Tag: Spain

A taste of Barcelona

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August 29, 2025

If there is one place in Barcelona that feels like the city’s heartbeat, it is La Boqueria Market. Tucked right off La Rambla, this colorful maze of stalls is where locals and travelers collide over fresh fruit juices, sizzling tapas, and seafood that looks like it came straight off the boat that morning. But what makes La Boqueria so special is not just the food, it is the history. This market has been feeding Barcelona for over 800 years, and stepping inside feels like joining a tradition that has been alive since the Middle Ages. (It opened in 1217, the indoor structure you see today was opened in 1840, and then later in the 20th century the metal roof was added).

Last year when we visited Barcelona, we did not get the chance to go. As much as I wanted to, there just was not enough time to squeeze everything in. This year though, I made sure to set aside plenty of time to wander the aisles, sample the stalls, and soak in the energy of the market. And I am so glad we did, because La Boqueria ended up being a fun stop in the city!

We took our time getting ready in the morning and walked over to the market. I had read about a restaurant that was “in the market” but as looked at Google maps it was actually taking us just outside of it. We didn’t mind, it took us through a very cute area of Barcelona.

The restaurant was called Bar Pintxo – and because I’m a picky eater… I should have known better than walk in without reviewing the menu. But I really wanted to try some Spanish food. You can’t blame a girl for trying. I was so excited that they had chicken paella on the menu, but Andy swerved and ordered two tapas instead of an entree (which threw me off, because he isn’t a tapas kind of guy). So I swerved and ordered two tapas myself.

This is where I went wrong. The shrimp had heads and legs. And my rule, well, it isn’t actually a rule, but if it looks like it was alive at one point, my head can’t seem to get past it… But I have a hard time eating it.

I struggled to choke any of it down. I was dry heaving at the table. I knew I should have stuck with the chicken paella. The restaurant was adorable, the service was incredible, the sangria was exceptional. You should go to this restaurant if you are in Barcelona. Don’t let me deter you. I just ordered poorly for my taste!

Our server brought over little shots to close things out – Andy had Vermouth and I had the Cuarenta Y Tres (very similar to limoncello, the Italian, more sweet drink) so it was a wonderful experience.

Cuarenta Y Tres

We made our way back to the market and it was actually less busy than when we first got there. I don’t want you to worry, I didn’t go hungry. I was able to secure plenty of food at the market. Lots of watermelon and ice cream to get me through until dinner.

This market was so bright and colorful. There were so many different booths selling food, wine, and souvenirs. You could even take cooking classes there. (Probably other topics as well). We spent a few hours in this area wandering up and down the stalls taking it all in and looking for the best prices.

Strawberry and Pistachio
We would never!

We made our way back to the hotel so Andy could log on to work for the day. We had miscalculated his PTO for the year and this was his remote week for the quarter, whoops. Grateful that his company allows him the flexibility to be able to work from anywhere though.

I had just started a new job at the end of June and had a few things I needed to wrap up before I felt like I could properly log off for vacation, so I worked for a few hours before shutting my laptop for the rest of the trip. After that, I started sorting my carryon and suitcase to get things ready for the cruise ship.

We ate dinner late at a restaurant near the hotel, El Racó. My dinner order was a much safer option compared to lunch. We felt like my croquettes looked like our corgis at home, what do you think?

Croquettes or Corgis

We checked out our hotel rooftop before Andy logged back on to finish up his work day, we got to see Sagrada Familia from a distance. What a beauty!

Roof top view of Sagrada Familia
View from our patio

Once work was done we enjoyed watching the nightlife from our terrace, which included comparing the Barcelona police vs. the police in the US. It was fun to watch – we do feel bad for the poor guy who likely ended up getting a ticket for what we can only assume was drunk-biking. (And walked home by a police officer).

Up Next:
Stop by Sagrada Familia
Gothic Quarter
Board cruise ship

Oh my god, we’re back again… (Barcelona 2025!)

