Happy Monday! I hope you had a relaxing weekend!This week I’d like to share a few pictures and stories from our recent holiday in Spain.

 It’s hard to believe that we were in Spain and are already back! We left on July 4th and returned on July 13th. An eight-day holiday in the beautiful country of Spain.

As I type this I feel we are late to the Spain party as every other person I spoke to before heading out there had already been to Spain and loved it. We have had Spain on our bucket list for a long time but we never took the plunge – its a big commitment for all five of us to go for so long and spend so much time on a European vacation, but we finally did it and loved it!

There is soooo much to see in Spain and eight days barely covers all the cities and sites in this beautiful country, but work and obligations were calling us back and this is all the time we could manage to squeeze in.  

As we planned our holiday, one big request the kids had was to allocate plenty of time to just explore the cities we visited without a tourist agenda, and so taking into account their request we decided to cover four cities and really enjoy each one rather than move from city to city to see as much of Spain as we could.  We narrowed our ciities to Barcelona, Sevilla, Granada and Madrid.

Some helpful tips before heading to Spain.

Friends we spoke to told us Spain is HOT in the summer and to go well prepared with sun block, cool clothes, hats, and to drink plenty of water.  Speaking of water, one of the coolest features I saw in Spain is drinking water freely available on the streets for anyone and everyone to fill up on!

Another cool feature they have in Spain is most of the Southern cities where temperatures can reach 101- 102 degrees, the streets have tarps covering the popular shopping and sightseeing districts providing cool shade for pedestrians.

A helpful tip we got was to buy tickets for all the major attractions in advance as many of the tickets get sold out.

One of our friends said they went all the way to Barcelona for a holiday and couldn’t get in to see any of the famed Gaudi attractions as tickets were sold out the entire them they were there. This is true for any major site you want to see anywhere in Spain, as best as you can book your tours and tickets in advance!

In Spain locals eat dinner very late.

Cafes and restaurants are all open till 1am and dinner rush barely starts at 9pm.  If you want to feel the hustle and bustle of evening dinner time festivities then head out as late as you can, preferably 10pm.

Here is another travel tip

Make your travel day a Sunday because majority of Spain shuts down on Sundays this includes many cafes and stores. Some major attractions maybe open, but not all, so plan ahead and do your research.

And now here is a look at our Spain itinerary.

Our 8-day 4-city Spain itinerary.

Wednesday July 3rd:  Evening flight to Frankfurt, connecting to Barcelona, Spain.

Thursday July 4th:  Arrive in Barcelona in the evening.  Grab dinner at 11pm!

Friday July 5th: Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and La Boqueria Market.

Saturday July 6th: Gaudi’s Casa Mila and Picasso Museum.  Exploring the Gothic Quarter in the afternoon.

Sunday July 7th:  Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall in the morning.  Flight to Sevilla in the evening.

Sunday July 7th:  Arrive in Sevilla. Twilight carriage ride through downtown Sevilla.

Monday July 8th:   Bull Fghting Arena the Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla in the morning.  Explore Sevilla and grab lunch. Visit Alcazar Palace in the afternoon.

Tuesday July 9th:  Road trip to Granada and tour the Alhambra Palace.

Wednesday July 10th:  Stroll the streets of Sevilla and Triana. Afternoon tour of Cathedral of Sevilla. Dinner on the riverbank.

Thursday July 11th:

Train to Madrid.

Arrive in Madrid in the afternoon.  Explore the Literary Quarter – Barrio de las Letras.

Friday July 12th:  Visit to Reina Sofia Museum in the morning, grab lunch.

Evening train to Barcelona.

Saturday July 13th:  Flight back home to San Francisco.

Heading to Spain?  Do your research.  There is so much to see in this beautiful country that it will be hard to cover it all in one quick holiday. The Internet offers many articles on all the places to see and attractions to visit, then pick what suits you and your interests.  

Here are examples of some of the articles out there on travel to Spain. Best things to see Barcelona    15 best things to do in Sevilla   Things to do in Madrid. 

Most of all though allocate time to just relax and explore the cities you visit without an agenda; these are the moments that stay with you years later.

Feliz Verano! 🌞
Happy Summer!

Safe travels wherever your journey may take you!