Back in Barcelona – It’s Like We Live Here!

We spent the last few days of our trip in Barcelona. This was our 4th stop here on this trip (although the 1st one was only at the airport). Crazy! It’s like we live here. We did all the normal things locals do – eat tapas, drink wine, do laundry, did nothing during siesta time….we even had visitors, our good friends Berni and Dan from Chicago!

Berni and Dan were celebrating their 2 year wedding anniversary and decided to come meet us…..Congratulations guys! We only spent a day with them but we did so much it felt like longer. Darsh was the best tour guide. Since our hotel (Barcelona Catedral Hotel) was literally right next to the Cathedral we took them there first and then walked around the Gothic Quarter and El Born. We stumbled upon a great find of a restaurant, Casa Delfin, which had a nice selection of tapas. After lunch, we went to the Sagrada Familia and then walked through L’Eixample so they could see Gaudi’s other masterpieces, La Pedrera and Casa Batllo. Finally, we ended the day with a stroll down La Rambla. We covered a lot of Barcelona ground in a few hours….we were all beat by the end! It was so good to see them – thanks for coming!!

Since we had already been to Barcelona we had lots of time to just chill and walk around the different neighborhoods while stopping whenever we felt like. We did make it to Casa Batllo, which was one of my favorites. It’s not at all like me – totally asymmetrical and wacky but so very cool. We couldn’t decide if it was more Dr. Seuss or Willy Wonka. We also finally made it to the Picasso Museum which did a really good job of telling Picasso’s life and how his style changed throughout the years….I also liked it because it was small.

By this point in the trip we were both pretty tired of tapas but we got a recommendation for Tapas 24 so we had to try it. I’m so glad we did. It was amazing! Really innovative tapas….and I’m amazed at the staff - it was packed but they were so on top of things! It was not the healthiest meal but totally worth it. Some of our other favorite restaurants the last few days were Les Quinze Nits (nice Placa Real location and great Menu of the day), Bun Bo (pretty health Vietnamese), and Udon (good Japanese).

Our last day we were hoping to do nothing but relax but somehow we ended up shopping for gifts all day. We really hadn’t shopped at all on the trip since we couldn’t carry much so it came down to the wire….and I really hate shopping! But we got it done and we ended the day with a fabulous meal at La Crema Canela. We randomly came across this place after doing our routine 1-hour search for a decent place to eat. I’m so glad we found it! It was so cute and non-touristy with great Mediterranean food and good wine. It was the perfect place to have our last dinner.

I really can’t believe we’re almost done. Wow! I’m so happy we ended the trip in Barcelona – It still is my favorite European city. Until next time! ☺

Pit Stop in Valencia

Valencia was a perfect place to rest up from Ibiza. The Old Town is really small and walkable….and very cute! The only downside is the heat. I think it was some of the hottest temps we've ever experienced…I mean the slight breeze was even hot.

We stayed at the Melia Plaza, which was a great location but just ok hotel. We tried walking around during the day but it was so hot and most things were closed so we ended up just chilling in our room….too bad we didn’t have a pool! We did get to see the Cathedral, which has the Holy Grail on display. That was pretty cool. Darsh also walked to the City of the Arts and Sciences – which has a really modern, funky architectural style. I went shopping instead! ☺

It was kind of a bummer that many shops/restaurants were closed – I think it was more than just siesta which seemed to last all afternoon. I actually think a lot of stuff was closed for the month of August so the owners could go on holiday. We did however, have one of our best meals in a while at Matilda – very inventive, fresh Spanish food. We also liked Ichido for Asian food, which was a nice break from tapas.

Although it was short, Valencia was a nice pit stop before Barcelona….our last stop of the trip!!!!

Clubbing Ibiza Style

For as long as I can remember I've always wanted to go to Ibiza. We've been talking about going for years but somehow never pulled it off. So this trip we decided we had to go. This was much easier said than done....especially as it got later in the trip. We almost called it off....because we're beat and I just wasn't in the mood. But then we thought we may never get the chance again so we might as well do it while we can.

