Sitges

The London summer of 2006 was the warmest on record. Week after week I sought a variety of ways to enjoy the sun, but none compared with the Australian tradition of heading to the seaside. I've previously blogged about my disastrous experience of visiting Southend-on-Sea, and it's so-called "beach". So I was keen to cut my losses and head for Europe. Greg suggested Sitges, and we quickly hatched a plan for a week in the sun, accompanied by Martin and Mark.

Sitges is a small village situated 30 miles south of Barcelona. The beach is long, facing south-east, with white sand, and decent waves. And being Spain, it's almost always sunny. One of the best things about European beaches is the provision of umbrellas and deckchairs, for hire. It's so much more civilised than parking one's ass on the sand. There are even little kiosks where you can buy beer and other refreshments, which I've never seen in Australia. But my favourite feature is the freelance masseurs who work the beach. Most are illegals, and some do a dreadful job, but €20 for a thirty minute massage is a very good deal.

Sitges has been a gay mecca since the 1970s when scores of European tourists first discovered the town. It is now best described as a gay Ibiza, although on a much smaller scale. In fact, the Ibizan superclub Pacha originated in Sitges.

There seems to be a set routine to holiday life in Sitges. Get up, breakfast, beach, lunch, beach, dinner, bars, nightclubs, sleep, repeat. There's not much more to it than that, really, but it's a very enjoyable ride. The restaurants are very good, and the food is excellent. And the nightlife of bars and clubs are conveniently located within stumbling distance of one another, evenly spread through the cobbled and pedestrianised old town.

Unfortunately, timing is everything in Sitges. We managed to visit the bars in the correct order (a peculiarity of Sitges nightlife)... but we chose the wrong month. We arrived in Sitges on the last weekend in September, which clashed with the closing party weekend in Ibiza, and the reunification long weekend in Germany. Ergo, Sitges was practically a ghost town, with too few people under 40, and way too many cashed-up old German queens looking to sugar someone.

We still had fun in Sitges, and frankly I preferred the lower-gear. There was plenty of time to enjoy the sun, and explore the town and port, ably guided by my new Venezuelan friend Marcos. I also saw the preparations for the Sitges Film Festival, which looked really exciting. In fact, I had so much fun last year, I've been itching since to return. That trip is planned for later this month. And yes, I will be visiting in-season!

All of my Sitges 2006 photographs can be viewed on Flickr, either as a browsable set, or as a slideshow.