The Mediterranean's balcony
The balcony of the Mediterranean is a nice viewpoint that is at the end of the Rambla nova, the promenade of Tarragona, right on the edge of the deep cliff that rises about 30 meters behind the miracle beach.
Views from the balcony
There we have a beautiful sea views. From the swaying of the waves that break on the beach sand or the ships sailing slowly under the flight of seagulls, to so far into the horizon behind the calm waters of Tarragona, where the sky and sea merge in a beautiful intense blue line.
If you look down from the railing we see at the base of the cliff a nice garden where calls our attention the letter T of Tarraco perfectly sculpted in the middle of some bushes and just beside, the shield of Tarragona which is made partly in stone and partly with flowers and plants carefully selected and pruned to give it the form and color that has the shield of the city.
The viewpoint is located at a considerable height, approximately 40 to 50 meters above sea level. Thanks to that height you can see to a great distance doing slightly appreciable the curvature of the planet on the line formed by the water in the horizon.
Passeig de les palmeres
The Balcony begins at the end of Rambla nova and extends along the promenade of palms, a lovely promenade with some palm and other trees under which we can find a blench out of direct sunlight where sit and enjoy the views while listening as the birdsong is mixed with the faint sound that make trees being pushed by the soft but steady breeze that comes from the sea.
The promenade continues about 80 meters leaving below the beach and the Roman amphitheater and ending at the Rambla Vella, just beside to the medieval walls and Praetor Tower. Very close to the "Part alta", the oldest part of the city.
The roman watch
In the middle of balcony are the stairs that lead towards the beach miracle.
In the first landing of the stairs we found an old sundial made of stone that illustrates for us the manner of measuring the time it has taken mankind for thousands of years. Those years when the rooster woke up people with his singing at dawn and punctuality was not measured in minutes, it was simply to be at noon and and arrive when the sun was passing by in the upper part of its travel.
I did not find information about the clock but it seems to be very old. Its form, the language of its inscriptions and its smooth stone surface perfectly polished by wind erosion during the passage of the years, suggest that the clock is probably from Roman times.
The watch has carved the hours with Roman numerals and also has an inscription in ancient Latin engraved in the stone that says:
“Solem di texi te qve sol hic si manes,
tarraconis vrit amor”
"When the gods of the sun illuminate here creating a shadow,
the love flows in Tarraco.
Curiosities
As an emblematic area of the city the promenade of palms is a very visited area, so if you're lucky you may find some street artist offering his shows to tourists.
Today for example I met this nice guy which whas doing enormous soap bubbles with witch the children who were passing by there enjoy playing, running happy after them while trying to break it with his hands.