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August 27/28, 2025

Flights to Europe from San Diego are pretty limited, but there are a few options to London, Munich, and another new one to Amsterdam a few days a week. We were pretty excited because this was our first time that we had converted our AMEX points into AVIOS with British Airways and got Business Class aka… lie flat seats. Yippee!

One of Andy’s coworkers (shout out to Courtney!) had taught me the secret last year – and I’m forever in her debt. Let me know if you want to learn more and I can write more about it!

We are pretty excited for this trip because we are visiting a handful of new countries, but most excited because we are finally getting to Greece. I’ve dreamed of visiting Greece since I was young – I guess probably right after I learned about Greek mythology about Mount Olympus and Zeus. (Not to mention I’ve loved tzatziki as long as I’ve known about it).

We finished out the work day at the airport and then hopped on the plane. I’m not going to get used to flying this way… because on the second leg of the trip we were already back in economy, but it was pretty comfortable when we were able to lay flat!

We didn’t end up landing in Barcelona until around 8ish on Thursday evening – we were so excited that once we got to the hotel that they had upgraded our terrace room that was two chairs to a full terrace with like, six chairs and a full patio! It was stunning!

Can you believe the size of this thing?

Andy had to work that evening (Thursday back in California) so we ordered room service. I was dead on my feet – and slipped on my eye mask and was asleep before he even wrapped up his calls.

Accommodation:
NH Collection Barcelona Gran Hotel Calderon

Up Next:
Barcelona
Mediterranean Cruise

Montserrat & you guessed it – more wine tasting!

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September 7, 2024

Our final full day in Spain began in Montserrat, which was only about an hour drive from our hotel. We had another beautiful sunrise from Sitges, as we started to climb the mountain – we realized rather quickly we were really socked in with the cloud cover.

Montserrat Monastery is located in the Montserrat mountain range near Barcelona, Spain. It is a significant pilgrimage site with a rich history dating back to the 10th century. Originally established as a small chapel, it evolved into a Benedictine monastery and became renowned for housing the Black Madonna, or La Moreneta, a statue believed to date from the 12th century.

The monastery’s construction features Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. They used local limestone that blends beautifully with the dramatic mountain landscape. Over the centuries, it has undergone several renovations and expansions, which has only made it that much more impressive.

I had received an email a day or two before from Montserrat explaining that there was a special church service that day. Candidly, it wasn’t really clear (likely lost in translation!) what we were supposed to do instead. Andy and Yvonne dropped myself and Jon off while they went to find parking – and I went to ask what the email meant.

Unfortunately, we either had to get in and view the basilica before 9:30 AM or wait until after 12 PM when it reopened. We decided it would be better to try to see as much as possible inside so we didn’t delay our other plans that day.

Once inside the basilica, it was incredible to see how ornate everything was. When I had booked the tickets, we weren’t able to secure a time for the Black Madonna, which is why a lot of people make their way to Montserrat. It was fun to pop around into the different chapels and other areas outside of the basilica.

The cloud cover really made the whole place feel really moody – and I wish we could have seen it with clear skies. However, it was a really cool view with the clouds. Sort of spooky!

We were deciding if we wanted to go into the museum that opened at 10, or if we wanted to do the aerial tram or funicular to explore further. We ran into some accessibility issues, and I was also concerned how much more we could see because of the cloud cover. We ended up making our way down the mountain to begin our wine tasting.

One of the other wineries had recommended a winery to Jon, but unfortunately, Google maps took us to a more residential looking place. A bit disappointed, we made our way over to a winery that Jon and Yvonne had visited on their last trip to Spain, Frexienet.

The visit started with a short video on the history, and then we were able to dive into the tasting. The tasting came with four different cavas, and they were each paired with a different food. Our server was pretty young, and he was going to be heading to Washington soon for school. He was super knowledgable and really gave us a great experience.

The bottle shaped car!

From there, we made our way to Codorníu, another cava house. We had a tour booked at this one – which we were pretty excited about.