I thought the plane would be full of kids in official party mode. I was surprised though that there were actually a lot of families and non-clubbers. I guess some people really do go to Ibiza for a regular holiday.

We really hadn't thought too much about what we were going to do when we got there. We'd both heard of Pacha and Amnesia and some of the other popular clubs but we decided we'd go out for a bit and figure it out as the night went on. Luckily for us, this turned out to be pretty easy. We met two fun guys from Rome, Mateo and Lucio who told us Pacha was the place to go on Wednesdays. The waitress agreed and so soon we were all on our way....and it was double the fun as Mateo and Lucio came with us.

Soooo Pacha wasn't nearly as big as I thought it would be. The music was good, and it was packed, but somehow I expected more. For some reason I thought it was going to be the most insane club I've ever been to. Maybe it's because I'm older and missing things....I don't know.... That said we did get to see Erick Morillo and Kelis (the Milkshake girl) who were good. And it is supposed to be more about the music anyway, right?

We stayed out late enough for us.....although I do wonder how the after club places were (the ones that open at 9am). Do people really make it out to those? Yikes! We, on the other hand, did a whole lot of nothing the next day.

Glad we finally did Ibiza. It probably would have been more fun 10 years ago but at least we can say we did it!!

Down Time in Malaga

I was really happy to be in Malaga as it was time for some major down time. Malaga is on the southern coast of Spain with sparkling blue water, sandy beaches, mountains, and a cute, city center. We stayed at the Hotel MS Maestranza which was right by the beach and a short walk to the Old Town.

We didn’t do much in Malaga. Seriously, we stayed in bed ‘til noon every day, worked out, chilled at the beach, shopped, and ate. That was it….and it was perfect. There was a lot to do though if you wanted. The city center is full of great shopping, restaurants, and tapas bars. They even have great food options. Our favorites were Lechuga and Como Loco….both had great salads.

Despite not wanting to see any sights (only because we’re tired), we did make it to the Cathedral, which was really cool – huge and very symmetrical. We also went to the Alcazaba, Malaga’s Moorish, fortress. We even walked up to the top which was painful in 100 degree weather….but at least we got a double workout that day! ☺

I definitely will come back to Malaga some day. It was one of our favorite cities in Spain. Not surprising as it reminded us both of home.

Kicking it with the Hathi-Fritz’s in Andalucia

We got to Seville and were almost instantly greeted by our good friends Neesha and Adam. They came to Spain to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary….Congratulations guys! ☺ We all stayed at the Vincci La Rabida which was in the El Arenal area of Seville, pretty central to the sights and restaurants. Somehow we got ridiculously upgraded to a 2-story suite...we've had some good hotel karma lately! (unfortunately Neesha and Adam did not and their experience was not as nice as ours….bummer!)

We’ve known Neesh and Adam since our Michigan years and it was so good to see them! The first thing we did was chilled with some Cava and beers. Seville is pretty small and very walkable. It’s full of narrow, winding streets that seem to all interconnect. You are constantly looking at your map but it’s really hard to stay too lost for that long.

It seemed like things were quieter since there weren’t too many people out but supposedly August is the busiest month for Spain so we really didn’t know for sure. It could also be that we still couldn’t get the timing right with Siesta and the late-night dinners….

Seville (and much of Andalucia) was under Muslim rule (many, many years ago) and much of its architecture is influenced by the Islamic Moors. We loved the Cathedral and Alcazar. The Cathedral is the 3rd largest in the world and was built where the original Mosque was. It’s also where Christopher Columbus is buried. The Alcazar (palace to many Kings and Queens) was also very cool....it once was a Moorish fort. The detailed Islamic artistry prevalent throughout the Alcazar is unlike anything we’ve seen before.

The weirdest place we went was El Garlochi for a drink. There really is no way to describe this place except that it is freaky. The bar is full of religious paintings, statues, candles, coffins, crypts, and other weird stuff. I was too freaked out to even go to the bathroom! Some of our other favs were El Capote for a drink along the river, and Al Medina for good Moroccan fo0d.

