She's still on about Spring in Spain....

'I'm up for a bit of gentle exploration in the sunshine' says I, so we picked Cartagena as our  place to visit. It's on the coast, which means I can still get my sea breezes fix, and neither of us had been there before.  Considering it's only half an hour down the road from the Villa, that's no brag in ten years, huh.

It's an ancient Roman city.  One which has been cared for and boasts some really fine spanish architecture.  And Roman, of course. 

Beating the bounds..well, not exactly, but we walked quite a long way around the city walls.  Much of it overlooks the port which was quiet.  But lovely.  It's a naval city, so there was some uniformed activity.  Nice!

Not even the Plaza Mayor, but still a stunning piece of colonial architecture isn't it.  Now a hotel, of course.  Note the shiny ground material.  I don't know, but am going to guess that it may be a bit like an ice rink when wet!  You can see how busy it was.  Monday, mid morning.  We made our way to the Ayuntamiento for tourist info and was told that every museum and public gallery was closed on a Monday.  This is worth knowing people, because it makes it difficult to gain access to the Roman quarter..

So well hidden amongst the regular buildings of the city that it felt like a secret, this amphitheatre is a sight and a half.  We were leaning over the top, back wall..about 5 high and a foot thick.  I'm only 3" taller than that and probably as thick, so am insanely pleased with this picture!  See the facade of the red building at the bottom?

 It's the building here, at left.  Windows too high to see through from street level which is why we walked oh, about a thousand miles round the city to the back of the theatre.  Worth it though huh!  On any other day, that strange silver bar arrangement just above the arch there is actually a proper walkway from the castle centre around the amphitheatre.  But not on a Monday Senor y Senora.  For us, not a particular problem..we're very into taking a small chunk of culture and a large chunk of coffee break involving an umbrella and a sea view. I know, shocking really. But the Romans..really, they are everywhere in Europe.  Well, they were. 
We took loads of pics..I won't bore you any more.  Yet.  They may yet turn up on scrapbook pages instead of as blog posts, that strikes me as possibly a more palatable way of getting over my holiday.  We've been home since the weekend and it's cold here.  But the sunshine is lovely, thank you.  It made me realise just how much I needed to clean the windows in the workroom and conservatory.  Ah, there's no place like home!