The Guideless Traveller: Espana: Days 31 & 32 (Sitges)

Day 31:
We woke up this Saturday morning to the beautiful sunshine just outside our room in Sitges and Coco enjoyed her morning by sunbathing on her terrace at the Hotel Subur.

Coco relaxing in the Penthouse suite at Hotel Subur in Sitges, Espana

My goal for part of this trip was to find a new bathing suit! For some reason I've been having a hard time finding one in El Campello. To me, it seems like there should be a store dedicated to just bathing suits and beach accessories if you are going to be a beach town, but there is nothing of that sort in Campello. We walked through the narrow streets and around the church, Church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla. Since there weren't too many people out yet we were able to get some good photos. You can go in the church and I believe there is a museum inside but we have Coco and sometimes things are just as pretty from the outside anyways! The beauty of this place is that it is right on the water!

Family photo overlooking the ocean in Sitges!

There was a cafe close by that we sat at to have a drink (espresso, of course and bubbles) and a croissant. It was getting really hot by this time, flies were buggin' and then the waitress cleaning the table next to us dropped a glass bottle and glass went flying everywhere. Coco was ok but we were initially freaked out and I held her on my lap the remainder of the time there. Even though the woman did a good job cleaning it up quickly, I didn't want to risk it. From there we went back to this skincare shop that we stopped by on our walk before. At first I wasn't sure I liked the product which was a salt scrub from the dead sea in Isreal but after we sat for a bit, I was really impressed by the way my skin felt. We went back to Premier Skin Care and purchased the salt along with the lotion plus it came with a free gift (nail care) for only like $45 (down from $75). Then we went in and out of shops shopping for my bikini but I wasn't in love with anything. Things need to speak to me and they just weren't. I could tell Scott had already had enough of shopping so I suggested he pick a place for us to get a drink but he said he wanted to do what I wanted to do. Ok, anyone who has ever shopped with me, knows I can shop for HOURS. There are only a few of you that can hang. I know I couldn't do this to him so I said, I'm done shopping. We both knew I was not but I'm stubborn. So after some grumpy-ness between the two of us, Scott picked the hookah place to have some drinks and hookah! I like this place because it's pretty mellow (at least for this time of the day....noonish) and it has hookah. Malik's is the name of this place and they also have food although we did not eat here.

Hookah at Malik's

For lunch we went over to the restaurant we ate at years ago, Cal Pinxo. We both had fish and enjoyed a pitcher of sangria that was just as good as we remembered!

Cal Pinxo Sitges

Sole at Cal Pinxo

Seabass at Cal Pinxo

Coco and her Whimzee Alligator at Cal Pinxo

After lunch we stopped at the sand and each took a dip in the ocean. Since its siesta time, I ended up falling asleep for a few hours and so did Coco.

I did some research on where I would like to eat tonight and came up with 4 places. I had to have a plan or we would never eat. The first place we stopped at, La Picara, was a small tapas place that has a good amount of seating inside but only a bench, side table and 2 large "barrel" tables outside. We have Coco so everywhere we go, we need to sit outside. There was a family of 4 outside and the parents allowed their children to take up all the space so we couldn't sit down. It's not like they set the best example though, they knew we wanted to eat there and needed one of the 2 spaces outside but they did nothing to share the space. So on we went to the next one...Nem Sitges. They have no outdoor seating so on to the next again! When we got to 33 Sitges, it was obvious that it would be impossible to eat there because they only have 2 (occupied) tables outside. The last stop was Komokieras but we didn't have a reservation and they were full for the night. They were very pleasant about it though! We went back to 33 in hopes someone would be gone or we could wait but the guy working (mightily snotty) basically told us we couldn't wait for a seat outside because the clients haven't paid yet and they close in an hour. We went back to the first place, La Picara, thinking its been more than enough time and that family should be gone (its been 45 mins at least and it was around 11:30pm already) but the family was still there. So what do I do? I sat on a tiny part of the bench thinking, oh they'll be nice and move over especially since they see Scott and me arguing about me wanting to stay and him wanting to leave. No, the mother moves over toward me to create even less room and ruining any chance of us eating there. So we've been walking for a couple of hours, both on hurting feet, in the humid heat at 10/11pm on a crowded Saturday night with hungry bellies and nowhere to eat. I suggest, lets just go back to the hotel and crash but Scott doesn't want to necessarily do that. He also can barely walk at this point. Every restaurant we pass, has zero empty tables outside but finally I find one and start ordering but Scott orders nothing for himself to eat. Oh and I just so happen to order salmon and Scott is not usually into salmon so I knew he wouldn't have some of mine 😞. The best part about this place, Restaurante Can Marti, was the Pimientos de Padron!!!! I crave these and they were cooked to perfection!

Pimientos de Padron at Can Marti

Luis Canas 2013 Crianza from Rioja

Salmon at Can Marti

As we were finishing up our wine, I witnessed a horrible thing and was just so shocked that I couldn't even react quick enough to say anything. A table from the restaurant across from us left their tip and left. It had been a while since they left and I guess the tip was still out because two male and female street performers walked by slowly, scoped out the scene and snatched the few coins that were left behind for the hard working waitress. I know that the restaurant industry is different here than in the States, meaning they get paid a salary and don't rely on tips here. It's customary (and I constantly struggle) to leave just whatever change is left from your bill whether it be 5 euros or 2. There is no % of the bill being considered here. Regardless of that, this lady got jipped.

Day 32:
Today we planned to walk around Sitges a little bit more before heading home. Also in our plan was to stop at a dog beach! After some research, I decided on a place that had mixed reviews. To be honest, I didn't even want to suggest it because I feared it would be a letdown. In the town of Cubelles, there is a dedicated dog beach called Playa Les Salines (part of Platja de Cubelles. I love this beach so much because the section made for the perros has no waves! This is perfect for Coco because she is still learning about the ocean water. The sound and movement of waves scares her so the idea of going in the water at the beach, naturally scares her. Coco did so well today...she got her little chubby nubbins wet but didn't go too far. Part of her low hanging chest may have gotten a bit wet but not much. We didn't force her in...I went in and kneeled down to encourage and Scott supported her like a dad holding the bike after taking the training wheels off. Weird analogy, I know but it kind of makes sense!

Playa Les Salines in Cubelles, Spain

Coco making friendly at Playa Les Salines

Coco sunbathing at Playa Les Salines

Luckily this awesome beach also had some places to eat because we were getting hungry and if we didnt go soon, lunch crowds would swoop in and take all of the outside tables! We sat down at am Italian place called La Trattoria del Mar. The fresh homemade frito-like chips they gave us were gone in like 60 seconds! Both of our pastas were a little overcooked (not al dente) but the pasta sauces were great.