MADRID, SPAIN

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We started and finished our Spanish summer vacation in Madrid, mostly because it was the cheapest flight to Europe in August. We planned the rest of our trip around it! On the front end, we just flew into Madrid airport and got our rental car to start the adventure. On the way back, we spent one night in Madrid before heading back home. Our time there was short, and we could’ve easily stayed longer with plenty to do.

WHAT TO DO:

Reina Sofia: By far, one of the best art museums I’ve been to. It had quite a mix of styles of art, including some very bizarre stuff. One highlight is the famous La Guernica. The museum had a large outdoor courtyard, but the nicely air conditioned indoor space provided respite from the sticky hot August weather. I am dreaming of that heat right now as we prepare for more winter weather in D.C. this weekend! Cue the urge to book future travel for something to look forward to. Italy summer 2022, here we come! Tip: There are times when the museum is free to enter, but the line was LONG. With Quinn in tow, we didn’t want to wait in the sweltering heat to save a little $.

Prado Museum: We didn’t make it, but they have El Greco, Velázquez, Rubens, and Goya. There are also opportunities to enter for free, but check for updated times on their website.

La Casa Encendida: This sounded really interesting. It’s an art/cultural exhibit space.

Plaza de Espana: In typical Pastrick travel fashion, I insisted on a long walk to see this. After a sweaty walk when we were on the verge of being too hungry, we came upon a massive construction site. We are 0 for 2 in seeing Plaza de Espanas in Spain (see our Sevilla trip)…

Royal Palace: They also have limited times where entry is free, but confirm on their website. I wish we had made it here, looks amazing!

TIPS:

August is obviously peak tourist/vacation season for Europeans, and it is HOT. Thankfully it didn’t feel oppressively humid and there was a light breeze, but be prepared.

Wander the streets for hidden art everywhere!

WHERE TO EAT:

Sanissimo: Gluten free and vegan options that were hearty enough for Steve

Pum Pum Cafe and Bakery: We went to their tiny bakery outpost for gluten free avocado toast and lattes. So millennial of us, but whatever. The walls were all glass doors slid open to make it a breezy indoor/outdoor space. Blink and you’ll miss it since it is so well tucked away.

If we had more time, I would’ve gone to Amazonico, a jungle-themed restaurant, and El Imparcial for their (dog friendly!) brunch. There are 2 food markets, San Miguel and San Fernando, that have a number of options in one place. We were not on Spanish time, so these spots weren’t really open when we were awake and hungry, though!

A friend who studied in Madrid suggested a number of rooftop spots (360 Rooftop Bar, Azotea del Circulo, and Nice To Meet You) but they would probably be more fun without a baby! Charming Quinn photo to make up for it:

WHERE TO STAY:

Hotel Urban: The hotel was very nice and conveniently located. They have a rooftop with a small pool. Public parking was easily accessible on the same block, although it took us a few tries to navigate the turns and make it into the garage. It was a short drive to the airport, making it easy to fuel up, drop the rental car, and get in the airport without stressing about traffic. I blame it on being overtired, but we COULD NOT figure out how to turn the lights off in the hotel room. To the point that we had to call someone up from the front desk. Talk about embarrassing. That was a first! Poor kid apologized profusely for them not explaining it at the front desk, but really, we were just idiots.

TRANSPORTATION

We had our rental car in Madrid, but parked it and left it. The city was hilly, but walkable. There is an airport express bus, taxi/ride share, and metro option. See a recap of San Sebastian, Bilbao, and traveling to Spain with a baby here. For older Spain recaps, see: Cordoba, Los Alcores, and Sevilla. Stay tuned for one last Spain recap: Valladolid!

BILBAO, SPAIN

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Our road trip continued from San Sebastian to Bilbao. We only stayed one night, but hit as much as we could in one day.

WHAT TO DO:

Our primary reason for stopping in Bilbao was to visit the Guggenheim. It did not disappoint! Quinn would say otherwise. He is apparently NOT a fan of modern art. The museum offered timed tickets purchased beforehand. I was impressed with their safety measures, including temperature checks for all 3 of us before entering. In addition to the indoor exhibit highlights of Rothko, Warhol, and Serra, there are a number of really fun pieces outside. The most notable are Koons’s tulips and puppy made of flowers.

