We feel like a beach day and as much as we like the
Barcelonetta Beach we think it would be fun to go to Sitges. Since I was in Sitges with Sue in July for my
birthday there isn’t much planning to be done we just toss our swimsuits and
beach towels in the backpack and walk to the Liceu Metra Station on La
Rambla. The Metro in Barcelona is a
terrific system where there are frequent stations and the trains run every few
minutes. The only problem is that the
stations are not air conditioned and are often very, very warm. We’re early today so it’s not a problem this
time. The Metro takes us to the train
station where at this point in the summer I even know which line I need to be
in to buy tickets on the 'commuter lines for today only'. It’s a snap once you know the ropes!
The train ride to Sitges takes
about 45 minutes and the last half consistently has views of the Mediterranean
so it’s a very pleasant journey. Once we
arrive in Sitges we just follow the crowd with all the beach paraphilia and in
no time are at the beach. We arrive
hungry since we haven’t eaten yet today so immediately head to the restaurant
where we celebrated my birthday. We’d
had a great dinner there so it made selecting a restaurant an easy
proposition. Rob went Spanish and had
gazpacho and empanadas which he has described as the ‘best empanadas he’s ever
had'. This is amazing considering the
number of empanadas he ate while we were in Puerto Rico! I wimped out with the world wide favorite a
chicken Caesar Salada
We walk among the stores and
along the beach boardwalk just enjoying the relaxed feel of Sitges and occasionally
stopping to glance in a window or two but we’re not really shopping today and
aren’t even serious about our looking.
Neither Rob nor I are truly sunbathers but it’s time to get on the
beach. Town is busy but the beach not so
much. We find a couple of available
beach chaises and spread out our towels.
After a half hour or so Rob goes to take a dip in the water. When he comes back he has realized that that
was the first time he was ever in the Mediterranean Sea, cool, very, very,
cool. We manage to make it a little more
than an hour before we both are eager to declare our sunning over for the
day. It’s very warm, probably the
warmest it has been since Rob arrived in Spain. So we wander around a bit looking for that
one special place to have a drink before we head to the train station. Just off of the main city plaza we find a taverna
with a delightful cooling breeze. Rob
orders a beer and I determine it’s time for sangria and we both want waters.
Rob’s beer and the waters are
delivered by one of those guys you can only find in quirky beach towns. You know the kind I mean, guys who don’t fit
in to constrictive society. They are free
spirits who live life on their own terms.
I don’t think these guys ever get rich or own fancy cars but somehow I
think they find their happiness. He says
the sangria will take a minute and we wait five while the whole time we can
hear him working away inside the bar.
Finally when my sangria arrives it is nothing like I expected. First it is the color of ice tea, not red or
lemony colored like the cava sangrias. Next
it is layered with a caramel brown color on the bottom, a lighter yellow brown in
the middle and then almost yellow on top with the ice. It’s not what I expected but it's very pretty
and with my first sip I learned it was not like any sangria I had ever
tasted but it tasted great!
Back in Barcelona in time for
dinner we decide we are going to a kind of modern hip restaurant in my neighborhood
called Xaloc. Rob likes the food and the
atmosphere. I enjoy my dinner but have
eaten there three times this summer and have never seen the same waiters twice. The fellow who waits on us this time like the
others delivered great service and had a charming personality. I have to wonder what they do with their waiters.
The time has come and as I knew it
would for me to do something I don’t want to do, say good-bye to Cristo the
bartender at Schillings. Of all the
places in Barcelona Schilling has been my favorite since the first week I was
here and that was mostly because of Cristo.
Throughout the summer we have shared stories and adventures, troubles
and joys. I have grown to know him well
and him me. We are friends, real friends
and this will be my hardest good-bye in Barcelona. When we arrive the bar is busy but Cristo
finds the first chance he can get to come over and welcome us. He asks what we’ve been doing and Rob tells
him about our day in Sitges. We
order a drink well at least Rob does by now it is automatic that Cristo starts
pouring my glass of chardonnay as I walk in the door.
When we’ve finished our drinks I
tell him this will be the last time I’ll be by before I leave Barcelona in a
couple of days. His face goes sad for a
minute and then he says, ‘true friends never leave your heart even when they
can’t be near you’. He comes around the
bar to give me a hug good-by and Rob snaps a picture of the two of us.
And then we touched the fingers
tips of my left hand and his right as we have done to say good-night all summer. I’m not sure how or why we started doing this
but it will always mean something special to me, the touch of friendship!
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