Trip to Spain (No Kids)

[Philly Mom]

For my 40th bday, I think DH and I might go to Spain. He wants to go to Barcelona. I want to go somewhere else as well. We like to eat, history, parks/gardens, country side... This will be our first big trip we have ever taken on our own. We go to England every year, but that is to see family. For our honeymoon, we spent a week on Rhodes island in Greece. Before kids, we would travel around England for short trips, but then would head back to his parents. We were thinking May time frame. Any ideas?

[ged]

I've only been to Barcelona a few times (and I love it) and up to the Costa Brava region. If you're into food, I read that the owner of ElBulli plans to re-open a food "lab" in 2019. Nearby, I'd be interested in San Sebastian, Bilbao. And without kids, I'd seriously consider going to Morocco.

[Philly Mom]

I've only been to Barcelona a few times (and I love it) and up to the Costa Brava region. If you're into food, I read that the owner of ElBulli plans to re-open a food "lab" in 2019. Nearby, I'd be interested in San Sebastian, Bilbao. And without kids, I'd seriously consider going to Morocco.

We already did Morocco. We went with my whole family pre any grandkids. Neither of us liked it very much, mainly because we both got the flu and found the air quality to be lacking [aka my light colored pants came home with a grey tint that never came out.]

Bilbao is a great suggestion. I will look into San Sebastian. What's in the Costa Brava region?

[almostmom]

For the second stop, how would you get there?

Barcelona is amazing, and a great choice. The food, the art, the feel of the place - amazing. If you want to drive somewhere from there, renting a car and driving along the northern Spain border and coast is amazing, hiking in the Pyrennes, small mountain towns, then to the coast, past Bilbao to Santander. We did that on part of our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. But we didn't have to drive all the way back to Barcelona as we dropped our car off in San Sebastian and headed into France. If you are willing to travel further, by plane or train, Madrid is a fabulous city, amazing museums and food and culture. Taking a day trip to Toledo or Segovia from Madrid is a great countryside trip to see cobblestone streets, cathedrals, etc. Another option is Sevilla and Cordoba in the south - they are both incredible, so much to see, but far from Barcelona.

I'm sure Valencia is great, and accessible from Barcelona, but I have never been there.

[Philly Mom]

For the second stop, how would you get there?

Barcelona is amazing, and a great choice. The food, the art, the feel of the place - amazing. If you want to drive somewhere from there, renting a car and driving along the northern Spain border and coast is amazing, hiking in the Pyrennes, small mountain towns, then to the coast, past Bilbao to Santander. We did that on part of our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. But we didn't have to drive all the way back to Barcelona as we dropped our car off in San Sebastian and headed into France. If you are willing to travel further, by plane or train, Madrid is a fabulous city, amazing museums and food and culture. Taking a day trip to Toledo or Segovia from Madrid is a great countryside trip to see cobblestone streets, cathedrals, etc. Another option is Sevilla and Cordoba in the south - they are both incredible, so much to see, but far from Barcelona.

I'm sure Valencia is great, and accessible from Barcelona, but I have never been there.

Good question. When you drove up, how far were you from a major French city? I think I would love to drive into the south of france and fly out from there. We could also take a cheap flight or train internally. We have no plans. This is just beginning of planning.

[almostmom]

We drove as far as the Caves of Altamira, stopping along the way for a night here and there, then back to San Sebastian where we stayed our final night in Spain. We stopped in Bilbao for the museum, but not much else (this was 17 years ago, mind you).

I can't remember exactly where/how we did it, but I think we took a bullet train from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. We were headed to the Alps from there, but I'm pretty sure you can take the train from there to Paris, and it's a fast train! Barcelona, driving along the Pyrennes, and then taking a train to Paris sounds like a fabulous trip! Or maybe you could take a train from somewhere closer to Barcelona.

[ged]

What's in the Costa Brava region?

Well, we wound up there because we were on a long Euro trip, and got bored of all the amazing &charming walled towns& villages in Tuscany and Provence, lol. We had a car, so we cut our time short in So. France and drove even further into Spain (we wanted to go to another country), and spend some time along the coast. It was our vacation within a vacation, and we really just did nothing except hang at the resort, eat great food, and spend time along the coast. This was back in the day so we didn't have unfettered access to the internet and the ability to know all the great sites nearby. All I know is that we were close to ElBulli and I really wanted to go, but of course we couldn't get in. I had the best lemon gelato in my life at that resort, and I wasnt even a lemon dessert fan back then. Ha! Now that I think about it, that dessert literally changed my life.

I do like the idea of venturing into France as an option, and you certainly don't need to go all the way to Paris. So many great places in So. France (even though we cut our time short on that trip, we still went to many places, and have also been back since a few times). I've heard great things about the Langeudoc region and would love to explore more.

[marinkitty]

Andalusia is amazing - Grenada, Sevilla, Cordoba, Malaga, all the tiny hill towns - we did a six day driving trip through there two summers ago and it was amazing and I want to go back again because we barely scratched the surface. So, so great. Not really close to Barcelona at all, though.

If you want easy within striking distance of Barcelona there are lots of great day trips or places really close - Montserrat, Sitges, Girona, Cataques (and a bunch of other beach towns along the Costa Brava), also the vineyards in Catalunya would make a fun driving day. I think I'm a bit of an outlier as Barcelona has never been a favorite of mine (enjoyed it but wasn't as blown away as most people seem to be), but there is so much to do right there that would mean less traveling about that you might be just as happy sticking to that region and really doing a deep dive.

[cuca_]

Andalusia is amazing - Grenada, Sevilla, Cordoba, Malaga, all the tiny hill towns - we did a six day driving trip through there two summers ago and it was amazing and I want to go back again because we barely scratched the surface. So, so great. Not really close to Barcelona at all, though.

If you want easy within striking distance of Barcelona there are lots of great day trips or places really close - Montserrat, Sitges, Girona, Cataques (and a bunch of other beach towns along the Costa Brava), also the vineyards in Catalunya would make a fun driving day. I think I'm a bit of an outlier as Barcelona has never been a favorite of mine (enjoyed it but wasn't as blown away as most people seem to be), but there is so much to do right there that would mean less traveling about that you might be just as happy sticking to that region and really doing a deep dive.

I totally agree with marinkitty. I liked Barcelona, but wasn't blown away. On the other hand I love Madrid and Andalusia. You could easily fly or take a train from Barcelona to Madrid. The last time we were in Spain we flew into Madrid and from there did a day trip to Toledo. Then we went to Cordoba, Sevilla and Granada. Granada was my favorite, but I loved all three. We also went to Marbella and then drove up to the hills to Ronda, which is absolutely beautiful.

If you wanted to stay closer to Barcelona, you could also go to Mallorca. I have never been there, but hear wonderful things.

[Philly Mom]

I totally agree with marinkitty. I liked Barcelona, but wasn't blown away. On the other hand I love Madrid and Andalusia. You could easily fly or take a train from Barcelona to Madrid. The last time we were in Spain we flew into Madrid and from there did a day trip to Toledo. Then we went to Cordoba, Sevilla and Granada. Granada was my favorite, but I loved all three. We also went to Marbella and then drove up to the hills to Ronda, which is absolutely beautiful.

If you wanted to stay closer to Barcelona, you could also go to Mallorca. I have never been there, but hear wonderful things.

Unfortunately Barcelona is DH’s pick so that is non negotiable. I want to do something different because I don’t want to spend a week there.


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