Day Trip to Vilanova i la Geltru

With spring right around the corner, it made a preview appearance last weekend-a welcome change after months of cold weather. Not wanting to waste such a beautiful day, we decided to make a day trip out of it.

We visited the nearby town of Vilanova i la Geltrú. About an hour and a half from Barcelona city, this small town of around 70,000 people has a rustic small town charm that draws you in. Located close to the beautiful beach town of Sitges, this town is also located on the waterfront. However, we chose to skip the beach entirely and spent most of our time walking the town’s small tile paved pedestrian only streets, lined with 1 story buildings with houses and shops. There was also a local festival in progress, in celebration of which the streets were decorated with creatively recycled and colored objects like plates, water bottles and water barrels.

We also walked along the main rambla, a much wider and airier pedestrian only avenue, which was filled with families enjoying an afternoon walk and children playing. This avenue was also lined with numerous stores, but unlike in the smaller streets these were branded chain stores.

After lots of walking, we wrapped up the evening enjoying a sunset at the main square (Placa de la Vila). This main square houses a number of beautiful and iconic public buildings. It is interesting to note that this square has a bronze statue of a former prominent resident, Josep Tomàs Ventosa Soler, a textile magnate that made his fortune in Cuba. 2 identical statues were forged in Cuba, of which one was brought to Spain, while the other still stands in Cuba.

Since it was a weekend, there was a lively outdoor market staged at the main square. The square was bustling with activity. Some people strolled around casually looking at the merchandise on sale, while others sat in one of the many cafes lining the square, sipping on their cold beers or hot coffees. We were in the latter group, enjoying chocolate croissants, olives and drinks.

All in all, it was a day well spent. We’re hoping for more beautiful weather over the coming weeks so we can leave the city and make more day trips. I’d definitely recommend visiting this town if you happen to be in the Barcelona area.

An Eventful Afternoon in Platja d’Aro

After a brief hiatus, we picked up our travels once again and visited our 2^nd favorite beach town along the Costa Brava: Platja d’Aro. Readers will remember our favorite is currently Tossa de Mar, which we have visited multiple times over the last year.

After driving around for quite a bit in search of parking, we found an open “spot” in an undeveloped construction site. It truly amazes me every time I think about it. The number of people driving around looking for parking at any given moment is ridiculous. I remember reading about a statistic that close to 20% of cars on the streets of Paris at any given time are not trying to get anywhere, but are simply looking for parking. I would imagine that number to be close to the same for Barcelona as well.

In any case, once we parked, we decided to do a short hike. Most beaches in these coastal towns tend to be connected by way of a rough path weaving along the coast. These paths tend to be unpaved and quite rudimentary, with a LOT of ups and downs to navigate the changing terrain. We had probably walked close to 30 minutes when I realized my wallet was missing. It was entirely possible that I had forgotten my wallet in the car. But, it was also equally possible that I had dropped it/had it stolen along the way. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember whether or not I had taken the wallet from the car. Not being one to take chances, I opened up my banking app and conveniently canceled my cards from my smartphone. Unfortunately, my wallet also contained my driving license and other government issued IDs that can be a headache to replace.

We retraced our steps, leaving my phone number with local restaurants along the way in case someone happened to turn in a lost wallet. By the time we reached the car, we were soaked in sweat, tanned from the scorching sun overhead and tired. We had maintained a brisk pace during the hike back hoping that if it had slipped out of my pocket, we might find my wallet before anyone else does.

Much to our relief, we found it sitting on the dashboard of the car. We grabbed my wallet and headed back to the trail, hiking 20 minutes till we reached a beach we liked. We bought ourselves some cold sangria from a chiringuito (beach shack) and were ready to relax when we found out they were out of rental umbrellas and loungers. As luck would have it we had a beach umbrella in the car, but were too exhausted to make the long and tiring journey back to the car. Eventually, we got lucky and found a shaded area right next to the water and laid out our beach towel.

I must confess that all these mishappenings had left me a little grumpy. The Honey Bee, being the beacon of positivity that she is, kept our spirits up. Not even my grumpiness could hold out against her bubbliness and soon we were both enjoying ourselves again. She brought out her sketch book and started painting the landscape. Meanwhile, I sipped my drink and decided to take a little siesta.

It was a beautiful afternoon in a veritable paradise, with the sun setting behind us, our feet buried in the soft sand and the soothing sound of the waves lapping gently against the beach.

Day Trip to Sitges

Since it’s a long weekend, we decided to make the most of it and take as many day trips as we could.

We just got back from a great day trip to Sitges, a beautiful little beach town about an hour from Barcelona. Apart from being well-known as one of the most gay friendly places in the world, Sitges is very popular for its beaches, nightspots and historical sites. More than once it has been referred to as the St. Tropez of Spain (in reference to the expensive property prices) and Ibiza in miniature. Once you get there, it doesn’t take too long to realize how heavily the local economy is dependent on tourism.

Given that we are in peak summer season, the town was packed. Quite a contrast from the peaceful and sparsely populated version I have gotten used to during my other visits throughout the year. You can also tell based on how long it takes to find parking. Driving along the beautiful beach front promenade, we found a spot that was probably a 20 minute walk from the main beach. We’re not complaining though; it was nice to walk along the beach, taking in the beautiful waters and enjoying the gentle breeze under the summer sun and the palm trees.

