San Sebastia Beach
Resting on a hilltop in the seaside town of Sitges is a little bit of Heaven, but you’ll have to look to find it. For many years, Sitges has been one of our favorite destinations… year-round. It’s close to Barcelona but a world apart. This not-so-sleepy town has 17 beaches and some of the best food, hands down. Located on the Mediterranean, with a fun vibe, it makes a great vacation (or perhaps a part-time retirement spot).
It also makes a spectacular final resting spot.
San Sebastia Cemetery sits on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. The tranquil San Sebastia beach sits below. On a sunny day, it is perfect, but I think it is just as beautiful on a wind-whipped stormy day.
Upon entering San Sebastia, my eyes went from left to right as there was so much magnificent funerary art. Much of it is from the 19th and 20th centuries.
They were beautifully decorated with flowers and photos. The ladders are left out so the higher graves can be reached.
So tender…holding a child.
I found this very moving.
Something I respect is the fact that Latin cultures care for their relatives’ final resting place. The grave will be visited as long as someone in the family is alive. I spoke to a woman cutting flowers (there are several sinks and flower-arranging areas). She explained that she visits her family members several times a month…not out of obligation but out of love. Most of them passed long before her birth. She also shared it is a happy experience, and her children look forward to choosing the right flowers. Lovely.
Stunning!
No words!
The last one, I promise…
Some damage, but still amazing
Some of the most exquisite art is found in cemeteries. I’m so glad we took the time to climb the hill to see what we would find.
Have a great weekend. As we are coming up on the two-year (I can’t believe it will soon be two years) anniversary of J.W.’s passing, this will probably be the last post for a few weeks. Take time to tell someone you love them…you never know…you just never know.
What an incredible cemetery! The enduring love and respect for those departed is beautiful.
Hi Lori!
I believe this is my favorite cemetery. The history, the location and most of all the love and respect of those left behind. It grabs my heart.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I appreciate it!
Thanks for taking us on your journey I learn by others sharing as for now
I am on a silent journey.
I know u get that.
Hi Dianna,
Thank you for visiting and commenting. I totally understand the silent journey.
I wish you well.
Cemeteries are so interesting. I do admire the art of the statues and headstones, too. Have been on an adventure with my eyes and reading right now (much less drawing or painting or web designing) is a challenge. Hoping they will heal soon so that all of those things will be less painful. Your posts are always beautiful, and even with painful eyes I always look forward to them!
xo
Hi Christi,
It sounds like it has been a nightmare for you. I am sending many prayers that healing comes quickly. Eye issues affect everything…thinking back to shingles…nightmare!
Thank you for visiting and commenting, especially with painful eyes.
xoxo
I am so glad I came by and read your post. I have always loved visiting cemeteries and I go often to look and photograph the artwork. I now have this one on my places to visit as I believe it is divine. I was raised by my grandfather and we would buy flowers and go every Sunday to my great grandmother’s grave site. I looked forward to it and would bring her trinkets. It would delight my grandfather so much that I enjoyed his mom. But really it was my way of sharing and carrying on my love with her (the best way I knew how to do as a child).
I was most moved by the statue of the mother bowing her head. No words can express grief yet this does it so well.
I saw the photograph of your son, J.W. at the top of the page and he was smiling so bright. He is an angel looking down upon us all. I have one son and I cried elephant tears when I first came to your IG page months ago because I could never imagine losing my baby (well, he is 8). I cannot put myself in your shoes and I write this from one mother to another with love…
My heart bleeds for you. And no matter how much time passes from the time you lost J.W., there will always be an empty space in your heart. It won’t be filled. Time won’t heal a broken heart – I don’t believe that statement. It will get somehow easier “maybe” or maybe it won’t ever be easy. It will only be tolerable. But I do know one thing for sure – you writing this blog has been the best thing for your empty space left by him! Allowing yourself the permission to grieve openly is so courageous. You really give me courage to face a lot of my demons I have with death.
So for the loss of your son, it will always be hard. I don’t have to tell you that. But you have given me and many others so much motivation to heal and love themselves when they too have lost either a child or a loved one and don’t know how to grieve.
❤️ I thank you so much for writing and expressing so many of the things openly that many people are not able to.
Dear, dear Elle,
When I read your precious comment I cried like a baby, for many reasons.
You have a beautiful spirit. I just love how you shared your trinkets with your grandma at her resting place. No wonder your grandpa was so proud of you. A generous child will grow to be a generous adult…he knew that. Thank you for sharing that with me.
Sitges is a special place for us and this cemetery is so spectacular. It is not that large, rather intimate actually. When we first walked through the gates, my eyes could barely take in the beauty. The mother expresses grief without saying anything. Every time I see that photo it just brings tears. The artist must have had a personal experience with loss to capture the true feeling of loss so exquisitely.