Codorníu is one of Spain’s oldest and most prestigious wineries, it was founded in 1551 by the Codorníu family. In the late 19th century, Joseph Codorníu recognized the potential for sparkling wine and adopted the traditional méthode champenoise, establishing Codorníu as a leader in this genre.

The winery is renowned for its stunning modernist building, designed by architect Puig i Cadafalch in 1895, which showcases Catalan modernist architecture. This historical site features beautiful arches and an impressive setting, reflecting the winery’s rich heritage. Over the centuries, Codorníu has continued to stay relevant, which means it is still competitive in the market today!

Codorníu primarily utilizes indigenous grape varieties like Macabeo, Xarel·lo, and Parellada, alongside varieties you might recognize, such as Chardonnay.

No surprises here, we ended up shipping a case home from our Cava tours to enjoy in the future!

After our last tasting, we ended up eating something light at the hotel since we had an early morning flight back home!

Up Next:
– Highlights of Spain/Portugal
– Closing thoughts and next adventures

Sand, Sun, and Sitges

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September 5, 2024

All good things must come to an end, and our cruise returned back to Barcelona Thursday morning. We got up early and ate breakfast right away and then finished getting ready/packing.

Early in the trip we had made the joke about our trip having three parts – the first part was exploring Spain – the next was the cruise and all of that entailed – and the third “half” was Sitges (a beach community outside of Barcelona).

We picked up our car rental, and we were on our way to Sitges. One of the gals that I worked with had recommended Sitges because it is a nice beach community and it’s where her and her family/friends would vacation.

I was so happy that we were going to be outside of Barcelona. This was a much smaller community, and right on the water. We had done a lot of research months ago – and had landed on one hotel. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any ADA rooms – so we ended up switching to a different hotel.

Sometimes the universe gives us what we need, even when we don’t know we need it yet! We ended up at ME Sitges Terramar. It was a very beautiful hotel with a sheltered cove that made it easy to splash around in the water – or try your luck at stand up paddle boarding.

After we dropped our luggage we made our way to our first winery of the day – Juvé & Camps. We needed to rally after not getting a ton of sleep the night before – because we were excited for this tour.

Juvé & Camps is known for making top-quality Cava. Founded in 1921, they farm over 270 hectares of vineyards, focusing on organic practices. Their Cavas are distributed worldwide, so there’s a chance you may have even seen them in your local store! Jon had set up a tour for us – and it was very small. Just another couple from Wales. It was a great tour and fun to see their cellars. At the end they also gave us some characteurie boards.

While in the cave, our guide brought us to a little room pictured below to continue his lesson on making Cava, the disgorging process. We are quite familiar with the process with my love of quality sparkling wine and out tour through the Champagne region. The process is basically to pop the top of the bottle that has been aging and under extreme pressure (7 atmospheres of pressure vs the 4 atmospheres of pressure from the final product) and top it off with special ingredients and then re-cork before it’s ready to sell. Then he surprised us all, he dawned his PPE (face shield and an apron), he grabbed a bottle and actually did the process; a first for us! Instead of the standard process, he poured straight from the bottle so we could see the difference between a freshly disgorged bottle and the final product. What a fun treat to experience the process and taste the difference!

Disgorging Room

From there, one of our wineries had cancelled. But one that Jon hadn’t heard back from confirmed our tasting. This time – we had the place to ourselves! It was just a tasting, but it was so fun!

This was a much smaller production – Cava Guilera. They had some older vintages as well – which was a great experience. One of them was even from the year I graduated high school. (Which as most of you know was just a few years ago!)

We made our way back to the hotel and took a quick nap before heading to downtown Sitges. The streets were tiny – and there were people everywhere! Parking was a challenge, but we found a spot and made it in time for our reservation.

