Final Days in Barcelona, and Sitges

We've made it back to the U.S., and I'm using our final flight back to Indy to write this one. 

Fish at Santa Clarita.

Wednesday morning we left the hotel at 9:00 to go to Santa Clarita Market for breakfast. Everything was open Wednesday, and the market, which caters more to locals than to tourists, was bustling with a lot of fish vendors, plus stands selling cheese, olives, hams, and fruit. We bought half of a road skin Mellon and bought some tasty pasties and coffee, and we sat outside on the bench watching people and dogs as we ate. On the way back we passed through the Cathedral, now open. It was impressive, of course, if not as over-the-top as some of the others we had seen. Some interesting elements were an open crypt beneath the alter, and two tiny crypts mounted on the side wall, containing the remains of a King and Queen, dating to about 1050. For some reason, this Cathedral is known for having ducks, and we saw those on the way out.

We quickly packed up our bags and checked out of the hotel, leaving the bags there for the day. Without any set agenda for the day, and having already seen Casa Milà, we decided to visit Tibidabo. We took a new Metro line to the neighborhood at the base of the mountain ,and it was interesting to see an area of town we hadn't seen before. The Blue Tram wasn't running, so we took a city bus up to the base of the Funicular to Tibidabo. Funicular #4 was a graffiti-covered car which, again, didn't run as frequently as it could have. We didn't wait in line for long, though, as we were able to sit in the car and wait.

Tibidabo Funicular.

The trip up provided some nice views of the city. It was overcast, and the visibility of the sea wasn't ideal, but it was well worth the trip. At the top was an amusement park and, naturally, a big basilica. We checked out the city views before sitting outside at a restaurant for lunch. After lunch, Barry and I went to express the Basilica, which was actually an impressive mosaic-covered church with another, very tall, perfectly  square neo-gothic church built on top of it. We took an elevator from the plinth of the upper church to a level near the ceiling level where large statues of the 12 Apostles look out over the city on one side, and the surrounding Green hills on the other. Next we found two steps of stairs, totaling 140 steps, that led to the top of the structure just beneath the large bronze Jesus statue. It's the highest point in Barcelona, and the views in every direction were wonderful in spite of the clouds. The main Cathedral we had visited in the morning, the Castle we had visited the week before, and even Sagrada Familia looked pretty tiny from up there.

Capturing the view from Tibidabo.

Satisfied, we made our way back to the city center to collect our bags from the hotel, then took a combination of trains down the coast to Sitges, the beach resort town. Sitges was pleasant and sunny, and a quick cap ride delivered us to Hotel Capri where the super friendly and helpful desk clerk got us checked in and recommended some restaurants. We chose one, and walked about two blocks down the street to the beach in our way there, catching the last bits of the sunset over the shoreline to the west. Dinner was primary seafood, and it was nice. And we had some cava, too. That night, after Barry and I walked Gywen back to the hotel, we went out to check out more of the town and visit a few of the gay bars.

Sitges at sunset.

On the Promenade at Sitges.

Thursday morning we left Gywen on her own while Barry and I headed out for our adventure. She slept in, walked down near the beach for breakfast, took the tourist train around town, and read by the pool during the day.

We intended to drop off a small load of laundry on the way to the train station, but we arrived at the laundromat to discover there was no one there to take it. We called two numbers they had posted - one number didn't work, and the woman who answer the other number spoke no English. We had to cart our laundry with us the rest of the day.

We found some fruit and pastries on the way to the train station, where we caught the train to the next town, Vilanova. We grabbed some coffee there at the station café and headed out on foot to the beach, where we're were supposed to have a sea kayak and snorkel excursion. Along the way, we found a laundry that couldn't do our wash with same-day service.

I had received a message that said to meet the "Paddle in Spain"  office on el FAR beach. It was a pretty good walk to that beach, and when we got there we found a nice lighthouse, no other infrastructure, a few cars, some people camping, and an itinerant young French man in a van with a dog. No sign of Paddle in Spain  which, of course, never came up in my Google searches of the area before we left.

Paddle in Spain is, of course, an agent, and they contract out with other companies. I called them, and they told me I should have received a confirmation with the real instructions on where to meet the guide, as well as a direct phone number. I received a confirmation, but it was truncated and contained no helpful information.

After several conversations with the agent, the guide finally arrived to pick us up in a van, half an hour after the designated meeting time. He drove us to his company's actual office, on a different beach. Fortunately for us, we were the only customers for the day and the guide, Enrique, was apologetic, super friendly, and accommodating. Enrique is an architect and engineer by trade, but is an independent contractor as a water sport guide for fun and fitness.

Barry and Enrique opening the gate
to the boat storage.

It was a really windy day, so the original plan of kayaking toward Sitges and snorkeling had to be scrapped. We kayaked in the other direction, past a cow statue and some fisherman to a beach beneath an old palace, which had some war-era fortifications on it, along with a couple of topless women sunbathers. After snacks we kayaked back to the base and prepared for a second excursion: sailing. We didn't take  a Catalan catamaran, which is simple but can only accommodate two people. Instead, we spent about 20 minutes rigging a more complex but still small catamaran that we soon took out onto the breezy sea.

It was a really fun time. With the stiff breeze, we got up to a pretty good speed. The sun and the water were warm, and I enjoyed leaning out over the water as we sailed out toward a tanker ship where we could get a good view of Sitges. But of course, the day had to come to an end. Enrique had things to do, and we had to get back to Sitges and Gywen. We showered and said goodbye, then walked back to the train station, grabbing some fruit and olives in a supermarket along the way.

Back in Sitges we walked to the hotel and enjoyed a bottle of our French wine, our olives, and some other remaining snacks by the pool. We rested for a while before going out to dinner.  After walking back to the hotel that evening, we didn't make it back out to experience the nightlife.

Sunrise on the beach.

Yesterday morning Barry and I wok up in time to walk down to the beach for the sunrise. There were a few clouds in the sky, but it was lovely and we got a bonus full moon in the other direction. I went back to the hotel to collect Gywen while Barry went to scout out breakfast locations. Gywen was already out somewhere, so I went to meet Barry and we sat down at a large restaurant which had enough other people in it that we thought it was a safe bet. Soon Gywen happened to walk by and come in to join us. She had already had a pastry and been to a book store, but she ordered her coffee. Barry had fruit and yogurt, and I went all out with a Bloody Mary and a full English Breakfast.

After breakfast Barry and I went to finally do our laundry. We needed coins for the machine, so I ran to the bank while Barry waited for a machine to open up. I got behind a woman who must have been banking for the whole town. My patience ran very thin, but eventually I got the coins I needed and went back to the laundromat where I blogged while the really expensive laundry machines did their work. With the laundry done we walked back to the hotel, packed up, checked out, and stored the bags at the hotel until it was time to leave. Gywen planned to read by the pool, while Barry and I would go to the beach.

The last few days in Barcelona and Sitges we had contacted seven masseurs to try to arrange massages - which would have been especially nice following the kayaking - but we hadn't been able to schedule anything. Only three people responded, and the one who actually seemed available ended up out of our price range. I was regretting this as we walked to the beach, our vacation coming to a close. But when we got to the beach, the first thing we saw was the sign in Catalan advertising massages! It didn't take long to decide to do it.

Barry had his first while I walked through the town to an ATM, and then relaxed in the sand to wait my turn. The sum felt great, and the sound of the waves was relaxing, but the sound of pop music emanating from the nearby bar was a little distracting. My bad for not picking the best spot. When my time came, Barry walked to the church in the old town, where there was a lot of activity as the town prepared for its 50th annual International Film Festival beginning that day. My massage was very relaxing, and I particularly enjoyed the warm sea breeze and the sound of the waves contributing to the overall effect. Following my massage, we had drinks at the bar on the beach - a sangria for Barry and a Damm Lemon for me. But it ended too soon, when we had to got back to the hotel where I showered before we took a taxi back to the train and returned to Barcelona.

For our last night in Barcelona we got a hotel in Castelldefels, conveniently located near the airport for our early morning departure. But with the Sagrada Familia closure on the day of the general strike, we had to purchase new tickets and we got them for Friday evening at 6:00. We got to Castelldefels in time to check into the hotel and enjoy one more bottle of rather delicious French wine before going into the city. We finished up our nuts and fig cake from Montserrat and our rather delicious marzipan from Toledo.

First view of Sagrada Familia.

We took a taxi back to the train station, and then two trains to the Sagrada Familia stop, emerging from the Metro station directly beneath the towering Passion Façade. It was mammoth and impressive and, as expected, replete with construction fencing and giant cranes. We made our way to the Nativity Façade and tour entrance where we braved crowds to pick up our audio guides and explore the Basilica.

Sagrada Familia is a massive, modernist temple to Christ, Gaudí 's grandest vision, and a project to which he dedicated 40 years of his life. While construction started more than 130 years ago, the building is not scheduled to be completed until 2026. It's impressive and awe-inspiring now, not only because of its size unique plan, but also because of the incredible detail, symbolism, forest-like columns, beautiful stained glass (colored differently for the morning light and the evening light), and varied building materials. I had a feeling of disbelief as I touched the wavy Stone of the massive columns and looked toward the ceiling. The building moved me much like Casa Battló had on our second day in Barcelona.

East facing stained glass.

View from the park.

I had barely stepped into the museum when the guides began ushering everyone out of the building. It was too soon to leave, but we had no choice. I forced Barry and Gywen to go into the park across the street so we could get a better, more distant view of the Passion Façade before leaving.

It was now supper time, and Gywen was not only really hungry , but also very anxious about our early morning start. Across from Sagrada Familia we saw an FC Barcelona museum / store that we just had to peek at. The cashier there said there was no good food in the area, since it was all so touristy, so I made everyone walk about four blocks up to the next Metro station to look for other food options. Google Maps was not showing a lot of promising options, but there happened to be a delightful little wine bar just across from the Metro, and it turned out to have some nice tapas and decent options for dinner.

Our trip back to the hotel included to different trains, with a ridiculous walk to change trains at the Passeig de Graçia station. The taxi got us back to the hotel close to 10:30, and we quickly did our final packing before laying down for four hours of sleep.