Spain’s Big Three: Valencia, Barcelona, and Madrid
Before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to Africa and were back onto European soil to continue our exploration of the Prado homeland. Over the next two weeks, we were determined to thoroughly enjoy living on Spanish time, eat as many tapas as possible, and mix in some time with family and some adventures with friends. First up were the east coast cities of Valencia and Barcelona, and then the capital city of Madrid.
Valencia
Abuelita had suggested that we make a stop in Valencia because it was the birthplace of paella and it is a beautiful beach town. Not ones to say no to the promise of good food, we were determined to fit it in! It worked out perfectly that our flight to Barcelona had been cancelled by the airline, so we found a shorter and cheaper flight to Valencia instead. Win-win! We arrived late at night, so we settled into the hotel with room service, hot showers, and 8 hours of comfortable sleep — we definitely missed those last two little luxuries while in Morocco.
The next morning, we had just one mission: eat the best paella in Valencia. And we did! With just a quick Google search, we found La Pepica, the “mother of all paella” restaurant that Ernest Hemingway dined at and raved about more than 60 years ago. Oh, and did I mention it is right on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world?? We got there just before it opened and managed to snag the best table in the house. We feasted on the house’s classic seafood paella, enjoyed a bottle of white wine, and soaked in the sights and sounds of the calm Sunday morning beach life. It’s safe to say we were settling into Spanish time quite nicely!
After lunch, we hopped in a taxi back to our hotel, grabbed our bags, and headed off to the station to catch a train to Barcelona.
Barcelona
We arrived in Barcelona around 5 PM and immediately grabbed a taxi to the H10 Hotel, which was located in the center of town. This boutique, designer hotel had mid-century modern vibes that we loved, a rooftop lounge, a spectacular view of a cathedral, and it was just a few minutes walk to La Rambla. If you’re looking for a place to stay in Barcelona, this is the one! (I may be slightly more biased because they also left chocolate covered strawberries and Cava in our room as an anniversary gift. 🙂 ) We spent our first night sipping sparkling wine and eating tapas on a rooftop overlooking the city. What more could we really ask for?
Our next day was filled with color and design brought to us by none other than Antoni Gaudí. We hoofed our way up Carmel Hill for a tour of Park Güell, which is a gorgeous park filled with gardens and structural masterpieces. Our favorites were the market plaza with the 4 seasonal sun mosaics in the roof, the gingerbread-fairytale-looking houses, and the mosaic animals. It was fascinating to learn how Gaudí designed with such attention to both aesthetic and function. I am totally drawn to his brilliant colors, whimsical forms, and connection to nature.
Next up was a visit to the most famous of Gaudí’s works, La Sagrada Familia. We descended Carmel Hill and realized we had a bit of time before our designated slot to enter the church. So, we asked ourselves, “What would the Spanish do?” And that’s how we ended up eating tapas and enjoying cider (oh, how we missed it!) at a tiny nearby restaurant.
Once we’d had our fill of bread, cheese, and meat, we headed back to the church for an audio-guided tour. We first saw the Passion facade of La Sagrada Familia from the street and were admittedly both surprised and confused. The whimsical design, jarring figures, and childish-looking font used to write for the words along the facade made the building look more like a museum than a world-renowned church. That confusion quickly vanished when we walked around to the Nativity facade, and even more so when we walked inside. (We also later found that Josep Maria Subirachs designed the Passion facade, which made us feel a little less guilty for disliking it.)
Gaudí was a master at connecting nature and art, and the interior of La Sagrada Familia is his most stunning example. The pillars that form the central nave and aisles resemble trees in a forest. The stained glass windows were clumped into 4 blocks around the church and were tinted to represent the 4 seasons. There are details upon details that are so intricate and brilliant, I’m sure we didn’t catch them all. It’s no wonder this cathedral has been under construction for over a century (and still isn’t complete)!
