it, do so, Girona is on fire!
"Correfocs" literally translated means running with fire and that's exactly what happens through the Old Town of Girona on the night of the 31st ofoctober every year. The organisers are dressed in costumes and some are on stilts supported by some heavy drum beats while they set off multiple fireworks and explosions all around while joined by hundreds of mostly young people all dancing in the shower of sparks. They wear old clothes and cover their heads and faces to avoid being burned but the danger is of course the best part!
The whole procession weaves up past the cathedral through the narrow streets making for spectacular images with the noise, smell of cordite and clouds of smoke adding to the experience of hell as we follow the devil into his lair...
Even the kids were well looked after with some amazing street theatre along Carrer Nou, some variation on Alice in Wonderland...
People taking to the streets of Girona Old Town, the Rambla, Carrer Força with all shops closed it was a chance to meet friends, chat, eat and drink despite the light rain.
The church of Sant Feliu hosts the tomb of St Narcis (the patron saint of Girona) and a mass to bless the festival is held here by the Bishop of Girona attended by the Mayor and many city dignitaries. In a side chapel a cross with a relic of St Narcis is kissed by a few older citizens before the ceremony begins.
Dancing giants with accompanying band start the first day off at 8am through the streets of Girona. The rain kept a few people indoors until 10am when the Old Town filled up with people listening to free street concerts, visited the city's museums or went to mass in Sant Feliu church which blesses the festivities.
The municipality of Forallac near La Bisbal decided in 1993 to bring back some of the country traditions which had been used in the hills of Les Gavarres by local residents before the skills dissapeared forever.
To this end every year they hold a 2 week re-creation of how charcoal was traditionally made in the area. It involves stacking in a circular form the hard oak which is found in these hills called the alsina, with layers of heather covering them and then earth on top until all the wood has been stacked into a mound with only the earth visible and smoke coming out of the top. This circular form is built up in a mound around a hole in the middle where the smoke exits and the fire sucks in oxygen to provide the slow burn needed to carbonize the wood without destroying it.
The whole procees of transforming wood into charcoal takes 10 days to 2 weeks and meanwhile hundreds of school children come to visit as well as people to enjoy a picnic in the forest. On the last weekend when the mound is torn down the charcoal is distrubuted to the picnickers to make their barbecues and grilltheir favourite meat dishes which adds a traditional taste, yum, yum!
Tucked beside the main dual carriageway from Girona to Olot near the village of Argelaguer is an amazing hideaway. Nestled in the trees and with a stream running through is the most amazing camp made of hazel and oak branches in a maze which covers several acres and includes some amazing towers that rise up to 40m high. This is a puzzle as well as a visual and physical obstacle course where you crawl, climb and feel around the various towers, cabins, pools and bridges but it certainly brings back the joy of being a kid again and discovering fun experiences.
This is all the vision of one man who has spent the best part of the last 30 years building and then taking it down twice (because of the new road and then power lines) only to start again and rebuild from scratch.
What is left today is an incredibly fun maze with plenty of dead-ends and confusing twists and turns along the side of the valley in thick underbrush giving the whole experience a surrealist feeling. In fact this is Gaudi's building creativity combined with Dali's imagination to create an experience which is more fun than most rides at Port Aventura, and free.
Go visit and pay homage to a master builder and great character (referred to locally as the Tarzan of Montagut) before it contravenes some silly health and safety regulation and is torn down forever. Suitable for all ages and free spirits, an amazing creation.
