A short visit to Sitges

We recently were invited down to Sitges for lunch and a guided tour of the town by Tomás and his wife Marta, who have a flat in Sitges. Tomás was a colleague of Pat's at the IMF who also has retired to Spain.

The day was beautiful and Sitges was delightful.

We didn't know much about Sitges, only that it was a beach town just south of Barcelona that had become something of an artist community at the end of the 19th century, after the painter Santiago Rusinyol settled there. It turned out to be more interesting than that makes it sound.

We found that Sitges in fact has not one, but two beaches -- one with a long, delightful waterfront promenade we enjoyed walking. The unexpected pleasure, however, was the picturesque old town, with narrow streets and interesting buildings.











































We learned that, consistent with its history as an artistic community, the Carnival celebartion in Sitges is famous. That was only a few days away at the time of our visit and the decorations were going up.


The streets of the old town lead out to a church on a rocky point that separates the town's two beaches, and provides what understandably has become a standard postcard image of the town.

We are looking forward to going back in warmer weather to enjoy the beach and beachfront cafes -- and the museum (which includes works collected and painted by Rusinyol).