After 2 days in Seville, we made it to Granada. We stayed at the AC Palacio de Santa Paula which we loved….great service and the best part - everything in our minibar was free...including 2 beers a day! The boys loved this!! ☺

Granada is also pretty small and very easy to navigate. In addition to tapas bars there are outdoor restaurants in plazas everywhere. As opposed to northern Spain there were definitely more food options here. My favorites were Gazpacho (which I had every meal) and Espinaca con garbanzos (spinach with garbanzo beans). It was nice to have things other than mayonnaise and salty ham on the menu!

The main attraction in Granada is the Alhambra and it was pretty amazing! A massive, red fortress surrounds the Palacio Nazaries, Alcazaba, and gardens which were originally built by Moorish rulers. Much of the artistry in the Alhambra is typical Islamic Moorish style – I loved this style – really symmetrical, detailed patterns on ceilings, columns, floors, and walls. Who comes up with the idea to build stuff like this - it's just unreal!

We visited the Albayzin area in the evening which is just up the hill from the city center. The Albayzin is the old Muslim Quarter. It’s narrow, winding roads are full of Hookah bars and restaurants....so fun! We walked to the top of the hill, had great mojitos at Natural Siempre (an outdoor cafe), and watched the sunset with the Alhambra as backdrop. It was magical! We finished up the night with a great dinner at Restaurante San Nicolas. We had the only table on our floor so it was like our own place....and we had a great view of the Alhambra! Yummy food, good cava, and great friends! Perfection! :)

Thanks Neesh and Adam for coming! Good times!

Picture Perfect San Sebastian

I didn’t really know much about San Sebastian before we got there. I knew it was a beach town but that was about it. It was a pleasant surprise! It’s a great little city with beautiful beaches and surrounded by mountains. It reminded us both of San Francisco and Los Angeles. I totally needed this as I have been getting homesick. It was really nice to see active people doing outdoorsy things like run, bike, rollerblade, etc. It made me feel normal again.

We had grand plans of hiking, biking, running, and maybe even surfing. Mother Nature had another plan though as it rained for most of our time there….in true San Francisco summer style! ☺ Luckily though we did make the most of our first sunny day and walked the beaches (Playa de la Concha and Playa de la Zurriola) and hiked up Mount Urgull which had great views of all of San Sebastian and a large statue of Jesus Christ.

Honestly I didn’t mind the weather at all….it was nice to have a nice lazy, rainy day! Good thing our hotel room at the Pension Edorta was super cute and right in the middle of the Old Town (Parte Vieja) where most of the action is. I was nervous at first since it was pretty cheap ($60 Euros) and we had to share a bathroom but the room was quite big and pretty nice.

San Sebastian doesn’t seem to have as rigid of a siesta time as most of the restaurants/tapas bars were open all day. This was nice! Tapas here are also called Pintxos and still full of mayonnaise, anchovies, and seafood. We did try a few though....beef and chicken ones were safest for me. Some of our favorite restaurants were Borda Berri (Pintxos), Bideluze (upscalish British pub), and El Sitio Del Magueyal (just ok Mexican food but good for a nice change).

We did walk around a bit (when it wasn't raining or just raining lightly) and watched the surfers on Play de la Zurriola and walked through the streets of the Old Town. The Old Town is full of neat shops, cafes, and Pintxos bars....and some really cool churches. At night there was a good mix of nicely dressed adults having dinner and more casual, vacationing kids and surfer types. Late at night (around 12ish) the bars turn into mini clubs. We tried hanging one night....we were by far the oldest people there! :) Our last night was the start of the annual Jazz Festival with concerts all on the beach. Even though it was raining it was packed! Oh and we just missed David Guetta performing by a couple days. That would have been amazing!!

Part of me wishes we could have stayed longer. It's a perfect outdoorsy kind of place which I love! It was definitely a great way to end our time in Spain (until we come back in August).

