The power of …
Taking Tapas at La Granja de Sitges
Day 3 of our adventure was a day of relative rest. I say relative rest as we still managed to walk around 6 miles! We arose somewhat later than usual at about 09:00. Frankly we were more than a little tired from our escapades the day before and needed the rest. Having taken our leisurely breakfast by the seafront, we wandered into town and had a look around. This was the first time that we had really visited any of the shops, but no purchases were made. We were on the lookout for a good tapas bar. Eventually we stumbled across ‘La Granja de Sitges’. It was what you might call ‘proper Spanish’. There were no airs and graces, no gimics, just good honest food in a clean and tidy environment. We shared tapas of ‘patatas bravas’, (potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce’, ‘jamón ibérico’, (the best serrano ham), albondigas, (meat balls), and a good slice of ‘tortilla española’, (if you need that translated you’re reading the wrong blog!). It was all accompanied by some p’amb oli, (Catalan for bread with garlic rubbed onto it and then a special kind of tomato rubbed into to afterwards). It was fantastic!
A good clean and tidy tapas bar!
This brings me to the subject of online offerings. Having enjoyed our tapas, (did you know that ‘una tapa is a lid’ and the term tapas is derived from when the workers would come in from the fields and be served a coffee with a ‘tapa’ on it to keep it hot and a small portion of food hot on top? You do now!), I decided to see what Trip Advisor had to say. The last review of it was the day before, (Sunday), and it said, amongst other things, “The paint and wall paper long passed its best. The overall effect is simply shabby and not in the fashionable sense.” It went on to say, “Really the restaurant is in bad need of a refurbish and a Manager that can at least be a bit more productive …”. This person must have been to a different restaurant to us. Either that, or he was a complete idiot! I shall, in good time, add my own review on Trip Advisor to counter his. It was, I admit, the first time I have ever been served tapas in an ashtray, but it was clean and the food was good!
Patatas Bravas served in an Ashtray!
This does bring me to another type of online ‘service’, (I really do use the term loosely!). And something that I forgot to mention on my previous ramblings. The power of Grinder! For the uninitiated, it is an alternative to Tinder, and if you’re still wondering, look it up! During our delicious meal in Chai on the previous evening, a gentleman, (because I am sure that he was), arrived in the restaurant and asked for a table for one. Having ordered a drink and a poppadom or two he spent the next 10 minutes looking at his phone. He then called the waiter over and asked if he could make it a table for two. Within just a few minutes another gentleman, (of similar stature and dress sense), appeared. They both looked at their phones, looked up, shook hands, said hello and sat down to dinner. I have a feeling that it wasn’t just dinner on the menu that night!
Captain Clarke at the Chicken Shack, (with a small side salad)
Returning to our adventures of yesterday, there were none of much note. Having enjoyed lunch we returned to our lodgings and took a rest for much of the afternoon. Captain Clarke took to his bed almost immediately, but I must confess that even I inspected the inside of my eyelids for a while. In the evening there was no real choice on our venue for dinner. I have mentioned previously that no trip to Sitges would be complete without dinner at the ‘Chicken Shack’. Well, last night was it. We went to the Chicken Shack and had … chicken! I will say one thing though – either my taste is fading already or the wine has improved somewhat – I still had the roof of my mouth after the first mouthfull! The chicken was up to its usual standard and thoroughly enjoyable it was too.
Enjoying a small nightcap!
Having enjoyed our chicken we decided to head back towards our hotel where we would take a small nightcap in the bar next door, (of Caipirinha fame), which I must find out the name of. It claims to be the oldest bar in Sitges and, whether true or not, is certainly older than most. The owner, (Dueño in Spanish for those of you that care), is a most affable gentleman and comes over each evening for a chat. This week is the 4th annual ‘Taste of Sitges’ festival and last night we were learning about that. We knew it was on, but they are keeping the locations a bit of a secret! It turns out that there is a small booklet and in it you find which locations are offering their taste and on what dates – you then turn up at the said location and pay €9.80 for a taster and a glass of fizz. We’re going to try and find out more later at the tourist office. This week is also the ‘Film Festival’, although it doesn’t start until Thursday. There are small tents lined up all along the seafront in San Sebastian, so it will certainly be local to us!
Today we arose relatively early and set off for the station. We enjoyed coffee and a croissant in the station whilst waiting for our train which we would take to Barcelona. More on that tomorrow. What I will comment on, however, was the price – €2 for a coffee and a croissant! You can’t possibly get fairer than that – its RudyMenTerry!
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