Empúries: Greek & Roman Ruins on the Costa Brava
Whenever I’m on a trip that involves taking a lot of public transit, I often think about how many “layers deep” I am in connections that have brought me where I currently am. A Travel Inception, if you will. Greek ruins + the Mediterranean As part of my exploration of northeast Spain two years ago, I left my initial base in the Gràcia neighborhood (1) of Barcelona up to Girona (2), and from Girona I daytripped to Figueres (3), going further north from Figueres that same day to the tiny coastal resort of L’Escala (4). I was seven layers deep, counting the shuttle to the airport in Santiago de Compostela (5), the flight from Santiago to Barcelona (6), and the commuter train ride into central Barcelona (7). But if you also count one of the most ancient ruins in Spain as a time travel machine, it adds up to eight. What is Empúries? Mosaic scene in the museum If the name Empúries reminds you of a Victorian-era emporium, you’d be right on the money, as these ruin...