The Guideless Traveller: Espana: Days 26-30 (El Campello, Valencia & Sitges)

Day 26:
Monday 1, August 2016 we walked to Max Pizzeria Restaurante for lunch.

Patatas Bravas at Max Pizzeria Restaurante

Penne (Macaroni) Bolognese at Max

The other day, a bar changed pretty much overnight. Or at least in 3 days. I honestly don't know what the place's name was before but now it is Sandra's Bar. We decided, let's support this new place! We ordered 2 glasses of Rioja Crianza and it was absolutely disgusting! I was so ready to just leave and not drink it but Scott wanted to at least let them know. So he did, in Spanish! The owners immediately smelled it and knew, the wine has gone bad. So they removed all of those bottles from the bar, gave Scott a new glass to try/confirm and quickly brought me a new glass!
The rest of the afternoon we started to plan a weekend trip to go somewhere a little cooler and (hopefully less crowded). Most places in Spain are currently in the 90's so it's difficult to find something fairly close and at a good temperature. We saw Bilbao is going to be in the 70's but it's almost 10 hours away. I cannot handle road trips of more than a couple of hours so that's out of the running! We were also looking at some other towns but there are crazy festivals going on everywhere and we really need to give Coco a break from fireworks and firecrackers. We decided to go to a place we've been to once before, Sitges. Back in 2010, Scott and I visited Spain and took a day trip from Barcelona to the beach called Sitges. It was a pretty short train ride so if one is ever in Barcelona, I suggest hopping over to Sitges. Sitges is well known as a gay beach town of the Barcelona region. When we were there for a day, I really enjoyed it but we didn't get to take full advantage of the good shopping although we did have some great food! So, today we got our hotel and rental car booked and are ready for departure on Friday!

Day 27:
So today has been full of a lot of different emotions for me. All of my former co-workers are at the biggest trade show in the pet industry and I'm not, obviously. It's not like I want to be there and working, trust me, that's not it. I'm just having a hard time knowing that I'm missing everything. I'm missing Gabby's (the assistant buyer) first Super Zoo experience. I got the pleasure of hiring her last year to basically be my lifesaver! This is her first pet trade show (although previously did many fashion trade shows) and I remember what my first experience was like. People are so friendly and fun in the industry and it can be really refreshing when you come from a fashion background. The show is held in Vegas once a year and as much as I hate Vegas, everyone from the team got invited to a Cirque du Soleil show...not an invite I ever had in the past. I know what you are thinking, geez you are in Spain, be happy. Well go ahead and keep your thoughts to yourself because unless one is in my position, one cannot understand my emotions. Along with missing that, I missed the "Keynote Speaker" which was none other than Magic Johnson. A former co-worker got to meet/take pictures with him. There was more fun for everyone (amongst a LOT of walking and working, dont get me wrong) like the always fun party that Kurt from Coast 2 Coast puts on. I miss that guy. West Paw had what looked like a lot of fun in their booth for their 20th anniversary celebration, along with my peeps at FabDog and their human size versions of the doggie hoodies. I got a lot of fun photo updates from Kirstyn (my former boss), Jen and Gabby which made me very happy but also a little sad. Ok, enough of my pity party, I'll get back to my life in Spain now...
For lunch we went to La Tasca Marinera and tried a new appetizer, the Manchego cheese. I really shouldn't have had any but I couldn't resist. It was so good, so fresh and the peanuts they had spread on top were equally as fresh. They must prepare the nuts themselves because they were far superior than Planters. We also had the paella!

Manchego cheese at Tasca Marinera

Arroz con pollo y pimientos at La Tasca Marinera

Back at home, we took our siesta although Coco is the cutest distraction...

Day 28:
After that cheese I shouldn't have had yesterday, I need some fish in my tummy. I'm lactose intolerant so I knew what I was getting into when I had that 2nd piece of cheese. I suggested to Scott that we should check out Restaurante Isaro again since his first experience was not fair. Last time he had the bloody meat. Second time around, bueno! Scott really enjoyed his chicken so I think we'll be back again soon.

Roger De Flor Brut Nature Cava at Isaro

Pollo at Isaro

Lubina at Isaro

After our tasty meal we walked to Vistamar for some sangria. I had a call scheduled with Gwen so I would just step away for a bit while Coco and Scott drank/chilled/read. Gwen gave me some encouragement in getting out at least 10 minutes a day to have some interaction with people. Even if it's just to bring Coco for a walk. Or find out if there is anything like "Meetups" around. I have not looked into that yet but I promise I will. She was a little concerned that I cut my anxiety and depression pills in half but I have no choice at this point. It's either that, or be out completely in 6 months. I tried to get a full year supply of everything before I left and my doctor actually approved it and put the request through to the insurance. Well, the insurance company claimed they only do 6 months at a time. They put in some sort of appeal because of my situation and when I got an answer back on that, they denied the request because I'm no longer insured. My insurance through work ended on my last day and I didn't do the cobra coverage because it would have been about $800 a month. I tried to get insurance on my own but I got denied because I have anxiety! Gotta love the system....
So anyways, Gwen suggested getting my doctor to put the prescription through some Canadian pharmacy online. I will have to look into that. Really though, I dont like being on these pills anyways. I just want to have an herbal alternative.
Back at Vistamar, drinks were to be drunk 😉

Sangria's at Vistamar

For dinner, we went to Max Pizzeria where I had my delicious pasta...always on point.

