5/6/23-5/7/23
How do I even begin this blog post? When I thought public transit was bad in Pittsburgh, we were in for an awakening in Sitges. But let’s back up a little bit first.
After enjoying my morning cereal and fruit on our balcony (how am I ever supposed to live without one now?), we set off for the vineyard! I had never visited one before and was super excited to not only learn more about the process of making wine but also to taste it. The area was super beautiful and peaceful. It was giving rich aunt energy.
The tour was led by THE Albert! What a guy. You could just feel how passionate he is about wine and la cava by taking one look at him. Also, loved his jorts. He took us through a small part of the vineyard and even showed us laminated posters of each step of the growing process of grapes. Albert came prepared. He also showed us how winemakers back in the day fought off invasive species by taking a small part of a branch and growing it with the original plant. I did not quite understand this, but Albert made it look very fancy with his little tool kit that matched his shirt.
Albert also led us through the wine tasting, which included a drier white wine and a sparkling one. We drank these out of porrón, which is kind of a glass funnel in a way. Albert demonstrated how to drink from it. It was crazy cool. We also enjoyed some meat, cheese and crackers and enjoyed the view. Albert then escorted us to the bus and promised to send pictures of the grapes in July, which is when they should be in full bloom. Wishing Albert all the best!
After another short bus ride, we ended up in Sitges. As someone who loves the water, I was excited to be near the Mediterranean Sea again. I know I keep saying that these views are beautiful and immaculate, but there are truly no words for how beautiful and immaculate they are. It almost feels like my eyes are deceiving me, which would be quite hard since my prescription is literally in the negative 10s.
I really enjoyed seeing the theater and climbing to the top of Sitges. I also love the deep history the city has, being a safe place for the LGBTQIA+ community during the Franscico Franco regime and still today.
We then had some free time, and some of us found places to stay for the night. Baylee and Tia took the train to our place first to pick up the keys, then Hannah, Riley and I went a little after. When I tell you this was an experience, it truly was and made for great storytelling. Our Airbnb was only five train stops away (about 20 minutes); it took us about two hours to get there, as the train was very late and even kicked us off at one point. Thankfully, we met two Irish women that helped us figure out what exact train to take and told us more about how there was an electrical fire a little bit ago, which was causing the delays.
A few hassles later, we made it to Calafell, which I felt was much less touristy than Sitges, but both are equally amazing in my opinion. We went straight for food and ended up at an American restaurant of all places, but the vibes were just right. Our waiters Alexander and Sergio were iconic and kept checking in on us, even though that is not really common in Spain. They barely spoke English, and it gave us a chance to really try out our Spanish. Hannah and Baylee slayed. After eating, we walked a little on the beach and admired the moon.
Thankfully the train was smooth back to Sitges, and we got some actual beach time in and out of the water. I could have stayed in the sea all day; it was so refreshing and soothing. Laying out on a towel was as well, but even after putting sunscreen on multiple times, I still got burnt. Oh well.
Wrapping up the day, I got a chance to talk with my parents and brother. Yesterday, my brother Jacob graduated from Slippery Rock University with a secondary history education degree. It was very bittersweet since I was not there. I was feeling a little homesick and wanted to watch the livestream of the graduation, but maybe it was a good thing we had the train trouble, as it kept me from feeling guilty for being here in Spain. I guess I will just have to use my limited Photoshop skills and put myself in all the pictures.
La cuenta,
Erin 🙂