Postcards from Sitges
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Dear James, I’m looking forward to seeing you in the summer when you come to stay here in Sitges. The weather is always nice and sunny and we have blue flag beaches all over the coast, where we can go swimming. You will be here for our annual film festival with over 200 films shown, so I will book us in to see a few. We can also Mr James Bond play a round of golf as there are loads of 23 Victor Lane Spyville courses near here. One day we can go into Kent Barcelona, as it’s only a short distance away. JB1 007 We must also go to the theme park Port Aventura. But the problem is it gets a bit over-crowded so we would have to go early to avoid the rush. You will also need to be careful of pickpockets in the area. The night clubs and bars are very nice in the evening but it does get over crowded and some of the tourists are a bit rowdy. Must go now, see you soon 2 From Alex
By Isabel • • •
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Heya, I can’t wait for you to get here next week. We will have so much fun together!! The weather should stay lovely and sunny the whole time you’re here so that’s even more good news. But unfortunately you’re coming at the peak of tourist season so things will be much more hectic then when you came last time, you should see the beaches it isn’t just sand and waves it’s just people!! We moved to a different house, this one is a lot nicer and newer. All the bedrooms have a view of the sea, it’s magical to wake up to. The nearby town is a lot bigger than it used to be, but that’s ok that means we can do more shopping!! ☺ My mum said we can go on the bus; the roads are just too busy to just walk into town. I have a little job at the hotel just to earn some extra money so we could do more fun things together, one day a tourist gave me some concert tickets. So now we can go see that is you want to!? Can’t wait to see you!! ☺ 3 Harper x
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To: anonymousperson@hotmail.com Subject: Living in Sitges Hello Jack, You knowing me to be a “boring” guy who guides tourists through the museums, I just came to email you about your inquiry about living in the lovely town which is Sitges. As you know with your frequent visits, the Museums and Architecture are exquisite with an aurora of calmness and tranquillity. Also the brilliant nightlife which is greatly beneficial to our age provides a huge attraction to tourists (which pays my salary) and may persuade you to move here. But of course with all the attractions there must be a price, you’ll find that work is hard to come by if you do not enlist yourself in the tourism sector. With peak seasons contributing to this as our work is highly dependant on what time of year it is and whether the town is an eyesore or not. Also you might find that the scenery is somewhat unclean due to the high influx of campers and trekkers here creating a huge environmental following to stop littering. This may put off campers with strict littering prevention laws. But anyway hopefully you’ll come and look for some houses in the near future, Regards Kane 4
By Lauren • •
Hello mia, Well I’ve been living in sitges for three months now, and I’m emailing you to give you an update on how I’m doing, I will start with the heat, its sooo warm here, compared to where you live it will be like a oven. My family loves it though, oh and if you’re wondering my family is all fine, how is yours? My mum works as a maid here and she has married again to the hotel manager, I know what you’re thinking but they make a nice couple. Although one thing that I don't like is the water we get at our house. It's all muddy and we have to filter it! I do however love the wildlife and of course not to mention the amazing scenery. I have to go, father wants 5 the computer! Hope to see you soon, Lauren. .
By Max
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By Shannon •
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• Dear Andy, it will be great to see you next week when you come over! I can hardly wait!! Here it’s rather crowded and noisy right now. Lots of litter is just being thrown on pathways! I bet you are glad you are coming before the tourist season has started! • Our house is absolutely amazing! The view is so beautiful! Yes, there is a lot of grey concrete and bleak glass, quite dull, but, hey, it’s still amazing! The town’s folk are really nice and the harbour, where the boats are, is lovely! It’s especially good because you can walk there! An easy five minutes! • The stone quarries in the national park, Garraf, are amazing! So much to see!! The Mediterranean is so warm! I know for sure that you would love jumping off our boat into the lovely waters! • The museums are fantastic! There is so much to see! I can’t tell you what there is to see right now because it will spoil the surprise. Palau Maricel is amazing!! Xatonada is the national dish. It’s a fish mixed with mash and spices. It is rather nice. See you in a week Andy! Ps we will have to give you some Xatonada for you to get a taste! Don’t puke! 7
By Simone • •
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Dear Molly I am a tourist guide here in Sitges, I am very happy your coming to visit but you should come soon because it will get very busy as all the tourist come and go and they destroy the beauty of things here in Sitges. I can take you to the beach; the beach is very nice here, beautiful water and nice places to relax. We can also learn new languages together and go on long walks. It’s always very hot here so make sure you come in shorts and tt-shirts. There are really nice festivals with lots of food, the flats are very nice to go and sit and cool down after a nice day at the beach. There will be concerts when you come here so we can go party. 8 Well I hope to see you soon! Best wishes
By Luke • •
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Dear Thomas, I will be very happy to see you again, when you come here, in such a long time. The time you decided to come here is a very awful time because it is the tourist season and there will be lots of noise and will be very crowded. But I will try and help you have a wonderful time here. I have already arranged places we could go to while you have your stay here. We will go to an aquarium; I know that you really like aquariums, to see some fishes. Then we can go to the old town to see some old, but fascinating buildings; I hope you will like it. After that, it will be around noon, so I’ll take you to a restaurant that serves some fantastic food! This restaurant is a restaurant I recommend because there is delicious traditional food here, as lots of other restaurants have changed their menus to something not so traditional like fish and chips. I have to go now, goodgood-bye, and I hope you have a safe trip here. 9 See you then!
By Yulia – a VERY long one • •
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Dear Millie, I thought about sending pictures again but I think I need to brush up on my writing skills. Sitges is lovely, like always but now that I am older I see other qualities here. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to move anywhere else but it’s becoming more and more populated and polluted because of all of the tourist attractions. The things I love about Sitges are:
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You will never get bored because there are so many things to do and so many things to see. It is a beautiful place and you can always make friends. The weather here is so warm that you don’t want to waste it inside. There are Blue Flag Beaches everywhere. There are a lot of jobs so it’s easy to live here. Families are much closer together. Because this is a tourist attraction part everything is in English. The shopping is incredible because of international companies setting up businesses here. 10
By Yulia – a VERY long one •
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The things that (in my opinion) are problems are: 1. Every summer more and more tourists arrive so it becomes busier and busier. 2. Sitges is losing its original culture and History. 3. It’s turning into a polluted, commercial place. 4. Because more and more people keep coming, the sand has eroded and people have added. Groins which looked horrible and have spoiled the beauty of the seas. 5. Everywhere you go, you see restaurants, shops, nightclubs and hotels which are good, but they ruin its natural beauty. 6. Sitges is close to Barcelona which means people that live in Barcelona come and visit all the time. 7. The History isn’t respected anymore and has become another attraction. I really hope you can come despite me putting you off, but I would love to show you the still historic places and just to see you really. I hope everything is good in Austria and I would love to hear what you like and don’t like about it. 11