Tossa de Mar, Spain

(June 18-June 21) On our way out of the hotel in Barcelona we ran into the bride and groom who suggested we make a stop in Tossa de mar, up along the Costa Brava. We had both wanted some relaxing beach time in a quiet little town and our friends assured us that Tossa was the ideal place. The bus ride took about an hour an a half and dropped us off at a small station right in the center of town. With no maps of our own we set out in search of some type of accomodation.

We had only walked a couple of blocks when we stumbled upon a sign and an open door to a small hotel. A woman selling sea shells (down by the sea) darted out of her shop and lead us up to a cheap room over looking their interior garden patio. The strange thing about this hotel was that we found it by shear divine providence. We walked by that same door a dozen times over the next few days and only saw the lady in the shell shop once. The Spanish take their siestas seriously. Life shuts down mid-day. In fact life doesn't begin until mid-day and then promptly shuts down until evening and then barely opens after that. It's amazing that anything gets done.

We lathered up and headed straight for the beach. We walked down the narrow roads past the white washed buildings to the water. The beach is situated between castle ruins to the south and rocky hillsides to the north. In between the water is a magnificent blue. Hundreds of outdoor cafes line the small streets selling paella, tapas and sangria. Matt and I spent slow days in Tossa picnicing on the beach and floating like angels in the salty waters. One day we even watched a soccer game from an outdoor cafe with waves lapping on the beach just behind the tv screen.

Our first night going to sleep we felt so lighthearted about finding this little treasure we had no idea what was in store for us. It was as though our room was situated right in the middle of a jungle. The bird calls literally sounded like people were departing the human world and entering the animal world. Seagulls made noises that verged on human cries. All night long it was a convention of beasts trying to out bellow each other. I hardly slept a wink. Of the many things we packed in our arsenal of first aid kit nothing as come in more handy than ear plugs. We slept soundly the next few nights with those puppies in to drown out the birds.

Tossa is our favorite spot thus far. The perfect mixture of quaint town, cobble stone streets, white washed buildings, castle ruins and most importantly beach. Plenty of foreigners tend to agree with us because people from all over Europe were there enjoying little Tossa.