Quirky Sitges

From Mallora, we flew back to Barcelona, rented a car and headed 30 minutes south to Sitges.  The city of Sitges is a beachfront community with a crazy nightlife and strong gay community (which I totally love and support). However, I’m not sure it was really the perfect place to plan for a family with young kids and a heterosexual man in his 20s on a search for a wife. It’s a super quirky town.  I was pleasantly surprised to find beachfront playgrounds and topless beaches filled with 20 year old ladies for my brother.  

Eating gelato after a big pizza dinner

Cuddles on Jack and Sophia's bed. 

I woke up early and took the kids out to the playground in front of our hotel so they could let out some energy. They did great in the stroller for long stretches but playgrounds like these were amazing because they could run around and I had a beautiful view!

Jack trying to climb on the top of the playground

Keeping up with her big brother

Our hotel is behind the swing.

We got off to a rough start with the hotel.  Our hotel, Hotel Calipolis, was right on the main road with all the beaches but was outdated and the staff was adamant that we paid upon arrival for our whole stay which I found unsettling.  Things got better once we got to lunch and ordered some drinks and seafood.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach.  When you are planning a trip for other people, it is stressful. I wanted everyone to be happy. We had just paid for the rooms and I wasn’t sure anyone was happy.    By the time I got to the beach, I settled down into a lounge chair for a little siesta while Carl and Stephen watched the kids.  When I woke up, I looked up and found two foreigners laughing and pointing, looked down to see my kids playing with two San Miguel beer cans as beach toys and then looked left to see my husband and brother completely enamored by the topless group of five young ladies in front of us.  I was about to start yelling but decided to laugh instead.  Everyone else seemed to be making the best of their circumstances and so I decided I should too.

Exploring the side streets and shops

At the beach with Daddy

The founders of Bacardi got their start in Sitges.  They also have a big facility here where you can taste of all of the Bacardi rum and learn how to make their drinks

You think they are having fun?!?! Looking at Sophia's pose, I am already worried about college spring break!

They loved the beach at Sitgs. For some reason, they gravitated to it more than the one in Mallorca.  

Making her own fun

Being silly

So glad that Stephen came with us!  The kids loved playing with Uncle Steve and I enjoyed catching up.  He was a great sport dealing with all of us.

The completely nude beach.  We never went there but just peered from the cliffs

I took the kids up for a nap and Stephen and Carl went out for drinks at a beach bar.  We all met up and then had some great pizza and antipasti.  The next day, we spent time wandering the city center which was filled with lots of shops and cafes.  We then spent the afternoon back on the beach.  

Before dinner

Breakfast in the stroller....picking my battles.  At least he ate all of his breakfast

At breakfast, we are going to Freixnet that morning.

Walking back to our hotel.  The beach is to the left and all the shops and restaurants are to the right.

Freixnet is the largest producer of cava.  Those black champagne looking bottles are produced only 20 minutes away from Sitges so we went for a morning tour of the facility and a tasting.  Upon arriving, it had a unique feel.  It was as if I had just wandered back into California and were at the Coppola winery in Napa.  It has a Hollywood feel.  The kids loved playing on the motorcycles and cars that were in the shape of champagne bottles. 

Jack on the Freixnet motorcycle bottle

Cava motorcycle

Sophia exploring inside with her ladybug baby

We all thought these cars were so cool

The entrance of Freixenet

The car's front is just like the bottom of a wine/cava bottle!  

The step ups are champage flutes!!!

My guys

Uncle Steve really enjoyed the whole experience.  Carl and I love to go to the vineyards and wineries to see how things are made.  It was really cool sharing the experience with him.

Inside, there are TV screens everywhere showing all of the movies stars through the ages that have done commercials for Freixenet.  The tour started in a movie theatre where you watched a movie about the start of Freixenet.  Despite the content, the kids loved the movie and thought it was so cool that we were in the movie theatre. We then toured the facility.  For some reason, Jack had a problem with the smell of the barrels and the caves.  It was too intense for him and he complained bitterly.  It was a little awkward having him walk through all the areas listening to the tour with him pinching his nose.  The caves were amazing, and it was surprising to see how much cava they had stored and were not selling.  The tour ends with a cool train ride up the facility.  We got to sit in the front.  Afterwards, we went to the tasting room and were greeted with cava and grape juice for the kids.  They sell all sorts of cava and some of it is amazing, especially for the price.  Afterwards, we went back for lunch and beach time.  

There is a crazy number of barrels that are no longer used.  

I think one of the coolest history notes about Freixenet is that a mother/daughter team took Freixent from a struggling to successful company.  Freixenet now produces more cava then all of the french champagne in France.

Due to the pressure, the bottles can just explode which is a little unsettling

Walking down deep into the caves

Carl was a little too tall for the entrance

Ducking heads

On the train back up through Freixenet

The next morning, we headed back to drop Uncle Steve back at the Barcelona airport.  I hope he had a good time on his vacation despite the Freeman family craziness of travel and kids.  After we dropped him off, we stopped at a cool little restaurant in Barcelona called Milk.  The owners were some ex-pates from the U.S. and  a built a great American brunch place.  The kids had pancakes and we had huevos rancheros.  We really needed that hour break from foreign food.  We recharged and got on the road for our four hour drive to France to visit Chateauneuf du Pape.  

Cheers!  We were all handed flutes of cava (and grape juice) when we finished the tour.  Here we are with our tour guide.