Up Next:
– Andorra
– Wine tasting
– Beach time

Cadiz – Flamenco show and a walking tour

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August 29, 2024

Our first stop on the cruise was Cadiz, Spain. This is viewed as the gateway to Seville – but it was an hour and a half one way to get there. Andy and I opted to do a flamenco show in Cadiz, and Jon and Yvonne went nearby to do a sherry tasting outside of the city.

A lot of people had signed up for this excursion, so many in fact that there were three charter buses waiting. Our group had flipped the original itinerary and we were doing the walking tour first, then the flamenco show, and ending with the bus tour of Cadiz.

We were relieved that we got the walking tour over first, as it was already getting hot and humid. Prior to this tour, we didn’t know much about Spain – except that they “discovered” a lot of the world. It was interesting to learn more about the country, and also Cadiz. Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in Western Europe is situated on a narrow strip of land surrounded by the sea. It really was quite beautiful!

From there, we walked to a flamenco bar. We got there as the place was opening, and it was only our group. We met a lovely duo from Canada, but originally from India. They were very interested in US politics, so we had a fun chat about what’s going on south of their border.

As we all got settled, they offered us all a drink, we of course chose sangria (when in Spain…), and a potato omelette with a cheese and meat plate.

But the political conversation came to a screeching halt once the dancers came out. We had one sassy Spanish woman – and a gentleman accompanying her. In addition, there was one singer and a guitarist. The music, the lyrics, the dancing… they were electric!

A flamenco show is a powerful expression of passion and cultural heritage, combining expressive dance, soulful singing, and intricate guitar playing. The performance features a singer and guitarist creating a deep, emotional backdrop, while the dancer(s) responds with intense footwork and graceful movements. The result is a captivating, dynamic experience that immerses the audience in the heart of Spain’s vibrant traditions. Unfortunately, no videos were allowed – so we had to work with still pictures only. Ole!

She was so sassy – and fierce – and incredible

If you get the chance to attend a flamenco show – do it! We enjoyed it – I wish we knew enough Spanish to understand the lyrics, but our guide translated some of the lyrics to us later. The stories in the songs varied about the Spanish’s hate for the French – to a woman wondering where her husband was (probably drinking wine)… it was a lot of fun.

We were there for about an hour – and after the show was over. We went to a local market – it had a lot of fish and produce. It was fun to see – but we didn’t have time to do any shopping. We walked by a few more historic buildings before hopping on our bus.

Cathedral de Cadiz

The bus took us around Cadiz – we got to see a few beaches and a former fort. It then dropped us off at the cruise terminal.

Us with our ship

We had dinner with Jon and Yvonne on the ship and shared stories from the day. We did a pub quiz that evening with a charming Aussie as host.

Up Next:
– Sintra tour

Thank Gaudí, we’re in Barcelona!

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We had a jam-packed day planned for our first full day in Spain. Antoni Gaudí is known for his unique display of architecture – weaving Modernism throughout the city of Barcelona.

Our first stop, was Park Güell. Chances are, if you’ve ever looked up Barcelona, you’ve likely seen pictures of this park. Park Güell was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. We love exploring the world and finding these gems throughout our adventures.

Our ticket time was for 10 am, and we couldn’t believe that it was already hot and sticky. Our journey took us through viaducts, up to different houses, and over to nature square that looked over two buildings that ended up being a museum and a bookstore. The view was from above, but later in our tour we were able to get closer to them.

The Benches lining park were beautiful mosaic tiles.

As we continued through the tour, we stopped underneath the nature square in a place called the Hypostyle Room, which had beautiful mosaics lining the ceiling lined with pillars. This was the way down to the museum and the bookstore, but we made a quick pit stop to look at one of the famous mosaic iguanas that Gaudí had created. The lines were long for both the museum and bookstore, so we opted to skip both of those.

We had our next tour booked at Casa Batlló – we had originally thought we might be able to walk since it was all downhill. But it was still about a 45 minute walk. Time was of the essence – so we opted to get a cab over there. (Just a note if you’re trying to sneak in a few visits in Barcelona as well!)

