Sitges – A Change in Course

I sit on our balcony overlooking the Mediterranean in a beautiful little village I had never planed to visit—indeed, didn’t know existed until we rode here today. We are supposed to be in Barcelona. That was the plan; walking around one of the world’s great cities, inhabited by over one and a half million people, visiting Gaudi’s great basilica, Sacred Family, and doing a little night photography with a special guide. It didn’t happen. Due to some riots in the city, AMA thought it best to move us to this little village some thirty-nine kilometers from the center of the city.

At first, I was disappointed, but not now as I sit here looking out over these calm waters and feeling the quiet, peace of this place. We will get to see the sites, at least most of them, but instead of fighting the crowds in a huge city, we’ll come back here each evening and enjoy the peacefulness of a small seaside village and the luxury of this quiet five star hotel.

The first part of this trip was to be all about art. Judy and I drove to Atlanta on Saturday and spent a couple of hours in the High Museum of Art at their current photography exhibitions—one floor dedicated to the work of Clarence John Laughlin and three floors exhibiting the works of Sally Mann. It was a joyful as well as a thoughtful experience, as both photographers expressed a philosophy and viewpoint in their work unusual either in photography or in the art world in general. Both are not only amazing photographers but also gifted writers with a depth of thought and perspective on life that is most unusual.

After lunch with family, we headed for the airport where we met up, accidentally, with good friends from Huntsville who were also headed for Barcelona. The flight was uneventful and peaceful, just the thing we needed before our serious travel began.

Once we arrived, however, everything changed as we were taken west of the city and feeling somewhat deprived of our anticipated adventures in Barcelona. We rested, bathed, and then headed out on our own for our 1st “walkabout,” down the hill and into the Old City part of the community of twenty-six thousand people. Whatever disappointment we felt didn’t last long as we found some delightful photo ops, sat for awhile in a little cafe enjoying coffee and a crepe, and even delighted in a short glimpse of the sun. It was most pleasant, but Judy said as delightful as it is, she did regret that we could have taken this afternoon to walk around old Barcelona.

We learned that Sitges is a popular tourist area—renowned world wide for its Film Festival and Carnival during Lent. It is especially popular for its beaches, nightspots, and historical sites.

Following a brief gathering with our group of thirty-eight pre-cruise folk, Christian, our tour guide, led us back to the old town for dinner. On the way we witnessed the beautiful sunset picture here.

This is a good beginning for us to what we hope will be a delightful two weeks. We’ll try to keep you posted.