Getting our Tapas on in Madrid

We got to Madrid in the evening pretty much starving as we hadn’t eaten all day. There were slim-pickings for food in Pamplona….jamon (ham) and cheese sandwiches….and so far I wasn’t liking the ham in Spain….really really salty. So we got to the hotel and left in search of food. Luckily our hotel was in an amazing location – perfectly central to many of the fun areas in Madrid (and right by Opera and Sol Metro stations). We stayed at the Hostal Oriente, which I highly recommend for anyone on a budget. The hotel was spotless, smelled really nice, and honestly the rooms were nicer than most 3 stars (and maybe even some 4 stars) I’ve ever stayed in….and only $60 Euros. Make sure you ask for a room in the front though with a window (but it can get a little loud at night).

As we wandered the neighborhoods we discovered that 7:30/8pm is no time to eat in Madrid. Most of the restaurants were closed so we ended up at one of the only places open, 4D, which seemed to be packed with mostly tourists. Finally it felt good to just sit and eat something after what seemed like days….and we met some fellow Americans, Tom and Nina from New York. It was nice to chat with some peeps after what seemed like forever. ☺

Madrid is a really walkable city and for the most part pretty safe so we spent a lot of time walking around different neighborhoods and checking things out at our leisure. You discover quickly that siesta time is huge here….any time from 2 – 9pm can be siesta time so expect things to be closed. We couldn’t get the schedule right….which at times can get really annoying (especially when you’re hungry and you’re not used to eating dinner at 11pm) but what can you do?

Madrid is full of plazas, which are great to just chill and people-watch. Some of our favorites were Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Santa Ana, and Plaza de la Puerta del Sol. Plaza de Santa Ana is a particularly fun spot to grab a table in the afternoon and have a glass (or two!) of wine....we spent a couple hours at Cerveceria Santa Ana.

We also made it to the Palacio Real, Museo del Prado, and Parque del Buen Retiro. The Palacio Real is a massive palace – I think it is one of the most beautifully decorated palaces I’ve seen in person. The Prado is huge and you can spend hours there….and can be overwhelming to navigate. I’ll have to say it isn’t my favorite style of painting but I could still appreciate the many masterpieces housed there. We did go to the Palacio de Velazquez and Palacio de Cristal in the Parque del Buen Retiro, which were both pretty cool and had some interesting exhibits.

We spent most of our time in the La Latina area although we tried hanging out in Huertas (lots of bars/restaurants), Chueca (gay-friendly and lots of fun boutiques) and Salamanaca (fancy area) but it was siesta time so little was going on. La Latina is a fun area full of tapas bars. Our favorites were El Escaldon and Taberna Txakoli.

Ordering tapas for the first time at a tapas bar can be a bit difficult since most of them are packed. Tapas are displayed on the bars where people order and eat. There aren’t always English menus so you kind of have to look and point. What was trickiest for me was that most of the tapas were full of mayonnaise, anchovies, sausage, ham, and/or different types of seafood. I’m not going to lie…..I don’t eat any of that stuff! I like seafood but I need to know what I’m eating. So with that said, eating was a problem for me and on more than one occasion I got cranky! ☹ Luckily we found some stuff to get by on. I will say though that one of my favorite meals was at Fresco, which had a great salad bar. I never thought I would get this excited for a salad in Spain….and I LOVE tapas! Hopefully I’ll get better at ordering the longer I’m here….good thing we still have more time left in Spain! ☺

Running of the Bulls

First off, I’m trying to keep an open mind while I write this but it will be hard as my experience in Pamplona is somewhat tainted after I made the mistake of going to an actual bullfight (More on this later and know that it is not pretty).

We were in Pamplona for the last two nights of the annual San Fermin Festival. Most people (tourists anyway) probably go in and out just to party all night and then see the Running of the Bulls. I decided it was best to stay two nights because there was no way I could stay out all night (or in our case go to bed at 2am and wake up at 5am), watch the Running of the Bulls, and then get on a train.

