We woke this morning to the sound of hot air balloons being readied for flight. It was a beautiful still morning so a great day for a flight. They were taking off from the paddock next to our camp ground.

Firstly an important omission from yesterday’s post.

The Red Iron Bridge in Girona was designed by Gustave Eiffel 4 years before he designed the Eiffel Tower in 1889.

We set out early for a walking tour of Vic, trying to beat the heat. At 9 am it was already 28C.

The old quarter of Vic is a beautiful and well maintained part of the city with photos at every turn. It is great to see the way the old city has been adapted to modern life.

The cathedral tower. We are too early to visit so need to explore more.

Now electrified, this light fitting probably held a fire basket.

The Walls of King Peter 111, built for defence of the city in 14th century.

This Roman Temple is the only surviving building of the city of Auso, as Vic was called in Roman times. It was built in 1st century AD and was consecrated to the worship of the emperor.

Not a real lot of the original building left.

Outside the temple.

This is St Peter’s Cathedral, giving not a hint of what is behind those doors.

This cathedral was started in Roman times with the bell tower and extended over the centuries. The main part of the cathedral was built in the early 1800’s with the decoration inside in the early 1900’s.

The moment you walk inside you are awestruck by the golden lavishness of the walls. Interesting that unlike most other cathedrals, the ceiling is left plain.

For me this cathedral has to be near the top of the spectacular list. On the inside anyway.

To finish the tour we visited the Vic Museum of Leather Art.

The museum is a collection of items either made from leather or decorated with leather. It was collected by Andreu Colomer Munmany who was a leading tanner in Vic and developed a passion for collecting leather objects. It houses over 1000 items of his collection from around the world.

The building is the former Convent of El Carme and was purchased by Munmany and donated to the Catalan government with the intention of providing a permanent home for his collection. It was founded in 1966.

Saddles.

Som amazing leather embossing work.

The interior courtyard has been restored and covered.

The painting is all embossed and coloured leather.

From a gondola in Venice.

This is incredible small and designed for 2 people.

Leather figures from Siam.

We left the 38C midday heat of Vic and headed to Montserrat where we enjoyed this swimming pool for the afternoon. Tomorrow we visit the ancient Abbey of Montserrat for some more medieval history.

David & Collette