As beautiful as Spain is, I actually hate the concept of a siesta.

I hate naps. Not just the concept of sleeping for a few hours, but that state of drowsiness and confusion that you're in once you wake up. Despite how beautiful and sunny Spain is, I feel like the whole nation is constantly under that hazy spell.  The siesta culture just baffles me, and I find it incredibly inefficient. Having been to Spain two years ago, I was expecting everything to be shut down from 2-5pm.  However this time lull did not stop us from visiting some of the really cool places in Spain.

From Tarragona, we drove to Miravet. As you can see, it is quite a picturesque town! There was a marathon going on when we arrived, and it was really great to see local families cheering for their loved ones who were participants. Many of the dads that were running would stop to find their kids, and cross the finish line with them. In true Spanish spirit, there was also a festival going on. We were able to sample beer that was brewed right in the town, as well as local cheeses while listening to street performers.  Since this town does not attract crowds of tourists, it felt wonderful to be apart of such an authentic atmosphere.

After spending some time by the Ebre River, we (I'm still with my family) decided to make our way up to Castillo de Miravet.    Both the village and the fortress were founded by the Moors and rebuilt by the Knights Templar! Fascinated by history, I was so excited to be in a place with so much of it!!!  Walking up the winding cobblestone streets was like a dream.  Every piece of wood, every stone, every building seemed to tell a story of the past. 

Once we got to the top (it took about an hour), I once again remembered why I had such a distaste for siestas. Castillo de Miravet is closed from 1:30 to 4:30. Despite the setback, the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking, and completely worth the trek. 

Afterwards, we visited some caverns nearby.  We were not allowed to take any pictures unfortunately.  In broken English, our guide inside of the caves explained to us that families would hide out in the caves during the Spanish Civil War. Much to my disappointment, these weren't the caves Hemingway wrote about, but it was still really cool to be surrounded by millennium-old stalagmites and stalactites.