Thank you for understanding that a loss of a child is not something you ever fully recover from. You smile, your life goes on but that empty hole is always there just behind the smile. So many have voiced that I (we) should just look forward and not back at all. The loss has molded me into who I am today, it has molded us in a way that nothing else could. I would not wish it on anyone.
I am so thankful for my faith for it has gotten me through and will continue to do so.
J.W is the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of before falling to sleep. It is a comfort that he is whole and happy. He makes himself known with his regular Godwinks which are a gift. His sense of humor remains even though he is no longer on earth.
I read something the other day which is so true, “if a person has lived they never really die.”
Thank you so much for coming over and leaving the comment. That was no coincidence…I was having a rough day and your words lifted my soul.
Thank you Elle, you are a beautiful person inside and out.
Dear Barb,
I do hope you are doing well and your husband is feeling much better. Has he made it through his turbulent health times? I have been keeping you both in my prayers. Faith is what keeps you going. I know that is true for me as well!
I am so delighted to read your comment. It touched me deeply. I am happy to ‘know you’ here through this internet space. In this way we are connected…
and you are right, it is no coincidence we have met one another.
You have such a divine and purely beautiful spirit. J.W.’s light shines through you and your words. I believe he is embodying your heart and soul.
I love this quote that you shared with me,”if a person has lived they have never really died”! I will always remember these words as I believe them with all my heart! As I have moved through life, my path has been guided at times by my grandfather and I’ve even heard his voice redirecting my course. It is comforting to know our loved ones are always with us.
So much love & big hugs to you my beautiful friend,
Elle
Hi Elle,
I am doing A o.k and hubby is feeling better. He has good days and days when he is not feeling so great (I don’t like saying bad days-hehe). He sees the cancer Dr next month. Every 4 months but I am grateful that he’s progressed from every 3 months! I’ll be feeling better (mentally) after that appointment. Thank you for your prayers as they make a difference.
I am also glad we connected online, no coincidence at all. It was perfectly orchestrated by the Master. God bless IG!
You have touched my heart (again). I am so glad you can see J.W’s light through me. He did not have an easy go of it on earth…thankful he is perfectly healthy now. He does live on through me, I believe it.
I believe your grandfather knows exactly what you are doing and has the ability to redirect your course if necessary. That is so wonderful and comforting. Your mind and heart are like a WIDE open door…and he feels that. That’s a beautiful thing.
Take good care my dear.
Much love and hugs to you.
Barb
Dearest Barb,
Yes, there is so much about the tranquility of a cemetery or grave yard. A little taste for us, living beings, how eternity will be.
Honoring the dead is a very important aspect of our culture and yes, in those Latin days of Church, things were being taken care of so much better. Deeper, reaching the soul, the inner being of all of us mortals.
Modern Society has mostly pushed this all off the table, at times even mocking it and us, who still adhere to it.
As long as I live, I will never cease to honor the dead loved ones and they are with me every single day. They give us peace, love and warmth in a way that cannot be found anywhere. No, modern day gadgets cannot reproduce that feeling! Not even close.
So, like you, I love to ponder at a grave side and being transferred back in time.
With a dear friend in the Province of Québec in Canada, we both walked with Hélène and her husband to study and FIND some of hear ancestors. Historically they were called the ‘Fille du Roi’ as they traveled from France to Québec in 1664 and one of her great-grandfathers married such a ‘Fille de Roi” on September 28 in 1670. We also found a stained glass window with a name of her ancestors. It kind of makes you go back in time and FEEL how they lived.
Yes, they passed on their love over the ages and markers, stained glass windows all bear that love and faith.
Like the comment above, being a young girl and visiting your great-grandmother’s grave with a dear grandpa that raises you, is called true love. It nurtures the soul in a way that no move, no book ever can. It makes the soul understand what love and eternity is all about and how we always can communicate with those that no longer are with us.
You follow a true moral compass and life is not always happy sailing but know that I’m all aboard with you!
Hugs,
Mariette
Hi Mariette,
What a heartfelt comment! Beautiful! It’s kind of ironic since we visit graves, decorate, find beauty and tranquility spending time with our loved ones there. Having just done the post on the beauty of Mexico’s celebration, a friend saw it as devil worship (which was disturbing to me) but I guess we are all entitled to our opinions…
I love visiting churches both humble and ornate with stained glass galore and embellishments.
As long as I am alive, I will continue to honor those who have passed on. I would like to think that someone would do that for me someday.
Thank you for visiting and commenting. It is always appreciated.
big hugs,
Barb
P.s. It sounds like the excursion with your friend was amazing. I would have loved it!