We are so glad we visited Sitges recently. We took a day trip from Barcelona, where we stayed for two weeks prior to a fabulous Viking cruise. Bet we were in Barcelona the same time you were in Sitges — cloudy and cool most days. But the day we took the train to Sitges was beautiful. We could see ourselves in Sitges long-term. Enjoying your posts!
Beautiful photos, as always, Michael. When you do Mediterranean cruises, do you have a preferred cruise line? What kind of cabin do you look for? Our plans for an extended stay in Europe proceed. We've now added Sitges to our list for while we're in Spain regardless of season -- you've shown us the beauty of the non-seasonal life there. Thanks!
Thanks so much, Lloyd! We have done most of our cruises with Holland America. They are a bit staid and cater to an older crowd, but I've always liked the low-key vibe. We did try Princess this time and we're seriously disappointed. Won't be doing them again. As for cabin, we've almost always done an interior since they are the least expensive and we spend most of our time outside the cabin anyway.
That being said, this last cruise we did have a balcony and I think we would've liked it quite a bit if the weather had been better.
We have gone off cruising for a bit and I'm not sure we'll be doing one again any time soon, unless it's around Australia or somewhere in Asia.
BTW, a couple have shared in our Facebook travel group some unfortunate experiences while testing positive for Covid while cruising. It's definitely still not completely back to normal out there FYI.
Thanks! Bob and I aren't big on cruises in general, but your post gave us the idea of maybe doing a Mediterranean cruise from Spain. Instead, I'm going to push for Morocco or Tunisia as the big side trip. The realities of our move continue to come clearer -- we've got a good movers quote and selected a storage unit to put our "can't give away" stuff in. Next month visa discussions at the Spanish and French consulates. I really appreciate being able to draw on your years of experience as we plan.
Glad you're planning is moving forward! Very exciting to hear. As for cruises, we've done a lot of them over the years and very much enjoyed them.
But times change, and so do we. Now I find myself really disliking only being able to visit a place for a few hours, even if it always with an eye toward coming back for a longer visit. And I've also totally lost my ability to deal with crowds of tourists. I just hate it and hate being part of a group. I just want to go and do my own thing.
It’s too bad you had such awful weather while in Sitges. I experienced the same in Malaga the first two weeks in March. Weather aside, Sitges is such a wonderful place. I fell in love with it 20 years ago and have wonderful memories. Thanks for your story and can’t wait to see the photos on FB!
Dear Michael: The more I see of Spain, the more I place it at the top of the countries I want to visit. Right now, I'm watching 3 Spanish series which are filmed in Espana. I just finished "3 Caminos", which is filmed along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. It is one of the best series I've seen in a long time. It has a multinational cast and uses multinational languages for the dialogue. "Elite", which is filmed somewhere close to Madrid, is set in a privileged high school, Las Encinas, and tells the stories of day to day lives of about 10 high school students. Of course, most of the actors playing the roles are approaching the age of 30, but the eye candy and romantic activity are worth the watch. There's 5 seasons of this show, and I'm halfway through Season 4. Finally, I'm watching "The Boarding School" on PBS. It's set in 1920s Sevilla, and it involves drama, along with many beautiful scenes of Sevilla. Sevilla came on my travel destination radar because the Cathedral there houses what remains of Hernando Colon's library. Oh, and Hernando's Dad is buried there, too. He's a man by the name of Christopher Columbus. So, many thanks for the pictures of Sitges.
We are so glad we visited Sitges recently. We took a day trip from Barcelona, where we stayed for two weeks prior to a fabulous Viking cruise. Bet we were in Barcelona the same time you were in Sitges — cloudy and cool most days. But the day we took the train to Sitges was beautiful. We could see ourselves in Sitges long-term. Enjoying your posts!
Ha! We might have walked right past each other! Glad you got to see Sitges on a nice day!
Sounds like a wonderful visit, even with the weather! Dumb question department: how do you pronounce Sitges?
That isn't a dumb question AT ALL! I've learned time and time that places aren't pronounced the way I think they would be.
I believe there are two pronunciations, depending on dialect. The first is Sit-JIS and the second is Sid-ZES. I think! LOL
Thanks!
Beautiful photos, as always, Michael. When you do Mediterranean cruises, do you have a preferred cruise line? What kind of cabin do you look for? Our plans for an extended stay in Europe proceed. We've now added Sitges to our list for while we're in Spain regardless of season -- you've shown us the beauty of the non-seasonal life there. Thanks!
Thanks so much, Lloyd! We have done most of our cruises with Holland America. They are a bit staid and cater to an older crowd, but I've always liked the low-key vibe. We did try Princess this time and we're seriously disappointed. Won't be doing them again. As for cabin, we've almost always done an interior since they are the least expensive and we spend most of our time outside the cabin anyway.
That being said, this last cruise we did have a balcony and I think we would've liked it quite a bit if the weather had been better.
We have gone off cruising for a bit and I'm not sure we'll be doing one again any time soon, unless it's around Australia or somewhere in Asia.
BTW, a couple have shared in our Facebook travel group some unfortunate experiences while testing positive for Covid while cruising. It's definitely still not completely back to normal out there FYI.
Thanks! Bob and I aren't big on cruises in general, but your post gave us the idea of maybe doing a Mediterranean cruise from Spain. Instead, I'm going to push for Morocco or Tunisia as the big side trip. The realities of our move continue to come clearer -- we've got a good movers quote and selected a storage unit to put our "can't give away" stuff in. Next month visa discussions at the Spanish and French consulates. I really appreciate being able to draw on your years of experience as we plan.
Glad you're planning is moving forward! Very exciting to hear. As for cruises, we've done a lot of them over the years and very much enjoyed them.
But times change, and so do we. Now I find myself really disliking only being able to visit a place for a few hours, even if it always with an eye toward coming back for a longer visit. And I've also totally lost my ability to deal with crowds of tourists. I just hate it and hate being part of a group. I just want to go and do my own thing.
It’s too bad you had such awful weather while in Sitges. I experienced the same in Malaga the first two weeks in March. Weather aside, Sitges is such a wonderful place. I fell in love with it 20 years ago and have wonderful memories. Thanks for your story and can’t wait to see the photos on FB!
Dear Michael: The more I see of Spain, the more I place it at the top of the countries I want to visit. Right now, I'm watching 3 Spanish series which are filmed in Espana. I just finished "3 Caminos", which is filmed along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. It is one of the best series I've seen in a long time. It has a multinational cast and uses multinational languages for the dialogue. "Elite", which is filmed somewhere close to Madrid, is set in a privileged high school, Las Encinas, and tells the stories of day to day lives of about 10 high school students. Of course, most of the actors playing the roles are approaching the age of 30, but the eye candy and romantic activity are worth the watch. There's 5 seasons of this show, and I'm halfway through Season 4. Finally, I'm watching "The Boarding School" on PBS. It's set in 1920s Sevilla, and it involves drama, along with many beautiful scenes of Sevilla. Sevilla came on my travel destination radar because the Cathedral there houses what remains of Hernando Colon's library. Oh, and Hernando's Dad is buried there, too. He's a man by the name of Christopher Columbus. So, many thanks for the pictures of Sitges.