Working M through F, turists on the weekends

I was told Spain is on vacation in August but I didn't really understand what this meant until I arrived here. Every other store has a sign in Spanish or Catalan with a note something like this:

"On vacation. We'll be back in September".

Amazing! The other amazing thing about Spain is that on the weekends it's impossible to do business. At the grocery store they close from 2 to 5PM on Saturday and on Sunday they close for the entire day. So, during the week we search for apartments (what a pain this is!!!) and on the weekends we become tourists (which is actually not bad at all ;).

Last weekend we went up on a mountain and this weekend we took a stroll by the Mediterranean Sea. If you want to get a great view of the city is best to do it from above. Believe me, I didn't realize how impressive Barcelona is until we took this trip to the top of Tibidabo.

We walked and walked up the hill, on a hot humid afternoon. By the time we reached the midpoint we decided it was time for a break, so we stopped at a terrace to grab un refresco. From here we caught the cable cart, for the steepest part of the way. The view was magnificent, but when we reached the top we were unpleasantly surprised to find an amusement park right alongside the Sacred Heart Church. That was odd. I wonder if the church runs the park, because otherwise I don't understand how was it possible to obtain a permit to run religious and amusement worship centers at the same time. Hmmm, maybe that's the new incentive to attract people to go to church up on the steep hill! Great marketing!

This weekend we went down to sea level to enjoy the breeze. We quickly learned that Barceloneta beach is fully packed on the weekends so we decided to check out Sitges and Vilanova i la Gertru, located about 40km southwest of Barcelona. We got there by train but buses and cars are a popular option also. Sitges is definitely a touristy place worth visiting. We had one of the best rotisserie chicken at a local restaurant and than hit the nicely groomed promenade Miramar. The beach was busy here as well, however, if you don't like the crowds you can continue walking south and find a secluded cove and a beach all to yourself. That's what we did. We walked and walked until we found a nice little beach than continued walking and hiking all the way to Vilanova i la Gertru. This small town is nothing like Sitges, but the beach is really nice and wide and the sand fine and soft. It was worth exploring the area by getting off the beaten path. As one can imagine, it was an enjoyable and tiring day trip. We walked and hiked about 8km and seen all sorts of interesting views. After such a busy day, I'm sure we'll be sleeping well tonight!