The beachfront promenade is an excellent walk, lined with little restaurants, cafes and ice cream shops. This time, a close friend joined us for lunch. The 3 of us sat down at a wonderful waterfront restaurant. The restaurant, which I would recommend to everyone, is called La Santa Maria– after the largest ship that Christopher Columbus used in his first voyage. We ordered the best and most mouth-watering tomato soup I have ever had. We also ordered some bread, accompanied by a special butter. If you ever do decide to visit, you have to specifically ask for this butter to be brought to you. Called Aioli butter, it’s one comfort food that you just can’t get enough of. You could lather the entire bread with this garlicy treat, and it still wouldn’t be enough. We also ordered some lip-smacking spinach lasagna and garlic mushrooms. Now, this doesn’t happen often, but we were extremely satisfied with every single thing we ordered.

We followed up our heavy meal with a quick visit to one of the many ice cream shops. I got a delicious strawberry cream and the Honey Bee got her regular stracciatella, both perfect to beat the heat. We wrapped up the visit with a leisurely stroll around the beachfront, enjoying the scenic views of the beaches, churches and the some of the town’s history.

This is my fifth happy visit to Sitges, and we’re hoping for many many more.

 

 

 

Day Trip to Pals

Last weekend we visited Pals, a medieval village with a population of around 2,500. Situated along the beautiful Costa Brava, you can walk through this picturesque village in 10-15 minutes.

Very well-preserved and still an active town, most structures here are small and made of stone. The streets are narrow and cobbled and you can’t help but be taken in by the quaint homes. It’s exactly the kind of place that comes to mind when you think of a medieval town. Everywhere you turn, you see beautiful arches, bucolic windows and stone balconies. I don’t think we saw a single brick structure in the entire town. Walking through, we couldn’t help but feel like we were on the set of Game of Thrones.

In fact, we were lucky enough to even encounter a small troop performing in the rustic town center. We saw dueling knights fight in front of a king, queen and other members of a royal court. They fought with their heavy swords and shields in full armor until one was defeated and fell to the ground. The winner was felicitated by the royals and rewarded. You might notice that the pictures are not up to the mark. The thing is that we forgot to carry our camera and hence had to make do with lower quality pictures taken on our cell phones.

We had lunch at a well rated local Mediterranean restaurant we found on TripAdvisor. We enjoyed some pizza and fresh mozzarella salad, accompanied by a fruity sangria made of Cava, the local equivalent of champagne.

Situated close to the town is the Playa de Pals. This picturesque beach, though fairly crowded, has been fortunate to escape the onslaught of commercial tourism. We enjoyed relaxing on the beach under our umbrella and reading. When it got too hot, every so often we took a quick dip in the water to cool off. Unfortunately, unlike some of the other beaches we have visited along the Costa Brava, the water here was not transparent. Not to say it wasn’t clean, but I am more comfortable being able to see through the water I am entering.

All said and done, we spent around 8 hours in this paradise and had a great time. We were also extremely fortunate to not have encountered any heavy traffic along the way and back.

Next, we’re planning on visiting another gem along the Costa Brava. More about that in next week’s post.

The Great European Summer Shutdown

Every year as August comes around, Spain, and most of Europe, go into low gear. Things start to wind down, and people start talking about vacations. Traditionally, August is when peak summer hits across Europe and people take their annual vacations.

In Spain, most people are obligated to take a certain amount of their annual vacations in August. Some companies shut down entirely for the month. For those that choose to remain open, the jornada intensiva (meaning intensive working day) kicks in and the workday changes. The day starts an hour earlier, and around 3PM people head home for a siesta, or to the beach, as the case may be.  As one of the few who chooses to work in August, I can tell you it is probably the most efficient time of the year. Thanks to almost no one being present in the office to disturb you, you can get a LOT of work done. Plus, since we don’t vacation during peak tourist season, we save a whole lot of moolah on flights and hotels.

Out of curiosity, I investigated and tried to find out the reason behind this summer shut down. A lot of people say it was introduced by the left-wing populist governments starting with France in 1936. During/after World War 2, the rest of Europe followed suit. Some say it was a bid to keep the people happy so these governments/dictators could stay in power. Others say that the summer shut down has to do with the heat. It gets extremely hot in August and working becomes very difficult if you don’t have an air-conditioned office and even more so if you are a blue collared worker.

Whatever the reason for its origin, people have gotten so used to the status quo that the very thought of changing it would be heresy. It would cause a lot of discontent and resentment. I speculate of course, but any government that dared to change it would probably never return to power again. No wonder then that when the numerous crises have hit Europe (1993, 2007, 2011…) or its companies (e.g. Volkswagen 2015) during the summer, the politicians, bankers and CEOs have been in such a foul mood. I don’t blame them though; who wouldn’t be after having had their summer vacation canceled?

The good thing about all of this is the better quality of life. The next logical thought though, is about the obvious downside- decreased productivity. I can’t help but try to draw some kind of parallel between the way things are (going) and the fall of the Roman Empire.

But for now, I think I’ll just hit the publish button and leave you to ruminate on that, while the Honey Bee and I go relax at the beach.

Hasta luego!