Casa Batlló is another modernist masterpiece by Gaudí. Often referred to as the “House of Bones” due to its organic, skeletal design, this UNESCO World Heritage site dazzles with its beautiful exterior, vibrant mosaics, and whimsical, nature-inspired details on the interior. The building’s colorful, scaled roof resembles a dragon’s back, while the interior is equally stunning, with flowing lines, intricate woodwork, and stained glass that floods the space with light. It felt like we were stepping into another world. We absolutely LOVED this stop!

From Casa Batlló, we found a place nearby before making our way to Palau Güell. Palau Güell is a hidden gem in Barcelona and one of Gaudí’s early masterpieces. Built in the late 1800s for the wealthy Güell family, it’s a blend of luxury and creativity. It’s obvious very quickly that Gaudí was involved in the design!

The palace has cool features like intricate ironwork, unique arches, and a rooftop covered in colorful chimneys that look like something out of a fairy tale. (Think Dr. Seuss!) The main hall is especially impressive, with a dome and stained glass windows that fill the space with gorgeous light, and there’s even an elegant pipe organ that adds to the grandeur. (It plays different songs every 30 minutes or so, so you get to see it in action).

The Güell family was a big deal in Barcelona, with Eusebi Güell being a major figure in the city’s cultural and economic scene. He was a close friend of Gaudí and wanted Palau Güell to be more than just a home—it was a statement piece that showed off his love for art and design. We really enjoyed being able to see more unique features

We rounded out the day by walking down La Rambla and visiting the Columbus statue near the Mediterranean. (We had a fun realization that America’s Cup is being held in Barcelona, so we saw lots of billboards and signs, but sadly won’t be able to do anything on this trip with it).

Our dogs were barking with almost 20,000 steps by the end of the day. We had a delicious meal at Indian Herbs and called it a day.

Up Next:
– Corgi Cafe
– Tour of Sagrada Familia

¡Hola España!

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August 23/24, 2024

We are on our way back to Europe (after a work trip took us to Poland in May) this weekend for a cruise in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. We had booked this cruise a while back, and have been looking forward to it ever since! It will be our first time in the Mediterranean proper. (We’ve been to Italy, but not really on the coast).

We find the most comfort in arriving a few days before so we can relax knowing that both you and your luggage have made it. This is a trip with many firsts for us – four new countries (we will visit Andorra after the cruise) – and the first time cruising with Jon and Yvonne!

Our flight with Lufthansa was rather uneventful, and we made it safely along with our luggage. We connected in Munich, which is a really easy airport to navigate through. We had enough time to get a coffee before boarding our flight to Barcelona. It would only be a 2 hour flight and then we would be in Spain!

Had to get a pretzel when passing through Germany

Once we landed – we gathered our luggage and made our way to our hotel. I’m sure there’s many different areas that are great to stay in Barcelona, but I had wanted to prioritize staying near Sagrada Familia.

I found the Radisson Blu 1882 Sagrada Familia Hotel, which was a short (5 minutes) walk to the church. Protestors have taken the streets of Barcelona in recent months to denounce tourism. It sounds like a lot of it has to do with Airbnbs taking up a considerable portion of the housing market, which has increased the price of rent by over 18%! Not to mention, Spain was the second most visited country in the world last year. The hotel was about 35 minute drive from the airport – we got checked in and freshened up.

A nice treat was awaiting us at the hotel!
Our first look at Sagrada Familia

I get the hype. It’s an incredible building that has been in progress over the last 142 years. When the building is complete, it will be the tallest church in the world! It stands out in the Barcelona skyline – and will take your breath away. This is only one of the buildings that Antoni Gaudi had his hand in! You’ll see more on that tomorrow!

We found a tapas bar nearby, and had quick bite to eat. We then met up with Jon and Yvonne who had made it to the hotel and gotten settled in.

It was already around 7:00 pm, so we made our way over to get a peek at Sagrada Familia.

Up Next:
– Park Güell
– Casa Batlló
– Palau Güell