Chillida’s “How profound is the air”. I think it looks like really good cheese?!

If you want more art, visit Museo Bellas Artes for more Chillida, de Goya, and El Greco, just to name a few.

Walk along the estuary of Bilbao. You can’t get lost if you follow the water, and it was really peaceful at night. While you are along the water, you could stop into La Ribera. It looked like a really cool place to hang out and grab a bite. It is the biggest indoor covered market in Europe, in case that was on your bucket list to see…

Get lost walking the small, winding streets of old town, Casco Viejo. There are lots of little bars and restaurants, and a pretty busy nightlife scene. The more modern parts of the city also had some unique architecture.

Wish we had gone here: Azkuna Zentroa for arts and culture.

WHERE TO EAT:

Cinnamon Coffee was a great spot for caffeine and smoothie bowls.

Surfin Tacos hit the spot for a late (for us) dinner in Casco Viejo. If we were maybe 15 years younger, this area would be a fun place to be late night!

Other places we wanted to try, but didn’t have time: El Perro Chico, Bohemian Lane Pastelería Vegana, Kantine, Bihotz Cafe and Foodoo, which looked Sweetgreen-eqsue for a healthy lunch.

As for what to eat, pintxos are a Basque speciality. Just don’t call them tapas! I’m told Bilbao also has a amazing seafood. Too bad I can’t stand fish.

TIPS:

The city is very walkable, so we parked the car upon arrival and walked everywhere. After experiencing the parking garage fiasco in San Sebastian, we were much more prepared to navigate a public garage this time. All but one area we walked through felt very safe. Just like any other place, try not to stand out as a tourist and look lost staring at your phone in a dark alley. Common sense.

As noted in my previous posts, make reservations for food and attractions when possible. This may be an August in Europe kind of problem, or due to the pandemic. Either way, don’t be disappointed and have your chosen museum or restaurant book up before you get a ticket/reservation!

WHERE TO STAY:

For convenience sake, we stayed across the street from the Guggenheim. There may be more hip places to stay, but this was easy access to the museum and parking. Old Town would have required navigating narrow streets, many of which were pedestrian only. That takes me back to a previous trip to Spain where we got our rental car stuck in a pedestrian only narrow street!

Hotel Miro was fine, but nothing special. I see they are currently offering free admission to the Guggenheim for hotel guests, so that’s a perk if you are coming for the museum.

MAP

I’m *still* trying to find the time to fix my mapping function, but here it is. Just zoom into Bilbao for those pins. Stay tuned for Madrid and Valladolid recaps and check out San Sebastian and traveling with a baby in Spain here. For even more recaps of previous trips to Spain, read about our adventures in Córdoba, Los Alcores, and Sevilla, Spain.

SAN SEBASTIÁN, SPAIN

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What is summer without a beach? While Southern Spain and Portugal are beautiful in summertime, we were seeking out cooler temps. That way, Quinn could be comfortable since he was too little to wear sunscreen and play in the water. Google Flights pointed us to Madrid as the cheapest spot to fly into in Europe, and San Sebastian is about 4.5 hours from Madrid via car. We decided to road trip around Spain to break up the drive (recaps for Valladolid, Madrid, and Bilbao to follow).

Meet Larry Langosta, Quinn’s first souvenir. He came from San Sebastian and kept him company on our road trip.

WHAT TO DO:

San Sebastian was actually much bigger than I imagined, with lots of waterfront, walking paths, restaurants, etc. The biggest attraction is the beach! Or should I say beaches. La Concha (on the shell shaped bay) is the biggest, Ondarreta is on the same bay, but quieter, Zurriola is big for surfing, and Santa Clara Island when it is low tide. Temperatures are mild, which made sunbathing beach days unpredictable.

We had one day warm enough to enjoy the sand, though. Rental chairs and umbrellas are snapped up early in the morning, however the boardwalk by the beach provided a nice shade for most of the day. Quinn’s muslin blanket sufficed as our beach blanket while he napped in his chariot, as we like to call it. If we had more beach days, we would’ve bought some of the cheap beach towels and an umbrella at one of the souvenir shops.

I hope COVID is a distant memory sooner than later, but in the meantime, we will remember the summer of face mask tans.

Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus is an impressive Roman Catholic church in the old part of town. While there, wander the small, winding streets for hidden treasures.

