Reus
22 & 23 April 2019
About 15 km inland from Tarragona, Reus is the birthplace of Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), the famous one-of-a-kind Catalan architect. Whilst there are none of his buildings in Reus there are 29 Modernista (Catalan Art Nouveau of late 19th & early 20th centuries) buildings. To get to Reus we took a train from Valencia to Salou then walked the 12.7 km, a pleasant walk via the old Roman village of Vilaseca. Click here for a map.
For us, Reus is the home of vermouth, that bitter-sweet aromatic fortified wine we enjoy so much. Catalan/Spanish vermouth is an aperitif taken straight with ice, a slice of orange and perhaps a splash of soda. It’s a world away from the Italian & French vermouths of martinis. Traditionally, “la hora del vermut” was just before lunch but these days “nos vamos de vermuts” (we’re going for vermouth) can be anytime you feel like it.
23 April is the day of Sant Jordi (Saint George), the Patron Saint of Catalunya
The tradition of giving away roses as a symbol of love on the day of Sant Jordi dates back to the 15th century
23 April is also Book Day, the anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes
