Sitges Rhymes with "Beaches"
After flying from Victoria to Montreal and then overnight from there to Barcelona, I arrived in Sitges thanks to the driver I had pre-booked. The road from the airport to this small coastal town was winding with lots of sharp curves but also with spectacular scenery of the Mediterranean. When we first started heading west, we passed oodles and oodles of commercial campgrounds and strip malls with pizza restaurants and bars. It all looked quite cheap and downscale to me. After about a 45 minute drive, we reached Sitges and the Hotel Calipolis where I'll be staying for the next three nights. I treated myself to an "executive" room - which basically means I am on one of the upper floors with a sea view. I was a bit frustrated as I'd requested an early check-in but still ended up "cooling my jets" so to speak for about 4 hours before my room was finally available at 2 pm. However, the wait was sure worth it! The views were amazing and the room was perfect.
For my first day here, I'd booked a walking tour through Guru Walks. I have used that organization before and what is great about it is that you are linked up with a local guide - in my case today it was just Rania and me - and there is no set price. You give the guide what you think is appropriate. The best thing, because it was just the two of us, is it is a more personal and "bespoke" tour than if it is a larger group. Radia was great. She lives in Sitges and is studying to be a neurosurgeon at a university in Barcelona. We began the tour walking along the seafront stopping to admire various statues and monuments.
One of the statues is dedicated to Don Facundo, a merchant born and raised in Sitges who emigrated to Santiago de Cuba in 1830. In 1862, he revolutionized the spirits world with the creation of BACARDI rum, the world’s first light bodied and mixable rum, now the world’s most awarded premium rum and the world’s favorite rum for more than a century. The Sitges-inspired sculpture by artist Lorenzo Quinn is entitled “Looking into the Future” and became a permanent fixture on the town’s seaside promenade, the Paseo Marítimo in 2009. The one-of-a-kind work has a base of solid stone; on top of which is a large steel circle held up by open hands made of bronze and the Bat, the globally recognized symbol of Bacardi, also known symbol of good luck, fortune and family unity.
From the seafront, we climbed the steps to the Church of Sant Bartomeu & Santa Tecla stopping on the stairs to see the statue of a mermaid. Apparently, if you touch her hand, you are destined to return to Sitges. From her shiny brass hand, I guess a lot of people do exactly that. Next, we walked around the old town.
In the old town are two of the tourist sites that are apparently a "must see" - the Cau Ferrat Museum and the Palau Maricel. We walked by them but didn't go in.
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| The Old Market |
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| The City Hall |
Then we walked into the more commercial centre which is also a pedestrian zone filled with local shops, the occasional "chain" store like La Coste, restaurants, cafes and bars. We finished the tour at the end of Sin Street - the location of some of the many gay bars and clubs Sitges is so famous for - on the seafront.
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| Sin Street - during the day |
One thing that we saw that surprised me was a sign outside a small gallery about "Stolperstein". I have blogged about these before - they are the square brass plaques placed in the coblestones in many German and other country's towns and villages in front of a home where Jews were taken and sent to the various "death" camps. I had no idea that that sort of thing happened in Spain but apparently it did. Further, we went inside the gallery to see these brass plaques which, in early October, will be embedded in front of the homes where the Holocaust victims lived. Interestingly, Rania had never heard of them and it turns out one of the houses is on the same street where she lives. The sign says "discovering the "stolperstein in Sitges".
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| The plaques that are soon to be installed in some streets in Sitges detailing the names, dates and the fate of the victims. |
We finished the tour around noon and I headed back to rest for a while as my back had had quite enough and was complaining loudly. It had been a very informative tour and clearly Sitges is quite a manageable town for walking around. In addition, as a solo traveller, there is nothing intimidating about it. Everyone seems so helpful and friendly. Rania was an excellent guide.
In the early evening, I wandered back to Sin Street to check it out - it was, I guess, a bit early for it to be busy but it was filled with people. I didn't stop for a drink so can't say I had a drink on Sin Street - at least this one!!
My plans while I was in Sitges for two full days included the walking tour the first day and to take a boat trip along the coast on the second. While I was having dinner my first evening, I received a message from the boat tour operator informing me that the trip was going to be cancelled because of the weather forecast. So, that ended that plan! What was really frustrating is that, when I woke up today, the weather was perfectly fine - at least by my West Coast standards - for the trip. What's a little wind and some choppy water? However, that tour was not to be. My next plan was to visit the two museums I'd seen yesterday but, by the time I got myself organized after a late breakfast, it turned out one was closing at 2 pm and my back was still sore so I decided I will have to return another time to see them. My other excuse was that I needed to get my stuff organized for my departure in the morning for Barcelona's cruise port to embark on the next stage of my journey, the cruise to Nice.
I've enjoyed Sitges and really like its laid back ambiance. The beach my hotel overlooks is always brimming with activity - wannabe surfers, swimmers, sunbathers, dogs doing "zoomies", and kids flying kites (it's been quite windy the last couple of days).
It was interesting that the majority of people I heard speaking here, aside from the Spaniards, were Brits and mainly from the Midlands. I was here over a weekend and I know there were at least 3 wedding parties plus some gals on a "hen do". I only met two American couples - one straight and one gay. While Sitges certainly lives up to its reputation for being gay friendly, there are also lots of families, straight couples and solo travellers like me. It seemed very safe and when I asked Rania about it, she said that it is comfortable here even walking around at night. The pickpockets you hear so much about in Spain seem to be more in Barcelona than here. One last little story: after I'd had dinner in the hotel restaurant last evening, I went down to the Terrasse for a liqueur. It was very windy and sitting at the lower tables was fine but the bistro tables weren't as comfortable to sit at. An older couple (probably younger than me) came in and only the bistro height tables were available. I had no idea what nationality they were but I signaled to them they were welcome to join me they'd like. Eventually, they asked if it was okay and I said yes. Well, they were Germans who live not for from Koblenz. Their English wasn't great but I told them I could speak some German - although it it pretty rusty these days. Anyway, for the next hour or so we chatted in German. I have to say the very last thing I would have thought was that I would be speaking German in a small beach town in Spain. These little surprises are another reason I love travelling.
In a way, I've been pretty lazy here but, after all, it is a vacation so I can forgive myself for that. Would I recommend visiting this place? The overwhelming answer from my perspective is yes! If the opportunity presents itself, I would return. Monday (today), I am headed to the port in Barcelona.
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