Forts & Castles

A few days ago I posted that Jon and I went to see an old military fort in Barcelona located in the Montjuic. I'll admit the concept of seeing a fort seems really cool! However I'm no idiot, and I'm also aware it involved really old ruins, lots of hiking,  and rough terrain.

Here is a photo Jon took of me before we left the hotel (I was trying to be a good trooper :) ).

To get to Montjuic I had to talk Jon out of hiking all the way there. We walked up Avinguda del Parallel to catch the funicular (a lift) instead of walking up the mountain. Purchasing tickets from the metro was a little more confusing than the French metro (but maybe that's because I've been there before!). The funicular departs every 10 minutes or so making our wait time minimal.

The top of the fort was beautiful. The moat was turned into a mini garden and the views boasted breaktaking displays of the Mediterranean and the cityscape. I'm still in awe of how blue the sea is!

Jon of course was in his element :).

An interesting point Jon mentioned to me (he gave me a military history lesson) was the use of star points for engineering their forts (per Jon it was the Italians that were first). It was common during that age to engineer a fort using star points instead of 90 degree angles. This would minimize enemy efficacy and damage during an invasion while maximizing the fort defense to kill enemies in target areas. 

A wiki link to learn more is here. I saw the similar constructions when we went to Chateau Royal in Collioure two days later.

Having Jon provide the background (and the breathtaking views) definitely made this more enjoyable :).