Pesto Macaroni at Max

Day 29:
Today I really wanted to go to il Cuore di Napoli for lunch because it's 1) delicious, 2) low-key and 3) close to home. I had such a bad headache and really needed some mellow dining but when we got there, they were closed which was totally random. Just 1 door over is the Chinese restaurant, Restaurante Hong Kong, so we ended up going there because I really couldn't handle being around screaming children and incapable parents down at the beach where all our other restaurants are. Just as I thought I was going to get some peace and quiet, a man with an accordion walking around, stopped right in front of the restaurant, actually right in front of me, to play his freaking obnoxiously loud instrument. Scott thought about paying him to just go away because I was so miserable but not sure how to approach that request. I love the fried rice here called Ping Ping Pang Pang....

Arriz frittos ping ping pang pang at Restaurante Hong Kong

A little Coco....

Coco's chubby nubbins need a trim!

We went to Cavia for dinner again....

Love my bread! With aioli and tomato spreads at Cavia

Lubina (seabass) with veggies at Cavia

Pollo at Cavia

Day 30:

It's Friday and off to Valencia and Sitges we go! We decided to stop in Valencia for lunch because it will break up the drive since I'm not one for road trips. I tried to book a reservation for La Pepica, the paella place that is supposed to be one of the best but they require a 2 days advance booking. So I did a little more research for good restaurants near Playa Malvarossa...The road trip to Valencia was fun and only like 1 1/2 hours so pretty manageable. We like to browse the European radio stations to hear what they are listening to. The most fun we've had with the radio was when we drove 10 hours from Paris to Nice, France. There were so many interesting songs and artists but our road trips in Spain have been pretty lackluster in the music dept. However we had some good one offs...

Ali's Sitges Road Trippin' Playlist:

A little taste of part of our road trip....

Video of the ugly ass city called Benidorm (see blog post days 10 & 11).

Me gettin' cray.....

Snapchattin'

Having fun wih Snapchat on the roadtrip

Once we got to our lunch destination in Valencia, Restaurante La Paz, we were seated right inside and they were really cool about letting Coco come in. Usually we sit in the outdoor dining areas but no tables were available so that's why they sat us inside...usually we would just get turned away. I really wanted some paella here but you have to order it for 2 people minimum and Scott was not on the same page as me so I ended up getting some fish. It was ok...it seemed like one side of the fish was not cooked all the way through so I didnt eat that part. I found the fish to be a little too saltly. Also the weird blob in the photo next to my fish is some sort of vegetable mixture. Maybe it was a slaw? Whatever it was, I did not eat it. This was also the meal in which I said to Scott, "we need to stop getting Lambrusco everywhere and get only Spanish wines or Cava." Lambrusco is an Italian bubbly red wine and we'll have plenty of that when we go to live in Italy in January! For those of you who don't know, Cava is a Spanish bubbly. You technically cannot call bubbly Champagne unless it comes from the Champagne region in France.

Lubina (seabass) at La Paz

Pollo at La Paz

Pan (bread) and tomate at La Paz

Lambrusco "Rigoletto" at La Paz

I made Scott get a Cappuccino at La Paz before we continue driving for like 2 1/2 hours

Coco and me in Valencia!

Playa Malvarossa, Valencia, Spain

We arrived at our hotel in Sitges around 8pm and it was still light out! The hotel we booked is dog friendly and right across from the beach! It is called Hotel Subur. We booked the penthouse room because it was not very expensive and has a terrace for Coco.

Penthouse suite at Hotel Subur in Sitges

Coco approves of her new room for the weekend in Sitges

Room with a view at Hotel Subur in Sitges, Spain

Coco's terrace at Hotel Subur, Sitges

Squirrel time

Plenty of room to play squirrel at Hotel Subur, Sitges

Oh, hola! This is me on our terrace over looking the beach in Sitges!

Dinner was a pain in the ass. Sitges is just as crowded as El Campello with too many families (parents who dont parent) and all of the restaurants are fully packed. No reservation? No open seat. We ended up going to an Italian place that had some open seats outside called La Tagliatella. As I go through the menu, literally everything had cream based sauces. I was so frustrated and Scott suggested I do a pizza, no cheese like I usually do. A couple of bizarre things happened....first, when the waitress asked for our drink order, Scott ordered, in Spanish, 2 bottles of sparkling water and a pitcher of sangria. The waitress jotted it all down, left and came back about 10 minutes later, no drinks in hand and asked what we would like to drink as if this was her first time seeing us. The look on Scott's face was priceless! Like was she on another planet 10 minutes ago?! She literally had no recollection of taking our order the first time, you could just tell. We went on to order our food and when I asked for the pizza Margherita with no cheese, she looked at me like I was crazy and pointed to the pizza on the menu and basically tried to tell me that they cannot accommodate my request. I explained I have an allergy and she said would ask the chef but it's probably not possible. Um, all you have to do is NOT put cheese on the fucking pizza. It's simplifying the process you idiot, not making it more difficult. Trust me, these are not pre-made pizzas so anything is possible. She came back very apologetically saying of course the chef can do this for me! Wow. The pizza worked out fine. It was good, not great but I'll take what I can get at this point.