The Girona Temps de Flors 2016

I mentioned in my last blog post about a short break in Spain for James' work.  On Friday we had some time to kill and decided to make the most of the freedom (and the car we had hired) and drove to Girona.  

We had been told about the many flower displays currently on show throughout the city for their annual Temps de Flors (Girona Flower Time), and wanted to see what it was all about.  Neither of us had visited Girona before, so it was also a good opportunity for a spot of exploring.    

I really wasn't quite sure what to expect, so went with an open mind, which I think worked in our favour.  It took us a little while to spot the first display.  Some of the smaller ones blended in so well with the city's streets and buildings they could easily go unnoticed and we had assumed they were a permanent setting.

Once we knew what we were looking for though they became much easier to spot.  Many could still be mistaken for permanent fixtures though, how lovely that would be.  But there were some so great that they could not be missed nor mistaken for anything but part of the installation.  

Wandering around the city I felt as though I was on set for a movie.  The narrow, winding streets were just beautiful, and there were many times that I stopped to drink in the atmosphere around me.

It felt so nice just wandering round at a leisurely pace, not having somewhere in particular to go, being in no rush to get anywhere.  Turning street corners and being greeted with such bright colours from the beautiful flower displays, it was just incredible.  

Sadly though all good things must come to an end, right!  The clouds had been slowly rolling in as the morning turned to afternoon.  We sat ourselves down for a coffee in a pretty little bistro and it was then that the rain began to fall, albeit a light drizzle.  We could tell from the clouds this would not be the case for long, so decided it was time to leave and headed back to the car.  

We timed it just right as the heavens quite literally opened.  I've not seen rain like it in quite some time.  Still, we had had a lovely morning so we weren't complaining.

I'd say that visiting during the festival is a perfect time to visit the city as it brings so much more colour and life to it.  The installations were just beautiful.  Such gorgeous splashes of colour and great texture really brought the city to life.  I'm so glad we made the effort to visit as we could easily have missed it.  

~ Gem x