Our hotel, Hotel Burlada was about a 15 minute bus ride from the center of Pamplona. It worked out fine (even if it was very very basic) for us though as buses ran through the night and it was nice having the option to get away from the craziness of San Fermin. We first got to the main festival area around 8pm as the Bull Fight for the night was just finishing up. After the evening’s bullfight, many locals gather in the arena (bull ring) to play music, drink wine, spill wine, and pretty much party. They then make their way into the city’s narrow streets to continue the night’s festivities. It seemed like there were different bands, groups, etc, as they paraded down the streets. There are tons of restaurants, cafes, etc. that have been turned into bars for the festival. I’m not sure anyone in Pamplona does anything else but fiesta during San Fermin – I don’t know how they could because there were people in the bars at all hours of the day and night!

It kinda reminds me of Mardi Gras…..although I’ve never been…. People spilled out into the streets drinking the night away. It was right around 1am where we faced the decision of staying out all night or going back for a couple hours. I’m so glad we went back. Honestly I couldn’t have made it other wise. Luckily we actually got up at 5am, put on our San Fermin gear for the second time (white shirts with red scarf and red belt) and headed out to the bull course. I have no idea how, but we got seats right next to the arena so we got to see runners and bulls right before they get into the ring. We did have to sit on a wooden fence for over an hour before the race started though….but it was worth it. We got to see the swarms of Ambulance, Medical Professionals, and Cops getting ready for the race….which reminded me how scary the race could be.

I never thought for a minute that I would run. Perhaps if I was 10 years younger….maybe but still probably not. I'm somewhat adventurous but I'm small! Although it doesn’t seem like they are running fast it really can be scary! The last bull (I think Giovato was his name) got a bit confused….or maybe just pissed, at the last corner (right by our seats) into the bull ring and started running around in circles charging at people. Someone got pretty badly hurt and was wheeled off by an Ambulance. This is when a lot of the runners started climbing the fence to get away from the charging bull. Of course I freaked out as well and started climbing over the fence I was sitting on (keep in mind I was on the second fence away from the course, separated by cops, another fence, and the runners). I will say though that I’m pretty fast when faced with fear!

The race lasted for 4 minutes, 28 seconds and then afterwards people go into the bull ring to watch the runners “mess” with the bulls. There are probably 200 runners with one bull in the ring at a time. And people would take turns enticing the bull to charge at them. I felt really bad for the bulls….little did I know that this was nothing compared to what was about to happen to them. ☹ We watched for an hour before we decided to head back for a nap – and yes people were somehow starting to drink!!

That night was the last bullfight of the festival. We didn’t have tickets but we were able to scalp tickets pretty easily. We weren’t really planning on going but we weren’t sure what else to do. Now I can honestly say I really didn’t know much about bullfighting. I don’t know if I’ve chosen to ignore the truth or it was just something I never knew about but I had NO idea what they do to these poor animals. I thought the Matador “messed” with them, meaning they waved their flag, the bull charged, and they did tricks. End of story. Not sure what world I’ve been living on but I learned the hard way that I was so very wrong.

We ended up getting seats in the better, shaded section. We were sitting with a lot of adults – not the party section in the sun who really don’t seem to watch the fight. Honestly I wanted to leave after 2 minutes but was nervous we’d be disrespectful so we stayed and I pretended to watch. The bulls have no chance. It was the cruelist thing I have ever seen.

A bull comes into the ring and for about 2 minutes a few junior Matadors (Banderilleros) “mess” with them using their flags and then other Matadors (Picadors) on horses come in with a long spear to lance the bull. But it isn’t just a little pierce….I think they actually make a hole so that the next Matadors can insert their sword/objects in the same spot and weaken the bull even more. Once the hole is made, more Matadors (Bandilleros) come in and insert splints/sharp sticks into the hole. These splints stay in the bull (usually 4 – 6) during the fight.

