Barcelona here we come!

We has a walk into Sitges on Sunday night, about 2 km from the campsite, three quarters of it along the promenade. We were informed by the Londoner who escorted us to our pitch at Camping Sitges that Sitges is the gay and lesbian capital of Spain, and he suggested that we avoid it during the day at the weekend, advice we decided to follow. However it was still pretty busy on Sunday evening, as apparently this is Mother’s Day in Spain, so everyone was treating Mum, and Granny to something!

Monday morning saw us on the Barcelona bus at 10.30 from right outside the campsite gates. It’s an hour’s journey on what was in fact a luxury coach and cost just 4 Euros each! It costs that to go up to Harrogate on the bus, and this was a luxury coach to boot!

We’d arranged to meet some old school friends of mine for lunch, as they happened to be in the City at the same time celebrating their collective 60th birthdays. We met Karen, Andy, Sharron, Graham and his wife Linda outside Gaudi’s Casa de Batllo, or House of Bones, had a very pleasant tapas lunch, and did lots of catching up. They’d been in the city since Friday and Andy and Graham had managed to take in the match between Barcelona and Villareal on Saturday afternoon, where the home team won 4-1 with goals from Suarez, Neymar and Messi (2) – just in case you were interested! They were travelling back that evening into Leeds Bradford.

We parted mid afternoon, with instructions from Graham on where to eat in Sitges and if we’ve time in Barcelona too – he has a remarkable memory for detail, and knows Spain very well – a useful guy to have on any trip!

We’d decided to make the most of the rest of the day and had booked tickets to visit the Basilica Sagrada Familia at 4.30, so we made our leisurely way to the site, and at the appointed hour presented our tickets and went inside.

Wow! It’s the most spectacular building I’ve ever been in! What struck me most was the light – it is gloriously lit, and this light changes with the passing of the day, and the changing direction of the sunlight. It is simply breathtaking! And then there’s the construction itself, with it’s not so subtle nod to nature in the form of columns that are like trees, with branches and leaves which let in light just like a real tree canopy. And then there’s the sculptures, and the tiles – so much to take in!

We stayed a couple of hours and then went up the Nativity Tower in the designated lift and walked down the 350 steps, giving great views of the Familia and downtown Barcelona along the way.

Then a quick dash back to the bus stop and we were back at the caravan by 9 o’clock! Back again on Wednesday for the Sandeman’s Walking Tour.

Tuesday we had a leisurely start and then after my latest hair cut from Karol (she’s really getting quite good with the sheep shears) we cycled back into Sitges for an explore and lunch at Graham’s recommended restaurant.

Graham had also warned us that a number of the beaches in Sitges were ‘Nudist’ so to be wary of where we were going. We did come across one, where it was guys who were sans clothing, but what struck me most was the ‘Brazilian’ approach that most seem to have taken to their nether regions. All over tan plus shaped topiary seems are the order of the day here.

Moving on swiftly we went back towards the town where we had a good walk round and found Graham’s lunch recommendation – we’ve never seen such a choice of tapas! Slices of barra (baguette) topped with slabs of meat, seafood, cheese – all beautifully presented and mainly topped with fresh anchovies, or so it seemed. The idea is that you take a plate, help yourself to the tapas and then you are charged by the number of cocktail sticks on your plate. We had a very filling lunch, 2 glasses of wine and a beer all for 16 euros – great!