Countdown to Spain 2015
In preparation for this trip we purchased a new digital camera and hope to be sharing some exquisite photos of superior quality (given the last few times it was all iPhone).
To get everyone pumped up about this trip and encourage you all to follow our travels closely I wanted to post about the general plan.
- Madrid June 15-19
- Granada June 19-23
- Cartagena June 23-25
- Vall d'Uxo June 25-26
- Girona June26-July2
- San Sebastian July 2-7
- Madrid July 7-8
Madrid: So Sunday morning we fly out of Seattle extra early and arrive in New York before catching a red eye to Madrid. We arrive in the heart of Spain Monday morning hopefully mostly adjusted to the time change. We are renting a fabulous apartment off of Airbnb that is right in the center of the city, steps from the Puerta del Sol (Gate of the sun) plaza. The entire Spanish road system (that looks like spokes on a wheel starts here. Puerto del Sol is km 0). Madrid is going to be a few busy action packed days. We plan to dedicate an entire day to the Prado (Giant art museum considered the Spanish Louvre) and a day trip to Toledo.We also plan to visit the Reina Sofia museum which is a modern art museum dedicated almost entirely to Spanish artists.
Granada: Possibly the impetus for the entire trip. In 2013 while spending 12 magical hours at the Louvre, I absolutely fell in love with their Islamic art section. Capturing the beauty and majesty of the world without using recognizable images (such as people, places, plants, animals etc.) is an amazing artistic feat and one that really captures the imagination. My husband seeing my reaction to this collection all but insisted our next major trip had to include the Alhambra which is in Grenada. Other than the Alhambra which we had to book in advance, the rest of our time in Grenada is unplanned. The city is famous for serving tapas free with every drink ordered in a bar, so we might spend a lot of time bar crawling and just recovering from 4 busy days in Madrid.
Cartagena: This is an old Roman port that is a major archeological site. Many roman ruins here have been restored and more are being uncovered. Its proximity to the beach is also a plus. This place has a few unique museums including one dedicated to underwater archeology. This will also be our first time staying in a hotel this trip.
Vall d'Uxo: Totally random stop. We made a pact to limit the amount of time spent in a given day driving. Most of our road trips are 4 hours or less. The drive from Cartagena to Girona would easily be at least 8 hours if done all in one go so we needed to stop somewhere in between. We considered Valencia but that would be like trying to visit Seattle in a day, unfair and frustrating. I literally saw the name of this little town on a map and was like, that is a crazy name, and googled the city. It turns out this tiny town has an amazing secret attraction. There is not even a wikipedia article written in English about it. However this town has caves with the largest navigable underground river. In fact a small tour company lets people tour the caves via boat. How cool is that? So it is just a one night stop-over with a potentially amazing sight.
Girona: This small city in the Catalonia region is going to be our home base while we explore/ hike volcanoes, the barren rock coast that inspired Dali's surreal paintings, visit the insane museum Dali designed, eat at a Michelin rated restaurant (the area has 25) and take in undoubtedly one of the coolest regions of Spain that most people only know for Barcelona. My husband proposed to me in Barcelona so we might take a train into the city for one day to relive the magic but pretty much we are all about outdoor adventures and stalking the life and work of Salvador Dali. I have been to the second largest Dali museum in the world in St. Petersburg, Florida, my home town about a million times. The Reina Sofia has a large body of his work on display. And the Catalonia region has 3 major Dali places to visit: His childhood house, the house he built for his wife and his insane theater/museum. If you count the inspirational landscapes of the Cap de Creus, that is 4 major places.
San Sebastian: We love San Sebastian. We spent a week there in 2011 and were determined to come back. This isn't really about sight seeing or adventure, it is about spending time in a beautiful city and eating some of the best food on the planet. We are considering taking a day trip to the wine country of La Rioja and to Bilboa but mostly we just want to soak up the magic and charm of one of our favorite places before we come back to reality.
Madrid: Our last night in Spain is back in Madrid. A full circle, largely for logistical reasons. But it will be nice to spend out our last night in a plush hotel in a city is known for its night life.
There are no words that can describe how excited I am for this trip. I hope you are excited to follow it. The pictures will be plentiful. The stories will be unique. And the posts will be often. Next time I write will be from Madrid.
Countdown to Spain 2015
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