Contents

  1. Preface
  2. San Francisco
  3. Amsterdam
  4. Amsterdam, Helmond
  5. Amsterdam, Zandvoort, Haarlem
  6. Amsterdam, Bruges
  7. Bruges, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin
  8. Berlin
  9. Berlin, Potsdam
  10. Berlin, Wansee
  11. Berlin, Prague
  12. Prague
  13. Prague, Karlstejn, Vienna
  14. Vienna
  15. Vienna, Salzburg, Füssen
  16. Füssen, Neuschwanstein, Munich
  17. Munich, Innsbruck
  18. Innsbruck
  19. Innsbruck, Zürich, Lauterbrunnen
  20. Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch
  21. Lauterbrunnen, Schilthorn
  22. Lauterbrunnen, Spiez, Zermatt
  23. Zermatt
  24. Zermatt, Martigny, Chamonix
  25. Chamonix, Mont Blanc
  26. Chamonix, Mont Blanc, Courmayeur, Aosta, Turin
  27. Barcelona
  28. Barcelona, Sitges
  29. Barcelona
  30. Milan, Venice
  31. Venice
  32. Venice
  33. Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre
  34. Cinque Terre, La Spezia
  35. Cinque Terre, Pisa, Lucca, Florence
  36. Florence
  37. Florence
  38. Florence, Siena
  39. Siena, San Gimignano, Rome
  40. Rome
  41. Rome
  42. Rome, Sorrento
  43. Sorrento, Vesuvius, Pompeii
  44. Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello
  45. Sorrento, Capri, Naples
  46. Naples, Bari
  47. Patras, Athens, Mykonos
  48. Mykonos
  49. Mykonos
  50. Mykonos, Paros, Santorini
  51. Santorini
  52. Santorini, Athens
  53. Athens
  54. Athens, Amsterdam, San Francisco


Prev :: Wednesday, 28 September 2005 :: Next

27. Barcelona, Sitges

Laundry time again in the morning, very convenient again as it was only a block or two from the hotel in the Raval. Of course, having stayed up way too late last night, I got a later start than I had wanted. After laundry, it was time for a haircut. I found a hip white minimalist Italianate salon off Casanova, staffed by a nice Milanese guy. For only €14, I'm tempted to fly back in six weeks. Especially because a very enjoyable head massage is included.

The weather had threatened to be cloudy and cool today and nicer tomorrow, but in fact it was mostly clear and warm today, so I decided to head for the beach at Sitges. The half-hour train ride was lovely; the coast here really looks remarkably like Southern California. Sitges itself was actually somewhat disappointing, again probably because it was the middle of the week and too far off season. The Platjes del Mort (beach of the dead) sounded nice, but my guide's directions for getting there were woefully inadequate, if not downright wrong. It's really very far. I walked a long way down the beach and got to a point where the beach ended at a river and golf course, and I don't think I was even very close yet. Probably you need a taxi (expensive) to get you within striking distance, figure out the buses, or find a helpful local. So I walked back to the beach at the Calipolis, which had a small and rather dismal sort of Palm Springs crowd, and then had some very unexceptional food before heading back to Barcelona in the evening. A better day trip would probably have been the Dali museum in Figueres, but it's a little farther from Barcelona.

In the evening I stumbled across the Museu de l' Erotica on Las Ramblas, with some titillating stuff including an eight-foot wooden Thai phallus and a really interesting chair. Afterwards I found a great little café on Carrer de Casanova which stirs up all kinds of nice chocolate drinks, and it has free wireless! Only thing it's missing is air conditioning; it was pretty hot inside. Later I went back to Punto BCN, where I met some Brit transplants and a Spanish guy, and they took me to a lovely rooftop bar atop a posh hotel nearby.

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