Saturday 22nd December 18
More meanderings in the old town, we are joined by Jackster and we found a art college with a beautiful courtyard and interesting modern art. The contrast between old building and modern art is stunning. We had a nice lunch at the bottom of the ramparts.
Sunday 23rd December 18
Full day today, we walked around the gienseme district. Quite a contrast with the old town. The main thoroughfare is the backpacker’s hostel , cheap bars and food, although, backpacker s nowadays favour boutique hostels apparently. It does have a nice feel to it with murals and graffiti and as soon as you get away from the trodden path, it is a lived in place, families sitting in front of their houses, kids playing in the narrow alleys. Some buildings are derelict and with big emphatic signs on them NO SE VENDE... sparking the eternal discussion, how can you have local people living in their neighbourhood without having to sell out and virtually turning the place into a tourist trap, in effect destroying what made the place special in the first place. Not sure how to square the circle on that one.
We walk around the ramparts in the late afternoon sun, which was lovely. Again, as soon as you left the heart of the old town, the crowd thinned out and we found more locals, families and courting youngsters enjoying the sunset.
