Deck chairs and tapas

My mother used to use the expression "Once in a blue moon" meaning  something that happened very rarely.  This weekend has been one of those blue moons where it seems that everything has come together, collided and formed the perfect occasion.  The event, our good friend and all round funny guy, Richard Thompson's 40th birthday party - the place....Sitges, the gay capital of Europe, the dress code.....the 1970's.  So this week's blog, will of course contain some hopefully interesting food facts, but will concentrate mainly on the people we met and some that we didn't meet! 

Our flight from Bristol to Barcelona was uneventful - no ash clouds, no delays, no mislaid tickets...nada!  So it was a delight to be welcomed on arrival in Barcelona by Matti, a Finish friend who I had been kayaking with way back in the dark ages in 1989.  Tommo was waiting for us in a car that he had borrowed from his friend and Sue and I were whisked off down the motorway towards Sitges.  As we hurtled down the road I noticed that at strategic intervals there were women sitting on plastic garden chairs in very short skirts. Occaionally we would pass an empty chair.  I was intrigued so enquired as to the reason for this.  Tommo gave me the explanation - "they were working girls, you know, from the oldest profession".  Now I began to think just how much business could they be doing when cars are wizzing by at 70mph and what really bugged me was how did the punters know which girl they wanted?  I envisaged the scenario - man driving home from work, thinks, Oo!  I think I'll stop for a sh*g.  Spots the woman but it's too late, he's gone past so stamps on his brakes, skids to a halt and then reverses up the hard shoulder, only to find, it's not the nubile atheltic 400m runner he thought it was, so drives off again to the next deck chair leaving  a trail of carnage and devastation behind him. I can't see it catching on on the M25.

The hotel we had booked was well positioned in an affluent area of Sitges, about 20 minutes out of the main town  and overlooking a golf course - Sue neglected to tell me this!  Refreshed and with bicycles at the ready we headed off to meet up with Tommo, Temoris a Mexican friend of Tommo who is a traveller, journalist and author,Matti and Tommo's girlfriend Catalina, a wonderfully warm and friendly Mallorcan woman who works as a journalist for a Catalan newspaper in Barcelona.  After several beers we headed to a very interesting fish restaurant which looked like a school canteen.  You went in , ordered your fish from the counter and 10 minutes later out it came on a large silver platter which you collected from a hatch in the kitchen - cuts out paying waiters!  The fish was so fresh it was almost still swimming - and was stunningly tasty - we had monkfish, tuna steaks, large prawns, small prawns all washed down with a local white wine and all for 15 euros each - unbelievable value!  By the time we had finished eating and talking it was about 1am so Sue and I headed back to the hotel, cycling along the sea front with the sea lapping in on the moon lit beach - perfect!

Dinner is served!

The birthday boy telling another of his stories...

whilst Matti and Temoris look on in wonder and amazement!

Saturday dawned early, an azure sky and a light breeze.  Following the success of Friday's supper we had agreed to meet for breakfast at one of Tommo's favourite cafes.  The tortilla that we ate was every bit as good as it had been billed it so in return Sue and I agreed to give Richard his presents - note the use of the plural - no expense was spared - all the items, ranging from a 10 litre camping kit bag through to a nylon kite, came from a designer shop in Bridgend.  The "piece de resistance" though was the instructional DVD!

No trip to Sitges would be complete without the tour of the old part of the town and so as we strolled down narrow streets, lined with balconies from which hung geraniums it came as no surprise that we were ushered towards a tapas bar!  Time to eat again.  According to Catalina "pinchos" are traditional Basque tapas - they are bits of bread with a variety of toppings with a cocktail stick through the middle - the stake or "pincho" - and the idea is that you order your beer or wine or traditional cider, choose a selection of "pinchos" and dig in!  If you want more you return to the bar and help yourself.  So that's what we did - for about an hour - when it came for us to leave the protocol is to remind the bar man what drinks  you've had ( he doesn't need much reminding!)  and then he counts the number of cocktail sticks on your plate and charges you accordingly - simple! 

After all that excitement, Sue and I returned to the hotel for a well earned siesta and to prepare ourselves for the excesses of the party.  Tommo and Catalina returned to prepare for the party which was to start at 2100 in Bar Magma although we were assured that most guests wouldn't be turning up until 1am!    The fancy dress costumes had been purchased and we had taken the sensible decision not to cycle down in costume but to get changed in Tommo's flat and drop into the party from there.  Good idea!

Can you imagine running the gauntlet dressed like this?

The party duly got going with Tommos 5 hour play list of 70's music that he had compiled - guests arrived in a variety of costumes, tennis players, Wonder Woman, a selection of Elvis', and of course, no 70's party would be complete without Mr Saturday night fever himself!

During the party we met various people from Tommo's past including his one time flat mate, Rob.  Rob is an actor who specialises in voice overs. Rob's current claim to fame is a  film called "Buried" where he plays the part of  a CIA agent - well at least his voice does!  Check out the preview of the film and if any of you want to know how Rob got into voice overs...... just ask ......the story is very funny!    I digress - the part food had been unwrapped and in true 70's style, we had the ultimate in tapas - cheese and pineapple on a stick!  I'd forgotten how what a revolting combination the two flavours gave to one palate - anyway authentic 70's food!

With the party in full swing and guests still arriving by 1 am we were feeling the pace, so Sue and I decided to leave the youngsters to it!  As we wandered back through the streets of Sitges we noticed that we were getting some strange looks from the night time revellers, so we hurried to our bikes for the 2 mile cycle back to the hotel.  When we had located our locked bikes, Sue was able to retrieve hers, mine however was locked in by an adjacent bike - the car equivalent of being blocked in!  There was no alternative but for me to walk back down the promenade with it's busy bustling walk way and full of gay men looking for some action!  No wonder Sue cycled about 100 yards in front of me!  I arrived back at the hotel intact but not in good humour.  The only thing that gave me a degree of satisfaction was the offending cyclist would find that he had a flat back tyre when he returned to his bike!

Sunday was a late start - the party had finished in a disco around 5 am so Sue and I had a relaxed morning before we met up with others for a late lunch.  A simple affair of roasted chicken, salad and a chocolate cake that someone had given to the birthday boy as a present.  Temoris talked about his travels and his two books (both in Spanish) and his time in Africa and Iran.  If you want to catch up on his exploits go to http://www.temoris.org/ - it's worth it!  Sunday finished with yet another tapas bar for more "pinchos" and more revellry.  Temoris bade us farewell - he is returning to Barcelona in the morning. I wonder what Monday will bring will bring for the rest of us - we're promised a barbeque in the hills overlooking the Med - sounds good to me!