The next day, we started with a leisurely stroll and a late morning al fresco breakfast at Creps Barcelona on La Rambla, which is the most famous shopping and eating street in the city. Then we made our way to the beach and spent the entire afternoon and early evening there. We ate croquettes, ceviche, salmon tartar, and sangria right beside the sand. We walked from one end, where a huge bronze fish sculpture rose above the boardwalk, to the other end, where the W Hotel dominated the skyline with a sailboat silhouette. We even got to enjoy the W’s poolside deck and, naturally, spectacular views!
Barcelona was one of our favorite cities in Spain. It was clean, modern, artsy, and classic all in one beautifully vibrant package. We were sad to say goodbye, but we also felt like we saw the best the city had to offer. So, with that, we packed our bags and prepared for our next adventures in Madrid.
Madrid
We knew the day would come. With 4 months of non-stop travel, new people, new foods, and weird sleeping schedules, it was inevitable that one or both of us would get sick. Unfortunately for me, I was knocked out by a stomach bug on the worst possible day: travel day. I was barely able to walk, too much stimuli amplified my nausea, and we had a taxi + long wait at the train station + long walk to the end of the train + 3 hour train ride to get through. Not. Ideal.
Luckily, I have the most caring hubby who did everything short of carrying me and all our bags to the train. And, after 3 hours in the not-so-silent “Silent Car,” we arrived at arguably one of the most beautiful and cleanest train stations we’ve seen! (The other two were in Venice and Copenhagen.) As soon as we set foot outside, we knew this place was going to be fantastic! Every neighborhood we drove through on our way to the Airbnb looked like the Upper East Side mixed with classic, old-world Spanish architecture. I thoroughly appreciate clean cities, and Spain has them in spades.
Now, to be honest, our first day and a half in Madrid were uneventful. I laid on the couch fighting my stomach bug while Gabriel caught up on the blog, the finances, work, and stocked up on food. The silver lining was that we got some quality couch-cuddling time supplemented by (way too many) episodes of Modern Family on Netflix!
On our third day in Madrid, I was feeling well enough to walk around, so we decided to make up for the lost time and hit as many sights as possible. We walked through Plaza Mayor, ate chocolate + churros at Chocolateria San Ginés (one of the most famous cafes in the city that opened in 1894), took a private tour of the Royal Palace, visited the Almudena Cathedral and Crypt, ate tapas at Mercado de San Miguel (an indoor tapas market), and saw all kinds of monuments, statues, and pretty buildings as we walked a giant loop around the city. Whew, what a day!
The real highlight of Madrid came later that evening when we met up with two of Gabriel’s relatives who live in Madrid, Rosa Mari and Ricardo. They treated us to the best meal we had in Spain — and one of the best of the entire trip — at La Castella. In what we thought was true Spanish style, we met up at 9:30 PM…but even that seemed a bit early for dinner! The small bar area at the front was packed with locals enjoying their tapas, but we had a cozy table reserved at the back. Over the course of 2.5 hours, we shared tons of delicious ham, seafood, bread, and wine, and (even more importantly) stories, jokes, and insights from our respective lives and travels. I always love how a good meal can bring people together — across oceans, across language gaps, across time. We feel extremely blessed that we got to meet such gracious and warm people…and that we get to call them family!
For our final day in Madrid, we decided to hit the big kahuna of museums, The Prado. This museum has one of the finest collections of European art in the world, including rooms upon rooms of masterpieces by Goya, Velazquez, Titian, Rafael, and Rembrandt, just to name a few. This museum was truly impressive — and that’s coming from two people who have short attention spans in art museums.
Before we called it a day, we met up again with Rosa Mari, Ricardo, and their daughter Claudia for coffee. Gabriel had actually been corresponding with Claudia to arrange our plans with the family in Madrid, so we were grateful to finally meet her in person. She was just as sweet and warm as her parents!
The half-hour chat flew by, and just like that we were all packed in their car and headed to the train station. They dropped us at the entrance, gave us some serious big bear hugs, and we said goodbye. We definitely wished we had more time in Madrid, but it’s on the list of must-return cities. (I mean, come on, they have a tiny tropical forest in the train station!)
For now, though, it was time to head south to Córdoba and some friend-travel adventures in Granada and Sevilla!
Big hugs,
Juliette