We arrived at the Aire, the rain had stopped and we both felt quite relieved to have escaped the rain. The next morning it was a bit overcast so we decided to spend the day where we were.
We headed down do see the beach. It was only a 10 minute walk away. The waves were huge and there were a few people kite surfing and wind surfing.
The next day we made our way to the train station. The first challenge was finding the entrance! Once were realised that it was on the opposite side of the road we faced challenge number two, getting the right ticket. The station wasn’t manned so we had to use the machine. Looked like we needed a zone 1 travel pass so purchased the tickets.
When we arrived in Barcelona we couldn’t get through the ticket barrier. We found an attendant who told us we needed to have a zone 2 ticket as Cabrera de Mar, the station we started, from was actually in zone 2. Oops! Got sorted and we were through the gate into Barcelona.
First stop was to see the La Sagrada Familia. What a stunning building. Next we found a Starbucks and ordered a Venti Latte, everywhere we had had a coffee so far had been tiny little cups, it was amazing to have a massive one!
From here we walked to Barcelona Beach. This took about an hour and gave us a chance to see lots of the city.
At the beach we stopped for a bottle of wine before heading back to the station, having dinner on the way.
The next day we had arranged to meet friends for lunch so we headed back into the City. At least this time we knew how to get in the station and what ticket to buy!
As we walked to the restaurant it began to rain. It’s not all sunshine here. Still, we managed to get to the restaurant without getting too damp!
After a lovely meal we headed back to the station, stopping for a drink where we were entertained by some very talented street dancers. Wonder if these were the people we saw practising acrobats yesterday when were walking through the botanical gardens to the beach?
The following morning we headed to Sitges. The Aire was beside the International Art School, a short walk to the promenade and beach. There were a few other vans there and they all looked like people were living in them, even though it said max stay 24 hours.
The area was lovely. Lots of interesting sculptures. It is renowned for it’s international art festival in February. We had arrived “out of season” so almost everything was closed. We managed to find a nice restaurant and had a coffee looking out to the sea, listening to the waves.
By the time we headed back to the van we had walked quite a distance. As much as it would have been nice to eat out, the nearest open restaurant was at the other end of the promenade a good 30 minute walk. If it had been a little bit warmer we might have gone back as it had quite a nice menu. There was a brisk wind and the temperature had dropped so we cranked up the heating in the van and had a lovely dinner in house. Created by our resident chef Karen. Washed down with a fine bottle of wine that we had picked up in Cabrera de Mar.
The next morning we headed off to Tarragon which is about 40 minutes drive down the coast. When we got there it started to rain. We sat in the van eating lunch wondering if we would ever get to sit on a beach drinking Pina Colada. Decision made, we hit the road again to get another 100 miles south and hopefully find the sun.
We ended up in a town called Peníscola, which Donald found highly amusing, but we had found the sun. Again, being out of season, nearly everything was shut. We spent a lovely day on the beach soaking up the sunshine watching the massive waves crashing into the shore. Donald had a little paddle but the edge of the beach was quite steep and we were both concerned that one of these large waves would pull him under. Also the sea was freezing! It was a lovely golden sand beach stretching for a mile each side but definitely not a swimming beach, at least at this time of year!
Saint-Cyprien to Barcelona
Mileage 111
Route AP-7
Area Camper Barcelona €15 a night all services
Barcelona to Sitges
Mileage 62
Route B20/C32
Parking d’autocaravanes – Free
Sitges to Peníscola
Mileage 125
Route AP-7/N340
Motorhome Aire – €6 a night no EHU
