BARCELONA, SPAIN

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We love to travel, and have really enjoyed being able to show Quinn the world in his first year of life.  It’s a different experience with baby gear in tow, but for the most part, he’s an excellent traveler and down to explore new cities and try new foods just like us.  But the time must come to have a true vacation without responsibility, because we also need a little break.  Steve found a great deal to Barcelona, and my parents graciously agreed to stay at our place and watch Quinn for us so we could get away.

First, traveling in September is SO much better than August.  We knew this, but unfortunately work schedules normally make it hard to take off then.  But September is less crowded, less expensive, and most importantly, less hot!  Almost every travel memory I have involves dripping with sweat trying to enjoy the sights.

The temps were perfect end of Sept: cool in the morning, comfortable mid-day, and warm enough in late afternoon to take a dip on the Airbnb’s rooftop pool.  Evenings cooled back down, making it almost crisp when out walking to dinner.  

TRANSPORTATION:

Uber has a strange hang-up- you have to wait 15 minutes after opening the app to request a ride.  The signage was also terrible trying to find where Uber picks up.  Taxis were easy to find, and a very similar fare (and accepted credit cards).  Once we arrived in the city, we walked everywhere.  There is a subway system, but no better way to see the city than pounding pavement!

WHERE TO EAT:

Start the day with coffee. So many good options to choose from!

Satan’s Coffee Corner: Self-described as “hellishly good coffee”

Dalston Coffee: The tiniest little cafe tucked into the El Raval neighborhood. There was exactly 1 long bench inside, more suited to sitting while waiting for your order. We dropped our bags at the Airbnb concierge and started our day here to charge up our phones, caffeinate, and then begin exploring.

Syra Coffee: They have locations across the city, but most appear to be very tiny inside. We stopped by their location near the base of Montjuïc, and they had a bench outside where we sat to enjoy.

If we had more time, we would have visited Nomad Coffee and Taos Living, too.

Moving on to brunch/lunch:

Honest Greens: Healthy, quick food with locations around the city. Order at the counter and they bring it to your table.

La Papa: There was a long line to get seated, but it moved quickly. Maybe that’s their normal wait time, but it was a holiday weekend as well. This place had the most insane (gluten-free) toast and instagram-worthy design.

I know you didn’t come here to look at pictures of coffee, but this one was too pretty to not record, with a fun cup too.

Flax and Kale: More great gluten-free toast. They had ample seating on two floors, plus a grab-and-go station for fresh juices and snacks.

Lulu and Flyn: Tiny little brunch by day/natural wine bar by night.  Excellent green bowl to feel healthy.  Steve noted the stool was European sized and definitely not designed to fit his American derriere.  It was dog friendly, and I loved that a giant dog just laid down right by the kitchen door so every employee had to carefully step over him.  No one dared to move sleeping beauty!

Now, onto dinner!

Pizza Natura: Tasty thin crust gluten free pizza with vegan options.  A slight translation fail led to receiving 2 shots of limoncello instead of the check, but whatever!

M2: This was a far walk from our Airbnb, and not worth the distance. But if you are nearby, it was good gluten-free food.

Mescladis Del Pou: “Sustainable cuisine served in a hip, arty space by interns of a culinary training program.” Tons of outdoor seating (maybe all outside actually?), however we had 1 snafu. QR codes for menus are here to stay, and that’s a minor problem for slow internet.  Our T-mobile plan is free internationally, but not super strong, so if there’s no wi-fi, there may be no menu!

Bistrot Levante: There’s no wine list, the server just recommends something based on your taste preferences. The food was also delicious! I think it was extra busy during our trip due to the festival, so we had to make reservations for a different night as walk-ins weren’t available the day we tried.

Snacks and treats:

Juice Dudes: Smoothies, etc.

CHÖK: After visiting Dalston Coffee, we stumbled upon this little bakery. Gluten free and vegan goodies! Check out their version of a cronut! I housed this while Steve went to a grocery store and got bananas. Hmm..

Zona D’Ombra: Catalan wine bar/shop that came with two very loving pups

Boqueria: It was closed for the holiday when we were in town, but tons of food stalls off La Rambla. I had to check through my old travel photos to confirm, but I have indeed been here. I guess it wasn’t super memorable, but there’s photo evidence it happened!

WHAT TO DO:

We happened to arrive during La Merce, really not knowing what that entailed. Well, it included playing with fire, giant puppets on stilts closing down the streets, and free performances across the city.

The pictures certainly don’t do it justice, but people of all ages dress in fire-retardant gear and twirl around flames and giant sparklers, along with ominous-sounding drums. Fascinating and terrifying to watch (from a distance). If you are curious, here’s a bit more about it: Fire Run.

Here are the giant puppets that caused a traffic jam.

If you visit on any other weekend, start with all things Gaudi!

Sagrada Familia: We didn’t go last time because it was pricey, but decided we were likely missing out on one of the main attractions.  It was well worth it, including the guided tour.  I’ve seen a lot of European cathedrals, but never seen anything like this one!

