travelicious: reus

8/9/2016

Our experiences with Spain have been different than with any other European country we've visited. In every other country - except France, for obvious reasons - we hit only the major cities: London, Dublin, Athens, Rome, Munich, etc. In Spain, we've really only been to smaller coastal towns.

Last year, we hit up San Sebastian, a tiny seaside resort town on the Bay of Biscay in the Basque Country, literally just over the French border. We hopped back across just in time to catch the Tour de France coming through.

This year, although we did take a long weekend in Barcelona, we spent the bulk of our time in the Costa Dorada region - namely, Reus, with some quick field trips to other areas. However, Reus is much smaller and less interesting than, say, Tours, so it was a hard week for me. Because here's a newsflash for you: Spain isn't France.

They don't speak French, or even much English (and I speak no Spanish). They don't have the ubiquitous boulangeries on every corner with the to-die-for baguettes and pastries. Shopping was a disappointment; Reus didn't have nearly the variety or types of stores Tours did. Wine? Okay, but not fantastic. And me? Well, I was frustrated and a little (okay, a lot) homesick for my little corner of France.

But I'm glad we went. We did have fun. And we had a couple of stellar meals. Cocktail hour in the squares was always pleasant. And I can say I've been to one more place, at least.

While I'm not sure I'd recommend you rush out to make a special trip to Reus, if you find yourself in the area here's what you can't miss.

xoxo,
E & B

where we stayed

the view from our terrace...see the ocean in the very background?

NH Cuitat de Reus // Our hotel was, admittedly, pretty great. The room was sizable for a European hotel room, which tend to run pretty tiny. We requested - and received - a room with a terrace so we were on the top floor of the hotel with a balcony where I read most afternoons. Breakfast isn't free with your room, but we recommend you get it anyway, because it's quite the spread. My favorite was a piece of toasted ciabatta-type bread drizzled with olive oil and crushed tomatoes, and topped with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. The staff was friendly, and while the hotel was a bit out of the historic city center, it was a pretty easy walk.

where we visited

Salou // Immediately after arriving in Reus, we changed clothes and hopped in the car to Salou. The coast around Barcelona is like southern California, with all the little beach towns near L.A. Salou was beautiful. We had drinks and snacks at a beachside cafe, and then proceeded to walk nearly seven miles round-trip. There was a lot of activity on the beach: playgrounds for kids, windsurfing, paddleboarding, volleyball nets, etc. Plus, you can't deny the gorgeous blue water of the Mediterranean.

Tarragona // Tarragona was the most important city in the Roman Empire after, well, Rome. Consequently, there are tons of old ruins, although on the day we went they were closed (Europe actually believes in taking days off). But we still got to take a look at the outside, see the amphitheater and wander around the beautiful city, with views of the most beautiful turquoise water ever. There's also a park around the ruins, as well as a little beachfront area. I wish we'd had more time to spend here.

where we ate

La Bajoqueta // We ate here after seeing their 15-euro menu taped outside the door. Even though we didn't wind up getting that menu - we got the 25-euro one - it was phenomenal. We had an amazing meal, including a bottle of great white wine, for a great price. The proprietress didn't speak English and we don't speak Spanish, but it was still wonderful. We got three appetizers to share, my favorite of which was the tomato and sardine (um, we think it was sardines) salad. Then, I got dorado (fish) and B got some kind of beef. And for dessert, cheesecake in a pot with Oreo crust and strawberry topping. This food was amazing. And the entire time we ate, no one else came in. We did not understand that. We still don't.

Little Bangkok // Little Bangkok is the #1 restaurant in Reus on TripAdvisor, so even though it's not Spanish we knew we needed to try it out. I'm super glad we did. We split an appetizer of chicken satay; for a main course, I got Pad Kee Mao and B got green curry. Both were amazing, and very spicy. The Spanish apparently don't share the French's disdain of heat. We tried to walk in one night, but they were already booked. So they made us a reservation for the following night. They speak English, though, which is wildly helpful.

Museu del Vermut Restaurant // We never actually made it to the Vermouth Museum itself, but we did have dinner there, a hint from Brian's coworkers. We split bread with tomatoes on it (a common dish), mussels, and patatas bravas, which are potatoes with a spicy sauce. Even though we only split tapas, we still left totally stuffed. And the ambiance is A+. We ate in a little outdoor courtyard, with exposed brick/stone walls and old vermouth signs hung on them. Highly recommended.

Cafe de Reus // This was our first meal in Reus - a (very) late lunch at 3:45ish after sleeping in until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. It's a cute little cafe on a side road off the main square, but it has tables in the square, which is where we sat. We split a giant bowl of gazpacho and an order of jambon e melone - honeydew and Iberian ham. Both were delicious, and you couldn't ask for a better location to people-watch.

Esquitx Creperia // Good, but not Le Lys d'Or good. That's the best way to describe it. After living in France for six months we have hiiiiigh standards for crepes. Some things are sacred. In my opinion, even Tandem Creperie in Travelers Rest, of all places, is way better than this, but under the circumstances, this worked. However, if you aren't spoiled by living 100 yards from a divine creperie for six months, you'd probably like Esquitx just fine. Don't mind me and my #FrancoSpoiled ways.

what we did

Gaudi Centre Reus // A museum devoted to the life and work of Gaudi, who was born in Reus, Gaudi Centre Reus was actually pretty nice. We got free admission with our hotel stay, so even though we're not big museum or art people we decided to take a shot. We actually really enjoyed it. I liked learning about his art, while B enjoyed the physics behind his architecture (once a nerd, always a nerd). Again, I wouldn't make a special trip for this, but if you find yourself in Reus, you should at least do this.

Parc de Sant Jordi // If you need to kill some time in Reus, a photo shoot here wouldn't go amiss. With swings and a train to play on, and cute, colorful rock-climbing letters that spell out Reus, you can happily kill 20 minutes. I think there might also be a couple of animals in cages and some other stuff, too. Or it's a good place to relax in the shade with a book. Parks are always nice.