Gipuzkoa Plaza is a beautiful park in the middle of the city, complete with swans, ponds and gardens. We grabbed coffees across the street and enjoyed the peaceful scenery.

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was stunning at night!

Monte Urgull, a scenic overlook of the city and water, can be accessed starting at the San Telmo Museum. Unfortunately it would have required about 5 gazillion stairs to get on the trail, so we decided against it with the stroller/lugging a baby in the carrier. Instead, we took the road and walked along the water, which provided an equally amazing view (and an elevator by the aquarium to get back down). Monte Igueldo, another scenic overlook with attractions can be accessed via funicular.

Stroll along the boardwalk at night for live music, street artists, etc.

Chillida Leku is an open air museum a short 15 minute drive from San Sebastian that I would’ve liked to fit in, but we didn’t make it.

TO EAT:

The second biggest attraction: the food! I basically plan trips around where and what we will eat and drink. I love trying the local cuisine (within reason…) and going to places that locals would go, not the touristy spots when possible.

This may be a COVID thing or a peak August vacation time thing, but make dinner reservations! San Sebastian is known to have the most Michelin-starred restaurants per square meter in Europe, but they also have plenty of more casual options. We ALMOST booked lunch at Mugaritz since another food trip we had booked pre-baby (Noma in Copenhagen) was canceled due to COVID, but the price tag and unpredictability of Quinn’s nap schedule made us rethink. It looked like a fantastic experience, and the FAQs indicated babies and children were welcome. Maybe someday we will go back!

These other restaurants, many Michelin-starred, came highly recommended, but alas, we went to none: Arzak, Rekondo, Zazpi, and TOPA

Where we DID eat:

Koh Tao was our first stop for coffee and dressed up avocado toast with gluten-free as an option- hooray!

On our first evening, not realizing the whole reservations necessary part, we got charcuterie, good cheese, olives and wine for the beach. Nothing beats a sunset view with European-priced meats and cheese.

Kafe Botanika was an excellent spot for healthy brunch. They serve lunch and dinner, but that would’ve required reservations. It was open-air with huge windows and a large outdoor patio garden.

Old Town Coffee had really good coffee and yogurt bowls to start the day off right.

Iraila was a casual takeaway spot right behind our airbnb. They had smoothies, fresh-pressed juice, and lots of gluten-free and vegan goodies.

Maiatza served as an excellent people-watching spot for Quinn, who quietly chatted away to this couple sitting next to us with his sweet little voice. Great gluten-free toast and lattes to fuel us before hitting the road again.

Cortázar– We ate outside, but it was pretty cool looking inside. It was delicious!

Taqueria Santo Remedio tacos hit the spot!

The Loco Polo for popsicles- they are all over the place.

TIPS:

San Sebastian is in Basque Country, where locals speak both Basque and Spanish. English was prevalent as well, which is a good thing because Basque is nothing like Spanish, and our Spanish skills leave something to be desired still.

Funny story..well, not at the time. We got trapped in a parking garage. As mentioned, we understand Spanish, but certainly aren’t fluent. Our credit card kept getting rejected at the parking garage exit, and we didn’t want to hold up any cars that might pull up behind us to get out. So, back we go down the parking garage ramp to find a pay booth. This maneuver rivaled parking in a Trader Joe’s garage. IYKYK… After trying to communicate with a lovely gentleman that only spoke Basque, we finally realized it was debit card only, or at least for foreign credit cards?? So come prepared with cash or debit cards, just in case.

Siestas are a real thing. Restaurants have a gap between lunch and dinner where they only serve drinks. Even the grocery store closed mid-afternoon, so plan your meals accordingly. We should’ve bought more snacks before hitting the beach. Charcuterie, good cheese, olives and decent wine are SO cheap and feel fancy. Since we didn’t have dinner reservations set our first night, we opted for the DIY charcuterie board and brought it to the beach for sunset. That beats most restaurant meals in price and views!

WHERE TO STAY:

Airbnb was the answer for us. We wanted a kitchen, laundry, and living space separate from sleep so we could stay up after Quinn went to bed. Hotels were really expensive anyway, so it worked out. Location-wise, we stayed near the beach in a very walkable part of town.

Recaps of the rest of Spain coming soon..ish, along with an updated map with all the things to do, see and eat after I figure out how to fix it!