Another Gaudi attraction was right near our Airbnb, Casa Batlló. We didn’t go inside, but the outside was stunning.

Since this was my third time in Barcelona, we did skip a main attraction: Park Güell.  I recall its beauty, but like most vacations, it was in the thick of summer and up a big hill.  Memories of sweating profusely in close proximity to other tourists.  I’ll just share some ancient photos of those visits here instead, because it’s fun to walk down memory lane and see how far digital photography has come…

Montjuic: It’s a long uphill walk, but the view over the city is spectacular.  You could also take the funicular to get here.  Not too far away is the Magic Fountain, which apparently has a music and light show at night.  If it wasn’t so far from where we were staying, I would have liked to see it.

Moco Museum: With minimal plans made prior to landing in Barcelona, we found ourselves with time to kill before we could check into our Airbnb.  Running on little sleep, we decided to hit the ground running and visit the Modern Contemporary Art Museum.  To be honest, I hadn’t heard of it before, but saw an ad at the airport. Well, the ad worked, and it was one of my most favorite parts of the trip. The museum is housed in a former residential palace with the works of Warhol, Basquiat, Banksy, Dali, Kusama, and many more. 

The exhibit finished with Diamond Matrix which was very similar to Kusama’s infinity rooms exhibit I saw when it was in D.C.  I love the explanation of the Diamond Matrix exhibit:

“As humans we undergo great pressures. Yet socially, failing is not accepted.
Diamonds, made of carbon, go through incredible stress, to emerge as
shining jewels and one of the strongest materials on earth. So can you.
This installation of hundreds of light-up diamonds expresses that we
participate in a bigger picture, sharing more similarities than differences.
Life is messy and hard, but it makes us stronger. Celebrate your
indestructible shine. Who are the diamonds in your life?”

While wandering around after dinner one night, we stumbled upon an art gallery with a DJ and a CAT! Even the cat’s litter box was part of the exhibit.

And it’s been awhile in my doors series, but here is tiny door, big Steve.

Check out our other trips to Spain here: Bilbao, Cordoba, Los Alcores, Madrid, San Sebastian, Sevilla, Valladolid, and a recap of Spain with a baby. Until next time…

VALLADOLID, SPAIN

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I’ve finally come to the end of recapping our trip to Spain….from August 2021. This one is short and sweet, covering our time in the area near Valladolid, Spain.

Our initial plan was to stay one night in Valladolid after landing in Madrid, as it was a 2 hour drive from the Madrid airport. Our flight landed at 9am, so it made sense to get our rental car, take a little drive, and end up at a relaxing getaway after an overnight flight. We liked our hotel so much, we ended up staying another night on the back end of our trip. We booked our hotel in Madrid through Amex Travel, which gives you a lot of flexibility and more lenient cancelation and changes. So, we were able to change our reservation in Madrid from 2 nights to 1 with no penalty. This was our first time changing our itinerary on the fly, but it was well worth it!

WHERE TO STAY:

Castilla Termal is a Spanish hotel group with 4 locations. We stayed at Castilla Termal Valbuena, located in San Bernardo, Valladolid. The hotel is quite unique in that it’s a former monastery. In fact, it is considered the best preserved 12th century Cistercian monastery in Europe. If you need to truly unwind and relax, this is the place for you. The hotel is located in the middle of nowhere, but a number of wineries can be found in close proximity. We opted to indulge in the thermal pool and outdoor pool instead.

The food was top notch. No need to leave the property to eat if you don’t want to. The breakfast spread had a little bit of everything (and was included in our room rate). We also enjoyed dinner with Quinn fast asleep in the stroller. So peaceful! All meals were offered al fresco or in their dining room. Dinner with a sunset and no light pollution, plus a friendly kitty on their terrace- what’s not to love?

The hotel provided a crib for Quinn, complete with a little teddy bear for him to take home! We brought our own sheet, which made me feel a little better about using a hotel crib…

The hotel has an underground spa in the cisterns of the monastery, but no photos allowed. Check it out online, because it is incredible to see! I guess I wasn’t supposed to take photos of the thermal pool either, oops. It had various stations with water jets designed for different medicinal uses. The water was also a specific balance of minerals that’s supposed to be good for you. One of the thermal pools spanned from indoor to outdoor, in addition to a “normal” pool outside. You also get to wear these really cool swim caps.

While the little village adjacent to the hotel was just residential, it was full of colorful flowers and perfect for a quiet evening stroll. There was a walking/running trail located behind the hotel as well.

On our drive out of town, we spotted a number of sunflower fields. So pretty, but really hard to capture while moving. We headed to San Sebastian from here, which took about 3.5 hours. If you’re road tripping North like we did, you could make a stop along the way in Burgos. If you’re going South, you could stop in Segovia.

A few more pics of the hotel:

Recaps from the rest of this Spain trip here:

Bilbao

Madrid

San Sebastian

Spain With a Baby

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.