“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
~Robert Orben
If you’ve read the previous blog post, you would know that Amanda had a work trip to Spain and we were able to spend some time in Barcelona. What she didn’t tell you was that her meeting actually took place in La Pineda. This was my first international plane ride on my own. It was a little weird not having anyone with me to navigate the airports, but luckily I made it!
I flew out a couple days after Amanda left for Spain. I was able to get a “day of” flight using miles and off to Spain I went! We love extending business trips over the weekend and only having to purchase one flight. It also typically saves the company money so it’s a win-win.
I flew into Barcelona and then took a bus to La Pineda. La Pineda is a town in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. I arrived at the Gran Palas Hotel and it looked pretty nice from the outside.
I checked in and the learned that the resort had a lot of amenities around the property. I checked out our room briefly, sent Amanda a quick text to let her know I had arrived and quickly headed down this stairway to the backside of the property to explore!
Once outside, you walk down a nice pathway to the pool area.
One of many pool areas of the Gran Palas Hotel.
The property is very large with indoor swimming pools, fitness areas, outdoor tennis, indoor and outdoor restaurants + bars, spa, multiple swimming pools and sitting areas.
After spending some time exploring the hotel property, I decided to make my way to the beach!
The beach of La Pineda is 5 minute or less walk from the hotel. The beaches were crowded with people enjoying the sun!
I didn’t take many pictures during the day on the beach.
This was due to a few things:
1. Topless women everywhere
2. Kids not wearing swimsuits
3. One man not wearing a swimsuit
4. I was alone on the beach and didn’t want to leave the camera on shore. I tend to spend most of my time in the water!
There were a few old structures near the water. I’m not sure what they were, but they looked cool for a few pictures!
There was a pier on the beach as well. It was filled with fishermen or kids jumping off the rocks most of the time. I did spend some time here one night, but I will talk about that in another blog post.
There is also a small town with shops, restaurants, souvenir stores, bars and even a Pancha Club that Amanda and I were able to visit with her co-workers on the last night/early morning of their meeting. It was an experience!
Traveler Tip: If you are a late riser or don’t like crowds on the beach, head out to find your spot around 1 pm. Each day, the beach would clear out for lunch. I was amazed at the amount of people who would leave to go have lunch. I packed my lunch and enjoyed my “lunch hour” on the beach!
Overall, La Pineda is a quiet town to explore and it seems to be off the beaten path. It is a great place to relax and visit while your significant other is stuck in business meetings all day. I must admit, it was tough work to sit on the beach for 8 hours a day then head back to the hotel to lay out by the pool.
I’m exhausted just thinking about it…
-Brian