At this point the bull is bleeding everywhere and I’m sure in an insane amount of pain. Now, this is when the “main” Matador comes in and waves his flag around and does tricks of some sort. I couldn’t tell what made a trick a “good trick”. I suspect it was when a bull got really close to the Matador but he got away. Anyway, the bull is totally weak now, gushing with blood, and expected to “fight” the Matador. The whole time we’re both thinking, “How is this even a fight”. I mean really - way to keep it fair….not to mention it is totally inhumane. So after about 5 minutes of prancing around, the Matador decides the bull is ready and takes out his big sword and inserts it into the hole that has been made for him by the previous 10 Matadors. Sometimes the bull went down right away and other times it would fight back causing the Matador to put in more swords. It was just awful. I couldn’t believe I was actually there. I think that somehow I actually mentally went to another place to be able to sit through it. The worst part is that the crowd was cheering like crazy. The Matadors got standing ovations. Just incredibly, insanely, awful.

I wasn’t going to include any of this but I figured I should because there may be people like me who just didn’t know this happens…. And I am still really mad at myself for not knowing what a bullfight is all about.

So that’s it – there’s my take on the Running of the Bulls. Perhaps it would have been different if I hadn’t seen the bullfight. I don’t know. I’m all for tradition and I love a good party but it is a whole different story when you realize that torturing of animals is the center of it all.

Ole Ole Espana!

I know instantly when I’m going to like something. In seconds, I knew Barcelona was my city. I seriously loved it. I can’t believe it has taken me 35 years to get here….but I guess there is a time and place for everything. We liked it so much that we decided to come back to spend the end of our trip here. There is so much to do – cafes, tapas bars, shops literally everywhere. And the architecture is something like I’ve never seen before. And the people are so fun – you just feel a constant energy at all times of the day and especially night….except for siesta time of course which takes a while to get used to.

Our hotel couldn’t have been in a better location. We stayed at the Ciutat de Barcelona in the El Born district (which is the lower part of La Ribera). It has kind of a trendy, funky, Bohemian feel. It is also very central to many of the major sights and nightlife. But most importantly for us it was really close to the beach and Parc de la Ciutadella which allowed me to go running finally! Plus it was the first beach we’ve seen in a while that was actually sandy.

Since we knew we were coming back we didn’t spend too much time seeing all the sights. Instead we spent a lot of time walking around different neighborhoods and stopping in buildings, shops, etc, when we felt like it. Some of our favorite neighborhoods were La Ribera of course (including El Born), Barri Gotic, and L’Eixample.

In addition to having different vibes, many of the neighborhoods look very different from an architectural perspective. The Barri Gotic area is also known as the Gothic Quarter because many of it’s buildings are from Barcelona’s golden age (15^th century or earlier). It’s full of narrow winding streets, mansions, plazas, and beautiful medieval architecture. The L’ Eixample area is where many of the city’s modern architectural creations (from the 19^th century) are located. It is also where many of the high end hotels, shops, and restaurants are. The main street, Passeig de Gracia is a really fun street to walk down.

Our favorite sight by far was La Sagrada Familia – This is Antoni Gaudi’s (one of Barcelona’s most influential modernista architects) masterpiece. It is just massive and gothically beautiful....and it’s not even done yet. He started building it in the late 1800’s but thankfully left pretty detailed plans so that building could still take place after his death. I can’t imagine what it will look like when it’s done. We also saw La Pedrera, another one of Gaudi’s works, which was a pretty cool apartment building....the event planner in me couldn't help but think it would be the coolest place for a party! When looking at Gaudi’s works it’s pretty amazing to see how much time and thought went into every little piece. He was a true lover of nature and tried to include real people, animals, and plants in his architectural style…almost like a real-life Dr. Suess book or Willy Wonka movie.

We also had the chance to see the Palau de La Musica Catalana (hopefully we'll see a concert there when we come back) and Barcelona’s Catedral. Despite the fact that our hotel was steps away from the Picasso Museum and the Esglesia de Santa Maria Del Mar we didn’t make it to either of them! Gotta save something for the end of the trip! :)

Above all, our favorite experience in Barcelona was Spain winning the World Cup while we were there! Talk about perfect timing! We watched the match in Montjuic from Placa d’Espanya where they set up huge screen TVs for the public. It was us and 75,000 others watching Spain’s victory over the Netherlands. It really was unbelievable! One of the highlights of our trip for sure! :)

Ole Ole Espana!